Originally Posted by
Geordie405
The cynicism I am referring to is more around the fact that even when BA tries to make positive changes it still comes in for criticism. If you look at the recent CW changes there has been so much negativity. Yet if you look at the improvements in service and the quality of the catering (plus the recently introduced bedding and amenity kits) I would say, objectively, that it is a significant step up from the previous offering.
At the moment it is limited to one route - and of course that comes in for criticism too. Yet if BA had launched it globally (even assuming for a moment that was feasible) and it had tanked then without doubt BA would have been hauled over the coals for a failed product launch and the same people who have criticised the one-route philosophy would be criticising BA for not having had a slow-start! Damned if you do, damned if you don't is the phrase that comes to mind.
I don't for one minute denigrate BA for making these improvements, I applaud them for this welcome move. But why market it so hard, thus raising our expectations, when it's far from clear when the catering and bedding changes will make their way across the fleet and down to LGW, for example.
Do&Co was already the catering supplier on the JFK route so the changes only really represent a change of presentation. We were promised a 'total reset' of catering by AC and I don't think that has occurred: the mains are not plated, they can still be overcooked, the menus lack imagination, the main choices have dropped to 3 and there is no pre-ordering exclusive dish. I'm not saying we should go back to the previous CW catering as in the round it does look better but I don't see it as the step change that was promised.
As for the figure of £600M being invested, as it's currently not confirmed whether the long-overdue new seat will be retrofitted onto the existing fleet, surely a large chunk of this must be expenditure on business class seats in new aircraft which would have to be fitted anyway regardless of the iteration?