[BlackTower]

My recipe is Always take sandwiches (even in first). Complain loudly about the OJ and cold shoulder the bolshy types.

If you have a BA Amex or visa at least you quickly build up miles in the premium cabins and get companion vouchers. I can’t comment on AA Advantage members taking availability since the JV but you used to be able to get 1st to most places on miles.

[Goldcardsaplenty]

BAdboys:

Last time in T5 I actually asked at First Lounge reception what had happened to the Cloud and I was told it was broken. I spend an enormous amount of time in T5 and will be surprised if I have just happened to miss it working for 15 mins?? Also from where I sit in First Lounge food area I can see it and it hasn’t moved in months.

Anyway on your other topic LCY does not have a real Business Lounge, simply a seating area with minimal refreshments available by the JFK specific gate.

Believe me you are not missing anything.

[VintageKrug]

The Cloud does appear to be broken, or at least switched off; I haven’t seen it in action for months; you would have thought there was some sort of maintenance agreement in place, but if not and it’s a choice between making someone redundant and a static cloud, I think I’ll settle for the latter.

There were some rumours that there was (surprise, surprise) dispute with BAA over who was responsible for maintaining it (electricity, cleaning etc.) though I would have thought it was a BA responsibility myself. So its future is uncertain, and I have read that there are plans to have it removed permanently (it would fetch a pretty penny at auction).

I really enjoyed watching it, but it might be more efficient to replace it with a model of Concorde suspended in that space, as I think BA has a few quite large models which are no longer used.

You can see it in action here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lPy7cwhr_w

LCY may be a “minimal” lounge, but it is not meant as a place where you would spend much time; there is bespoke artwork, you can get champagne, fruit and crisps enough to tide you over before the snack served en route to Shannon.

Here is a pic of the “minimal” lounge and having used it myself I would say it’s more than adequate:

http://www.pgtraveltips.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/London-City-Airport-British-Airways-business-lounge.jpg

No other airline has a dedicated lounge at LCY; there simply isn’t the space (at present) and the concept is very much turn up and go, with the whole departure area having (relatively) comfy seats, free wifi and bars and snack options available for purchase. It’s ridiculous to paint this as BA “not being committed to proper business service”.

[Goldcardsaplenty]

VintageKrug:

I think you may have missed my point.

You are correct in saying the lounge at LCY is adequate – but only for the JFK flight with its short check-in time concept. It is minimal (as your photo shows) and just consists of a few seats around the dedicated gate but it is sufficient for the short time you spend there (it only opens for a short time before departure). It is not designed to ease the pain of a 4 or 5 hour connection.

It is not a lounge that would be of use to any other traveller as it is purpose built for the short-check-in-quick-departure concept of BA001.

LCY is a great little airport with quick check-in and ultra rapid security which negates the need for T5 quality lounges.

The LCY-JFK A318 service is one of the very few innovations from BA that I have enjoyed over the past couple of years and I hope its success continues.

[BAdboys]

I am really sorry if my comments about the lack of a lounge at LCY has upset Vintage Krug!!! Like many others on here I feel that it is waste of time expressing a view only to have an arrogant reply from Vintage Krug. This is the last I shall post on this …… Vintage Krugs personal website.

[Daytripper]

Although LCY has a very short minimum check-in, the traffic on all incoming routes is so unpredictable that only someone very foolish would arrive there with 15 minutes to spare. Therefore, a lounge (for all BA flights) is needed just as much as at any other London airport.

Frequent flying is all about finding precious moments of sanity and tranquillity. LCY offers neither.

[HonestCrew]

Going back to the original post of this thread, the first two hit the nail on the head. Bang on!
Over the last few years the culture of the airline has changed. As an employee it is sad to say that the pressure on departments to meet their drastically cut budgets has led to the customer really feeling it. But, happiness at head office!!!!!…. because the budgets have been met and bonuses paid! Hurrah!
Unfortunately, they do not feel the shame that we, the customer facing staff, feel when serving up some of the crap we have to.
We hope now with a new CEO and the new ‘Head of Customer Experience’ fella from Jumeirah Group, Frank Van der Post, there may be a change of focus away from the blind slashing tactics that have led to the situation with the on board food and often lame product.

As crew, we try to do the best we can, but the tools have been taken away from us. The company’s policy is now “this is the product, give them a comment card if they want to complain”….. great for 20 year old cabin crew member with no experience who are the prefered choice now for employment at BA, but far from great for the customers who would like a solution to the problem and a depressing situation for us crew who like to solve the problem and go above and beyond to make sure you fly with us again.

Everyone is aware of the problems between cabin crew and management at the moment. Putting that to one side, do you, the cutomers, realise the anger felt by your crew at how we feel the airline is being damaged so badly by the cuts made to the product you receive? We are proud to work for BA and seeing it eroding away in front of our eyes is sad.
We know changes had to be made and money saved but there are ways of doing it. Not listening to their customer service staff on the ground and in the air has and will continue to be one of BA’s biggest mistakes.

Please write to BA for every little fault folks because they don’t listen to us.

At the moment all the joy and backslapping ‘job well done’ congratulations are happening at Ivory Towers. Lets reverse this so the customers product is A-1, then see how much money there is left for the self appreciation society lunches and bonuses.

[Senator]

Dear all,

I have perhaps a slightly different view on this. First of all, I always consider myself privileged to be able to travel in premium cabins. I never, despite the price paid for a ticket feel I am “entitled to” something, nor does a status card with airline/hotels make me feel a sense of entitlement. I do however, have expectations related to the end-to-end services delivered by a brand and its overall value proposition. If I am unhappy with the overall customer experience, it is mostly because the provider in question is not living up to the value proposition they have invested in, but failed to deliver upon. “Fool me once, I am the fool. Fool me trice, you’re the fool”. Meaning, if I see constant dilution of the value proposition I simply move my business.

My professional travel life started in the spring of 1999, in my third year out of University. Since 1999, I have travelled at least 100 segments per year; mostly within Western Europe. At most, I’ve had 7-8 intercontinental trips in a year. Over the past 12 years I have seen a major change in the aviation industry driven by many factors including; technology innovation, terrorism, several recessions, the growth of LCCs, the growth of high-speed trains, and perhaps most importantly change in customer expectations. All of these factors (with perhaps many more) have driven airlines to changed business models rapidly.

I don’t envy the management and board of any airline. The political pressure, changing regulations, long investment cycles, vicious economic cycles, legacy cost, legacy employment contracts have made it difficult to run a stable long-term business model. Yes, some carriers like Ryanair have managed to grow and make money. However, Ryanair has never been asked to serve un-profitable local routes. On the contrary they have been handed cash by local authorities to create new routes. As an example, the City Council of Nyköping (owner of the Skavsta Airport) also known as “Stockholm” in Ryanair language gave Ryanair 50m SEK to establish a hub.

From my point of view, as long as we expect fares to be deflationary (as they have been) something has got to give; service levels, salaries etc.

It is not all dire news in my reflexion. On the positive side:
The long-haul hard products have improved immensely with vastly improved seats and entertainment systems
Technology allows us to be knowledgeable about our choices as well as self-provisioning customers with our chosen carriers
The lounge experience has improved
“Free market” has improved selection and prices across many routes
Fares have dropped in general

On the downside:
With declining yield, comes a push for higher cabin factors. This means we have sit at “sardines in a tin” at times
The pricing model has moved from all inclusive to “pay-for-use-model” disappointing some customers
Uncertainty and pressure have made staff more edgy
Due to terrorism, the airport experience has deteriorated

In the last year, and in the upcoming year I will travel mostly in/out of ARN, LHR, OSL, and ZRH. I use BA and LX mostly, with occasional segments on LH and SK. For the average fare that I pay in Club/Business of £400 per ticket, I feel I get excellent value for money from both carriers. The BA T5 experience with the Galleries lounges is excellent. I enjoy the Zurich experience with LX as well. I never have any issues with on-board service, food, or any of the staff. Perhaps it is due to my approach to them? So when I read all of the complaints about BA, I wonder if either a) I have too low expectations, or b) haven’t travelled long enough to see the real deteriorations of BA?

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

“Erm…how much money has the Air Malta bailout cost…? €52 million last year. And it’s not out of the woods yet.”

No, that was a projection and it will not be as much as that. A big transformation programme is currently underway.

To put it into context, Ryanair allegedly receives 40€ per passenger in local subsidies, that does not help Air Malta very much.

Air Malta does not have the luxury of being the prime slot holder at one of the busiest hubs in the world, life is a constant fight.

“Disgusted – I recall that you are a resident of Malta so in the end you have paid in your taxes to prop up Air Malta. Not exactly a level playing field when an airline or any other mode can get a free bail out from the government.”

Given that Air Malta is the lifeblood of our country, I would much rather see it supported than an opportunistic company which does not provide the same socially important function (e.g. taking sick people and kids to London or other medical centres of excellence), often providing last minute emergency reaction.

“At least BA has received not a penny in government aid. Your disgusted, so am I that you can bang on about Air Malta when of course it can give a better service than BA it can loose millions to do so!”

What about the £1.06 Billion written off by HMG – yes, BILLION, for the Concorde fleet?

http://www.parliament.uk/briefingpapers/commons/lib/research/briefings/snbt-02764.pdf

Perhaps you ought to get your facts right, before you get on your high horse.

And while you are at it, have a look at the Alitalia CAI deal.

Air Malta provides a good service because it has to, to differentiate against a myriad of competition.

[NTarrant]

Disgusted, I am sorry you appear to be living up to your name. Whether it is a prediction or not the fact is it is having a bail out at a time when the likes of BA have stood on their own. If they had gone belly up they would not have the luxury of a bail out from the government unlike Air Malta

As to Concorde, I am sure that VK will have the true story but I understood that the write off would have happened whenever it finished because it was an aircraft that the governement developed when BOAC and then BA was a nationalised industry.

Air Malta is not alone in providing last minute medical assistance. I know that both BA and Flybe to LGW and Flybe to SOU provide simular activites for the Channel Islands to the UK mainland. Why should a lean and private Air Malta not provide the same.

[CallMeIshmael]

Disgusted, please bear in mind there are possibly people who regularly post on this forum who are ex-BA management and retain strong ties as they now comment on or write about the travel industry.

These ex-BA posters continue to be invited to inner circle BA events, receive privileged attention and are fed inside information so appear knowledgable to the press and of course we benefit here from their valuable insights.

However, having a vested interest, in excess of being a shareholder, their support for BA is not from an impartial, rational, typical business traveller standpoint.

I wonder if someone like Jamie Bowden, former BA manager and spokesperson, now PR and broadcater, posted on this forum would he use his real name or a nom de plume?

[NTarrant]

Sorry, what point are you trying to make?

[JohnPhelanAustralia]

Ishmael, who are they? Though I notice in your opening line, you say “perhaps” such people are here. Does this mean you don’t actually know?

You then go on to note that these people (ex-BA management) get invited to events and get information. So on one hand, you don’t know if these people are actually here, then you go on to tell us in detail what they do. So how do you know this?

If you’re going to make an allegation, please have the fortitude to provide something more than “perhaps”.

[CallMeIshmael]

Phelan – If the poster does not wish to share their true identity who am I to out them? Julian Assange?
I respect erudite contributers regardless of their leaning. As to those scarce few whose total contributions lack any modicum of forum originality and whose rhetoric is limited to witless gainsaying, I limit interactions with the irritant.

[JohnPhelanAustralia]

In other words, you don’t know, you’re just guessing and trying to smear people with broad-ranging slurs. Just as I thought.

And please do not refer to people by just their surname; it shows a lack of manners and a lack of respect. First names are fine, or put “Mr” etc before the surname.

[Author]

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