[fluterphil]

What was it Joni Mitchel sang…you dont know what you’ve lost till its gone!

[LordKenT]

I will certainly miss Their Diamond Club : Points and Cash Awards were the Best in The Business.

[TominScotland]

Seems that some folk don’t actually realise that bmi is no longer (really) with us. All my recent Air Malta flights to/from the UK have been announced as bmi code-shares and I have used my faithful (but otherwise useless) Gold card to expedite boarding.

I also noticed in T4 that Etihad flights are still called as bmi code-share flights.

[EruditeSheep]

I shall certainly miss BMI, but not Baby. The latter fell out of favour some time ago when they dropped BHX-EDI flights, although by that time, their cabins were already showing signs of wear and tear. But BMI is/was a different kettle of fish. I shall miss their DC Points and Cash awards, which over the years provided many good F or C class flights to SYD or CPT, surprisingly with some of the former on SQ 380s.

Luckily I have been able to fly on BMI operated flights recently (they still fly BHX-FRA for LH) and their offering in C or Y in my view is better than the LH operated alternatives. In fact, for me it is far easier, quicker and cheaper to fly BHX-FRA-IAD than it is to endure the pain of driving to LHR, parking somewhere, wasting time in the security conga line and paying the crazy premium for C class flights from LHR to the USA.

So for the time being I still can appreciate BMI’s excellent service, whilst sampling the new LH B747i offering across the Atlantic. In F class you even have the luxury of being met at the foot of the A/C steps in FRA by your own personal Mercedes or Porsche, before being whisked away to the haven of FRA’s superlative F-class lounge, with ongoing transfer airside in the same vehicle to your connecting flight. Now that is what luxury can still be about….

[KeaneJohn]

So Diamond Club miles safely and quickly transferred to BA Avios. I think I was lucky to have a sneeky peak this afternoon when the gateway was open whilst they BA were testing this tool.

A bit sad to see no Diamond Club miles in my account now….. its never been that low before as I enrolled at check in on my first flight so always had points/miles… Another nail in the coffin..

[Redjohn]

As an airline person, I cannot stress strongly enough what a disaster this is for the industry. This can only be seen as the endorsement of total dominance by one airline in a market where previously there has been some decent competition for London traffic.

The loss of provincial feed for airlines at Heathrow is a nightmare, BA may well be compelled to offer prices to connecting carriers but who actually believes these will be decent prices? Forget it, BA feed BA.

So, clients in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester who may not choose to fly on the nations most arrogant carrier, for whom customer service is hinted at following my experience last week in Aberdeen when flights were cancelled and the person on the ground decided to shout at all those ‘customers’ who dared to ask for help?

Or not, will these folk instead turn to KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates and others offering connectivity via anywhere other than the over congested Heathrow? Certainly customers do not enjoy being dictated to and ‘going back to BA, because they are forced may well have an unwanted result.

[PatJordan]

Like John Keane, my Diamond Club miles were quickly transferred to Avios……….and the next day BA removed them !!

They have not gone back to Diamond Club.

There is no email link (that I can see) to BAEC, so I have to do it the old way and write a letter and wait for a reply. I don’t particularly relish the cost of a cross channel telephone call.

What an introduction to BAEC.

If any poster knows of a swifter way to resolve this, I would be much obliged.

Pat

[KeaneJohn]

My Avios are still there thankfully. You don’t have to write to BA.. Here is the link to the online form. You will get a case reference and an answer in due course.. In April response times were in the region of 6 weeks but I had a response in 72 hours recently.

https://www.britishairways.com/travel/custrelform/public/en_gb?refevent=help

[PatJordan]

Thanks John, I’ll give it a try

[SpeedbirdAbz]

Spot on Redjohn. I am an airline’ish person at Aberdeen and I witnessed the abuse of vulnerable passengers here last week during the weather problems. I was horrified as the ‘BA woman’ crossed her arms and said indignantly ‘ there is no more I can do for you, it’s the weather’. I was embarrassed and wanted to help those poor people who were trying to get to the other side of the world. I still hear rumours of Virgin starting an Aberdeen/Heathrow service but just find that wrong on so many levels – I can’t see what they can offer our market with a domestic connection. Yes, more and more people will now be choosing AF/KL and LH ex Aberdeen – BA really are not liked up here.

[CXDiamond]

Unfortunately I think we need to get used to the idea that there will be no domestic services when it rains, the winds are strong, there’s a light covering of snow or perhaps the temperature is a degree too low or too high or perhaps it’s Monday and there is an R in the month.

BA have always cancelled domestic services for next to no reason while BD maintained a full schedule but sadly those days are over.

Great news for LH, KL, AF, EK, EY and EI in the regions though. They can clean up the market both east and west more than they already have and if you need to get to London specifically there’s always EasyJet to STN or the train. Don’t bank on BA because they will let you down.

[goalie11]

Hi folks

A lot of sense being spoken here and a lot of sentiment for what was a very good domestic airline that showed the rest how to do it.

I will also miss bmi and the great staff they had, they were really customer centric, which was the main reason I chose BD to BA for 14 years travelling weekly between EDI and LHR and also many other routes in the UK on business. I was also a BD Gold lifetime card holder – something lost with the integration as BA won’t come up with anything like it.

Like others I also witnessed the changes over the years through mismanagement at the top, things like the first class meal service on trays with real cutlery, the scones and clotted cream on a Friday afternoon travelling home that slowly was relegated to the brown ‘bio-degradable’ box and then the infamous panini as they slowly slipped to an LCC. Sad the way it panned out.

Like others I have a BA Gold Card but to be honest they can stick it, I’ll spend my 750,000 Avios and let them get on with it. I now travel between AUH and EDI and although I could get enough tier points to renew BA Gold their service here is poor and frequency not customer friendly. Etihad is a much better airline with more options and with a mooted service to EDI a possibility I can avoid BA altogether.

Additionally, Aegean gave me a *A Gold so I can also use their carriers as I have done on many occassions, just a little miffed LH dumped us they way they did.

[CXDiamond]

I agree that the way LH dumped Diamond Club members was poor but presumably it was part of the agreement to sell that it had to happen the way it did.

If BA considered that they would get the loyalty of the majority of BD flyers who were used to *A by offering a gold card then I think they got it wrong. It will be interesting to see how many have retained the card or even a silver card in two years time.

[goalie11]

I think you’re right CX about LH but they would have got some ‘brownie’ points if they had communicated that to us rather than the curt responses they gave to a number of us.

[canucklad]

i’m hoping somebody from BA”s marketing / customer service department occasionaly monitors these site’s and takes on board the sentiment….

If they do, then here is my suggestion…I suspect the ibehaviours demonstrated at ABZ were displayed by somebody in a Servisair uniform !

If you are going to cheapen your ground handling service at least have the b***ls to put them in BA uniforms…at the moment you’re hiding behind somebody elses facade!

[Author]

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