[SergeantMajor]

No one is saying there isn’t demand exLGW – the critical issue as so often on this forum – is whether that demand is profitable.

That’s a very complex question, as attributing costs for a shorthaul premium cabin can be challenging – for instance, would BA really close a Galleries lounge at T5 if CE wasn’t sold, but then again should CE’s £200-£500 rtn tickets bear the same proportional cost per use as a £2000+ Club World ticket using the same facility?

Would the decision to fly with BA via London have been made if there wasn’t a premium offering on the shorthaul leg…?

[critical999]

Your reply is not worthy of comment. as I find it insulting but suffice to say however if you are a Ba employee maybe.you can get a discounted rate.

[rferguson]

A bit harsh critical999. You did afterall start this thread asking the question as to why BA bothers offering CE. And you have received a number of replies from various posters as to why it continues to be offered. Perhaps you don’t agree with said reasons or they are not the replies you were hoping to hear?

Anyway, BA has looked time and time again at getting rid of Club Europe. Most recently during the restructuring of LGW. Previous to that after 9/11. It is very simple. If the demand wasn’t there BA would remove the cabin tomorrow. However the market rules and demand IS there.

There is not a single European route I can think of where BA does not have a competitor from the London area – whether it be a ‘full service’ or ‘low cost’ carrier. In fact, it is usually both. And on all the main business routes BA competes with the destination countries ‘flag’ carriers from LHR – Lufthansa, KLM, Air France, SAS, Austrian, LOT, Brussels Airlines, Alitalia, Iberia. And as far as I am aware nearly all of these carriers still offer a ‘glorified economy class’ as well.

Btw the fares I used in my ATH example were fares available publicly via Ba.com.

***These are my personal views only not those of my employer***

[sparkyflier]

Well expressed rferguson.I actually like the product and thinks it is quite decent, except that some of the seats are getting on a bit and are a bit battered.

For comfort/space/service/lounge access etc I think it is a good offering, especially on flights up to 2.5 hours.

Fares wise, these can be crazy at times, but sometimes decent, however last year I was looking at LHR-CPH and compared BA and SAS, and BA was consistently MUCH more reasonable.

[fatbear]

I also agree with rferguson’s well expressed comments.

A lot of people don’t agree with the OP, including me.

Just one example, I recently took my 80 year old mother to Prague in CE on BA, taking advantage to upgrade 70 gbp each way. As she had only previously flow short-haul in economy/LCC she was amazed at the service ie no queues at check-in ( especially a benefit at Prague ), fast track through security, access to the executive lounge, nice meal on-board, friendly cabin crew taking time to have a chat etc. She couldn’t stop talking about it and what great value it was. I now feel sorry for her friends back home who are no doubt probably still hearing about how great it was !

[critical999]

I think that my comments were measured.

You also appear to be deviating from my thread.

The quality and inflight service as previously mentioned in my personal opinion is mediocre, consequently I do not fly club Europe anymore

[fatbear]

Critical999 – You are entitled to your opinion and also to chose not to fly CE.

But in answer to your question as to whether CE should be scrapped and replaced with a one class cabin, most respondents seem to be saying No.

[SergeantMajor]

If you’re on a quick trip, the added room for hand baggage in CE will become an increasingly necessary perk of the cabin, particularly as HBO fares encourage people to bring their belongings on board.

I value the ability not to check bags, but also the certainty that there will be space above my seat to store my chattels, even if I don’t board first.

[Travellator]

SM

More and more people are boarding at the frontstairs ( normal ) dumping their carry ons in the first available overhead ( in CE ) and disappearing down the back !

[AnthonyDunn]

@ Travellator – 16/09/2013 13:26 GMT

Unless, of course, you have the stern countenance of the CSD on one BA flight cited on BT, who removed said items from the CE overhead bins and demanded that the miscreants identify themselves and take their items elsewhere…. I’d have loved to have seen their faces when they realised that they’d been rumbled.

[Shearer]

I love Club Europe. When I get an upgrade for about £50 it’s the best value in the skies.

[ThomasCox]

@NIRscot – Likewise, I love CE and cannot remember the last time I travelled Eurotraveller.

I regularly travel on LHR-FCO / LIN along with other mainline routes out of Heathrow for business and leisure. I used to be a regular on the LGW-TRN and most recently on LGW-BOD last week. Service out of Gatwick has improved with the ‘new’ modular CE seats on the A319’s. For me it’s about space (legroom and elbowroom), champagne (whatever time of day is fine with me), privacy when I work, being first on and first off, and recognition from (most) crews that I’m a long time exec club member paying a premium to travel comfortably up the front (1F being my seat of choice if alone, 1A and 1C if travelling with my wife). I don’t accept that I’m a ‘mug’ for paying CE prices: I believe it represents good value for money. Unfortunately the Ryanairs of this world have led people to believe that strapping yourself to an aluminium fuel tank, travelling at 600mph, 35,000 ft above the ground is the same as getting on a bus. It’s not and having had a commercial airline pilot for a father, I know only too well what a potentially marginal operation it can be! Safety and quality in terms of service are paramount for me, so BA and their CE offering will continue to receive my business.

[critical999]

I would love to see Ba broken up and sold off. Far to big for far too long overpriced uncompetitive monopoly premium rates. I would love to see a company like Qatar Airways buy them them out, and give us an airline that we deserve. They really know how to serve.

No white wash with them

[StephenLondon]

My last few CE flights from London (both LCY and LHR) the crew have been very good at keeping the overhead bins closed above the CE seats during boarding (and keeping an eye for miscreants who tried to heave their bags above, so I think the idea is getting out.

On United once, a crew member hauled a Y pax bag out of the F overhead, asked who owned it and where they were going, and told them to collect it on the belt at their final destination! The owner of the bag was so furious, he asked what her next trick would be – pushing the plane back using just her teeth? Nobody messed with her on that flight, to say the least!

I think you got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, critical999. Uncompetitive monopoly? Do you come to London ever?

[fatbear]

Just looked at Qatar Airways reviews on Skytrax ( as I have never flown them ). On the front page 6 out of 20 reviewers have marked they do not recommend Qatar. Hardly overwhelming evidence of an airline that “really know how to serve”…….

So just whilst critical999 is a BA basher and Qatar is all things wonderful, there are many who do not share this opinion of BA equals bad, Qatar equals good.

[Author]

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