London X4

With Virgin Joining The Crowd On Chicago's Busiest Overseas Route, Who's Winning The Battle For Britain?

November 28, 1999|By Alan Solomon, Tribune Staff Writer.

LONDON — Four airlines offer daily non-stops between Chicago and London's Heathrow Airport. Listed alphabetically: American, British Airways, United and, since Nov. 1, Virgin Atlantic.

For most of us, which is the best?

To find out, the Chicago Tribune sent a reporter anonymously on each of the airlines -- one writer, eight flights (a round-trip on each) between Chicago and London within a two-week stretch -- to compare comfort, amenities, food service, the overall experience and his own tolerance for body-clock abuse.

For consistency and because that's how most passengers fly, all eight segments, which averaged about eight hours each, were flown in Economy class (British Airways calls it World Traveller," but we weren't fooled).

We also poked around a little in First Class (and Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class") and checked out the airlines' hospitality lounges at Heathrow (see accompanying stories).

But in the back of the planes where most of us sit, here's what we found:

- United has the best food, but people with long legs will have a tough time finding a place for them. In-flight entertainment is rudimentary. On the other hand, on a packed airplane it's easiest to find a vacant toilet in the Friendly Skies.

Only British sends around pre-flight refreshments (orange juice), a luxury usually limited to the front of the plane. The airline also provides eye shades, socks and a toothbrush. British has the most movie choices, if you're on one of its Boeing 777s. Otherwise, bring binoculars, maybe a periscope -- or a book.

Virgin leaves the raunch in its raunchy movies ("American Pie" and "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut"), and also offers Nintendo games, plus lots of less-flatulent movie options on its individual seatback screens. Its welcome-aboard package (eye shades, socks, toothbrush and still more goodies) is almost first class.

American has the best leg room but the worst food, the tiredest decor, the worst movies and, in general, treats Economy passengers as if they were Economy passengers.

And now, a disclaimer: Any airline's fleet of planes will have aircraft of differing vintage and model on similar routes. The small seatback movie screens on our westbound Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340, for example, were smaller than the ones on the same airline's newer eastbound A340 that made Virgin's inaugural O'Hare to Heathrow run. ("They probably trotted out their best plane. They had reporters aboard, and all that," a westbound flight attendant explained before being properly introduced.) On British, we flew to London on a newer Boeing 777 and back on an older Boeing 747 -- the latter are being eased out of service. So your experiences with all four of these airlines on this itinerary may differ in some respects.

End of disclaimer. Start of details.

All the airlines had pillows and blankets waiting on seats for their patrons. The two United Kingdom lines added additional niceties: British Airlines' welcome bundle had eye shades, socks and a toothbrush and toothpaste; Virgin's "Wakey-Wakey Bag" had those, plus a ballpoint pen, shoehorn, small note pad, discount coupons and headphones to take home.

American and United added nothing.

The two U.S. carriers used different aircraft -- MD-11 on American, 777 on United -- but both, unlike the UK airlines, configured their Economy seats in a 2/5/2 pattern: pairs along the windows and five across the middle.

On a full flight, that means the poor mope in the center of the middle sections has to climb over two other passengers (on these 8-hour flights, likely two sleeping passengers) to get into the lavatory line. Merely delivering a cup of coffee to the victim is a challenge.

"I think the 2/5/2 is deplorable," said a United flight attendant who, because she likes her job, asked not to be identified. "I don't like that [middle] seat, but I fly standby, I'm the last one on the plane and I have to sit there . . ."

British, on its 777, used a more-palatable 3/3/3 spread, 3/4/3 on its wide-body 747; the window-seat passengers, like the middle-seaters mentioned above, also have to climb over two passengers to get out -- but at least they get a window and only one intruding elbow. A 2/4/2 configuration was OK on Virgin's smaller Airbuses.

Seats on United were widest -- nearly 2 inches wider than on Virgin. United got even by skimping on leg room (3 inches tighter than American's). When the United passenger in the seat in front of mine fully and, of course, suddenly reclined, the back of his head rest came within 6 inches of resting on my head.

Best-looking interiors: British Airways' 777, which managed to be elegant yet comfortable; and the newer of Virgin planes, whose colorful seats and general atmosphere promised the fun delivered by its in-flight entertainment programs. Worst: American. Plain dull plane.

Food. Evaluating food service may be an art best left to food critics, but there are certain universal truths clear to all.