BA or Zoom to Vancouver which should I choose

A snowHead

Going to Whistler, the choice of flights is Zoom ex Gatwick or BA ex Heathrow.

Both airports are about the same distance, so the only question is:-

Which is better on a 9 hour plus flight?

A snowHead

Which is better depends on your definition of "better". IMO it largely depends on the price: anything else I can live with (it's only(!) 9 hours).

BA are roughly £650 each, whilst Zoom are about £400 each - depending on when you want to go.

We got flights a few weeks ago through BMI - although it's actually an Air Canada codeshare: £1500 for 4 Very Happy

- and that's over half term: both Zoom and Canadianaffair wanted a lot more and the BA price was just silly.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Not tried Zoom but heard it was pretty appalling and no leg room whatsoever! I suppose it's what you can put up with at what price.

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RDSpearing, I think in the air BA would be better, the downside is having to travel through Heathrow.

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Something else to think about.

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RDSpearing, Price and airport location are defining factors for me. With Zoom I managed to get my flight for £200 return from my native airport, Cardiff. BA were charging four times as much. I'm not expecting leg space to be much better than European budget airlines though Confused

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saxabar, I paid £450 with BA last Feb, and any time I have tried to book a Zoom flight all the cheapies were gone, you did well there to get the Cardiff flight Very Happy

achilles, but did they make more flight than any other European Airline ? and the cheapy airlines were excluded from the figures

Apart from the cr@p of landing at Heathrow (always end up waithing to get off the plane) I would go for BA if the price was comparable, although I have not flown with Zoom. Just a thought, how many planes do Zoom operate with ?

After all it is free

RDSpearing, what's the difference in baggage allowance?

RDSpearing, what's the difference in baggage allowance?
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They both give free ski carriage in with your allowance of 20 kilos and max of 2 pieces of luggage per person including skis, so no difference......

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RDSpearing - friends who have travelled with Zoom have done so since - so it can't be that bad an experience. Personally, I'd just choose the cheapest and trouser the money for ski related things.

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you'll feel pretty nackered whichever one you choose. the drive is pretty easy by alpine standards, but if the weather is bad, it won't be much fun.

if vancouver flights are coming up expensive, it can be worth checking BA's Seattle flights. Adds a couple of hours to the drive but for my trip over Christmas it came out £500 per ticket cheaper and there were miles upgrades available from world traveller plus to business class Very Happy

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When I went out Dec 06 to May 07, BA were the best in terms of price (LHR-YVR £370 return), but also with baggage allowance:

2 x 32kg hold baggage
1 x 32kg snowsports eqpt
1 x hand luggage

Sadly new baggage allowances are now in effect for BA:

2 x 23kg hold baggage (3 bags for FIRST and Club World)
1 x 32kg snowsports eqpt
1 x hand luggage

An extra £50 on the BA ticket price meant that you could change your return flight if needed.

Zoom are very strict on baggage allowance, and will charge on anything over, although if you plead nicely they will lower the charges slightly.

1 x 20kg hold baggage (30kg for Premium Economy)
1 x 20kg sporting equipment
1 x hand luggage

Although if you're flying from/through Heathrow, the chances of seeing your luggage again are remote.

RDSpearing wrote,

You know it makes sense.

Just a word about BA baggage allowances. I was told by an employee that they are NOT yet enforcing the new baggage allowances. They were brought in due to an anticipated change in Health and Safety rules, which have not yet taken place.

FIRST and Club World - 3 bags
World Traveller Plus and World Traveller - 2 bags
Maximum dimensions per bag (H+W+L): 158cm (62in)
Maximum weight per bag: 23kg* (51lbs)

* Please note: we will continue to accept a piece of baggage weighing up to 32kg (70lbs).

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bagchk/public/en_gb

As for airlines, we;ve used Air Canada and BA. If we went again, we would pay extra for the Air Canada flight if we had to. NOt only were we cramped beyoind belief on the BA flight, but the check-in at Vancouver put us on the wrong connecting flight back to Newcastle. As the luggage was checked through, we couldn't swap the flight when we got to Heathrow, and it was full anyway. We had to hang around in Heathrow for nearly 6 hours.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Also note the huge/vast difference in allowance per passenger between BA and Zoom:

BA: 64 kg allowance in economy (currently)
Zoom: 20kg allowance in economy

A snowHead

There appears to be lots of conflicting info about baggage allowances, although with 5 of us ( 3 teenage boys ) this should not be much of an issue as we have only 2 pairs of skis and boots to take.

At 6 ft 2in I am more interested in the relative comfort of the flight.

Went to Banff last year flying Monarch and was distinctly cramped whne not in an aisle seat............

A snowHead

RDSpearing, if it's legroom you're after Air Canada were tons better.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

DMS&S magazine sent one of their writers on the Zoom flight last season. In his opinion it was far better than BA - more legroom, choice of movies, and better food.

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Go Zoom then, pay for the Premium Economy upgrade if you want leg room, or reserve those seats with additional legroom.

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RDSpearing, I used Zoom last winter for Whistler, very impressed, travelled economy, leg room was fine, check in was quick, frequent drinks and food was your usual plane stuff, would definatley use them again.

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Do you have to go through Heathrow, your bags will get lost?

After all it is free

chrisb, I assume it is easiest as he lives in Southampton. I would probably choose to go via Schipol if I went again.

brian

Legroom varies by plane as well as airline.

Check out http://www.seatguru.com for more detail than you'll ever need ...

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Nice website brian, thanks. Even better it confirms that Air NZ has the biggest seat pitch in international business class. (Guess where I'm going next week Very Happy

)

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I'd go with Air Canada (via Heathrow) if I had the choice. They're about the same price as BA but flying in a smaller plane means less waiting to get on and off and then queue at immigrations and also less bags to sort through on the conveyor so you're quicker out of the airport. Cool

They also have better food. They don't have TV's in the back of the seats however...

You know it makes sense.

brian

Sage, I think they mainly use 767s, but I haven't flown with them for a few years.

A snowHead

Well I got a really good price for Air Canada booked through BMI like RobW. We're going out in January and it was £1151 for 3 of us (2 adults and a 4 year old). Zoom was quoting about £1100 and so it was a no brainer for us. We live closer to Heathrow and it gives us more luggage allowance. We converted to Air Canada last year because we like that the flight arrives at a reasonable hour in Vancouver and we were in Whistler before 7pm. We'd always flown BA in the past and it was a lottery as to what time we'd arrive in resort - one time it was nearly midnight. There was virtually no queue at immigration with the Air Canada flight and we were out of the airport and in our taxi quicker than we've managed before. I would say the food was OK but I disagree with Snowy that it was better than BA. I also missed the seatback TV and I didn't like that we had to have 3 seats in the middle of the aircraft. I like to be able to lean against the window on the way back as I usually get the little one sleeping on top of me most of the way rolling eyes

(not something you have to worry about any more!) However, all the other pros outweighed those cons.

Actually, that's something else we discovered that was quite good value last year. We used Whistler Taxi for the transfer and it was $205 (+ a tip - 15 - 20%) for a van that took up to 6 passengers. You might like to check that out if there's 5 of you. I think the equivalent Perimeter Express price would be at least $300 for all 5 of you (approx $60 one way was the lowest price I found with the AlluraDirect discount)

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Thanks brian, I've just wandered through AC web site - they use 767-300ER's (just over 200 pax) and Airbus 330's (270 pax). BA use 747's (approx 360 pax). Very Happy

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Snowy, Well I didn't say that BA was better, I just wasn't that impressed by Air Canada's offerings at all (the child's meal that our 3 year old didn't look that appealing either) To be honest, most food you get in economy is pretty dire. Better to have a decent nosh up at the airport before you board.

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We had a new plane flying back from Vancouver last year - TV screens in backs of seats! Toofy Grin

But the food wasn't any better Evil or Very Mad

. The thing I like with Air Canada are the 2 seaters which are next to the window. No-one else sat next to you & plenty of leg room Little Angel

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Oh - and if flying from Heathrow, get a good hearty meal before you go through passport control. We've had some really nice brekkies landside. Airside at terminal 3 facilities are pretty dire and packed

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cathy,

and the thing I didn't like about Air Canada were the 2 seaters next to the window. Maybe once the little one is too old to come with Mum and Dad I'll appreciate the 2 seats! Gonna be a long wait though. Where do you normally eat landside at T3?

After all it is free

geetee,

Oooh I couldn't say where it was we've eaten. I just know we've had some good brekkies in calm uncrowded restaurants, unlike what its like once you get through passport control!

Jet lag is a nightmare, 9 hours flight and similar time difference makes it so.

With BA arriving early evening it meant that I got in to the apartment at 10 pm ish (after nice limo ride) which is late enough to go to bed (but I went on the beers till 1 pm) and good to get the body clock on to local time, the return flight was late in the evening and allowed a day on the slopes. If I had arrived at mid day in Vancouver I would have been sleeping by 4pm, which is not good for the jet lag.

That said, i was up at 5 pm every morning because I could not sleep, even when I had filled my boots with beer all night.

In mitigation I did make first lift though every day and had a fab brekkie in Dusty's A@rse down Creakside at 10am (ish)

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I flew back from Vancouver on Zoom two weeks ago having spent the day in Whistler. The drive isn't bad - they are in the middle of upgrading the road from single to doubel lane so some road works - all well marked - the toughest part of the drive is through VAa city centre but there may be a longer but quicker route around. Drive took about 1hr 45mins.

Zoom was fine. No claims of luxury but it did the job at a much cheaper price than BA or AC.

Help!!

BA or Zoom to Vancouver which should I choose

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