Another lovely enhancement from BA

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    Edited 14 March 2016

    The inability for some BA customers (some BAEC members) to select emergency exit seats on some shorthaul flights is not a change of policy, but due to IT problems.

    Nonetheless, affected customers are being denied, de facto, a promised benefit.


    Cheeryguy
    Participant

    I’d be interested to know where you gleaned this info.
    Thanks.


    canucklad
    Participant

    If it’s true,the change in policy is utterly predictable.

    BAEC membership must have the highest percentage per ratio, passengers to seats per flight than most airlines.

    Consequently, this would negate the predicted revenue stream this odious extra ancillary charge forecast by the BA bean counters would add to the coffers. As I’ve mentioned before, companies these days expect loyalty and will reward loyalty as long as their loyal customers don’t interfere with profit margins.

    Reminds me of why BMI offered free sandwiches and a drink to Gold customers in Y and then realized just how many gold customers flew EDI to LHR …..result…no more free drink !


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    Cheeryguy – 07/02/2016 08:37 GMT

    A combination of sources, including personal experience (I have a silver card.)


    MrMichael
    Participant

    British Airways out to make a profit……disgraceful. I think all Gold & Silver BAEC members should return their cards and never fly BA again, even if BA are going to where they want to go and where they want to go from. It makes me sick that a company would put profit before the self interests and wallets of its most loyal customers…..capitalism has a lot to answer for. I think I might even sell my IAG shares in protest at this blatant profit making scam.

    ๐Ÿ˜‰


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    canucklad – 07/02/2016 10:20 GMT

    Good theory. To add to that, after they reduced the CE seat pitch from 34″ to 30″, it didn’t take people very long to realise that row 1 and the exit rows were the only seats with more legroom and that probably encouraged quite a lot of people to start booking ET instead, so now BA appears to have stopped that option!


    Cheeryguy
    Participant

    Thank FDOS.
    I’ve not received any coms from BA about this.
    I have a Gold Card and the website still says it’s free for Gold.
    I’ll watch this space…as it were.


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    Cheeryguy – 07/02/2016 10:50 GMT

    Why don’t you try a dummy booking, choose a seat and see what happens?

    Of course, it could be an IT glitch (but I don’t think so.)


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    MrMichael – 07/02/2016 10:45 GMT

    Bit rude not to communicate it, though, don’t you think?

    And the website still says

    Gold

    “free seat selection at the time of booking for everyone in your travel party, whatever cabin you’re travelling in (except on hand baggage only fares). This even includes family or friends on other bookings as long as theyโ€™re travelling in the same cabin and on the same flight”

    Silver

    “free seat selection at the time of booking, whatever cabin you’re travelling in, for everyone travelling with you in the same booking (except on hand baggage only fares and not including exit row seats on long haul flights)”


    rferguson
    Participant

    Will be fuming if the case.

    Just tried a dummy shorthaul booking for late in the year. In both directions the only available seats to preselect as Gold start at the row directly after the exit rows.

    Saying that, nothing has been communicated about it yet. It is unlike BA to instill a change before announcing it. I’ve noticed this kind of thing with short haul bookings in the past as ‘club’ is a flexible cabin so I guess they block out a number of rows that can be ‘flexible’ instead of having to move peoples selected seats later.

    Be good to get an answer.


    canucklad
    Participant

    Morning MrMichael,
    I’ve nothing against companies making profit,profit is desirable as it allows for investment and future growth. Well managed controlled growth should naturally see profit grow on a progressive steady,balanced curve.
    However greed and impatience ,plus a demanding stock market makes for bad bed fellows. The urge to invent ways to screw the customer for more cash becomes an irresistible choice. Done, so that profit growth is achieved not by managing the steady curve,but by stressing it to near breaking point.
    Is BA so badly financially managed they’ll drop into the red by removing this benefit to loyal customers?
    It’s more likely that BA top brass are in continual fear of not delivering more profit than they the year before.
    A short term strategy,that one in the cycle will ultimately end in very predictable failure.


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    rferguson – 07/02/2016 11:06 GMT

    I thought that it may be a case of uncertainty about where the CE/ET boundary was, but I’ve found some cases where seats in front of the EE rows have availability, but the exits are blocked.

    So it’s either a failry embarrassing IT mistake or an unnanoucned policy change.

    Either way, not too impressive.


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    canucklad – 07/02/2016 11:10 GMT

    Of course, BA’s top management needed to do something to recoup the losses caused by the extreme change in oil price ๐Ÿ˜‰


    rferguson
    Participant

    Making J class passengers without FF status pay to select a J class seat on a long haul flight is cheap practise.

    Withdrawing the facility for status holders to select a seat in Y on HBO fares was nasty.

    Not allowing status holders to select an exit row in Y will be a major disappointment if rolled out – what other seats can be deemed ‘desirable’?

    But….will people just quietly moan or will they use their wallets and move?

    I think in the future BA shorthaul will be more and more aligned with the Vueling model.

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