British Airways - not impressed
Discussion
el stovey said:
WD39 said:
The on board crew has the final say.
Ground staff usually check with them prior to offering an upgrade.
Doesn't always happen, but it's almost standard procedure.
I got upgraded once by the The handling agent and the crew were pissed off as one of them had promised the seats to her partner that was travelling with her on a trip. She was quite rude about it really. she even came up and asked me how I had managed to get the seats. Ground staff usually check with them prior to offering an upgrade.
Doesn't always happen, but it's almost standard procedure.
If the crew are consulted then the UG is handled in a low key way, as it always should be. Upgrades should be seamless, subtle and in a professional manner.
Just to add to whole BA and upgrade discussion, a very positive experience for BA which did win them lots of repeat business over the years on the basis of the way they handled it. This was a few years ago now (1999), so appreciate things may have changed in their operation since then.
My grandmother had just passed away and I wanted to take my Grandad to visit his son, (my uncle), who had emigrated to Canada some years previously. My granddad had been in the RAF during WW2 hunting U-Boats from Wellington bombers off Gibraltar and had not flown anywhere since the end of the war. With this in mind, I was hoping we could arrange a visit to the cockpit on the flight to Toronto just so he could see what planes were like these days etc (this was before 9/11 and security closed cockpits). I sent a short letter to BA head office a few weeks prior to our flight to ask a) if it was possible b) how we would go about it and c) stating I was happy to make a contribution to their nominated charity if it was possible. Didn't get a response at all to the letter, so just assumed it wasn't going to be possible and put it down to the "don't ask, don't get" approach.
So we turn up at Heathrow on the day of the flight, check in as normal and wait at the gate for boarding. As they are checking our boarding cards at the gate, they ask if my granddad and I would mind just waiting to one side for a moment. At this point my mind went into panic mode as I was expecting to be bumped off the flight, our tickets were bought during one of BA's sales, and we only paid £199 each return. Therefore I was thinking, they bump the cheapest tickets first.
After what seemed like an age, the head purser from the plane comes over and comments to my granddad that he understands he would like to see the cockpit during the flight. To which my granddad didn't know what he was talking about as we had kept the letter writing etc as a surprise in case it didn't come off. I then jumped in and explained that it was the first time he had flown since WW2 and if it was possible, it would be very much appreciated. The purser replied it was possible, but only if we allowed them to upgrade us to First Class.......... I gave it some thought, and begrudgingly agreed
With this we were whisked into first class and settled down for the flight.
After we had cleared land and were cruising over the Atlantic, the Purser came back and ushered us up the stairs and into the cockpit. We both spent a good hour with the pilot and crew who explained everything how the 747 worked and were keen to find how it differed to the experiences my granddad had during the war. The questions the crew asked were about things personal to my granddad but that we had not mentioned in the letter, so there had obviously been some research done on their part no doubt to check the validity of our request. We then bid them farewell and went back downstairs to resume the first class hospitality. My granddad being absolutely over the moon at the experience.
As we started our descent down into Toronto, the purser came back to us and said the captain had invited us both back up to the cockpit to sit on the jump seats at the back so we could watch the sunset approach from the best viewing place. I have to say this was an incredible experience and I know that given the 9/11 changes, I am one of the few lucky ones who have experienced this. My granddad was by now floating above the plane on the clouds he was so excited.
Upon landing and disembarking, the captain came down and presented by granddad with the flight chart they had used during the flight, and he had all the crew on board sign it. We had it framed, along with a couple of photos we took while onboard and it took pride of place on my granddad's wall from that moment until when he passed away a number of years later. It is now in my possession and on the wall of my apartment.
I can only thank BA for making this happen as it really turned my granddad's life around given the tough time he had been through with my grandma passing.
BA also promised to see what they could do for us on the way back, and we got bumped up to club on the return journey too
Like I mentioned at the start of this story, this one act of kindness from them gained them lots of repeat business from myself and family members over the years that followed. Unfortunately since moving from the UK, I don't get to use them often now, just the flights from Luxembourg to LHR mainly.
My grandmother had just passed away and I wanted to take my Grandad to visit his son, (my uncle), who had emigrated to Canada some years previously. My granddad had been in the RAF during WW2 hunting U-Boats from Wellington bombers off Gibraltar and had not flown anywhere since the end of the war. With this in mind, I was hoping we could arrange a visit to the cockpit on the flight to Toronto just so he could see what planes were like these days etc (this was before 9/11 and security closed cockpits). I sent a short letter to BA head office a few weeks prior to our flight to ask a) if it was possible b) how we would go about it and c) stating I was happy to make a contribution to their nominated charity if it was possible. Didn't get a response at all to the letter, so just assumed it wasn't going to be possible and put it down to the "don't ask, don't get" approach.
So we turn up at Heathrow on the day of the flight, check in as normal and wait at the gate for boarding. As they are checking our boarding cards at the gate, they ask if my granddad and I would mind just waiting to one side for a moment. At this point my mind went into panic mode as I was expecting to be bumped off the flight, our tickets were bought during one of BA's sales, and we only paid £199 each return. Therefore I was thinking, they bump the cheapest tickets first.
After what seemed like an age, the head purser from the plane comes over and comments to my granddad that he understands he would like to see the cockpit during the flight. To which my granddad didn't know what he was talking about as we had kept the letter writing etc as a surprise in case it didn't come off. I then jumped in and explained that it was the first time he had flown since WW2 and if it was possible, it would be very much appreciated. The purser replied it was possible, but only if we allowed them to upgrade us to First Class.......... I gave it some thought, and begrudgingly agreed
With this we were whisked into first class and settled down for the flight.After we had cleared land and were cruising over the Atlantic, the Purser came back and ushered us up the stairs and into the cockpit. We both spent a good hour with the pilot and crew who explained everything how the 747 worked and were keen to find how it differed to the experiences my granddad had during the war. The questions the crew asked were about things personal to my granddad but that we had not mentioned in the letter, so there had obviously been some research done on their part no doubt to check the validity of our request. We then bid them farewell and went back downstairs to resume the first class hospitality. My granddad being absolutely over the moon at the experience.
As we started our descent down into Toronto, the purser came back to us and said the captain had invited us both back up to the cockpit to sit on the jump seats at the back so we could watch the sunset approach from the best viewing place. I have to say this was an incredible experience and I know that given the 9/11 changes, I am one of the few lucky ones who have experienced this. My granddad was by now floating above the plane on the clouds he was so excited.
Upon landing and disembarking, the captain came down and presented by granddad with the flight chart they had used during the flight, and he had all the crew on board sign it. We had it framed, along with a couple of photos we took while onboard and it took pride of place on my granddad's wall from that moment until when he passed away a number of years later. It is now in my possession and on the wall of my apartment.
I can only thank BA for making this happen as it really turned my granddad's life around given the tough time he had been through with my grandma passing.
BA also promised to see what they could do for us on the way back, and we got bumped up to club on the return journey too
Like I mentioned at the start of this story, this one act of kindness from them gained them lots of repeat business from myself and family members over the years that followed. Unfortunately since moving from the UK, I don't get to use them often now, just the flights from Luxembourg to LHR mainly.
This is probably just me but my last 3 flights with BA (and the 2 I had with AA too) have had a compliment of cabin crew that had an average age of about 60 and went about their job with forced smiles and feck all enthusiasm. A real dinosaur of an airline with poor customer service. I was in economy and perhaps I was expecting too much after years of low cost carriers but there seemed to be no redeeming features.
If I'm heading over the Atlantic now it's with Aer Lingus, short hop from Leeds to Dublin, stretch legs, preclear customs and arrive in JFK as a domestic passenger. Airline isnt amazing but it's so stress free doing it that way.
If I'm heading over the Atlantic now it's with Aer Lingus, short hop from Leeds to Dublin, stretch legs, preclear customs and arrive in JFK as a domestic passenger. Airline isnt amazing but it's so stress free doing it that way.
dazwalsh said:
This is probably just me but my last 3 flights with BA (and the 2 I had with AA too) have had a compliment of cabin crew that had an average age of about 60 and went about their job with forced smiles and feck all enthusiasm.
Have to agree with you to some extent. On our recent Heathrow>Las Vegas flight with a three hour delay, the crew who was 'attending' to us was grumpy and surly to such a great extent that I thought his boyfriend had just dumped him (Asian too). Very unprofessional and I don't think he liked me asking for a 'Bloody Mary' ! It's been a highly variable experience for me recently. On my long-haul trips, the crew have invariably been fantastic. Two recent things stick out for me though:
- Tech glitch on the upper deck of a jumbo, that meant ~10% of the cabin lights wouldn't switch off, on an overnight flight. Most of those were right above my seat. I was the lucky one who got moved to First 4 hours into the flight, but my neighbour was pretty stuffed for sleep.
- Pretty terrible crew in Club flying to Athens. One lady who was so large she couldn't bend down, and had to prop herself up on the seat backs whenever she leant over to serve someone. She also started serving the hot towels seconds after they came out the oven, and the first 3 people on the front row just dropped them they were so bloody hot. Her response was to say "Oh, we always do this", and carry on!
They're clearly trying to improve the Club World experience - they're trialling giving mattress toppers, pillows and duvets in Club World (as opposed to the teeny blankets they currently give).
- Tech glitch on the upper deck of a jumbo, that meant ~10% of the cabin lights wouldn't switch off, on an overnight flight. Most of those were right above my seat. I was the lucky one who got moved to First 4 hours into the flight, but my neighbour was pretty stuffed for sleep.
- Pretty terrible crew in Club flying to Athens. One lady who was so large she couldn't bend down, and had to prop herself up on the seat backs whenever she leant over to serve someone. She also started serving the hot towels seconds after they came out the oven, and the first 3 people on the front row just dropped them they were so bloody hot. Her response was to say "Oh, we always do this", and carry on!
They're clearly trying to improve the Club World experience - they're trialling giving mattress toppers, pillows and duvets in Club World (as opposed to the teeny blankets they currently give).
brickwall said:
They're clearly trying to improve the Club World experience - they're trialling giving mattress toppers, pillows and duvets in Club World (as opposed to the teeny blankets they currently give).
I got to try this on one of my flights last week - the duvet and pillow were an improvement but the mattress topper was a waste of time. No noticeable difference in comfort and it was a faff getting out of the seat to fit it, then having to ask for the duvet to be brought.Scrap the topper, leave the duvet on the seat (like they currently do with the blanket) and it would be a nice step forward.
The other thing they were trialling was a menu card to order breakfast in advance (or choose to skip it) and then it would be brought at your preferred time (rather than trolley service). Again, this was a nice simple step forwards.
As far as overall quality - another two 12 hour flights under my belt and again no complaints. The planes (747 and 380) were comfortable and clean and the service was spot on.
BA have confirmed today they are 'upgrading' short haul meals. So they are ditching the now-derisory free snacks and drinks - replacing them instead with M&S food along with a paid-for bar.
I make that the last differentiation between BA and EasyJet on short haul. Ok, I'll probably carry on using BA as LHR is by far my most convenient airport, but I see no reason to favour them.
http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/fo...
I make that the last differentiation between BA and EasyJet on short haul. Ok, I'll probably carry on using BA as LHR is by far my most convenient airport, but I see no reason to favour them.
http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/fo...
Puggit said:
BA have confirmed today they are 'upgrading' short haul meals. So they are ditching the now-derisory free snacks and drinks - replacing them instead with M&S food along with a paid-for bar.
Is that in economy, or across the board? Free food and drink on board is one of the reasons I don't fly with the low cost carriers!IMO,
The quality of the food has reached a point where I'd rather go without for a couple of hours - no great hardship - or get my own stuff from the terminal from somewhere like Pret or ITSU. I don't think that the on board food in Economy can compete when compared to ticket prices.
Given the choice of going without or, if I was rushed, picking something on board from M&S, I'd choose the M&S food. I quite often pick up snacks from there anyway so it's an improvement for me.
The quality of the food has reached a point where I'd rather go without for a couple of hours - no great hardship - or get my own stuff from the terminal from somewhere like Pret or ITSU. I don't think that the on board food in Economy can compete when compared to ticket prices.
Given the choice of going without or, if I was rushed, picking something on board from M&S, I'd choose the M&S food. I quite often pick up snacks from there anyway so it's an improvement for me.
Big Raff said:
Paying for booze will make it like any other low cost, its usually the only tipping reason for BA on short haul economy. However being able to pay with Avios (when lets be hoest reward flights are never available) is not a bad thing at all.
It is like any other low cost. That's what most of the market wants. They're retaining free food and drinks in Club though so, if that's your thing, you're covered.Big Raff said:
However being able to pay with Avios (when lets be hoest reward flights are never available) is not a bad thing at all.
Never understood why some people seem to struggle to book Avios flights. Just last week I booked my skiing flights for the coming season, London-Geneva return flights in Dec. and London-Venice return flights in Jan. All booked business class using Avios (+ £100 for taxes) without a problem and hardly booked on the day that period's Avios flights were released.The problem with redemptions is you need to plan wayyyy ahead, as you seem to have done. Let's face it - everyone is fighting over the premium seats on the premium routes especially during school holidays, and the people in the know will grab them as they become available.
Those of us who fly quite a bit, but not as much as others, and who have a stash of a few hundred thousand avios cannot seem to get rid of them. Our most recent family break was booked based on where we could get business tickets to. Seems no one wanted to fly on a 767 to Rome. No special seating (2 seats by the window together) and no lounge at FCO.
I most certainly will not be frittering them on board! I will be buying in the shops within the terminal and taking them with me.
Those of us who fly quite a bit, but not as much as others, and who have a stash of a few hundred thousand avios cannot seem to get rid of them. Our most recent family break was booked based on where we could get business tickets to. Seems no one wanted to fly on a 767 to Rome. No special seating (2 seats by the window together) and no lounge at FCO.
I most certainly will not be frittering them on board! I will be buying in the shops within the terminal and taking them with me.
Puggit said:
The problem with redemptions is you need to plan wayyyy ahead, as you seem to have done. Let's face it - everyone is fighting over the premium seats on the premium routes especially during school holidays, and the people in the know will grab them as they become available.
Quite premium destinations at premium times (e.g.: Orlando during school holidays) will always be a problem. I tend not to have a problem getting what I want when I want. But then I'm redeeming on flights in & out of Kuwait!! If you can wait you often see availability come up very close to the travel dates. It pays to keep checking if what you want is not available & have a little flexibility.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff