David Taylor - Wake up BA...
09:38 | 25 Sep 2009
...and smell the coffee.
BA sent me an email last week advertising price cuts on its business class fares, claiming they were 'great value'.
Like most companies these days, mine has an economy travel policy, but I thought I'd check them out anyway. So I clicked through on the LHR-LAX route, a common flight for people in IT like me. The bargain price? £7100. Insane.
Roger - B.A.
09:39 | 25 Sep 2009
I flew back from Athens on BA on Wednesday evening on a very full flight. The service was very good and even though my meal was inedible a replacement was quickly found. I see no reason to stop flying BA. I am not employed by the airline!
Rob - Not BA's fault
09:51 | 25 Sep 2009
"First, budget airlines started racking up their charges on the sly, making many of their flights nearly as expensive as equivalent ones on premium airlines. At the same time, the big boys started chopping their prices to compete with Ryanair, easyJet at el."
What we are seeing here is market forces in action. There will never be any airline hugely cheaper than the rest, market forces and the forces of competition make it impossible.
They both provide the same kind of service (air travel), yet for Ryan Air et al, they lose money by not charging as much as BA, whereas BA lose customers from charging more than the others, so both change their prices, creating a parity between the two.
Paul Jardine - years ago
09:59 | 25 Sep 2009
I stopped flying BA years ago, after a series of flights with rude and unhelpful cabin staff. At the moment the middle eastern airlines (Etihad, Qatar & Emirates) are much better quality for often less money. Short haul in Europe I nearly always fly 'budget' airlines and make sure I only have carry on baggage
Rob Musson - BA & Loyalty
10:06 | 25 Sep 2009
I and many of my colleauges gave up on BA months ago. We now choose based on price and convenience and BA get our business about 1 time in 10 as a result.
I think they lost the plot when they stopped awarding points to anyone who didn't pay full price, this just killed the loyalty stone dead and we along with many others started jumping ship.
We still get the emails from BA informing us about the offers and upgrade options but we just delete them without reading.
BA still have the potential to be a great airline but not until they learn all about the most imnportant part of their business again - customers.
Regular flyer
10:07 | 25 Sep 2009
This blog seems bit of rant without a full check on the facts.
Having looked at the new BA seating policy the only change appears to be that it is now possible for those purchasing cheaper tickets to reserve their ticket at the time of booking.
It is worth looking at the BA site and comparing the old and new seating policies. Obviously this has BA spin, but previously those not purchasing full fare flexi tickets or premium economy were never able to reserve their seats more than 24 hours in advance.
Regard the meals, this is a bit of a backward step, although the offer has been steadily reduced over the years, whereby often it has been a bag of pretzels! I am not sure we will notice the difference.
S G
10:16 | 25 Sep 2009
Its all about choice, and now more then ever the traveller has that.
If you want a dirt cheap flight you can get it, if you want to pay more then its up to you.
People complain about issues with the budget airlines, but if you follow their restrictions then you have no problems. If you dont like their restrictions dont fly with them!!!
Longer flights use premium airlines and eat/drink to your content!! But to behonest the only airline I have been on with edible food was a thai one.
Its great to see the big airlines panicking! For too long they have dominated the market and believed they would remain there!!
Also a lot of issues are a result of airports rather then airlines!!
Michael Hellman - Alcohol
10:19 | 25 Sep 2009
The hiding of alcohol on a flight is no bad thing. Ive never understood the concept that people feel they need alcohol as soon as they get on a flight, or why the airlines certainly used to almost ram it down passengers throats.
Phil Clift - Commercial suicide
10:30 | 25 Sep 2009
£60 to reserve a seat in Club? Madness. This is Ryanair behaviour.
If BA is to survive and (perhaps even) prosper they need to concentrate on service, not price. The need to be different from the budget operators and celebrate those differences, not ape them.
BA is about old aircraft, steadily falling service standards and daft prices. In the short term, it'll save a few quid - long term Walsh is doing untold damage. It used to be my first choice for international travel - now it's the one I use when there really is no realistic alternative.
Finally, since BA Connect was sold to the dreadful FlyBe, BA should re-name itself London Airways. Service for the vast majority of Britons who DON'T live in South-East (only BA and the BBC seem not to realise this) is all but non-existent.
John - M
10:36 | 25 Sep 2009
"It will provide passengers more control over their seating requirements"...
I hate it when my intelligence is so blatantly insulted. I thought that logging in 24hours in advance and booking your seat is called control.
The pettiness that drove me away from budget airlines is finally creeping into this once great carrier. Shame... Real shame...
Ian Wheatley
10:40 | 25 Sep 2009
Tony's comments are very valid - up to a point. I've recently flown on all three of the airlines mentioned and yes, BA isn't what it used to be. The wine is hidden away and the staff do push the tea and coffee at the expense of the, presumabaly more costly, booze and cans of Coke.
However, when the alternative is the scrum for a seat on Easyjet or being treated like a a commodity by the awfull Irishman for very little real difference in ticket price I'll still fly BA if there's a choice.
m brazil - british airways
10:46 | 25 Sep 2009
I ceased flying with BA long ago on long haul flights. I choose to fly elsewhere for less money, better seat pitch and the choice of my seat many weeks in advance. I would recommend others to do the same until BA begins to treat its passengers better.
J B - Some airlines invest, others expand.
10:57 | 25 Sep 2009
Booked a flight on Luthansa a day or so ago and to my horror I found I couldn't get a seat assigned (not even a window/aisle preference) until 24 hours before departure (when Online Check In Opens)...will have to avoid them in future....like I have been avoiding BA for years now.
They didn't want my customer when I was 16 (minimum age for their loyalty scheme back then was 18) and as others have mentioned, they were only interested in the full fare / company-paid flyers. So off I went to another airline.
I think the main problem with airlines these days has bee a need to satifsy shareholders; a need to continually grow their business. Unfortunatly this has been an increase in route networks but not an increase in yield - hence increased revenue but along with increased costs meaning pretty much the same profit.
A small niche airline focusing on only profitable routes would surely been much better able to offer the service we would all like, just back in the early days of civil aviation.
al - gave up years ago
12:54 | 25 Sep 2009
There wasnt any point flying with BA years ago, and the case for not using them has just strengthened again.
I used BA for short haul London-Moscow and also long haul London-Hong Kong in the past.
The service is below average, food poor but worst of all what Miserable Staff.
They cannot smile and will do as little as possible to help you.
So I now usually use EVA or Thai airways for long haul. The service is consistently friendly and helpful, the food is differnet and better quality and you do not have to put up with BA pettiness of saving money.
When i book a long haul flight, i will not consider a BA flight, regardless of the price.
The suffering on a BA flight is just too much on a long haul flight in my own experience.
Andrew V - Stop Knocking BA
14:16 | 25 Sep 2009
I use BA regularly flying from the Balkans back to Gatwick, and return. I find them punctual, the Staff are very friendly and welcoming, the alcoholic drinks are always available, there is plenty of space and the price is the best value of all the airlines flying on my chosen route. I'll fly BA all the time - keep it up!!
J B
15:31 | 25 Sep 2009
If you compare BA with an Eastern European airline, it probably does come out well, but I don't think that would be the benchmark BA should really be setting itself.
Once up for BA though is that at least they invest in aviation research and safety culture etc, whereas for the budget carriers, as mentioned above, that seem to charge similar prices when all is considered, don't invest in these things.
Nor the backup option when things go wrong...often LCC have less aircraft or/and less frequencies in tehir schedules to cope with irregular operations.
Christopher - It's the small things
16:56 | 25 Sep 2009
I generally fly BA and prefer them still to the budget airlines which are the alternatives on my usual routes.
However: BA does have the knack of being irritating for no reason. For a year or so I found I was not getting points on my loyalty card. I eventually found out that it was because my tickets were being recorded in my other Christian name. When I pointed this out to BA, they refused to give me the points in question because they were more than six months old. Not a big deal, but it wouldn't have cost them anything and the refusal irritated a loyal customer (hence the loyalty card scheme?) and makes me now look at other minor ways they use to irritate the customer. Not very clever of them. And they specifically lost my custom on the next few occasions.
alan sims - B.A./Budget. No comparison.
17:20 | 25 Sep 2009
Cattle Class such as Ryanair with its hidden price hikes and none existent customer service cannot be compared with the transparent pricing, good service and attention which we recieve from B.A.
When did they ever dump passengers in the middle of nowhere while their staff take all the available taxis.
Budget? No Way!
Dave B - Ryanair - you're joking
18:34 | 25 Sep 2009
The suggestion inherent in the question that Ryanair are in any way equivalent to BA is the most nonsensical yet. Having flown Ryanair I will never fly them again and I’m among a very large number of ex-Ryanair passengers that feel the same way. I was screwed by them in terms of non-existent customer service, late flights, rude and incompetent staff, tiny seat pitches, non-reclining seats, and charges for everything at every turn.
Its true that Ryanair are the pits of all airlines such as Easyjet and Air Asia are more principled but still fall a long way short of BA in virtually every respect.
My concern with BA is similar to others comments – they do have an unfortunate knack for bureaucratic nit-picking that alienates loyal customers. However, anyone valuing customer service, convenience, comfort, and transparent pricing would always choose BA over Ryanair. Just check the airline reviews on the Skytrax website for sample Ryanair passenger horror stories.
Daniel Park - The market wins in the end
13:27 | 26 Sep 2009
As long as BA believes there are people out there who are daft enough to spend their money paying for items that some airlines still regard as a standard part of the product price, BA will cointinue to "gouge" the customer. Nowadays "low-cost" does not necessarily signify the cheapest and "full-service" means services itemised and priced separately. Hopefully the market will deliver its verdict on this latest wheeze. I rarely fly with BA nowadays because it rarely offers best value.
Cape - Cf BA and Easyjet
20:41 | 27 Sep 2009
16 - 19 Oct Toulouse - London return
moring out, evening back
22kg
Easyjet: 141.12 EUR
BA: 195.07 EUR
BA takes you to Heathrow5 so for W London this is time saving plus avoid the GAtwock-Victoria train 30 euros.
Overall, BA comes out 15% or 30 EUR more.
This is about right for transparent prices, snacks and drinks, and you do not feel like it's refugee class travel.
This is just one route. Maybe other readers have a different itineraries, or is 15% about the measure of the different expereiences?
Good luck to you all. Especially BA which started off as BOAC and is in business mainly to pay the pensions of retired staff.
Footnote. Ryanair are obnoxious little lot and out-of-town (time and additional travel expenses).
Sarah - BA - without email
17:03 | 29 Sep 2009
@Phil Clif - I completely agree with you
personally its about service.
Amazingly enough the client service department told me today that they have no access to email and could not confirm what they had told me over the phone in writing. i mean seriously, what century are we in???
talk about cost cutting, do they even have computers there?
brings new meaning to budget if you ask me.