[Anonymous]

[canucklad]

As recent threads have focussed on BA’s short coming’s I’ve decided through the forum to be positively pro-active…..

I mentioned that I was under whelmed by BA’s 380 proposition, as it just seems to follow the tired old formula…..and as a result BA finds itself playing catch up again!

So BA exec’s here is some of my very British propositions to help differentiate…

1) Drinks…Rather than load bottles and tins of beer….serve proper beer from a tap, on the 380 you had the space to create a small British pub…

2) AF creates a help yourself area at the back galley in “ Y” …take that idea further, and with a bit of creative design ( i.e pull down blinds / transformer carts ) after meal service turn the galley area into a ice cream van or something else…

3) Have a library on-board with the “ Best of British” literature…..

I could go on……but where’s the fun in that……

Who else has an off the wall idea that would work as a BA USP ?

[IanFromHKG]

Brighton rock (or similar) – how much more British can you get? Apart from having the crew dress up (and behave) like Jeeves…

[conshaldow]

Some great ideas, i’ll try and come up with something that won’t sound too “off the way”, as you put it.

I feel for BA to be honest. I don’t think they do too much wrong, but being British we’re simply exposed to them more than most other airlines, giving us the opportunity to not more of their shortcomings which most likely apply on many other airlines.

[Bucksnet]

Yes, let’s have a bar with draught beer on tap. Fuller’s brewery in Chiswick is just down the road from Heathrow, so how about a drop of London Pride? A good lager as well.

Emirates has a bar at the back of the top deck of their A380s. I haven’t used it myself, but I’ve seen photos, seat plans and a TV advert, in case others start asking how do I know if I haven’t flown it. Why not BA as well?

[IanFromHKG]

My happiest flight ever was on a Kingfisher Airlines (RIP) flight from Bombay to hK. As soon as the seatbelt sign turned off, virtually the entire business class cabin bundled into the bar and started chatting, even through turbulence (they had sofas with seatbelts, we just had to vacate the bar stools). And this on an overnight 6-hour flight. Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have gone straight into the office. LOL

[AllOverTheGaff]

Fish, chips & mushy peas on the menu, served in brown paper or an old FT.

A red telephone box at the back of the plane with mirrored glass which is a loo – lets be honest, the real phone boxes are primarily used as such anyway.

Rgds.
AOTG.

[AnthonyDunn]

@ AllOverTheGaff – 17/06/2013 16:35 GMT

LOL! Love the phone box idea…. preferably after the fish’n’chips washed down with a pint or three.

@ Ian_from_HKG – 17/06/2013 15:40 GMT

Well if the C/C are to dress up like Jeeves, then presumably it’s going to be obligatory spats, brillcreme and black tie for dinner. But (another thread) those were the glory days of Imperial Airways and their flying boats….

From a previous trip through T5, I was much taken with the Pimms bar. Surely BA could have a smoked trout/salmon/caviar and Pimms gallery on the top deck of the A380 with an ale, pie’n’mash shop on the lower deck for me and my fellow proles? Add in a suspended rotating silver ball at the back with a karaoke dias and the hen/stag party brigade will be well served.

[transtraxman]

Cask or keg beer? I would go for the former but that would be more difficult to to transport and preserve. Would it not be very difficult to maintain at altitude?

Fullers no, thank you. Almost every other breweries´offer is better.

Would we also have to suffer those mini-dispensers pubs use to serve spirits – they do not dole out a measure sufficient to wet a glass. Even a double measure is still a mini dose. Outside the three mile territorial limit such booze is tax free so the measures could be more reasonably sized.

What would be the reaction of other airlines from beer drinking countries? It´d probably convince me to fly CSA on a regular basis.

How would Iberia defend its patch: wine on tap?
Speaking of TAP, would it offer port on tap?
If we go further, Caribbean would offer rum, Aeromexico tequila, S7 vodka, Aegean ouzo, and JAL saki.
All that makes us think of the north American buddies; would they offer that contemptible yellow coloured (sorry, colored) liquid they call beer?

I love the idea of the red phone box and the “fish & chip” bar.

[andystock]

Not sure real ale on tap on a plane would ever work as it needs time to settle, I am really not sure all the take offs, turbulance, landings and the air pressure would be ideal conditions for a pint of real ale. Real ale is a living beer and changes taste considetable on how it as been treated!

Although I have seen BA have London Pride in cans on board, prehaps bottles of Fullers Hunny Dew, Meantime, Camden Hells could be workable.

[AnthonyDunn]

@ andystock – 17/06/2013 16:57 GMT

You are being hopelessly practical. The next thing is you will be accused of knowing what you’re talking about… 🙂

Seriously, it should not be beyond the wit of BA to source collections of tinnies with some classic British ales: Spitfire (Shepherd & Neame), London Pride (Fullers), 6X (Wadworth’s), Abbott (Greene King) – and there are countless many more excellent ales (and, ahem, lagers) readily available in cans. Alternatively, if you can get wine in BiBs (bottles in a bag), then why not beer? It’s lighter than either cans or glass and keeps because the bag contracts as the contents are emptied.

Harry Ramsdens was certainly able to ship their fish’n’chips to their franchisees around t’world so why not for BA? Pimms also in cans and THE best smoked trout (salmon, venison) etc from Pinney’s of Orford comes vacuum packed. For those of you who’ve never tried it: if it’s your last meal, get some. (NB: I’ve no commercial relationship with them in any way).

[Hippocampus]

How about getting passengers in World Traveller to work as servants for passengers in Club World and First class?

[AnthonyDunn]

@ Hippocampus – 17/06/2013 17:12 GMT

Yes but only if suitably attired and properly trained in the art of cap doffing and forelock tugging surely….?

And developing on the theme, presumably the pie, mash’n’ale shop would come suitably decked out with spittoons and saw dust on the floor like the old pubs I once chanced upon in Hulme (south Manchester) where they only had one type of sherry and one type of wine….

And…. scrub IFE in cattle class and, besides the karaoke, what about BINGO?! I am sure that greater minds than mine could work through the linguistic nuances of translating Bingo calls….

This is starting to remind me of the old days of the railways with First and Third – was there ever a second class at the same time? Perhaps the doors down the side of the plane should be labelled First, second and third class?

[AllOverTheGaff]

Hippocampus – 17/06/2013 17:12 GMT
How about getting passengers in World Traveller to work as servants for passengers in Club World and First class?

HA!

Great idea!

Rgds.
AOTG.

[Communipaw]

Bangers and Mash…and Watneys Red Barrel

[Author]

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