IB Y on the MAD-LHR route is survivable and usually works out cheaper which means you can use the money saved to buy a couple of G&T's that BA throws in for free. If the prices are the same then BA wins.
I agree IB crew on the whole are not very outgoing but they get the job done competently which is all that matters.
I wasn't specifically thinking if routes where they both compete, but generally.
IB shorthaul Y I have generally found the crew fine.
Shorthaul J, it is not so much them not being friendly, but being outright rude And insulting to people to the level of submitting complaints. Ie not doing (the customer service element) of their job properly.
As a result, from multiple flights, I have formed the following impressions:
- Some IB crew have distain for J passengers, but not Y passengers.
- some IB crew are seriously out of touch with different cultural norms to a level that is inappropriate for them to work at an airline that seeks to position itself where IB does. (Vegetarians should not be insulted by the crew on the PA system, and asked what the "terrible disease they have" is that prevents them eating meat. And when the passenger says they are not happy, the crew should not file a report saying the passenger was drunk and abusive (when they were not, they were polite and discrete). Serious incidents with *abuse* of vegetarians I have seen multiple times. (They also did not seem to be familiar with cultures ... Very unlikely to be drunk)