BA meal service in CW

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Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 42 total)

  • seasonedtraveller
    Participant

    [quote quote=820816]Will you all please just use another carrier for your flying needs since BA will never satisfy you, then I don’t have to look at this every day. I use BA frequently and have realized they are not perfect and accept that, as they get me safely where I want to
    go at a reasonable price.

    [/quote]

    No.
    I will go with which ever carrier the company chooses.
    If you dont like reading negatives about BA, I suggest you stop reading.


    icenspice
    Participant

    I have seen a kosher meal being served all on one tray, and that was in First. I have no idea but maybe that is how it is done on BA with pax with dietary requirements?


    SimonS1
    Participant

    Always nice to see the knicker elastic come under pressure.

    Occasionally there will be a self combustion and someone will head off to join our former friends VK and Intheair.

    Each to their own. JonathanCohen makes good points here but no one is forced to read the forum.


    seasonedtraveller
    Participant

    @jonathancohen09.

    You make a fair point however its worth remembering that some of us are not always in control of the carrier chosen for a specific route. In my case, more often than not, flights are booked for me and i dont have much say in the matter.

    Not all of us are Captains of Industry 😉


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    [quote quote=820826]TominScotland, you also make a very good point. Clearly there are still many people who like BA And are satisfied with the service they are getting who will naturally continue to fly BA and then there are others who despite the poor experiences that they have had will continue to fly BA come what may which is why BA and it’s parent IAG will continue to do well as there is no incentive for them to change anything that they have done or are doing as they still make great profits.

    I am as sure as I can be that if suddenly hundreds of thousands of passengers stopped flying with BA and wrote to the airline to tell them that they will not fly with them anymore until some changes are made to improve what is on offer and that had a negative effect on the bottom line then things might start to change but I am also as sure as I can be that this will not happen and so we will have the same discussions on this forum for the foreseeable future!

    [/quote]

    With the greatest of respect, I think some of the views are rather naive and discount a really important factor which is corporate contracts, the only type of buyer that has any significant direct influence on a large airline.

    Many people have no choice over whom they travel with (I doubt many United pax are delighted with that choice) and the corporation doesn’t care too much about whether dinner comes on a single tray or in multiple services, so long as the contract rate is competitive and the employees manage to get some R&R on board.

    A lot of the complaints on here (and not just here, by the way) are from corporate travellers (e.g. seasoned traveller) who receive shoddy or inconsistent service and feel powerless to do anything about it.

    Personally, I think BA is a poor airline (mediocre and inconsistent), but am happy to take advantage of descending prices (in real terms) for a WTP seat to the Middle East, as I work on fixed price contracts and the airfare impacts the profitability – I regard BA as a loco airline, not a premium and set my expectations accordingly – no way would I waste my money on their business class and first is a sick joke, compared to proper first classes, such as Lufthansa or Air France.

    Despite the bullish current profits, a little bit of analysis will suggest that all is not well in the kingdom and there will be a price to pay in the future – but I’m not VK and I don’t care if BA does well financially, even if they go bust replacements will arrive in a nano second, so I’ll just accept the ever lowering prices and fly them whilst it suits – but if Emirates introduce premium economy, I’ll be off like a shot, as I recognise IAG/BA for what it is, a large corporation to be used only when it suits.


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    I enjoy reading all the negative comments about BA, even though it saddens me a I remember what a truly great airline it used to be. There was a time I would have gladly spent extra to fly with them. Alas no more.

    These comments just make me glad I no longer have to fly them, other than in extremis. Swiss, Lufthansa and Emirates all have low fares as well yet manage to keep service levels consistently high. Why can’t BA?


    capetonianm
    Participant

    It’s rather naive of some people to complain that there are ‘negative’ views of BA expressed on this forum and elsewhere, when one of the UK’s leading national newspapers has recently published a scathing summary of what is ayling (spelling intentional!) BA over many years and is getting worse. Ayling started the rot, and Cruz has taken it to depths that Ayling probably never envisaged.

    Quite what is so wrong with constructive criticism that it upsets people is beyond me. As stated, nobody has to read this (or any other) medium, but perhaps those who defend BA should take a step back and look at it from a different perspective.

    I sometimes travel BA and in economy class, which I use for the occasional short haul if there is no convenient alternative, I buy the cheapest ticket and expect a service which is inferior to easyJet. On that basis my expectation is usually met, but they get me there safely and on time.

    As I travel between the UK and CPT frequently, and BA is the only carrier offering nonstop service throughout the year, I sometimes us them for convenience and recently have used PE and Club World. PE is far better value but for my next trip, I am using BA Club because my OH booked on the same flight, we rarely fly together as we have differing tastes in airline, and I got a ticket for about the same as PE would normally have cost. On that basis, I feel I will have little to complain about if my IFE on the 27 year old aircraft doesn’t work (I don’t normally use it anyway), if the food is third rate (food on an 11 hour overnight flight does not matter to me as I normally have a good feed before boarding and a decent brunch when I get home), and if I can stretch out and relax in a bit more comfort than in ‘Y’, I’ll feel I’ve got what I paid for.

    Under normal circumstances I won’t use BA but I am fortunate that, unlike some others, I am 100% in control of my travel arrangements and budget so if I choose BA, can only blame myself. Normally, I use KLM, Swiss, or Lufthansa and happily pay a higher fare for a vastly better product.


    rferguson
    Participant

    Hey folks,

    As cheeryguy already said BA has adapted the meal service during the Mixed Fleet IA as many routes are operating with a reduced crew complement. Although BA is very much touting a ‘everything is running smoothly’ mantra the reality is different. Yes, thanks to chartered in QR jets the majority of the flights are getting away. But I imagine already low passenger satisfaction is plummeting further with the reduced service offered onboard.

    In terms of chop sticks/spicy sauce being on the tray I believe this is just logistics. I guess they weigh up the cost of the chop sticks and spicy sauce on a production line kind of thing versus the cost of setting up various different standard trays.


    seasonedtraveller
    Participant

    FDOS wrote this;
    Many people have no choice over whom they travel with (I doubt many United pax are delighted with that choice).
    A lot of the complaints on here (and not just here, by the way) are from corporate travellers (e.g. seasoned traveller) who receive shoddy or inconsistent service and feel powerless to do anything about it.

    As usual, FDOS is spot on in his comments.
    Put as briefly as possible, I am often amazed at the arrogance & assumptions made on this forum about people of who’s travel circumstances, nothing is known.
    Assumptions that we all have a choice etc – Actually, no, we don’t and, neither are we all CEO’s or MD’s or even Senior Team level.
    Allow me to elaborate.

    I have a ‘fix it’ role within a Global organization, I have the word ‘Global’ in my title, the reality is though that I am simply a Middle Manager who’s current role involves travel to Asia each month & prior to that for 3 years, North America on a 10-12 day turnaround – I commute from the UK (by choice. I did not want to live in the US & I don’t want to move to Beijing or Singapore for 3 years now). I have travelled for business purposes since 1989.

    My local airport is LBA, a drive of 20 mins or so (the alternative, MAN can take 2 hours via the dreaded M62) if I want to travel to Seoul for example, & return from BKK (as I just did) then BA is the natural & most logical choice as defined by our travel management system.
    I have an annual travel budget to adhere to.

    We use a TMS for all flight/car/rail/hotel reservations and are not allowed to simply book ourselves on any flight we like – any & all anomalies are reported back to our onsite travel office – If for example, you choose to book a hotel above standard budget, an explanation is required in writing – we can’t even have our local offices book hotels for us at their lower corporate rate. It might sound stupid to some but, that’s just the way it is.

    IF for some reason, I wish to take the only other option from LBA – KLM via AMS instead, it’s a long drawn out process and, when you look at it, the timings of the BA connections make it a tough argument to choose KLM.
    The KLM flight to AMS departs LBA at 0600 – have to leave home at 0415 – the KLM flight is often cancelled or delayed due to weather – LBA suffers from fog and strong X winds.
    The BA flight to LHR departs at 0930 – I can leave the house at 0745 – have a short break in the Concorde room & be on my way to Korea.

    So, having now explained, please stop telling me that we all have a choice – thanks.
    ST


    openfly
    Participant

    @seasonedtraveller.
    You seem to be comparing the KLM product with BA.
    You say that you use the Concorde Room at LHR, so you must be travelling First Class on BA. But as KLM do not offer First Class anymore, you must be in J with them.
    Not sure what you are comparing….!


    seasonedtraveller
    Participant

    [quote quote=820879] @seasonedtraveller.
    You seem to be comparing the KLM product with BA.
    You say that you use the Concorde Room at LHR, so you must be travelling First Class on BA. But as KLM do not offer First Class anymore, you must be in J with them.
    Not sure what you are comparing….!

    [/quote]

    @ Openfly – another assumption.

    1 – I am not comparing anything other than the flight times out of Leeds with the 2 only choices (BA/KLM) for onward connections to long haul destinations. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.

    2 – I get access to the Concorde room because I achieve 5,00 tier points per year with BA


    icenspice
    Participant

    What is a Bimbap?


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    [quote quote=820883]What is a Bimbap?

    [/quote]

    Korean recipe for rice mixed with veg, meat etc.


    EU_Flyer
    Participant

    Perhaps a problem is that BA haven’t communicated to passengers, either before the flight or on board, why there have been these slight changes to service delivery during the strike period?

    Oh, and I love this Forum and all the opinions shared therein. Especially the ones I disagree with. So please, no censureship of views expressed respectfully. 😉


    Mikeact
    Participant

    Sorry, but I didn’t notice this thread when I posted mine under Food and Drink.

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