BA Good Service – Is this a Consistent Change?

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  • FredJord
    Participant

    [Gold exec club member]. Flying from LHR to JFK yesterday on BA183 (last BA flight out of Heathrow to JFK). Booked an economy ticket and was upgraded to WT+ upon check in. Once I got on the flight, a very nice purser personally introduced them self (this usually happens) and asked if there was anything they could do. The good service continued when they started the meal service – I was in the last row to be served, but 1/4 of the way through the purser came to me and asked what I wanted as they would probably have run out. The passengers next to me just shook their heads. It continued when I asked for water and was brought a bottle of water, while the gentleman next to me asked for the same thing and received a glass of water.

    Lastly, and most astonishingly, once the meal service was over the purser came back to my seat and offered to move me to club, as I was the only gold exec member in WT+. Thus a journey that should’ve been in economy at the back of an old 747 ended up on the upper deck in club, largely due to my exec club status, but also due to a fantastic crew.

    Unusual, but for once BA really seemed like a world class airline (hard product excluded, of course).

    Do we think this is mostly a once off, or is BA making actual progress towards improving their service and overall product? I’m interested to hear thoughts and experiences from other passengers.


    rferguson
    Participant

    Hi FredJord glad you had a good flight.

    Taking your meal preference, personal introduction and bottle of water are all things that should happen although this can vary on the day.

    Being moved to Club – i’d definitely say this was a one off. Not to say it will NEVER happen again but it’s generally not something that happens because a customer is the only Gold in the cabin. BA’s Cabin crews remit to upgrade onboard is only to manage certain issues, not because they just ‘want’ to. Although the Captain on the day does have carte blanche (which is handy when we the crew have friends or family travelling with us). An example of when we would upgrade a customer onboard -, a customer seated in WTP has no working IFE and there are no empty seats in that cabin but there is in Club. Some CSD’s will actively seek out a cardholder in WTP, move them to Club and then move the customer with the non-working IFE into the now empty seat in W. Others will just move the affected customer up. Depends on the CSD.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    @rferguson – agreed always good to get positive feedback of a good flight, but one question. How would you deal with the ‘head shakers’ seeing a fellow passenger being consistently treated with a higher level of service in the same class? Clearly moving the passenger to club after the meal service is one thing and probably easier to deal with, but what would you say to a passenger who has heard you offer the passenger first choice of the meal (and with the comment in case there’s no choice) and bringing a bottle of water instead of a glass? Just curious…. especially in a smallish cabin…

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    rferguson
    Participant

    [quote quote=899642] @rferguson – agreed always good to get positive feedback of a good flight, but one question. How would you deal with the ‘head shakers’ seeing a fellow passenger being consistently treated with a higher level of service in the same class? Clearly moving the passenger to club after the meal service is one thing and probably easier to deal with, but what would you say to a passenger who has heard you offer the passenger first choice of the meal (and with the comment in case there’s no choice) and bringing a bottle of water instead of a glass? Just curious…. especially in a smallish cabin…[/quote]

    It’s a good point and something we need to be sensitive about onboard. Considering I would have acknowledged the customers card status with a welcome i’d hope that would give his/her seatmate an idea of the reasoning for the special treatment. We tend to do it in other situations also. For example if we get left a note by a BA staff member that a friend is travelling on a flight we are operating on we’ll pop down with a couple glasses of champagne. Often the same if someone boards and we find out its their birthday/wedding anniversary etc etc.

    In the case of the water bottle, if the non card holder seat mate asked if they could have one too, i’d absolutely give them one. I wouldn’t proactively offer one like the GCH though. Although I would proactively offer one if I was aware it was a travelling companion of the card holder. Personally, in this case (sorry FreJord!) I probably wouldn’t have asked for the meal choice first. Whilst it’s important for us to recognise our frequent flyers, i’d likely prioritise the non upgraded/non card holder customers choice first in the hope that a customer upgraded would understand and have the option of the remaining choice in WTP or one of the WT choices (or perhaps even a left over CW choice depending on how understanding they were). If it wasn’t an upgraded GCH in the last row of WTP I also wouldn’t ask initially for choice of meal. However if the choice situation started to become desperate i’d then discreetly ask them which they’d like me to keep aside or seek a Club alternative.


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    Do we think this is mostly a once off, or is BA making actual progress towards improving their service and overall product? I’m interested to hear thoughts and experiences from other passengers.

    Ah, bless 🙂

    I’ve flown this airline since 1978 and have never experienced a consistent service level! Some crews are really world class, some mediocre and some stink the place up.

    All airlines I’ve flown regularly are, at least to some extent, inconsistent. BA take it to new levels of accomplishment.


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    If it wasn’t an upgraded GCH in the last row of WTP I also wouldn’t ask initially for choice of meal. However if the choice situation started to become desperate i’d then discreetly ask them which they’d like me to keep aside or seek a Club alternative.

    I wish you’d been on my flight earlier this year, then. Bumped from the bulkhead seat in WTP to the very last row due to an aircraft change (these things happen), then the crew ran out of WTP meals by the time they reached my row – it was take a WT meal or lump it. Very premium.

    Then, last month, the silver card holder next to me was offered a glass of champagne from club and a bottle of water and I was completely ignored – fortunately, I don’t worry about things like that, but it is typical of an ineptitude that almost seems designed to make you feel you’re not worth it!

    At the end of the day, BA is a mediocre airline with highly variable service – best to slip the Bose in-ears in, read a book, self cater and ignore the crew (apart from safety related issues) – that way you know exactly what you’re going to get. BTW, why do I keep using BA? They are cheap in T class on the routes I fly and the seat space in WTP works for me – a case of you get what you pay for. Also, I can maintain BAEC gold status and be well down the list to be bumped in the event of over sales or an aircraft change – getting there is important, on business.

    I took two Royal Jordanian sectors last week in business, what a breath of fresh air compared to BA, their crews on both flights tried really hard to deliver a good service (if anything, almost too hard) and the mid-haul seats for 4 and 2.5 hour flights were more than comfortable.


    AJDC
    Participant

    And what of the other passengers who did not receive this special treatment? I wonder what they are saying…


    norbert2008
    Participant

    LGW – Venice. Blue card. I always try and select a seat once check in is opened. My surprise as allocated 1A my prefered seat BUT with 20 in Club I thought it was a nice touch, same happened on my return. The crew were charming and attentive on both sectors. Let’s hope this is the way forward.


    esselle
    Participant

    Economy on OY yesterday evening CDG-HEL.

    Greeted as OWE on arrival onboard, offered complimentary newspaper, offered complimentary drinks throughout the flight.

    Pax in the vicinity looked a bit baffled by it all.

    Compared with BA, where my OWE originates, who offer naff all.


    nevereconomy
    Participant

    Did MAN-LHR-PHL last week, admittedly in F, but both flights excellent, even used my name on the MAN-LHR sector! Good food well presented and great crews on both.
    Scary that 2 people have had this now….


    nevereconomy
    Participant

    Sorry for second post here, but would have to say looking at all the comments on BA this and that and inconsistency you all clearly do not fly regularly on US internal flights. The passenger is the dregs of the earth and treated accordingly in every circumstance.

    Heaven help you if you are on the last flight of the day and it gets cancelled – you can sleep in the airport toilets for all they care.

    Every time I have a flight I book backup car rental as you really do not know if the flight will operate for whatever whim of the carrier. No EC 261 here ……

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    [quote quote=900811]all the comments on BA this and that and inconsistency you all clearly do not fly regularly on US internal flights[/quote]

    I don’t benchmark living in the UK against residing in North Korea, either. I prefer to assess against best of breed.


    handbag
    Participant

    A welcome to Golds is what is supposed to happen and good when it does. Unfortunately that isn’t always the case.

    I always chose to work in WT, this often includes WT+, depending on aircraft config.

    As a senior Crew, I would always try and say “Welcome back on Board” and “Would you like a bottle of water”.

    When there was up to half a dozen Golds, then normally this was not a problem. What I don’t think a lot of Golds are not aware of (and Silvers), is just how many there are of them. Sometimes there can be 15/20 in Economy and as we are already so stretched for staff (some airlines have more than others), welcoming individuals was not always top of the list.

    I do accept that it was supposed to be, but the people that suggest that this must always happen, are not factoring in the following : People being split up, pax not feeling well, half a dozen baby needing their safety equipment, nervous flyers, persons needing assistance, seat cover changes, broken seat, hand baggage issues, crew called from standby, calling back cleaners, missing catering, catering top ups etc.and this is just a few things that happen before take off.

    For me it was always a nice to do, but after I was sure that all the other must do tasks had been completed.


    AJDC
    Participant

    Based on the other thread “Kicked out of our BA seats….for money!” I believe it is safe to say that what you experienced was not a consistent change, but you can hope…


    rferguson
    Participant

    [quote quote=900182]Economy on OY yesterday evening CDG-HEL.

    Greeted as OWE on arrival onboard, offered complimentary newspaper, offered complimentary drinks throughout the flight.

    Pax in the vicinity looked a bit baffled by it all.

    Compared with BA, where my OWE originates, who offer naff all.[/quote]

    So agree with you.

    I know BA did a trial on the LHR-GVA route offering complimentary drinks to Gold/Silvers. But that was about a year ago now and not heard a peep about it since. It really is poor.

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