Originally Posted by bisonrav

The most plausible reason remains that they went off half cock because someone had it in their annual objectives to launch the new system by April 2025. I still don't think I'd be wanting to spend money with high margin retailers I wouldn't otherwise have used (almost all of them), but some will, and having the whole scheme outlined would have underpinned a successful comms strategy. But they weren't ready and someone decided to press the button anyway. Once you miss a membership year, it's gone, you can't change in the middle, and the pressure from the top would have been extreme.

I'm fascinated by Lacy's approach. In announcing this when his comms team and much BA senior staff were on holiday, and then doubling down by releasing only to favourable outlets and using incendiary language about scheme members capability to understand the detail, he's not showing much ability to effect change or understand consumer psychology. You can have the best strategy on the planet, but if you can't get your customers onside you're finished before you start. Honestly, Doyle needs to rein him in and get someone in charge of the comms who knows what they're doing. You don't have to be nice in business, but you have to be fair, and insulting a large chunk of your revenue stream is a really poor way of persuading people to hold position and wait for announcements on the rest of the ecosystem. Also I wasted time being interviewed by the HVC team last year, when I thought I was providing feedback on a scheme I was going to be part of. I'm really annoyed by that, it's very disrespectful, and the HVC team must have known what was going on.

Meanwhile the IAG share price rises, so the market likes what it has been hearing. Doesn't mean the strategy will succeed, but you have to temper your criticism with that part of reality.