I am a BA frequest flyer and last year flew to the US once a month, flew to Canada twice, as well as all over Europe. My experience with BA compared to other airlines (especially in the US) is just simply superb for the price.

First let me address using BA via Heathrow terminal 5. I had the fortune of not needing to use T5 for the first couple of weeks it was open but the numerous times I have used it since have been a real pleasure, with the whole check in/baggage thing completely painless and very quick.

Flight information in the terminal is readily available in many places and the lounge facilities are excellent and allow you to either relax or squeeze in some last minute work before your flight.

The BA staff are the most professional, courteous, knowledgable cabin crew I have come across (with the exception of Singapore airlines, and Qatar) and frequently exceed my expectations of what I expect from their service.

Compare this with the surly uninterested stressed cabin crew I have experienced with American Airlines, Contintental, Easyjet, BMIbaby, Ryanair, Flybe and many others and I would choose BA every time. They instill a confidence that they would be able to cope with any event in flight (and quite frequently they do!)

The food on the flights is definately a par above many other carriers (I recall a rubbery disgusting omlette thing on a continental flight once that looked and tasted like the plastic container it came in, not to mention the cheese!)

Long haul flights the meals are great, well balanced, and just enough so that you don't feel bloated. There are always drinks, alcoholic and soft available, and you're never made to feel like you're a pain for asking outside of the the regular refreshment slots.

The only thing I would suggest BA sort out is some of the rather tired planes in their fleet. If they had a more modern fleet to compete with the likes of Singapore air I would fly with them 100% of the time for trips to APAC countries. This is more pertinent with their alliance with Quantas and the horror stories I have heard from my colleagues as to the state of their planes and flights.

But £300 for a return flight to NY on a 767 or 777 with fantastic crew, decent in flight food you can't really go wrong.