TheHak

Anecdotal really but perhaps highlights how likely it is to be upgraded

10 days ago i was on a very full flight from nrt to lhr waiting to embark when a guy came treated like royalty. Escorted by special services he embarked before us all. I was sitting next to a ba staff who smiled and said: premier.

Well the only free seats in the plane seemed to be in F where there were 4 free seats and he certainly wasnt there.

Ok so he maybe was upgraded from w to cw but it certainly confirmed joe unlikely it is to be upgraded with ba.

AndyFlyer

Just because someone is a Prem does not mean they receive permanent complimentary upgrades. Many Prems fly on revenue F tickets, so why would BA want to encourage any customer to downgrade their class of travel? Similarly, should they fly in Y, W or J, to always upgrade them could discourage them from purchasing a premium seat.

economyman

As I have previously mentioned, I was once seated next to a Premier in CW who quite specifically asked the CSD if there was room upfront. The CSD explained that if he was not upgraded on the ground prior to boarding there was little he could do. Whilst maybe that is not strictly true it does show that BA staff have not been told that Prems should always be seated in the highest available cabin.

KenJohn

I have often seen persons escorted to the gate by Special Services not end up in F. We then to only notice lesser celebrities so they would not be Premiers. Qualifies for SS but not upgrade.

PanGalactic

Seems a bit silly to me, if they are so valuable to BA, they should give them at least a permanent 1 class upgrade!

BA-Flyer

But as pointed out already, by making it a published perk, BA could be doing themselves out of revenue.

YClass

For the Prem who got it because they manage £20m Rev worth of travel (or whatever it is), giving them permanent F upgrades as un unpublished perk is a wash relatively to what they provide BA. I suspect its mostly a J->F upgrade which isn't major. Also makes them more likely to keep their business with BA, which is the intention of Prem. I doubt they'd fly just for the sake of it.

For the Celeb who gets comped Prem, well BA want the press and forums such as this to see them in F and tweet how great BA is and pics in F. Flying J/F is often simply a matter of what their agent has negotiated and they do not have control of it, so the upgrades can be welcome, especially for privacy.

For the board member or equivalent, well its a perk of being elected to the board of such a company. I suspect they would fly F anyway.

I'm sure they manage it so no Prem feels they have a "right" to be in F, but enough that they get upgraded regularly and feel valued.

AndyFlyer

Every PREM is comped their membership...it is invitation only. True, there are some criteria that BA use to help guide PREM membership (such as control of revenue spend). But as easily as BA give it out, they can also take it away.

The best perk of PREM is the interaction with special services, who are a wonderful team. They make things happen (the occasional ground transfer when arriving on a remote stand, being escorted to the gate and boarded, etc.) plus assistance in the event of irrops. This is valuable to any traveller, and goes a long way for business retention for key figures.

Most PREMs are very discreet with their status. They tend to be such frequent travellers, they have their routines down to a fine art.

EuropeanPete

Yeah, but they already provide it to BA. Whilst you should reward your big spenders, it's also pointless to spend lots of money on people who are bringing you revenue anyways