[nevereconomy]

FDOS – while I appreciate your frustrations, it might be time for you to show BA your disapproval by using other carriers for your travel. Today’s BA is what it is
– just on the topside of cheap and cheerful. I have come to terms with that and enjoy a good flight when I have it and do not lose sleep over the less than good ones.
They have decided to follow a certain path which we may not like, but it apparently suits them and a lot of travelers – more and more I see reviews that say the
experience was fine for the price. If a better (in my mind) carrier offers a comparable price for the same route, that is who I use.

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DavidArnold

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=900949]FDOS – while I appreciate your frustrations, it might be time for you show BA your disapproval by using other carriers for your travel. Todays BA is what it is

– just on the topside of cheap and cheerful. I have come to terms with that and enjoy a good flight when I have it and do not lose sleep over the less than good ones.

They have decided to follow a certain path which we may not like, but it apparently suits them and a lot of travelers – more and more I see reviews that say the

experience was fine for the price. If a better (in my mind) carrier offers a comparable price for the same route, that is who I use.[/quote]

I’ll book with whatever carrier I choose, thank you.

[rferguson]

A huge factor is what people like about different airlines. There’s the hard product stuff – lounges, seats, IFE etc. And the ‘soft’ product. The service, crew etc.

Over the past year i’ve flown in J (longhaul) with QR, MH, BA, CX, AA, QF, RJ, AY, TK. And for me, I can say hand on heart that if all those airlines flew the same route for the same price my choice would be – AA. And when I tell this to my friends (especially american ones) they are like whaaaaaat??!! And I guess a lot of that comes down to inconsistency in hard product (they would only be my first choice on an aircraft with their new J seats) and in the service (i’ve heard some horror stories). But, based on the four sectors I flew with them in J, I found them faultless. Great cabins, great food, great punctuality, great lounges (well I cheated slightly, used CX F lounge at LHR but their own Flagship lounges in JFK/LAX put many other airlines flagship lounges to shame), great wifi, IFE and superb service from slightly quirky crew that know how to have a laugh and be themselves. After AA i’d then rank in order CX, QR, QF, BA, MH, TK, AY, RJ. Someone else flying the same airlines could rank in the total reverse order depending on their experiences.

IMHO where BA/QF (and i’m sure AA) fall down is the degree of inconsistency. They can be AMAZING flights or terrible from one day to the next. I think CX and QR win in the consistency stakes.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=901073]IMHO where BA/QF (and i’m sure AA) fall down is the degree of inconsistency. They can be AMAZING flights or terrible from one day to the next. I think CX and QR win in the consistency stakes.[/quote]

I’d agree with your conclusion – I took several QF flights over the last 2 years and the variation was as you described. I’d add Emirates as a candidate for high levels of consistent service (though I’m not a big fan, in other ways). The master of consistency in my flying is Ryanair, who promise little and deliver! This is not sarcastic, they need to operate consistently/efficiently to make a profit, given their business model – however, not a favourite of mine.

Also, experience suggests that comparing domestic flights (e.g. AA) with international is problematic, because of the gulf in product and service levels.

[capetonianm]

I have just ‘phoned BA to change a flight ex CPT for my wife.

The change couldn’t be made on their pathetic website, so I called the USA number, and ended up talking to someone in NCL, who was

– helpful
– pleasant
– knowledgeable
– polite
– professional

I don’t want to mention the gentleman’s name as he might get fired for going outside company policy!

I was armed with my own calculation of the fare difference which matched his very closely.

I don’t know if this was a one-off or if it is indicative of a change in BA’s attitude, hopefully the latter.

[Daytripper]

Whatever BA’s problems might be, courtesy and professionalism from their call centre staff isn’t one of them.

I’ve called BA countless times and never experienced any problems, unlike some other dreadful organisations. BT and Vodafone please stand up.

[capetonianm]

That’s probably a fair comment. However I have found the Indian call centre people, although unfailingly polite and gracious, to be robotic to the point of infuriating as they are not empowered to make decisions. I always try not to be unpleasant to them because it is a horrible and badly paid job, and because I genuinely like Indian people, but it is hard work sometimes.

As for professionalism, and this is a general comment, I have found a lot of them to be inadequately trained, and I accept that is not their fault, it’s management to blame.

[IanFromHKG]

[quote quote=899970]And what of the other passengers who did not receive this special treatment? I wonder what they are saying…[/quote]

As top-tier FFs travelling on CX or KA, the Memsahib (OWE) and I (my status is with CX) are nearly always given the emerald greeting and if we are in economy are also given a bottle of water .

We are also usually given first choice of meals (but this isn’t always the case).

I often take advantage of the end of the emerald greeting which is “please let me know if there is anything I can do for you” and ask for a drink to be served immediately after take-off.

None of my fellow passengers has so much as batted an eyelid at the special treatment.

As rferguson says, it is probably because of the greeting (although interestingly the crew don’t usually explain why they are picking people out for the greeting, it is just “Good morning/afternoon/evening, Mr IanFromHKG, it’s a pleasure to have you with us again… etc”

[rferguson]

[quote quote=913121]

AJDC wrote:

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

As top-tier FFs travelling on CX or KA, the Memsahib (OWE) and I (my status is with CX) are nearly always given the emerald greeting and if we are in economy are also given a bottle of water . We are also usually given first choice of meals (but this isn’t always the case). I often take advantage of the end of the emerald greeting which is “please let me know if there is anything I can do for you” and ask for a drink to be served immediately after take-off. None of my fellow passengers has so much as batted an eyelid at the special treatment. As rferguson says, it is probably because of the greeting (although interestingly the crew don’t usually explain why they are picking people out for the greeting, it is just “Good morning/afternoon/evening, Mr IanFromHKG, it’s a pleasure to have you with us again… etc”[/quote]

Agree, CX is absolutely consistent with the OWE greeting.

I think a lot of this has to do with the workload of the Senior Crew member.

At CX they do not form any part of the inflight service and their job is literally to go around give the greeting and oversees the service.

At many airlines (BA included) the SCCM is now part of the inflight service so their time resources are more limited.

In general I notice they give a greeting to all F customers still and then depending on the number of cardholder in J the top tier Golds also.

Most will also highlight the Golds sat in WT/WTP to the crew working in those areas and ask they are recognised although in fairness this often does not happen.

[openfly]

So rferguson is highlighting the inconsistency of the BA service.

[handbag]

[quote quote=913141]So rferguson is highlighting the inconsistency of the BA service.[/quote]

It is inconsistent and is unlikely to ever be consistent going forward.

Totally agree with all Rferguson said. BA senior Crew are part of the service and as such, do not always have the time to do the Greetings they would have done, when not part of the service. A greeting to all in first is the only consistent one.

The others get done time permitting.

I usually always chose to work in World Traveller and tried most flights to acknowledge Golds, but sometimes the work load didn’t allow for this pre take off and by the time you did, it felt too little too late.

[Montysaurus]

BA now back to normal service. Tried to book a Rewards flight and the website just froze. I have tried several times without success.

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