[Anonymous]

[Senator]

Dear UK BAEC customers, please don’t shoot the messenger! However, BA has just upped the ante on the ongoing autumn promotion exEUROPE members; quite substantially I may add.

Each CE will now yield 12.000 bonus miles, up from 6.000 miles
Each CW will now yield 40.000 bonus miles, up from 25.000 (I think)

Up to 280.000 for 5 returns in CW
Up to 70.000 for 5 returns in CE

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/bonus-miles-accelerator/execclub/_gf/sv_se

[Bullfrog]

The expression ‘Quantitative Easing’ springs to mind …. ‘issue the miles, increase the revenue & tighten availability’.

Two years ago I found obtaining Business Class & First Class flights on the Air France / KLM frequent flier scheme harder to obtain.

[Senator]

Bullfrog,

Perhaps an indication of booking levels for October through the week before Christmas; especially from the European stations?

[MartynSinclair]

without rubbing it again, new prices for ex Europe to the States:

Intersting though its not available on line and requires a premium rate telephone number which has been blocked (or was previously blocked) from the UK.

• € 0.14 per minute (German landline network).
• The offer is only available to Executive Club members registered in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France who have been invited to participate via this email.
• There must be a minimum of two people travelling together (booked in the same PNR with no deviations possible); up to 9 people can travel together.
• Travel period: 14 October 2011 to 5 January 2012.
• Booking period: 13 October 2011 to 31 October 2011.
• Eligible booking classes are J class in Club Europe and I class in Club World.
• Both fare and mileage are non-refundable and non-changeable.
• Limited availability for this offer.
• Infant discount available: 10% of fare and 10% of miles. No child discount applicable.
• Offer available on BA mainline and BA Cityflyer operated services only, and exclude franchise, codeshare and oneworld services.
• Minimum stay: Saturday night.
• Maximum stay: 3 months.
• Stopovers in London are not included in this offer.
• This offer can only be booked through the Contact Centre at the above mentioned phone number.

[Binman62]

As a self confessed Euro cheat the only thing that is irritating is that I am currently based in the UK for the purposes of the BAEC card. It is also quite understandable that BA are having to do this given the state of the Euro zone economy as well as that at home here in the UK.

Some months ago when commenting on redemption availability I made the point that BA insistence on providing no seats from around July 15th would come back to bite them and at the time predicted a huge sale for the new year. To some extent this has already hapopened in the UK with WT+ to SYD down from £1895 to £1295 in recent days.

The economic mess we are all in is only now taking its toll.. In the UK 2.5 million unemployed now and it will only get worse. The public sector is in crises with the real impact of government policy only now beginning to be felt.

The tour companies are already seeing this and the deals available from the likes of Thomas cook are incredible. Sadly I can’t take advantage due kids in school but even half term offers are outstandingly good value. This must in turn impact on BA who until recently had ignored the UK market and in particular anything out with the M25. That decision, in my mind, will haunt them longer term, and they therefore must continue to focus on Europe and the USA to fill the seats they simply cannot fill ex the UK.
Fare reductions are essential, the elimination of the fuel surcharge would be a start and is long overdue. I have a significant birthday next year and looking at Las Vegas for a 5 night stay. There are deals on suites there stating at $129 in the Venetian and Palazzo but BA want £3500 in club to fly from LHR. AMS is just £1900…LIN/MXP £2094…. go figure where I will start the journey.

There is therefore no need to offer these deals ex Europe. If they did it EX the UK they would do so much better.

BA have only themselves to blame and it is only going to get worse.

[MartynSinclair]

Pity the recession wasnt showing on either Orlando or BKK as these routes appear to be recession free.

With ticket prices to Orlando as high as ever over Xmas, the flights are still full. The parks cost the earth for a family of 4, does make you wonder where the money is coming from if people are so hard up!

BKK flights seem to be going 100%. There were 5 stanby crew left behind, although there was a very nice chappie using the crew seat at the back upstairs.

60B was also being used and as usual not by f/d or relative(s) of. However, the big softie I am, it brought a tear to my eye and made me very proud to be a passenger on that flight. It reminded me of something I did 30 years ago, that I only wish I could do now.

(slight thread drift I know)

I know these are only 2 routes and many more are going empty, but it seems that its the main leisure routes that are the profitable one.

Surely BA could steal some of the seats they are losing to European competitors by reducing some of their prices ex London, which in turn may negate the need to offer such attractive ex Europe fares and offers.

[Senator]

Martyn,

To BKK it must be all of us Northern Europeans trying to get out of the cold, dark winter… I’ve read that more than 150k Scandinavians visit Thailand in Dec/Jan. Despite daily TG from ARN, OSL, and CPH + daily SK from CPH + up to 2x daily from HEL + misc. Charter operators there can’t be enough seats 🙂

Surprisingly, LX and OS still have seats at lower fares on some dates between 20 Dec and 10 Jan.

I on the other hand, have taken your advice and booked 60B in CW on the B747-400 from JFK. Outbound I’ll sample 1A on the new BA First over the New Year break.

[LeTigre]

I find this equally frustrating- my booked flights for the next couple of months would have netted a bonus 100,000 ish miles.

Has any similar deal EVER/recently been run for UK EC customers?

[Binman62]

The BKK route is part of the JSA run to OZ. The OZ economy has been very resilient and the value of the dollar has soared. As a result out bound tourism has exploded and as I found in Bali, people who have never left their home are now leaving the country!!

The domestic Market is suffering a double whammy with little or no inbound traffic and little domestic demand as they are going overseas.
In addition the OZ route has had many strategic cancellations and from next year QF are taking out 700 seats a day with BA only taking up the slack on the HKG run. The net effect is that the JSA route is packed but almost all Australian out bound traffic supplemented by Europeans and VFR traffic not as heavily impacted by exchange rates.

Like others I too wonder where the money is coming from but Orlando for non US travellers remains excellent value overall and for the festive season will always be busy. I am going away this year at christmas and renting a house in the US west coast. I was initially very shocked at some of the prices but found that when presented with a 9 day rental most owners offered some astounding deals and all mentioned the state of the uS economy. Those that did not offer a deal were usually agents!

In my view much of the tourist traffic will have booked some time ago and that is particularly true of Christmas. The real test is what will happen post December when unemployment starts to climb and the bills roll in. It is tragic for those affected, and I have to remind my self often just how fortunate I have been and to able to moan about gold card benefits, lousy first experiences and premium travel generally.

Fact remains this recession will provide opportunities for great flight deals either from the US or EU and hopefully in turn from the UK. What we are seeing in Europe today is probably just the start.

[VintageKrug]

Certainly one of the better mileage offers out there, for those who can take advantage of it.

Here’s a UK offer for you:

http://www.businesstraveller.com/discussion/topic/Triple-Avios-on-BA-AA-for-UK-Executive-Club-Members-until-15-3

Cue personal attack:

[LeTigre]

VK, it is abundantly clear what you are trying to do with such redundant comments, please stop it.

Disclaimer: this is not an insult, purely as a response to clear image massaging.

[SMJREDG9]

I have recently moved to Spain and currently have around 450 tier points. If I change my address today or at least before the 1st March 2012 will I still qualify for Silver membership and in hand the 2 year buffer on tier level? I don’t want to lose the points I currently have even though my membership year only runs to the end of April. Is the change to silver instant?

[Author]

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