[miningguy]

I honestly don’t think they are THAT bad. I am sure they are nothing like back in the 90s (when I was a teen!) but really compared to their competition they seem about on par. This year/late last year I have flown several Club Europe and Club World/Suite flights to the US. Each time the service has been pretty good with certainly lots of enthusiasm if not finesse. Compared to flying in the US, I really also think the lounges are pretty good.

Where it just seems to be falling over is IT and “when things go wrong”. The booking process is often nothing short of horrific with random weird glitches – I work in IT so I can sometimes figure things out by changing browers/networks…..but I feel sorry for less tech savvy people. How much money is this costing them? Attached screenshot from this mornings booking where the website literally would not render on my browser. . Also I found on the ground that when there a connection issues they just seem to totally drop the ball – and exacerbate things by not having enough staff on hand to help out with rebookings (or last time I was there having at least 5 off duty/on lunch staff chilling out in the background which completely enraged passengers – the simple fix here was to only have working staff visible).

So in summary. I am UK based. I travel a lot globally so I can’t really just opt to go with Qatar or Virgin or whoever who don’t really cover as broad a territory as BA. So in essense its BA or one of their OW partners should they have a better product/route/price. If someone/something better comes along I would not however hesitate to jump.

1 user thanked author for this post.

cybertravller

[FDOS]

@mininguy – I would encourage you to give Air France a try, unless you need direct flights.

Their range of destinations are good, the seats too, as is the F&B. Crews vary in style/approach (as with all carriers), however I’ve not yet had a bad experience.

And I’m saving substantial amounts (literally ~£1,500 per trip) compared to Club World. AF does have some older 2x2x2 330s, but fortunately I can usually avoid those and the 777/787/A350 have got seats on a par with Club Suites.

You’ll also find the IT much better.

As for disruption, this is an area where all airlines seem to perform badly these days, possibly because they have taken cost out by reducing headcount and not training as well as before – e.g., not to pile on BA, but as you mentioned people standing around, their decision not to have people trained to deal with ticketing in the terminals, requiring a call. Given the level of premium class fares currently, I don’t find this palatable.

So, if and when I’m disrupted on AF, I don’t hold out any great hopes for superior performance,

[AlanOrton1]

I’m in the camp that they are not that bad either.
Where they tend to keep my business, and I guess many others too, is the sheer convenience of destinations they fly to.

I’m at the stage where I want to fly to where I need to get to as expeditiously as possible. As this is mainly the US there is no way I’ll fly via FRA, CDG etc as it is (IMO) a waste of time that I could spend with the family etc.

I do get that there could be better Euro carriers (AF seems to be mentioned with more regularity on this front), but I’m ok to roll the dice and have the odd BA misstep, but on the vast majority of flights, reach my destination much quicker than routing via CDG.

In my view their PE seat, CW suite, F lounge and executive club perks are all pretty decent.

[FDOS]

“As this is mainly the US there is no way I’ll fly via FRA, CDG etc as it is (IMO) a waste of time that I could spend with the family etc. ”

Fair enough, I’m happy to leave 1/2 a day earlier and save £1500 – horses for courses.

[AlanOrton1]

FDOS – I’ve never seen AF £1,500 cheaper as an alternative to BA / AA on a US routing, when I’ve checked fares for the flights I take.
Flying to Asia, AF would often be one of the cheapest, though I’ve always found other OneWorld carriers within about 10-20% of their prices.
BA can, but not always, be punchy on fares to Asia and as a result I’ve often used CX (less so as their fares are now much higher), AY & QR.
For shorter US trips, I suspect most will opt for a non stop route, and if I was a Skyteam devotee, DL offer pretty good coverage.

1 user thanked author for this post.

AndrewinHK

[AndrewinHK]

I know that I am likely to get a recommendation to fly Air France, but I flew BA last night on the 206 from Miami which was operated by a 380. Everything was good, luckily I was in First, which was full. Boarding seeing the sheer number of premium passengers it’s really quite astonishing that they are filling such a large J cabin (it was also full), they are clearly doing something right. I wouldn’t consider flying via somewhere if a direct option is available, flying from the regions I can understand why wouldn’t you fly AF or KLM but for those who are close to LHR direct will always mostly win, and I find in general the premium for direct on BA is within my tolerance. The lounge in Miami, let’s say I’m looking forward to the new one opening, it is desperately needed, all I needed from this flight was a good nights sleep which I got, arrived early, immigration very quick, 20 min wait for bags which again is within my tolerance given the aircraft and it’s London. I am lucky enough to have an employer with a very generous travel policy, we must fly direct if able, and we are always booked in fully flex J which enables me to upgrade to F with decent frequency, I know many are self employed and cost is more of a concern, so I do fully understand the suggestion of considering other carriers and price, but I would wager BA plays on convenience, frequency to satisfy its corporate travel customers, and I think they tick convincingly these boxes. The app is still awful though.

6 users thanked author for this post.

ImissConcorde, Ekond222, ASK1945, AlanOrton1, DerekVH, sparkyflier

[FDOS]

@AndrewinHK

Why do you expect a recommendation to AF? You are clearly happy with what BA provides. I’ve been flying BA on business since 1978 and they have messed me around too many times, I won’t bore you with a long list, but court action and CEDR has been necessary more than once to resolve the issues and that’s just for the very serious matters, I’ve let many more go, as it wasn’t worth the effort in pursuing.

So as pleased as I am for you, I prefer to fly airlines with clean aircraft, who don’t quickly drop domestic and short haul sectors in disruption, who consistently load the right F&B, who are pretty much on time and have mature cabin crew, who are well trained and smooth in their service delivery – the last time I flew BA F, my call bell was ignored for 30 minutes (with the belt sign on) and eventually, I had to complain to the CSD, after which I received a service level that would have graced premium economy. The inconsistency is unreal.

YMMV and we all experience small sample sizes, which skews comparison.

[FDOS]

@alanorton, I didn’t say on flights to the US (mine are Middle East, so I have not priced the US up – I use AA for trips to ORD).

Also, I am booking at -2 to 4 weeks, so that may skew the numbers.

[esselle]

So here’s my contribution to this long running thread.

Whilst I was working my job took me all over the world on a very regular basis, and I was at the hands of the company travel department.

Now, long retired, the choices my wife and I make are ours, and if we are flying long haul it is in F.

My last two flights on BA in F were a really unimpressive; the penultimate was a return from HKG when the crew on the ground informed me the pre take off drink was either “orange squash, or champagne which is not chilled, but I could put some ice in it for you”, and the last from DXB where my wife informed the CSD on boarding that it was my birthday. Her response was that she would ensure I would be “spoilt rotten”, but my birthday was not mentioned at all thereafter by the crew in a cabin of 6 pax.

We are happy to gamble short haul on BA if it suits, as expectations are not elevated, but longhaul planning means they do not even get considered. AF, EK, QF, are booked in the almost certain knowledge that the experience will be a good one. BA may, just may have upped their game, but why should we gamble?

Which I think is a shame really.

3 users thanked author for this post.

AndrewinHK, Jacob, FDOS

[cwoodward]

Yourself and many others I suspect esselle

[persiantraveller]

@pdwtrip – I prefer the 777 to the 787, always, or even better, any Airbus aircraft!

[persiantraveller]

@mininguy – I would encourage you give ITA/SkyTeam a try, unless you need direct flights.

[persiantraveller]

@esselle – BA sounds horrible.

[cwoodward]

Why the personalised aggression ‘persiantraveller ? – It appears you perhaps have decided to become also this forums moderator?
The poster happens to be a friend.

Please withdraw the comment.

2 users thanked author for this post.

ASK1945, FDOS

[FDOS]

“hellhole of CDG ”

Really? T2E transferring to T2E works okay for me. I can appreciate for the non-frequent traveller that CDG is huge and intimidating.

2 users thanked author for this post.

anyonebutBAirways, Nick Pike

[Author]

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