sgbolt

Looking at flights for mum to visit this summer - airtransat, air canada and BA are all coming up similar price. I know airtransat isn't the nicest flight but anyone got an opinion on which one to book - never done BA. Thanks

Shard

BA and AC are about the same IMO.
Never used Transat.

Jerseygirl

Just flown back to Canada round trip with Air Canada. Nothing to complain about apart from the entertainment system.

Zoe Bell

transat are ok , but if there was no price difference i'd probably go AC

SchnookoLoly

Transat is good if they have the lowest price but if the price is the same then BA or A.C., not much difference between the two. Whichever gives you the most convenient flight times, really!

Also on A.C.you can pick your seats in advance, on BA it's only when you check in.

Aviator

Having worked for both, BA is my (without a shadow of doubt) preference from a pax perspective. BA CS is far superior, although in flight they are similar. BA Club and First are light years ahead of AC.

OH and youngest went AC last summer and the journey was a nightmare start to finish.

Transat, you get what you pay for.

JamesM

Air Canada.

Heathrow is nicer than Gatwick and it's much nicer to fly from Terminal 1 in Toronto than Terminal 3 as well as more efficient. I've had several guest experiences with lost luggage at Terminal 3.

I also quite like the AC flight during the day on the way over to the UK as it eliminates most of my jet lag.

SchnookoLoly

+1 for the A.C. Day flight!

Paul_Shepherd

Even though ive only ever used Transat (because I want the cheapest price and have more money to spend on important things when I reach my destination) I'd agree with all the points James has made here.

However the last time I travelled to the UK with Transat, I noticed that AC wasn't much more expensive, and as James has pointed out, AC run daytime flights which is much easier on the jet lag and not only is Heathrow nicer than Gatwick but way better located, Gatwick is in the most inaccessible stupidest location ive ever known for an international airport!

So yes id go with AC, BA are stupendously expensive last time I looked and wernt even worth considering.

ChrisBan

BA for premium cabins, AC for economy. I'd personally pay a little extra to fly either of those over Transat. AC seem to be better on price than BA for the last year or so, was usually other way around

SchnookoLoly

Sometimes Transat comes up way cheaper, so if it's a big price difference then it can be worth it, even for the faff of Gatwick.

However if you want to book seats, Transat charges $20 each person each leg, so that can add up quickly - often if AC/BA is only $100 more I'll book that instead. However once when Mom was coming to visit, she got flights on Transat, return, for a total of $550... AC and BA were both around $850 each. So that was a no-brainer.

Also if you are booking one-way tickets then Transat wins as it actually charges half the price.

sharkus

I've never really liked BA, can't put my finger on it, just something about them. The first couple of flights to / from here were paid for by the company, so booked for BA.

AC has been pretty good time times I've used them, including on flight back to Canada where I was upgraded to first class.

I've flown AT the most and it's not too bad. Parents have used it a lot when coming over to visit and they'd generally had a pretty good time of it.

I don't mind Gatwick, mainly as I usually stay with my parents and it's about 45 minutes from there (can be less depending on whose driving and if you do the cross country route - had it down to 28 minutes once - very silly and very naughty drive that was!) , add on another hour for Heathrow. I'd rather skip that hour travel, especially after a long flight.

JamesM

And that is a fair consideration. My parents and siblings place is 40 minutes from Heathrow and a little over an hour from Gatwick so location is not a factor for me.

If my ride was nearly 2 hours away I'd possibly take another airline for their convenience.

withabix

AirTransat have new plane interiors since early 2013.

From what I saw when we felt over (from the front 2 rows in the 'nice' section!), their Economy is just as good as BA, possibly a bit better, so I would probably try Transat for Economy.

The two rows at the front (2-2-2 layout) are pretty good value and a cut above BA Premium Economy.

Saying that, most of my previous flights to Canada have been upstairs on a 747 with BA - that Business Class section is like being on a small private jet!

We once came over with Lufthansa and that was dire.

We've done BA in Economy and Premium Economy on other occasions.

We've only flown Air Canada from Anchorage to YVR, so can't comment on their trans-Atlantic service.

bc2015

If flying from Vancouver at the moment, then I think Air Canada are better as BA are still using 30 year old 747s whereas Air Canada have brand new 777s on the LHR route.

Not questioning the safety of BA at all, but the comfort of the more modern plan wins it for me.