[Anonymous]

[stevescoots]

Had one of these 8 months or so and finally gave it away last week. what is the benefit for staff when they get one as this person was lost for words I handed it over and so thankful I started to blush myself.

I gave mine to someone at check-in who was very helpful (18 BA flights since I got it and not had any flight crew worth giving it to)

[SwissExPat]

There was a post from the inside on what the deal is.

I believe it simply goes onto an employees file and that is it.

I’ve given out a few where I felt the recipient did make a significant difference to my journey.

I’d like to think it was a good system that actually rewarded and achieved something… But that was when I was a boy, and much less cynical.!

[Tim2soza]

I know that one lady at Bangalore who got 5 tickets was flown to the UK to head office plus a trip to London all expenses paid. Her ultimate goal was to become cabin crew.

[rferguson]

@ stevescoots. You get a nice letter from your ground based manager that is kelp on your file.

[seasonedtraveller]

I tried to give one to a member of cabin crew earlier this year but, I forgot to write the persons name down.

I tried calling the BA Gold Guest List ‘priority’ line in order to see how this could be achieved but after being on hold for almost 30 mins, I gave up.
I then tried writing to the person who’s name is behind these tickets (again, name now forgotten) but I received a standard ‘cut & paste’ reply about how much my custom is valued etc etc

Sadly, my 2014 & 2015 tickets are still unused…..

[NTarrant]

The only time I felt I wanted to give one out I only had one but I wanted to give one each to the two working the upper deck because they were excellent.

Now I have two and haven’t given either out. It’s disappointing really, there was a time when you could give them out, if the existed, on almost every flight.

[seasonedtraveller]

NTarrant – 09/11/2015 16:38 GMT – It’s disappointing really, there was a time when you could give them out, if the existed, on almost every flight.

Completely agree with you about this.
So many BA cabin crew seem to me to be simply going through the motions these days, as if they’ve had the will to live taken away from them….
The person that I wanted to give the ticket to was working the 1st cabin (this was back in March/April) and completely enthused about his job, very proud of the fact that he had “served with BA” for over 35 years.
It seems to me that some of the, dare I say, some older crew members are somewhat bitter about the way in which BA is evolving – that’s just my opinion of BA crew in the past 2-3 years & may of course be wrong.

[rferguson]

To be honest from the perspective of most of the cabin crew ‘Golden Tickets’ are a bit of a bone of contention – especially for those of us on the ‘legacy fleets’ anyway.

Firstly – there is the question ‘what do I actually get for this’ which in reality is nothing. Some other airlines offer actual rewards. Staff travel credit for instance. It’s of nil cost to the company but something that actually carries value.

But then on the flipside there is the issue of those behind the scenes that don’t deal with customers directly and whom every day may go the extra mile or beyond the call of duty. Yet obviously they wouldn’t be able to receive a golden ticket.

The biggest issue for us on the legacy fleets is this – the overwhelming majority of golden tickets are given to crew working in the First Class cabin. The reasons are pretty obvious – you have a crew to passenger ratio which really allows you to engage with the customer you are serving and do ‘special’ little things. And on the whole, customers enjoy the experience in first and are in a good mood. BUT on the legacy fleet where we choose our positions based on seniority the same crew tend to work in First Class alllll the time. About 60% of the legacy crew are not even trained to work in First Class (training is also done on seniority). At the moment those that have done around 16 years are currently being rostered their courses. SO…if you are constantly working ‘down the back’ how many opportunities for a golden ticket can you in reality expect? Firstly the travel environment is pretty dire and puts most people in a bad mood. Secondly on longhaul flights Gold card holders down there are few and far between.

**These are my personal opinions only**

[seasonedtraveller]

rferguson – 09/11/2015 19:35 GMT – – **These are my personal opinions only**

I understand why you need to put this in quotations but I’m sure many on here feel the same – the contributions / opinions offered by you & other BA crew on this site are extremely valuable to those sitting on the other side of the proverbial fence who do not always see the reality of the situation from an employee perspective. I for one, find this type of insider information of great interest & I thank you.

[NTarrant]

+1 seasoned traveller

[FDOS_UK]

rferguson – 09/11/2015 19:35 GMT

A reasoned critique.

I’d add that recognition from the customer (whilst nice to receive) should not supplant recognition from line management of consistent good performance.

[openfly]

@rferguson. Thanks for the information…excellent.

You have explained a very important point with regard to First Class service.

So, it takes 16 years for legacy crew to work in First. By that time they have learnt a lot about service and the world. They know their job. That is why, generally, a flight in First with legacy crew is of a high quality.
But with the mixed fleet crew one gets the impression that these pleasant youngsters are totally lacking in experience. They don’t seem to be trained in the niceties of the First or Club service. Some of them have only been with BA for a matter of weeks and are working in First or Club. I get the impression that I am treated as an economy passenger who just happens to sit in a bigger seat….nothing special. Of course the newly recruited Cabin Service Managers in the Mixed Fleet also have little knowledge of the BA premium world, so are not in a position to lead or train the youngsters.

Thanks rferguson…..your input is always appreciated.

I have just given my Golden Ticket to a Captain who handled a 3 hour delay on the aircraft out of AMS with professionalism, humour and excellent communication.

[SwissExPat]

I am no longer Gold BAEC (probably will be next year again) but I remember that on the BAEC website once logged in, there was a facility to award a golden ticket electronically (assuming you knew the name of the BA staff member and other details of the flight etc)

Not sure it is still there (as I cannot check)

[openfly]

SwissExPat…..it’s still there.

[Author]

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