It's that time of year when I have the honour ... nay, the privilege of giving a combination of First Capital Connect and Transport for London around £1,300 for the right to travel where I want, when I want (London Travelcard Zones 1-3 only ).
Which got me thinking: if BA offered some kind of season ticket, would you buy it?
It might not be able to operate along exactly the same lines, I suspect - at least not without a heavy financial cost. There might be a charge per flight taken, or a restriction on when you could use them. Or maybe you could buy a carnet of tickets, for those people who genuinely commute if not every day then most weeks, to or from work.
Most of my flights with BA are the same. I see the same people most of the time and visit the same airports, same route, same flights. Because I book far enough ahead the price is pretty reasonable, but I just wonder whether there might be advantages both for pax and airline of a 'regular flyer' approach to ticketing?
I have heard that regional carriers (SAS?) in Scandinavia do this on domestic routes, where you effectively pay an annual fee to be able to commute regularly (even daily) on a certain route.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by h15t0r1an
BMI used to do this and it was a great idea.
Yes, you used to get a book of 10 slips, which you would hand in at check-in to get on the flight you wanted. It was great for flexibility Shame BA don't do the same (yet!).
Yes, you used to get a book of 10 slips, which you would hand in at check-in to get on the flight you wanted. It was great for flexibility Shame BA don't do the same (yet!).
I understand how you can simply walk onto a train...but how did this work? Were you able to check availability before? Bit risky for some of the red-eye flights just turning up....
BA used to do gift flight vouchers valued according to which zone the destination you chose fell in. IIRC South America was £500 and they were valid for travel any time over the following year. They soon stopped doing them though.
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Don't let the Walter Mitty's get you down....
I understand how you can simply walk onto a train...but how did this work? Were you able to check availability before? Bit risky for some of the red-eye flights just turning up....
Ah, memories of the British Midland Routepass. I must have done 200 sectors on these.
There was a special phone number to call to make your reservation in advance, if you wanted to.
AA have had some mixed experience with AAirpass. Famous stories about their original unlimited First Class lifetime passes, sold for increasing amounts in the 1980s and 1990s until AA not only dropped the concept but tried to find ways to revoke them on the 66 lucky people who had the foresight and cash to drop on them. Now it's more of a combo of Premier and a corporate dealt fare package.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by csdavidson
I understand how you can simply walk onto a train...but how did this work? Were you able to check availability before? Bit risky for some of the red-eye flights just turning up....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oxon Flyer
There was a special phone number to call to make your reservation in advance, if you wanted to.
It truly was brilliant
There was a phone number, however, I used this very rarely. The Route Pass customers based out of GLA were well known to the ticketing/check-in agents, and subsequently never a problem to get on the service you wanted. I usually just turned up.
The Route Passes booked into a very high fare bucket (can't remember which exactly), so if there was ever a need to bump someone to make space, then this was done (only ever experienced this twice I believe). If you had to be on a particular service, to be at a meeting at the other end for example, I ensured to arrive at least 1.5hrs prior to the flight to ensure a seat. If not, you could wait for the next service, enjoying the hospitality of the Lounge Angels at GLA
On the right routes, 10 return trips booked into the right fare bucket would be very attractive indeed if I could allocate them flexibly rather than having to fly all tickets personally.
How about a space-available, same-day-only ticketing pass for impulsive leisure travelers? BA could fill empty seats with little cost to the airline, as you would only be able to book on the day of departure.
).
Shame BA don't do the same (yet!).
