On the reference to
Tesco tourists and the general matter of Avios redemption for F class travel, I venture to suggest that many carriers - not just BA, in fairness - can so easily lose sight of the 'true' purpose of making these benefits available to begin with. And the same applies, in part (given that there are of course other circumstances at play) to airport op-ups too. And because of this lack of focus, airlines end up doing themselves an injustice.
Any self-respecting airline (likewise hotel, where room/suite upgrades are concerned) should be keen to showcase a standard of hard product & service quality in the F cabin such that those who are there without having paid with (their own) hard cash would disembark the aircraft thinking to themselves "
Wow....that was sooo good, I'd be willing to pay, occasionally, to travel F in the future".
Sadly, the reaction is very often rather different. Along the lines of ..."
Hmm, that was much nicer than travelling in economy, or even biz. BUT definitely not good enough to pay for ....."
PS ... Couldn't help a wry smile at Lucanesque's mention of 'Waitrose redemptionists'
