[RichHI1]

Not saved much money but experience of others had stopped me from making mistakes and booking wrong carriers or flights. Some people get irritated by others idiosyncrasies and peccadilloes, I find them funny. You know when you see certain posts who wrote them and can predict who will boil over and reply. Happy days… Off to the gate …

[Bill_Hants]

I agree, RichHI1 – there have been some useful tips and hints for someone like myself who flies fairly infrequently on business and rarely on the same routes.

I think Henkel T has made fair points here and in the past. It is the idiosyncrasies and peccadilloes of the poster at 11:00 and 12:52 that seem to go beyond being funny – and not in the hilarious direction.

[Irons80]

Thanks Bill, sweet of you to feel that way.

[MartynSinclair]

I can honestly say that this Forum has saved me significant amounts of money. I can cope with the occasional toys out of the pram, but the postings from VK and Co re BA have been very useful.

What this Forum lacks is a Virgin Atlantic equivalent of VK.

There are some loyal AA and Swiss followers (as well as some of the Asian carriers) so on the whole it is a very balanced area of discussion and ideas.

[LuganoPirate]

I’ve also saved lots of money from posts here, not to mention upgrades to Gold, companion tickets, Singapore in Business for the family (4 of us) for just €4,500 return with Lufthansa, hotel offers, double or even triple points and the list goes on.

Also many useful tips from experienced travellers that make travel just that bit easier and more comfortable.

[O.C.D.P]

It seems to me that the bottom line is some people think BA are great, and some people (as is their right to do so) think otherwise, unfortunately, some people appear to take this personally one way or another.

I like BA (and no im not VK under another handle) never had an issue with them, im UK based so they are generally the most convenient choice, if you’re not based in the UK then they may not be but as this is a UK based site (correct me if im wrong) then it would be logical for BA to be the most talked about airline, likewise if this were businesstraveller.com.fr then surely AF would be and so on, so why does that fact need to be an ‘agenda’?

So as not to be accused of bias i like and dislike many other airlines – I like SQ, EK, KL and CX for example and would generally avoid QF, AA and US. But beacuase i generally fly and like BA is that a bad thing? Am i a BA stooge? No. Surely the same logic should apply to any other poster with regards to any other airline of perference? And as proved by many recent posters the so called ‘promoters’ and others have often been the source of useful information which in many cases has led to financial savings….i do not see the harm.

In short i like airline x….great…..you like airline y…great….beyond that generating negative profiles of people you have never met and most likely never will is completely pointless and childish! This a forum for business travellers and the sooner it returns to being so the better!

[O.C.D.P]

It seems to me that the bottom line is some people think BA are great, and some people (as is their right to do so) think otherwise, unfortunately, some people appear to take this personally one way or another.

I like BA (and no im not VK under another handle) never had an issue with them, im UK based so they are generally the most convenient choice, if you’re not based in the UK then they may not be but as this is a UK based site (correct me if im wrong) then it would be logical for BA to be the most talked about airline, likewise if this were businesstraveller.com.fr then surely AF would be and so on, so why does that fact need to be an ‘agenda’?

So as not to be accused of bias i like and dislike many other airlines – I like SQ, EK, KL and CX for example and would generally avoid QF, AA and US. But beacuase i generally fly and like BA is that a bad thing? Am i a BA stooge? No. Surely the same logic should apply to any other poster with regards to any other airline of perference? And as proved by many recent posters the so called ‘promoters’ and others have often been the source of useful information which in many cases has led to financial savings….i do not see the harm.

In short i like airline x….great…..you like airline y…great….beyond that generating negative profiles of people you have never met and most likely never will is completely pointless and childish! This a forum for business travellers and the sooner it returns to being so the better!

[RichHI1]

I think there is a bug, posted twice. Made sense the first time.

[SimonRowberry]

I have not entered any debate about the merits of BA in the years I have been posting in here. I don’t generally use them simply because they don’t fit my route requirements and I am a Star Alliance man simply because LH and LX happen to be more convenient for where I live and travel to.

For me, the issue is not at all about pro or anti BA, it’s about trivialising what was a useful Business Travel (as the poster above says) forum. The poster I have an issue with has not, and I stand to be corrected, made many (if indeed any) positive contributions to this Forum. Merely “yoofspeak” trite and inconsequential tosh that now reduces my willingness to contribute myself.

I have made several good friends through this Forum and regularly meet with several. I am also a party to the identity of many who use a handle, and I feel privileged to be given that trust.

The poster I have issue with devalues this Forum. That person may or may not be another poster’s alternative handle. If they are, then that person needs help. If they are not, then fine. That is not really the issue. Irrespective if this, it is clear to many of us that that person’s persona simply does not add up or make sense and is wholly inconsistent with what they claim to be. We have even had a poster who is a Doctor of Clinical Psychology make exactly that point. Whoever they really are is not the issue – the issue is that many of us seriously doubt that they are what they say they are. A subtle but crucial difference that suggests that, if several of us are right, they are actually taking the Mick out of the Forum and out of those of us who post therein.

My view remains that the person is not whom they claim (whether or not they are another poster’s alternative handle) and they make a negative contribution to this Forum. The simple fact that I am spending time having to make that point demonstrates this.

Simon

(edited four times for typos and twice for an addition)

[MartynSinclair]

Simon

I really don’t understand what all the fuss is about. There are two kinds of posters.

1. the poster who provides useful information

2. the poster who provides a load of tosh

The identity of the person behind the post is largely irrelevant. As I keep mentioning , this is cyberspace and we are all grown up enough to judge for ourselves whether the post is genuine.

I think the big issue is that most of you don’t realize exactly how big this Forum is and how many hits it gets. It is extremely widely read and that in itself brings the challenges of establishing the credibility of the posts.

To turn you back on the Forum because there are some peculiar new characters, IMHO devalues the departing individual. The Forum is strong because people in the know post.

Whether you are pro or against BA, whether you feel an old wine bottle values or devalues a forum, whether you think a “glitzy sheila” is really a office worker or a spare handle for someone, does it really matter.

I use the Forum because of the valuable sharing of information that exists. There are some posters I have sparred with is the past and some I will always disagree with – but at the end of the day, I have never seen someone’s question go unanswered or unhelped and it sometimes ends up with posts being removed becasue we all try to help too much.

Remember the post about the Indian Prof who got ripped off in a hotel in London. That was removed when Forum members, myself included, started writing to the hotel to ask them to sort the problem out.

I do notice that some of the regulars are posting less and less which I think is sad. First someone disappeared in January, now several are saying they are no longer posting. FC just came back today for the first time in a while and my sparring partner and wind up man during the 60b seat discussion has now gone on the missing list.

Guys and Girls, lets be patient ans see what changes NF will bring. The Forum needs the posters with the knowledge.

Calling Malta, where are you!!!

[SimonRowberry]

Martyn

Probably for the first time I wholly disagree with you.

Yes, I know that several really helpful posters have gone or are going. Don’t you think there are reasons for that? This is not the place it was in many ways and having someone use it like a cross between Facebook and Twitter really doesn’t help. Saying they were surprised about how many were unemployed in Birmingham? Heaven help us. That’s one reason why old hands are going and I really can’t understand why you are a consistent defender of that poster.

Simon

[MartynSinclair]

5 reasons Simon.

1. BT are aware of this problem, hence NF is being researched and hopefully will be launched very soon

2. It is no secret that these pages are read by a very significant number of people each month

3. If I remove the crap about identfying posters, the bottom line is that there are areas where I have saved thouands of pounds are:

**ex Europe tickets. Only yesterday I found a ticket to BKK on BA for less than 50% in buisness by going ex Europe

** LCY – FLorida via JFK a real gem and the help that the champagne bottle gave me simply by advising me to book via AA website and not the BA website saved me over £2000.

4. Is it a problem about a little bit of facebook and twitter coming into the Forum. I dont see this being a problem and as a lot of people have commented, it does bring a uniqueness to the Forum. We have never met and I know you have invited me to call you. I have a very ill mother that is currently keeping me off work – after the sad event, I hope that we can meet.

5. Like you, I have also met 4 people from the forum who are extremly nice and 1 of the guys helps me out with hotel bookings.

Bottom line SImon, there are people I like and those I ignore. The forum has grown casuing the occasional problem. However, overall, I can filter what I need and there is still plenty of good and useful stuff – certainly more beneficial stuff that non beneficial stuff.

All the best Martyn

[RichHI1]

Martyn, sorry to hear about your Mum, i lost mine last year. You have my best wishes in this difficult time.

[Charles-P]

Martyn

Well said. That mirrors my view of the boards almost exactly. The growth of the number of contributors has attracted some who seem to enjoy annoy others but like you I simply ignore their posts as soon as I see their name and concentrate on the contributions of those whose views I like to read.

I trust your mother’s health improves soon.

[LPPSKrisflyer]

Simon: Thank you for your posts, you’ve added a clarity to my thinking that was proving difficult to put in to words. I totally support what you have said.

[Author]

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