[capetonianm]

I accept fully everything you say about BA in terms of the soft offerings, but I’m not interested in Avios, food on flights, services or lounges, and overall I feel that easyJet is an operation that values and looks after me.

Their a/c are often cleaner and newer, the cabin and flight deck crews are cheerier and more welcoming.

Also they tend to serve the routes that I use to a greater degree than BA.

if anything it’s possibly more of a personal preference than based on hard facts.

[FaroFlyer]

[quote quote=919457]Apart from the prospect of “dirty” aircraft, on routes where BA and EasyJet go head to head, and for Silvers and Golds, BA wins every time. On most routes BA offers a lounge, with food, alcohol tea/coffee…all complementary… EasyJet doesn’t. BA flights earn Avios….EasyJet has no incentive program. When you have a healthy stock of Avios, food purchase in economy is “free”. BA offers a premium cabin….not on EasyJet. BA fares can be reduced considerably by using Avios…nothing similar on EasyJet. Even if BA fares are slightly higher …EasyJet loses my business.

I really like EasyJet, but they have a long way to go to pass BA with their offerings.[/quote]

I hesitate to say this, but I prefer Ryanair to easyJet, for one simple reason. With Ryanair you can frequently buy fast track security. I have Priority Pass, as well as a BA gold card so lounges are covered. If it is a choice between LLCs and or BA I simply compare the LCC fare including Fast Track, priority boarding and “guaranteed” cabin baggage, and go with the best deal. I also mentally factor in how I would be treated in the event of a problem leading to flight cancellation. I am confident that BA will look after me, but not so sure about the LCCs.

[Cedric_Statherby]

Like I suspect most readers of this thread, I am surprised that BA are so obviously prioritising having their planes ready quickly over having them properly cleaned for the new set of passengers.

But we should realise that we on this forum are atypical of their average customers. I am sure they have done their research, and I am sure it shows that time-keeping ranks as more important to the average flyer than cleanliness.

That I personally find this (a) odd and (b) sad won’t cut much ice with BA management alas when the numbers are on their side.

[IanFromHKG]

[quote quote=919324]Union advice – It is absolutely imperative that crew DO NOT do any cleaning of seat pockets, crossing seatbelts etc[/quote]

TBH I am astonished no-one has commented on this part of the original post.

Now don’t get me wrong. I understand the arguments for demarcation. I understand that crew should not feel forced to do jobs that fall outside their job description. To say, however, that it is “absolutely imperative” that crew do not go above-and-beyond smacks of the sort of appalling trade-unionism that Maggie tried so hard to eliminate.

For what it’s worth I will add here that I regularly (meaning pretty much every working day) work well beyond my contracted hours, with no overtime. I do things that technically some of my colleagues should do. I do this because I take pride in my work and how it is presented to the people who pay for it, and how they view me and my employer as a result (including the likely effect on their future spend). I’m not stupid, I delegate where I can, I take advantage of the facilities that my employer provides to me, and I have very low tolerance levels for those who don’t pull their weight. I also accept that I am paid a lot more than BA cabin crew. However, if someone purporting to represent my interests told me it was “absolutely imperative” that I didn’t go over and above, I would tell him or her to **** off.

PS I find crossing of seatbelts really annoying. Am I alone??

[JJ]

Ian – I would hope the crews will have some professional Pride and deal with anything unacceptable and ignore the unions advice.

[canucklad]

[quote quote=920152]TBH I am astonished no-one has commented on this part of the original post.[/quote]

As a reasonably frequent user of Ryanair and EasyJet it’s safe to say that their aircraft are , to use Scottish vernacular ..…”Minging”

And in some instances , it’s disgusting what you find !1
Cabin Crew don’t have the time nor the equipment to hygienically clean an aircraft in 20 minutes

BA management are successfully employing the tried and tested method of applying cuts one by one. Once the pain becomes just an irritating ache , it’s time to get the old knife out and cut something else.

If they had collectively slashed these cuts, quite possibly loyal passengers would have jumped ship. Much clever to train your customer base and employees to tolerate a worsening service through slow torture rather than seal club them into submission

The one guarantee is, they won’t cut prices !!

[RHMAngel]

Yup, I assumed like many on short haul, invasive cleaning only took place every so often like a layover rather than back 2 back during day flights…

The fast food analogy is right, when cabin crew ask in hope trash is given to them while they do the last run up the aisle – passengers help out.

OCD or not I take pocket size disinfectant hand wipes and generally clean my tray.

Long haul both in summer and this winter across business, Premium and economy – cabins were generally clean including all pockets. I’m guessing due to the longer to turn around.

Sadly my favourite long haul Virgin has cut down its non-US routes but I never found pockets dirty. Singapore A spotless.

Now United the one and only time, I found urrrghhhh

Not going to bother with low cost airlines because their models themselves are “caveat emptor” no one in their right minds expects spotless cleaning on low margin low cost models. Which is why I get upset at this “race to the bottom” by global carriers BA you should know better…

[Cedric_Statherby]

[quote quote=920260]Which is why I get upset at this “race to the bottom”[/quote]

This is the problem in a nutshell. I know of no other industry where the headline price dominates the consumer choice so completely and the concept of value for money and paying a bit more to get a better service is so weak.

Obviously the premium cabins in the legacy airlines are sold to people who are prepared to pay more to get more, but they are a very small minority of all airline seats sold. The vast majority of seats are sold via price comparison sites and headline price is the only thing that seems to matter.

Why the airlines have got trapped in this business model I don’t know. Other industries have avoided it and still offer a range of qualities at a range of prices. But airlines seem fixated by who can offer the lowest cost ticket not the best value package.

[MartynSinclair]

[quote quote=920284]I know of no other industry where the headline price dominates the consumer choice so completely and the concept of value for money and paying a bit more to get a better service is so weak.[/quote]

Try Travel Insurance Cedric.. headline price dominates with no interest in benefits, for the majority…

[Cedric_Statherby]

Good point Martyn. Same clientele …

[capetonianm]

Obviously the premium cabins in the legacy airlines are sold to people who are prepared to pay more to get more, but they are a very small minority of all airline seats sold.

They produce a very large majority of the revenue.

As can be seen, most consumers of most products and services are price sensitive even where cheapest is often poorest value. I always laugh when I walk away from anyone telling me ‘we are the cheapest in town.’

[Sanran]

[quote quote=920207]Ian – I would hope the crews will have some professional Pride and deal with anything unacceptable and ignore the unions advice.[/quote]

JJ, it is not a matter of pride in such case IMHO. Union’s advice is correct if it means “don’t do the job of someone else who was asked not to do it only for savings”.
I understand cabin crew does this job if, because of X reasons, cleaning team isn’t there. But in this case I support the union’s point of view, which is quite rare…

[jsn55]

Good lord, BA must be insane. No, it’s the customers who are insane to book on BA. I have a flight from Heathrow to Hamburg in May … I’ll run a little inspection. Or … maybe I won’t.

[IanFromHKG]

It all still seems extraordinary to me. It is one of those times I am thankful for living in Asia, where international airlines either operate single-class aircraft or have proper business class cabins even on shorthaul routes, where planes and terminals are clean, where people paying for premium service set higher expectations for airlines to adhere to… I could go on. It is no surprise to me that when talking about the world’s best airlines, very few if any European airlines are mentioned. On another thread, AA, QF and NZ each managed to snag a recommendation, the Gulfies got a few, and all the rest (accounting for the vast bulk of recommendations) were from Asia.

Sometimes I can hardly believe I am planning to retire to the UK!

[RHMAngel]

Surprise…. anyone see this ? And no surprise, BA and in fact no UK airline is in the top 30 for CLEANINESS.

Unsurprisingly the Far East carriers come out top, and Japanese airlines being serviced by the same mentality and attention to care that is evident in keeping the whole of Japan clean… I am of course perplexed, how these airlines remain top, when they land and clearly get serviced at UK airports – does this allude to the fact BA cuts corners in the cleaning contracts ? Asking from a position of ignorance, why a foreign airline landing at say Heathrow is cleaned well for ANA, but shoddily if not at all for BA…

“Here’s the full list of winners, if you fancy a cleaner flight”:

1. ANA All Nippon Airways

2. EVA Air

3. Asiana Airlines

4. Singapore Airlines

5. Japan Airlines

6. Cathay Pacific Airways

7. Qatar Airways

8. Swiss International Air Lines

9. Hainan Airlines

10. Lufthansa

11. Korean Air

12. Cathay Dragon

13 Austrian Airlines

14. China Airlines

15. Thai Airways

16. Garuda Indonesia

17. China Southern Airlines

18. Bangkok Airways

19. Emirates

20. Air New Zealand

21. Etihad Airways

22. Qantas Airways

23. Hong Kong Airlines

24. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

25. Finnair

26. Oman Air

27. Virgin Australia

28. Air France

29. Turkish Airlines

30. Philippine Airlines

The reading makes me sad, other than I’m grateful to sometimes fly the Far East airlines… and rate Singapore Airlines always clean (on my travels at least)

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/these-are-the-worlds-cleanest-airlines_uk_5c920f80e4b0f7ed945de193?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYW9sLmNvLnVrLz9yPXd3dy5hb2wuY29t&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKtPmstH2suiX5Em24mcIk9QX9tHk-SqK0GzxXy08PaqmMLu6v1C1VmH0-DcuzJoso6pqgWDvdKZitJnMcI6i28YhlO5G11k-TYl2ojbybsTNizEXm4elCx9uMGTfwaYltB0yz9r2L_fRDiKmgPeXvI6w7w1HvHzABUfOzL5nRN5

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