[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=760259]One can call me an apologist, delusionist or any combination of the two or others. The fact is BA is a highly profitable airline whereby millions of people get from A to B in a safe manner and with the service they bought and expected to get.

The fact some people think that BA should offer 5 star service, at 2 star prices and be perfect in everything it does is an unrealistic expectation.

I actually think the BA bashers are rather fond of BA, like a long worn but perhaps leaky raincoat. Why else would FDOS always when he travels seek out a BA fare and come on here to tell us how expensive they are? As for John Harper who thinks BA are a rip off, if that is the case report it trding standards. If BA has taken someone’s money and not delivered then quite rightly they should be held to account.

Meanwhile BA’s booking engine is churning out tickets at the rate of over 100,000 a day, to rip them all off!!!

[/quote]

MrMichael

You are not a delusionist, you have a grounded view of BA as a 3* airline.

Why do I always look for BA fares? I don’t, I just use a search engine to look at all options and as my travel originates in the UK, BA usually comes up as (one) option.

Then I share the most outrageous gouging (e.g. £1750 extra to fly from MAN instead of DUB, on a journey with the same number of connections, both requiring a transfer between LHR/LGW) as people are interested.

[FDOS_UK]

Equally they should drop the name British from their title because they are not, they are London centric mostly on a couple of square miles of ground in Hounslow. Perhaps they should go by the name of their parent company and be called International Airlines and abandon the red, white and blue so people are under no illusions that they are getting anything of British quality. Perhaps if the whole IAG fleet was painted grey with IAG on the tail there would be great cost savings from only buying one colour of paint – one they’ve obviously missed.

Totally agree, John. The free ride they get from the ‘British’ part of the brand is a major advantage.

I suggest the IAG fleet should be Prison Grey overall, to set expectations for the journey.

[GivingupBA]

MrMichael said, “…I actually think the BA bashers are rather fond of BA, like a long worn but perhaps leaky raincoat…”

You got me there, MrMichael! I am not a BA basher [at least I hope not], but chose my user name because I’m fed up with them. Nevertheless, despite my name, I’ve definitely got a soft spot for BA and have made many trips with them in J recently, along with other carriers.

[canucklad]

@ GivingupBA
You’ve got similar sentiments about BA as I do . Actually as I’ve mentioned before , they’ve pretty much made themselves irrelevant .

A couple of points I’d like to pick up on, since I commented last….
I never see BA, or for that matter Finnair advertising flights from £29.99 , never mind £9.99
If they did I’d set my expectations accordingly..

And if I was purchasing a ticket from say Manchester to ehmm , lets say Trinidad and I forked out £3880 return, I’d be less than amused when I’m asked to pay an extra £8 for a G&T and a sandwich on my flight down to LHR..

I agree, that aspiring to a nostalgic past and not ffacing up to the realities of modern day airline (corporate) economics is dillusional suicide.
But and it’s a big but…..that is not what BA is doing.
In my opinion , they (IAG)have caught the greed bug. And ironically it will probably and ultimately end with Waterside being sold. .

The drive to incrementally increase your Y on Y profit margin has created corporate chaos in the past. RBS being a classic example. And remember the only saving grace for Barclays was that Fred the Shred was more ruthless and competive than their own CEO..

As MrMichael quite rightly points out, BA is a profitable airline, actually very profitable…
So why are they not investing in robust CRM systems, adding small touches that would make flying with them a memorable pleasure, truly being the best of British?
Why am I expected to pay for things I used to take for granted. , seat selection etc?
And now they’re turning themselves into a flying motorway service station. !
Whats next, paying for blanket rental and headset rental.

And my rant isn’t just at BA. Our shrug of the shoulders attitude in the UK allows companies that make up the global village to fleece all of us at every turn.
As their customer service levels deteriotate those same companies flagrantly bleed even more of our hard earned cash out of our wallets made of stone.. they are all at!

Insedious charges at every turn of our daily life that have crept in and now we just pay, because e have no choice!!

Rant over : )

[icenspice]

Well, we do have a choice, canucklad. At least most of us do.

The last time I flew BA was last November and I don’t miss it whatsoever.

But I am just a drop in the ocean at the end of the day!

BTW, I would rather pay for an M&S sandwich and Bloody Mary than get a free packet of birdseed. I just hope decent hot options are available, unlike my recent BOB experience on Air Arabia where the rice was cold, the beef fatty and the bread stale. I could go on!

[AlanOrton1]

Canuklad, hope you don’t mind if I share some thoughts on a couple of your points.

‘What’s next, paying for blanket rental and headset rental’
– Possibly! A few years ago travelling transatlantic in in US Air in Y it was $5 to ‘buy’ some in-the-ear headphones. None handed out for free usage on board. Also, though my memory lets me down, I’m sure there is a loco or charter outfit that rents or sells blankets to pax at the current time.

‘Our shrug the shoulders attitude in the UK allows companies….to fleece all of us at every turn’
A counter to this is to treat these company’s products as a commodity. For example when flying short haul to VLC or ALC, it is exactly what I do. Whichever airline can fly me there on the day I want to fly, at a time I find acceptable will in the vast majority win my business based on their price. Whether BA want to flog me a prawn sarnie or Easyjet rip me off for a ghastly cup of coffee (Ryanair’s is far better IMHO) troubles me not. If one airline is twice the price, I don’t start foaming at the mouth I just make the booking and get on with it.

Personally I don’t see what the fuss is about with BoB. Much like I won’t be fussed next time I’m in long haul J (on whatever airline) and there is only a choice of one starter. Some like to take umbrage with whatever an airline does, others are more sanguine.

[LuganoPirate]

Despite my criticisms of BA it’s an airline I’m fond of as I perhaps look to the old fashioned British values of the past whne to fly to serve really meant something. Sure there are some great crew out there but they are constrained to the budget imposed on them by management.

the reason I don’t fly them anymore has less to do with the on-board service and comfort (though it does lack compared to other airlines), and I’m not bothered by the food offering though I do enjoy a tea and some sparkling water. What bothers me is the lack of care on the ground towards their premium passengers and their unwillingness to help.

At least Swiss in economy offer a drink and either a sandwich or some other snack appropriate to the time of day. For BA to now charge for this is a disgrace.

[icenspice]

Will this exercise really save costs? I am sure an additional CC member will have to be rostered on busy routes, even on an A319.

[TominScotland]

This is a fabulous and very predictable debate – apologists and ABBAists posting 100% to form!!I think we know who flies BA and who does not – does all this actually matter???

Maybe BRITISH Airways is misleading but then so is Swiss which should be Zurich Airlines now but we don’t hear that cry very often!! At least Brussels airlines are honest……

[MrMichael]

I tend to agree with pretty much all that has been said.

Does BA rely on its glorious past, quite possibly it does. From a marketing point of view some people are swayed by the pedigree of a product whether it be BA or a Hoover. Posters above has said they do have a soft spot for BA, just like some have a soft spot for M&S or the BBC. Fact is they all have to change to stay up with the times, and those that fail to will be shown the door by the consumer…BHS Woolworths and many others in the future will go the same way.

As I said on another post, BA do not claim to be a five star airline, they claim to get you from A to B giving you X level of service. They do not keep what you will or will not get a secret, they will in 99% of cases give you what it says on the tin.

Returning to BOB, I think they should have done it years ago. Does anyone seriously choose BA because they think they will get an included snack on a flight from London to Madrid? If they do then I suggest they need a better travel agent or look at what their booking before hitting the pay button.

Will it take more staff, probably not to be honest. Not having to serve most people with the free naff stuff gives them the time available to flog people the stuff they actually want. I hope though it is “card only” payment as accepting a myriad and mixture of Euros & Pounds etc will slow things down.

Lastly, I think it worth remembering that flying in real terms is a lot cheaper than it was twenty, thirty, forty years ago. That has been achieved through more efficient airplanes, but also more efficient systems and taking the glamour out of flying. That cost to us the traveller is that flying from a to b is no different to getting the bus. That’s why Airbus is called Airbus surely!

[Cedric_Statherby]

I must say I think some of the critics here are too harsh on BA.

I have just done four flights in a week – there and back to the Continent twice, once with BA and once with Easyjet. Easyjet give you a good choice of food and if you don’t want it, you don’t need to buy anything. But if you do want something, it is available, often quite nice and entirely satisfactory in filling a meal-sized hole.

BA (in economy) offer – as rferguson points out – a biscuit or a mini bag of crisps. That is very seldom what one wants, especially if (as happened to me) one’s flight is 11.30-2.00, over lunchtime. I oscillate between not wanting it because it is irrelevant, and not wanting it because it is not enough. I have said so to more cabin crew than I can remember and most of them sigh and say “we know”.

So BA have listened, and instead of providing something which is unwanted by the passengers and unremunerative for them, they have upped their game and will provide something that actually might be what someone wants enough to pay for. I for one think this is an improvement – and they will get right in due course whether to charge for soft drinks or coffee.

But then some people seem to find that whatever BA do is wrong …

[MrMichael]

I think the problem is that if they do go for free drinks and coffee it is that process that will slow the service down. Slapping a wrap down on a tray takes a couple of seconds. If they do go for complimentary drinks they won’t have the time to sell anything and thus towards the end of service people will get nothing, drink or snack. I think it really has to be all or nothing, except in Club Europe.

[MartynSinclair]

@Mr Michael – I think the London / Madrid is not a good example as pax can get a BA flight number on IB metal and be treated on some occasions to a full service (choice of hot meals) flat bed option.. and its darn good, well it was last year when I experienced it….

[MrMichael]

@MartynSinclair, your right, sometimes to from Madrid we do indeed get our money’s worth, and IB have been BOB in economy for donkeys. BA metal flights are Euro configured and it was those I was really referring to. To be honest LHR/MAD is a long enough sector to ensure crew can serve everyone with Bob and free drinks, it is the shorter flights like FRA where they will really struggle if doing BOB and free drinks. I often try to get the late afternoon IB flight now for the extra services and comfort one often gets, I always used to try and avoid IB crewed flights. Strangely, many supposed BA flights are now done on IB metal as BA are short of planes for some reason.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=760387]Maybe BRITISH Airways is misleading but then so is Swiss…….[/quote]

As a Brit and not a Swiss, I couldn’t give two hoots about the latter, but do feel miffed about the former, as this bunch of gougers are doing it in my country’s name.

[Author]

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