Race to the bottom continues…

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Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

  • Tony-UK
    Participant

    This post relates to the posting “Club world trials” by referguson and BA cuts to in-flight service. There is more information and interesting discussion on Head for Points.

    I have been using BA less in recent years (and more of Emirates) because the BA service/whole package is no longer competitive. I still use BA because of Avios but as the service declines I am getting to the stage where I am not sure I want to use BA. It is all about the brand, and if BA want to compete at the bottom end of the market, it is not an airline for me. Customers paying premium prices expect a premium product…


    SimonS1
    Participant

    [quote quote=705279]This post relates to the posting “Club world trials” by referguson and BA cuts to in-flight service. There is more information and interesting discussion on Head for Points.

    I have been using BA less in recent years (and more of Emirates) because the BA service/whole package is no longer competitive. I still use BA because of Avios but as the service declines I am getting to the stage where I am not sure I want to use BA. It is all about the brand, and if BA want to compete at the bottom end of the market, it is not an airline for me. Customers paying premium prices expect a premium product…

    [/quote]

    For me it’s not about the brand, it’s about the quality of the product and service you get.

    However we are all adult enough to make our own choices, so if BA doesn’t offer what you are looking for it’s time to try someone else.


    Ktfarah
    Participant

    I agree with the title of this forum. BA is definetly racing to the bottom of the pack in terms of service. I travel round trip MIA/LHR/MAD in business class about 10 times a year and I am experiencing first hand their decline. Can’t wait to change to AA when their aircraft on that route is fitted with the new seats. I have over 29,000 tier points and about to reach Life Gold, and the more I travel the more BA ignores me.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    Agree product is deteriorating, however the prices are also going south & the loadings are still high…

    The seat is certainly dated, but remains comfortable and very sleep able…..

    Doesn’t look like many passengers are changing ….


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    [quote quote=705752]Agree product is deteriorating, however the prices are also going south & the loadings are still high…

    The seat is certainly dated, but remains comfortable and very sleep able…..

    Doesn’t look like many passengers are changing ….

    [/quote]

    That’s all well and good whilst the market is strong. There is an old saying that one should ‘fix the roof whislt the sun is shining’.


    SimonS1
    Participant

    [quote quote=705865]

    Agree product is deteriorating, however the prices are also going south & the loadings are still high…

    The seat is certainly dated, but remains comfortable and very sleep able…..

    Doesn’t look like many passengers are changing ….

    That’s all well and good whilst the market is strong. There is an old saying that one should ‘fix the roof whislt the sun is shining’.

    [/quote]

    This I do believe is true.

    If you want to travel cheaply, then the LCCs like Easyjet and Norwegian are generally the choice (even to USA now). If you want luxury then Singapore, the ME3 etc. BA are in the middle ground, mediocrity at the right price, making decent money.

    The difference is in a position of mediocrity there are always areas like food, maintenance etc that can be cut to save money and make you even more mediocre (which is the BA plan). Whereas really this is the time for incremental improvements to ensure position is manintained viz competitors. In other words if you are the 26th ranked airline in the world (according to..cough..Skytrax) then you need to remain there and not drift down to 28 or even 30. Fix the roof while the sun is shining indeed.

    Personally I believe there is a game plan here, within a few years Vueling will become the BA short haul brand with all that entails. After all BA already has all-economy seating and a published plan that all IAG 320/321 aircraft will have the same config. So a lick of paint, start charging £2.40 for a coffee and an ‘ambient snack’ (or whatever today’s silly BA terminology is) and you are home and dry.

    Some wag put on FT that in the race to the bottom BA is on ‘Cruz Control’ but when you think about it it’s probably true…


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    “If you want to travel cheaply, then the LCCs like Easyjet and Norwegian are generally the choice (even to USA now). If you want luxury then Singapore, the ME3 etc. BA are in the middle ground, mediocrity at the right price, making decent money.”

    and

    “There is an old saying that one should ‘fix the roof whislt the sun is shining’.”

    If I want to travel cheaply, I chose without question BA. They fly where I want to go for a generally competitive fare, even if it takes more sectors. You get loads of free flights (this Friday I will be benefiting from my 28th free European club sector for 2016)..

    Clearly the bean counters think they are onto a winning model and quite frankly, if BA take away the choice of a starter or forget to hand out a warm towel on boarding…. it does not bother me in the slightest. Take away avios & my BAEC card… well then, there could be a different tone…

    Remember, Ryan doesn’t have the best of reputations, but as is highlighted on these threads, they remain popular and profitable… but I would touch them with a barge pole….


    SimonS1
    Participant

    [quote quote=707408]If I want to travel cheaply, I chose without question BA. They fly where I want to go for a generally competitive fare, even if it takes more sectors. You get loads of free flights (this Friday I will be benefiting from my 28th free European club sector for 2016)..

    Clearly the bean counters think they are onto a winning model and quite frankly, if BA take away the choice of a starter or forget to hand out a warm towel on boarding…. it does not bother me in the slightest. Take away avios & my BAEC card… well then, there could be a different tone…

    Remember, Ryan doesn’t have the best of reputations, but as is highlighted on these threads, they remain popular and profitable… but I would touch them with a barge pole….

    [/quote]

    Same with Emirates, Martyn.

    They go where I want to go, just going to 4 flights a day ex Gatwick (so no need to trolley round to Heathrow), have a competitive fare, and give me Skywards miles that I can spend on Easyjet flights.

    The difference is I don’t needs to spend time on unnecessary positioning flights around Europe to get a decent fare, and the proposition is light years ahead of what BA has to offer.


    Tom Otley
    Keymaster

    Piece in the Times today

    http://thetimes.co.uk/article/0c7f9a3e-536f-11e6-917c-b7a493d07de7

    “There has been speculation that there have been issues around communication between the top-tier management strands of the company.Elsewhere there has been talk of the new check-in system for BA being too slow, which has frustrated front-line staff who are, in turn, blaming management. Losing the support of the front line of a business in a premium-focused airline is not a good place to be; if passengers have a bad experience and staff do not seem to care, that puts pressure on sales.”

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