Originally Posted by Ldnn1

The cost pressures on BA are clear. However, the problem with now charging for these things (seat selection, lounge access etc.) is that it entirely negates the point of the Executive Club membership tiers, which is to offer members free perks/benefits as reward for a certain level of their custom. These free perks then incentivise those members to bring even more custom to the business.

The reason people really appreciate these perks/benefits is because they're free or indeed perceived as free. As soon as you have to start paying for them (and foregoing a 'discount' is exactly the same as paying a 'fee' in this respect) then they are no longer considered perks but simply optional, payable extras.

The customer then has to decide on each occasion if it's worth paying for the particular extra. This makes the whole EC programme much, much less attractive and accordingly means you are much, much less incentivised to bring your custom to BA rather than any competing carrier where you can buy similar extras for a (possibly much lower) fee.

And crucially, this feeling arises even if the net cost of the unbundled fare plus the extras is the same as the cost of the former all-inclusive fare. This is the nature of the disincentive and it is why many of us question whether BA have really got this one right.