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What You Need To Know About British Airways' New Mixed Fleet

How to identify BA's mixed fleet cabin crew: they smile

You may remember the saga. First we were die hard British Airways haters. Then a flight to Vegas changed all that. It was our first experience of BA’s new mixed fleet (in operation for a year now) and boy, did it make a difference. We were entranced. Was it a one off? We prayed not.

Our return flight from Vegas had just as nice a crew (a full review on that another time). But we wanted to wait until we’d taken a couple more flights until we declared an official crush on the new mixed fleet. Now, though, since our trip to Budapest last weekend, we've seen enough to declare ourselves: British Airways appears to have transformed under the mixed fleet crews.

Staff are friendly, smiley. They give the impression of wanting to help you. They give the impression that they are happy to be on board, and that they actually like each other. They are as far away from the dour crew of old as Rick Perry was from knowing his government agencies. They are great. So because they’re great, we’ve got the lowdown on them. Here’s your mixed fleet 101.

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The Day Pigs Flew and British Airways Rocked a Long-Haul Flight

You might remember our surprise (understatement: we nearly had a stroke with shock) when we flew British Airways from Heathrow to Vegas on Christmas Eve, and were confronted, instead of the usual sullen frowns and can’t-do mentality, by smiles, extra booze, cheery greetings and an atmosphere that didn’t send us screaming for the emergency exit handle.

Back then, we told you about the crew, and promised more on the flight later. Sorry about that&3151;it’s taken three weeks to process the shock of a pleasant BA flight. But anyways. Did the flight-our first longhaul in BA economy for a couple of years-live up to the crew? Let’s see.

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Transatlantic Time Hop: Skipping the New Year on British Airways

Comedy hats and smiles. Two things you don't normally expect to see British Airways staff wearing

When we told people last week we were flying British Airways from Las Vegas to London overnight on New Year’s Eve, they were aghast. Why weren’t we partying? Why were we flying alone? Why were we leaving Vegas on the best night to be in Vegas?

We told them they were wrong on several counts. First, NYE in Vegas is horrendo, period. Second, after the Christmas Eve mini party we experienced on our flight out, we suspected the return journey could actually be fun. Thirdly—since there are few things we enjoy less than forced festivity—the idea of spending NYE at 40,000ft watching crappy movies was highly appealing.

And fourth, we coolly assumed we’d fly past loads of fireworks and cross so many timezones that we’d witness the year turning about six times before we reached London.

So how was it?

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The Only Plus to British Airways' Premium Economy? Being Up Front

Flying coach: not good. Flying business: very good but rarely affordable. Flying premium economy: fast becoming our preferred method of transport, when we have a little extra cash. Over a crazy six-week period a couple of months back we made eight transatlantic flights (mainly West Coast-London). Most were in economy, buying seats with extra legroom. So when we saw a deal to fly British Airways’ premium economy product, or World Traveller Plus as they call it, for the same amount of miles as an economy ticket, we cashed right in, and bought a Heathrow to San Diego ticket.

After all, BA's WTP seats usually sell for around double the amount of their economy seats; plus we’d flown premium ec on both Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand, and found them both the shiz. Tough acts to beat, but we were sure BA would measure up in some respects. Wouldn’t it?

Sadly, no it didn’t. At all. In fact—flying premium economy was one of the biggest wastes of money we’ve ever experienced. And yes, we say that having technically paid no extra. Here’s why.

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Shocker! Virgin Atlantic's Economy Food is Actually Pretty Decent

You may remember we told you a little while back about a rather underwhelming experience in Virgin Atlantic's economy class from London to Vegas. Luckily, we're pleased to report the food was much, much better.

First, a bit of background. This member of Jaunted is not a fan of airline food—even in business class. We were also seriously unimpressed with the meals consumed in premium economy a couple of years back, with the exception of a recent excellent Full English Breakfast. Alas, we still didn't have much hope for economy.

But what do you know...for economy, it was actually very decent.

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Not Much Legroom, but a Cheeky Pilot: Flying London to Florence on Meridiana

There’s always an aspect of holding our breath when we try a new airline, especially if it’s a lowcost one. Sometimes, though, needs must, which is why we found ourselves travelling from London-Gatwick to Florence on Meridiana.

We’ve known about Meridiana for a long time, but heard neither positive or negative things about it. Alas with most other airlines flying into Pisa (over an hour away by bus) or Bologna (90 minutes on the train), we bit the bullet.

Luckily, we had a rather nice surprise. Staff were friendly (though be warned, since it’s an Italian airline, they speak in Italian before English). They gave us a drink and cookies, which was not only free, but probably also better than the inedible snacks BA give out.

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Enduring United Economy Class from Tokyo Direct to Seattle

Last week we found ourselves way in the back of a United 777 flying direct from Tokyo-Narita to Seattle-Tacoma in economy class. Yes, believe it. Thankfully we scored an aisle seat, but that was about the only positive. Here's a little review of our experience:

What we liked:
· Seatback TVs! Holy crap, we weren't expecting that considering the United 777 on the way over (from SFO to NRT) didn't have them.
· Two square meals were served. Granted, the turbulence during the first one didn't allow for us to get up and grab our camera from the overhead bin, but it wasn't too bad. Chicken over rice.
· The flight left and arrived on time, so there's that.

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Flying 14 Hours in Air New Zealand's Snazzy New White 'Spaceseat'

And now a dispatch from DJ Max Graham, who's somewhere off in the world...

I spent 36 hours with Air New Zealand recently; that's 14 hours in the infamous Skycouch on the way to Auckland from LA, many hours in assorted airport lounges, and 14 hours back, where I was lucky enough to be upgraded to Business the new Premium Economy called "Spaceseats." This is my review of that second leg.

First off, Air NZ gets it. Not only are they pushing the boundaries of the in-flight experience with completely innovative and unique products, but their staff are simply excellent. The small country has a pride you can feel in the flagship airline’s staff, and smiles were all around.

I was extremly excited to try the “Spaceseat” on the new Boeing 777-300ER and ended up with a bulkhead window and no one beside me. Right away I felt as if I was accidentally in business class, hoping nobody catches me. There’s no way this is just an economy product! But it is. Bottled Water, pillow and blanket greeted me as I entered my pod.

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Kicking Back with DJ Max Graham in United's First Class Suite

And now a special review from international superstar DJ (and Jaunted reader) Max Graham:

I’ve flown in First Class more than a few times thanks to surprise upgrades and my own hard-earned loyalty points, so I was understandably eager to try United’s new “First Suite" while hopping between Europe and the US. I booked it direct from Amsterdam-Schiphol to Chicago-O'Hare, snapped up a middle seat to avoid the “interrogation lighting” that still seems so common on airliners, and happily settled in for the journey.

As so often happens, a family wanted to sit together and I gave in and shifted to a window seat; not too bad of a trade-off with a 1-2-1 configuration in First.

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Flying Air France's Premium Voyageur Class

Launching the service with a tagline that it’s “more comfortable than Economy, more affordable than Business,” Air France began outfitting some of its Boeing 777-300’s with its new Premium Voyageur product back in 2009. On a recent trip to France, we weathered the long-haul 11-hour Air France direct flight from LAX to CDG in Premium Voyageur instead of regular economy, and here are les résultats.

· Les Spécifications
Depending on the aircraft, there are between 21-38 seats in this new class. We were on the 28-seat variety since it was a 777 (we think the 38 will be in the airline’s A380’s). It is configured in a 2-4-2 pattern, with the rows slightly staggered, so you’re not quite flush with the people across the aisle.

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Breaking Down the Pros and Cons of Flying Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic

UPDATE: We added some more photos from our return flight which had slightly different amenities. Check them out in the photo gallery below!

Last week, we found ourselves in Newark Airport lusting after the folks checking into Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class on a flight to London, wondering when oh when, will little old us ever be plucked from (premium) economy and given that glorious upgrade into first.

But after watching the firsties pre-board, we snapped out of our daydream and began to board with the rest of the plane. Suddenly, there was a DING! just after we handed our ticket to the gate attendant. She muttered, "Oh. It seems your seat has changed." We assumed the worst and began to fret that they've shoved us out of our aisle seat and into a middle seat in the back to make room for a big family or a preferred flyer.

But no. The attendant shuffled back to the desk and rummaged through some ticket stubs. She then discretely handed us a new stub and said in a low voice, "You've been upgraded to Upper Class."* We nearly dropped our carry-on in disbelief (or possibly, that September issue of Vogue was really getting heavy.)

So, now that we've had a taste of Upper Class, will we ever go back? First, step inside the Upper Class cabin and see for yourself.

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Landing in Peru Onboard LAN's New SFO-Lima Flight

Here at Jaunted, we like to report the biggest travel news and the best travel experiences first for you, from iPads down to inaugural flights. That’s why our Eric Rosen hopped onboard LAN’s first flight on its new direct route between San Francisco-SFO and Lima, Peru. Check out all the South American partying in his report below.

LAN 2609 is a flight that marks much more than just the South American carrier's entrance into San Francisco, but it also means a return of boom tourism to Peru, a country wracked by floods and depressing tourism numbers earlier this year—especially after the routes to historical site Machu Picchu were closed or plain destroyed. But with all of that fixed and hope renewed, we flew due south.

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