eastflyer123

I have not flown BA for a few years because I have moved to QR and achieved Gold and most of my business is in the Middle East. European trips to Berlin, Barcelona and Madrid have been with Ryanair and Norwegian over the past two years (yes - austerity!).

Last week I was on a BA LHR to Madrid in economy. As Sapphire, I was able to select an aisle exit row seat and use the lounge at terminal 5.

I may have become to used to Middle Eastern standards (I thought it not fair to compare Ryanair to BA), but the BA staff were generally care free and lacked any interest in passengers.

I checked in at the business counters with no business luggage tags. The lounge was fine - very quiet at 8am. Not much on offer, just a few egg rolls and pastries.

There was no personal welcome or any recognition of status. This is not necessary, but as a comparison with QR, most of the small touches was missing.

On board catering was a poor Marks and Spencer menu, which was not available, and when I asked for a cappuccino, she served me a coffee with milk.

The luggage took about 30 min to arrive at Madrid which is a Madrid ops issue not BA.

The whole experience was basic, not something expected from a national carrier and certainly no better than a Ryanair or other no frills airline the only difference being that I had lounge access.

As for the cabin staff - well they clearly need a chat about how to smile and greet ALL passengers. I'll say this at the risk of being criticised - most need a makeover and a good rest, such is their lacklustre attitude. And they are striking for more pay?!

AAtticus

BA luggage tags are purely for decoration (unless you have a laminated first tag that you can re-use) and no priority business on SH Eco, even with status (not that it matters).
Furthermore I think it's a fair review of how SH eco travel is with status on BA.

furryman

"There was no personal welcome or any recognition of status": normal, at sapphire level anyway

"On board catering was a poor Marks and Spencer menu, which was not available": pathetic, as this flight was originating at home base

"when I asked for a cappuccino, she served me a coffee with milk" : Cappucino is not on the buy-on-board menu so far as I know

"most need a makeover and a good rest": many certainly need a good rest, given the shifts they are given and the lack of pay/incentives

" And they are striking for more pay?!": see above...

mikeyfly

I will not check baggage when flying to MAD. It has always been so slow at arriving, I know it has a long way from the satellite, but this has been 45-1hr previously.

12cheungtk1

As far as OWS recognition, not even CX, the airline with good recognition of most OW status holders, personally greet Sapphires, Let alone BA. Won't really get it until you reach at least GGL.

Carering wise, yes the BoB menu isn't great and the lack of availability just makes it worse. But when did you get cappuccinos in economy class even in long haul?

European air travel has become extremely basic these recent years, no matter which airline you fly I'm afraid this is the reality when you fly infra-Europe economy.

jah718

I am not really sure why some people replying to this post choose to defend BA.

Some points I would like to address are:

- The cappuccino: as the OP stated, he was expecting an instant cappuccino which are present on most BOB menus. To the person asking if QR have them on SH, the answer is that QR also don't expect you to pay for the coffee, so you can't really complain. Nobody should be asked to pay for standard airplane coffee.

- The greeting: even QR are a little flaky about greeting their own status passengers, so I wouldn't expect BA to go out of their way to greet someone from a different programme. It would be nice, but not expected, especially at Sapphire.

- The crew: there is never an excuse for poor or indifferent service in any industry. If an employee is unable to deliver a consistent and acceptable level of service, they should be let go. If they are unhappy in their work or with the pay package, they should leave of their own accord. I also blame BA for this, as they clearly have not communicated this to the crew. Personally, I have had many BA SH flights with fantastic crew, so it is not something that is impossible to achieve.

- The BOB menu: ridiculous that it was unavailable. Why did they roll out the menu when it had clearly not been stress tested and thought through?

layz

I'm no coffee fan but how do you get an instant cappuccino?

nux

Cappuccino is not offered, however the coffee is not 'standard airplane coffee'.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...-services.html

DoctorCopper

I don't recall seeing cappuccino listed for sale in the M&S BoB menu. Doc Copper

layz

I think jah718 just meant most BoB menus (but not BA) had it, so the OP assumed (!) BA would do the same.

I'm not sure how you'd get an instant cappuccino though.

corporate-wage-slave

The magic ingredient is coconut oil. It reacts to hot instant coffee by frothing up. If you put enough creamer and sugar on it, you get something that looks like cappuccino, but no self respecting Italian would allow this concotion to pass their lips. Coconut oil can be dried and turned into powder. Funnily enough I know quite a few Italians who are partial to Nescafé Gold Blend, and there is a big market for it there, which there isn't in (e.g.) France. Anyway, the BA BoB coffee is much better than bog standard airline coffee, it's quite clever in using a micro filter to allow ground coffee in the air.

technical_bob

While I would never recommend an instant cappuccino, they are widely available: http://www.tesco.com/groceries/produ.../?id=291274224

bafan

It's widely available for sale in UK shops - Nescafé and Kenco amongst the brands making it. I've never tried it though.

bafan

You beat me to it - and with a link, too...

eastflyer123

Instant cappuccino comes powdered in a packet!

It will do - in the air!