[buzzard]

The worst journey we have had with any airline except TAP. On the way out we sat on the tarmac for well over an hour. Plane atmosphere was quite unpleasant. No explanation of the delay although after we returned I was eventually .(needed several emails to customer services) told it was a "technical fault". On the return trip the seats we had paid to reserve were reallocated after check in and we were rebooked to seats that were not even together. On the aircraft a member eventually got us seats together in the centre of the cabin instead of the window seat and adjacent seat we had booked. We were not given seats until the pilot announced that he was ready to depart and were made to feel we were a nuisance for the incompetence of the BA staff who changed seat reservations but did not allocate us seats together. The "replacement" plane included seats of the same number as those we had reserved, paid for and been allocated at online checkin.

In this sort of situation a refund of the amount paid is not automatic, you need to apply using a form on the BA website. Don't expect an immediate refund. You only have 14 days to apply for a refund and the form on their website has to be completed by the person making the booking. .

This is bad enough but when you contact customer services you can still get no explanation for the problems. Responses from customer services do not address questions and appear to be generated by a robot. There is a distinct impression of "we don't feel we need to provide you with an explanation" When I eventually managed to get an explanation of sorts for the flight delay they still didnt provide provide an explanation for the seat change. That took further correspondence and a phone call. Still no explanation for the incompetence of not rebooking seats together.

Apart from that it was an uncomfortable flight. Seat pitch in economy is lower than in many other airlines and seats are narrower. There was considerable turbulence. BA no longer offer a choice of food, so if you dislike their offer you have few options. Staff are reluctant to provide an alcoholic drink, We dont drink heavily on flights but my wife opts for a can of lager in preference to the tiny plastic cup of water or the mini cans of soft drink.

Entertainment choices didnt include any recent films.

On this route if you are travelling for a multiple of 7 or 10 days I suggest booking the Thompson dreamliner instead. You can book flights only on their website. Your flight will cost less, be more comfortable and you wont find your seats reallocated.

This is an unpleasant airline to deal with should you have any problem