BA219 LHR-DEN 20 MAY 12 (WORLD TRAVELLER PLUS)
Posted: 21 Jun 2012, 13:59BA219 LHR–DEN
20 May 12
1605-1845
Boeing 777-200
3 class
World Traveller Plus
3 rows; 12–14
2–4–2
Seats 14AB
We were staying at the Sofitel LHR Terminal 5 the night before and checked in online that evening using the computers provided in the lobby for the purpose. We had paid the additional £30 each when booking in order to choose our seats, 14AB, and confirmed these when we checked in.
Check-out time at the Sofitel is 1200 so we stayed in our very comfortable room until 1145, checked out and headed over to T5. This being LHR T5 we could not, of course, drop our bags off until exactly 3 hours ahead of flight time so we managed to find a seat where we waited until 1305. Once we’d got rid of the bags we went through security fairly quickly and headed to Huxley’s for lunch.
Our flight was from gate B45 so we took the train out to the B gates and found a seat at the gate. Boarding started approx 1540. BA’s policy is to board by row number from the rear forward which makes perfect sense but means that WTP boards last of all, which doesn’t quite fit with the idea of a premium product.
We took our seats in the last row of the 3 rows in the WTP cabin. Unlike Virgin, WTP does not get a pre-departure drink. Although the BA website refers to a “complimentary newspaper” none were offered, and none had been available to pick up prior to boarding (as often happens with Virgin). No bottle of water in the seat pocket or offered either.
The flight crew announced a brief delay due to bags having to be offloaded, and we took off at 1625.
The seats were comfortable but the IFE screens were very small and the picture quality was too poor to watch. However, the IFE was AVOD and there was a good selection if you wanted to persevere with the screen. Although the 3 rows are in a separate cabin, between Business and Economy, there are no toilets in the cabin and you have to use the ones back down in the middle of the Economy cabin.
There are no dedicated cabin crew for WTP and those we had were pretty much uninterested, not in the least friendly and not particularly efficient. They only did one drinks run where we were given one small can of soda. With dinner we were only offered wine, no other drinks were available. They did do a few water/juice runs during the flight. There was absolutely no recognition from the cabin crew that WTP was anything other than simply the first 3 rows of Economy.
I had ordered a special meal – fruit platter. This was sparse and poorly presented as an Economy meal rather than WTP, ie plastic cutlery and paper napkin, not metal cutlery and cloth napkin as on the WTP tray. There was one starter-size container with melon, grapes and pineapple. Then a pre-packed plastic-film container with watermelon, honeydew, kiwi and blueberry – like you’d buy in a supermarket to take to work. It was not very big, certainly not a ‘platter’ or main meal sized. There was also a bread roll and light margarine. No dessert.
There was a printed menu card which listed 2 choices; the entrees in WTP to/from LHR are supposedly choices from Business Class. However, on this flight only one choice was available for WTP, take it or leave it. As it happened, it was steak and DH said it was okay. It was presented in the Business Class china dish on the WTP tray together with salad, bread and dessert.
The 2nd meal was a cardboard box. Mine contained a satsuma, a Dole tropical fruit cup and a few grapes. DH’s standard box contained a gloopy-looking sandwich and an almost-frozen chocolate chip muffin.
We were scheduled to land at 1845 and the flight crew had expected 1830 but Denver had to close for a while due to weather so we did the holding dance over Wyoming and northern Colorado while they caught up with the delays. We landed at 1850 and were fairly quickly through immigration – for the first time since it was introduced, we didn’t have to do the photo and fingerprint process. The bags took 30 minutes to arrive but then we were on our way.
This was our 3rd transatlantic flight in WTP and we were not impressed. It is not a good product, especially when compared to Virgin’s Premium Economy, even though it is a similar cost and is marketed as being comparable. In reality, a more accurate comparison would be with United Airlines Economy Plus, ie just extra legroom. Unlike Virgin, there is no separate check-in desk, no priority boarding (in fact, just the opposite!), no priority luggage and no dedicated cabin crew.
Despite the BA website mentioning a complimentary newspaper, none were offered. The website does not mention that WTP boards last but does say WTP is “given priority when leaving the aircraft” – I do not believe that is a specific benefit but simply a result of WTP being located between Business and Economy! The “complimentary bar service … throughout your journey” consisted of one drinks run; we saw no evidence whatsoever of the “snacks”; and certainly my “3-course meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner” was a figment of the BA marketing people’s imagination.
By comparison, on our most recent flight in Virgin PE, by the time I took my seat I had been given 2 newspapers, a Hello magazine and a bottle of water. Before departure I had been offered sparkling wine, orange juice or a mixture of the two, and more newspapers. Drinks were offered regularly, by the dedicated cabin crew who came around and asked as well as being available in the galley, and who always gave 2 of the small soda cans. A full bar service was offered with the main meal; there was an ice cream run and several water/juice runs; a fruit bowl was available to help yourself from; and other snacks were offered during the flight (including hot savoury snacks). The meal was the usual appalling airline food but there was more of it, including cheese and biscuits, so more chance of finding something edible on the tray.
I do not dispute that the WTP seats are presumably more comfortable and spacious than in Economy. As we do not want to travel in Economy and cannot often afford Business, and Virgin do not have the routes we need, travelling BA WTP is sometimes our only option. So we pay the cost, plus the extra £30 to choose our seats (which Virgin do not currently charge). But that cost is definitely over-inflated for the product, which could be why it seems upgrades are often available for less than £200 on transatlantic routes. BA should either improve the product to bring it in line with Virgin PE or re-brand it as extra legroom only and reduce the cost accordingly. Although I suppose they’re unlikely to do that as long as people, me included, keep booking it as it is.
I’ve drawn up a table to provide a quick reference comparison between the BA WTP and Virgin PE products, based on information from the airlines websites and our recent experience. I hope this may be of help to anyone thinking of booking either product. (Couldn’t post the table so have listed it instead.)
Dedicated check-in desk
WTP – No
PE – Yes
Checked baggage allowance
WTP – 2 x 23kg
PE – 2 x 23kg
Priority baggage
WTP – No
PE – Yes
Priority boarding
WTP – No (in fact WTP is very last group to board)
PE – Yes
Seat pitch
WTP – BA website does not specify but SeatGuru says 38”
PE – 38”
Cabin layout
WTP – on 777, 2-4-2, 3 or 5 rows
PE – on 747, 2-2 upstairs and 2-4-2 downstairs; 2-3-2 on A340 and A330
Dedicated toilets
WTP – No. On 777, where 3 rows WTP, toilets are in middle of Economy cabin; where 5 rows, toilets are in Economy cabin but immediately behind WTP
PE – depends on aircraft and configuration
Entertainment (IFE)
WTP – varies according to aircraft
PE – varies according to aircraft
Dedicated cabin crew
WTP – No
PE – Yes
Pre-departure drink
WTP – No
PE – Yes
Different meal to Economy
WTP – Yes; to/from LHR and LGW, not clear for other routes
PE – Yes
Food extras
WTP – No
In our experience:
One drinks run on 8½ hour flight, then a few water/juice runs during flight
One drinks run on 7½ hour flight, no water/juice runs
PE - Yes
Help-yourself fresh fruit
More food on the tray (eg cheese and biscuits)
Ice cream (all classes, not just WTP)
Other snacks (sweet and savoury) offered during flight
In our experience:
Drinks readily available – crew either do drinks runs (offering water/juice or actually asking what you want) or you could go to galley any time
Bottle of water provided
WTP – No
PE – Yes
Reading material
WTP – No (except BA in-flight magazine)
PE – Yes; newspapers and magazines as you board, newspapers offered onboard
Extra mileage points
WTP – 25%
PE – 125-150%
I have used the WTP a couple of times and had a very different and more positive experience than you did 
I totally agree with your disappointment for priority check in/boarding as well as lack of welcome drink but would say my experience of the product after that was pretty good. I do, however, think VS PE still wins the competition but reckon BA are working to close the gap.