Actually, I wasn't too happy with BA for a number of reasons. First, they charge US$90 to reserve a specific seat in advance of the 24-hour normal check-in time (and that's in Club World, business class; more if flying in first, less for economy). Still, I was able to reserve an aisle seat on the upper deck for the flight from JNB to LHR (window would have been my preference). Second, while their business class seats have the 180 degree lie-flat seat feature, the configuration is strange. Aisle seats face forward and window seats face aft. There is a translucent partition between the seats but when it isn't in the raised position, such as for take-off or landing, the two passengers are face-to-face. It's awkward. Finally, when it was time to board the flight at JNB, we were all put onto buses and taken to where the aircraft was parked. No jet bridge and no separate boarding for business or first class versus economy passengers. The throng of 300+ people climbed the two sets of air stairs at once. I don't know if this is a regular occurrence or not at JNB. Did I really mind all of this? Only the first item, but I lucked-out. I love being on the tarmac with the sights, sounds and smells!
What's my point here? Where's the "plug for BA"? Here: I just learned today that somehow my American Airlines Advantage frequent flyer account was credited with 5,620 miles, plus 1,405 bonus miles for a total of 7,025 for this flight from JNB to CPT! And this was on a "free" frequent-flyer ticket! I printed a hard copy of the statement. We'll see if the mileage credit is withdrawn at some point in the future. And I won't contact BA asking why they didn't credit me for the mileage JNB-CPT-JNB.
