Originally Posted by
SchmeckFlyer
The hassle of missed connections, unbearably long queues, seemingly complacent ground staff, a seemingly overarching focus on retail with a concurrent blatant disregard of core airport functions, lack of runway capacity yet too many terminals, a seeming impossibility for even long-term growth and/or improvement.... all conspires to drive me away
You make some very good points, but a lot of it is not directly under the control of BA, but rather BAA.
However, as has been noted on FT before, BA does wield considerable influence over BAA and if it means enough to them, they will use this influence to effect change. As we all know, the one motivator of BA is money and when they start losing passengers taking their business elsewhere, maybe then the hens will start squawking.
Does BA care that no moving sidewalk is ever working at LHR? Not really. How about that their customers run through a gauntlet of shops en route to the gate or even after they clear customs? Not at all.
But I do agree about LHR being a cesspool (and I think most others do, too). It's surely heresy to say this, (flame suit on) but it is just impossibly difficult to get things done in a timely and efficient manner in the UK. For example, Terminal 5 was obsolete before it was even started (it's already too small for BA) due to the amount of time it took to plan and the mountains of red tape which had to be climbed. (Wembley still isn't done.)
AMS has six runways (and a fantastic, clean, spacious and well-laid-out building to boot) and LHR has two. Do you have any idea how long it will take to build even a third? After the government inquiries and every last environmental wackjob has had their say (and how is it that every airport seems to have been built on or next to a wetland preserve?) it will still take ten years of red tape before the trucks even get warmed up.
AMS has nice trains which take about 20 minutes to get into the city and cost (if memory serves) about EUR4.00 each way (FRA is around the same). How much is the Heathrow Express? £15.50 single. Okay, the Piccadilly Line is only £4, but it takes fifty minutes and stops 20 times before Leicester Square.
Sooner or later, the chicken is going to come home to roost. BA/BAA won't like it when it does, but as LHR spirals ever deeper into dysfunctionality, people will avoid it more and more - at least those of us that aren't held captive.
Originally Posted by
SchmeckFlyer
What I would miss if I quit BA long-haul in the long-run:
- extended and reliable lounge network (mainly referring to out stations)
- truly flat beds and consistent hard product across entire fleet
- focus on premium services, despite the cost cutting
- the fuzzy feeling I get flying BA
- and most importantly, what will I have to talk about on my favourite FT board????
The only thing which BA have going for them is the fact that they are actually a d*mn good airline, all things considered.