Diamond Service Memories

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    skyguy79
    Participant

    Shame on the Donington Hall big cheeses that ruined BD by making it a bus service with frills when rebranded to bmi.

    http://derbosoft.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=history&thread=4199&page=1#21346


    skyguy79
    Participant

    First Glasgow to Heathrow Dimaond Service flight in 1990 – Full tray with salmon parcels,bread, tea/coffee,chocolate,juices.

    Afternoon tea with scones,cream and jam , sanwich/bagel, tea/coffee,juices.

    Oh how I miss those DIAMOND DAYS ! I look forward to starting my own airline in the future and shall base the service concept largely on Diamond Service. It truly was the best.


    VintageKrug
    Participant

    You have now started TWO threads just now on this VERY SAME topic.

    While I am entirely in alignment with your heartfelt disappointment with the way BD has ended up, there really is no need to start two threads, in addition to the other two or three which discuss the airline’s imminent departure from Star Alliance, any of which could usefully have built on content already posted.

    http://www.businesstraveller.com/discussion/topic/Bye-Bye-British-Midland


    skyguy79
    Participant

    VintageKrug I have always respected whatever you write even though it is usually an advert for BA. Please don’t crticise or opinionate on me. I am confident we are all adults here and you yourself are often criticised and know how it feels. I wish BD were taking over BA and not the other way around.


    HappytobeSilver
    Participant

    Like skyguymanchester, I too can only recall with fondness BD’s Diamond Service. The 2100 flight from GLA to LHR meant a late arrival at a central London hotel but the hot dinner accompanied by wines and spirits served from full-sized bottles very much aided the journey.

    Similarly, the then Air UK’s Sterling Service was equally impressive with passengers even being afforded ‘a small gift’ to welcome them on board.

    VK, please lay off skyguymanchester. I am a BA fan and will be flying down from GLA to LHR tonight when even though I will be able to enjoy a drink in the lounge, given that my flight is at nine, I won’t be able to enjoy anything to eat on the plane or in the lounge- the sandwiches will be long gone.


    Papillion53
    Participant

    Skyguymanchester

    Ah you brought back many happy memories of those lovely afternoon teas! In the mid 80s I was working in London for a major hotel group and at least twice a month, we would take our Business travel agent clients up to Scotland on a familiarisation trip and we would always try and get the afternoon tea flight back! 🙂

    Oh, they were indeed happy days. The thought of what we have lost is almost enough to make me as grumpy as VK.


    lloydah
    Participant

    Had to use Air UK several times a year in their hey day and have very fond memories of that Sterling Service. Still have a few mementoes – ticket stubs, bits and pieces including a couple of stainless cutlery sets a cabin crew gave me when we were discussing the picnic to be had in the car on the onward journey. Seems like a different world – or I’m just so old….


    Henkel.Trocken
    Participant

    Oh, how I remember cream teas on Diamond Service, they were superb along with the service. The whole Diamond Service concept was great and so well executed. It really made the others up their game and of course AirUK’s Sterling Service was modelled on it.

    Strange how easy it is to remember BD afternoon tea with fondness while at the same time dreading the BA offering.


    Henkel.Trocken
    Participant

    Oh, how I remember cream teas on Diamond Service, they were superb along with the service. The whole Diamond Service concept was great and so well executed. It really made the others up their game and of course AirUK’s Sterling Service was modelled on it.

    Strange how easy it is to remember BD afternoon tea with fondness while at the same time dreading the BA offering.


    LPPSKrisflyer
    Participant

    So many good memories where do you start?

    Diamond Service was a unique product at the time that forced others to up their game. When it was around BD was a hugely successful carrier.

    It was good when they introduced the separate C cabin but unfortuantly they did it by downgrading the offering in Y and so for the vast majority they no longer offered anything special. I guess Diamond Service was too good to last but in the 80s and early 90s it was a great product.

    The power of the DC9s and the 733s seemed a cut above the 732s BA were operating at the time and of course the crew were exceptional. The completion of a hot meal service and hot towels to a full plane on LHR-LBA or LHR-MME was always awesome and makes a nonsense of the current claims that it is not possible to do.

    The flying time in the 80s LHR-MME was forty minutes and LHR-LBA thirty five minutes in the days before the schedules were padded. Now there is only time to serve a drink and birdseed on a ninety minute flight. Obviously there may have been more crew but they also understood how to work hard!


    skyguy79
    Participant

    Nice to share memories with other Diamond fans ! By the way , there is a great page on Facebook called I’m a friend of British Midland Airways by my friend , and I wanted to send some photos of Diamond Service meals if anyone has any can they please forward to me <a href="mailto:[email protected]“>[email protected] . I am after purely British Midland meal photos and not any post 2001 when the bmi jokey catering was introduced. Hot towels, sweets, full meals , free drinks, happy crew, free newspaper, comfy seats…oh Diamond in the Sky…can’t believe you will shine for the last time soon..( in reality bmi killed the British Midland brand ).


    LPPSKrisflyer
    Participant

    skyguymanchester – 20/04/2012 08:18 GMT You are right, bmi was a disaster from the word go and even when it was obvious nothing was done until LH made the attempt to rebrand it British Midland International but by then the damage was done with years of mismanagment and bento boxes in C.

    IME stand alone letters as a brand which don’t mean anything never work.


    Henkel.Trocken
    Participant

    Agree, bmi is when they lost the plot.

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