Originally Posted by
FrancisA
I often feel it is a sad world where those who do not know reality are hoodwinked by alternative facts.
In terms of brand perception (perhaps not on FT, but whose knows what agenda or brief some hold), BA is very much perceived as a premium brand.
Care to share any market research that shows that differently?
Nothing to be 'sad' about (what a strange description !). In truth it's all about just what sort of criteria different people set for 'premium brands'.
It's not the first time that criticism/ negative comment towards BA on this forum has been dismissed as being characterised by an agenda borne out of "alternative facts" - or allegedly unrepresentative of how the general public, outside the narrow prism of Flyertalk, might feel. And certainly it won't be the last.
But perhaps I've been "hoodwinked" by widespread reports of BA's incompetent early handling of the recent IT meltdown ...... hoodwinked too by their lack of innovation in terms of new J class seating & hard product development........ by the wholly unsatisfactory nature of cut & paste, and/or sometimes meaningless, responses to legitimate, often serious, written complaints .......by the ongoing problems surrounding BoB, well over six months after its introduction ......by the airline's low position on Skytrax ratings .......by constant criticism of BA's approach to customer service in the wider print media. And so on, and so on.
It must be said that BA has lots of happy supporters and loyalists. But then lots of people are happy to shop at Lidl and Aldi (as I sometimes am), to fly EasyJet (as I sometimes am), or to buy Ford motor cars. They all offer enough to satisfy many, many people. But very rarely do you hear them being referred to as 'premium brands'.
As stated earlier : the day I can be assured of boarding and flying on a BA aircraft with a similar level of efficiency, product quality, and service standards as experienced when patronising Waitrose or John Lewis, then I can confidently regard them as a premium carrier.
The loads are very good - but let's see if they really can make the improvements that - according to Sr. Cruz himself - are overdue. Time will tell.