Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > British Airways | Executive Club
Reload this Page >

new lounge rules for gold? [End of Open Doors for Golds]

new lounge rules for gold? [End of Open Doors for Golds]

Old May 20, 2011, 10:29 am
  #136  
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Programs: BA Gold, VS Silver, Marriott Ambassador, HH diamond IHG plat
Posts: 629
Originally Posted by Smirnoff
But equally, I think that LGW should have been excluded from the policy.

It's bad enough with the overcrowding during the morning rush from the Caribbean/Florida flights, but having the place full of EZY passengers too pushed it to the limit.
But isn't the reason for the lounge at LGW being over-busy is because they halved the size of it? How many GCHs can there actually be at any one time who are flying EZY? And if there are a lot of them, BA should be asking itself why that is.....
chipster is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:30 am
  #137  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,548
Exactly, chipster.

I can't imagine every EZY flight from LGW is packed with BA Golds!!!
irishguy28 is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:30 am
  #138  
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: All over the place often South Wales and Lake District
Programs: BA Gold for Life
Posts: 4,547
Originally Posted by sunrisegirl
I'm not going to comment on the rights and wrongs of this. But unfortunately some people have taken the benefit a bit too far by takng big bags full of food and drink, especially at LGW when they're travelling on easy jet.

Sorry for all those that this affects.
Well perhaps the rule about removing food and drink needs to be enforced now the strike is no more. Anyone contravening could have their GC removed. This is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I have been a GC holder for 3.5 years and a GGL holder for 2. I have used Open doors twice in that time. I didn't pig out in the lounge at LGW when I was flying the horrors of a charter flight as BA didn't fly to where I needed to be, and I didn't remove anything from the lounge. I suspect that the removal of the benefit has nothing whatever to do with the hoarders and everything to do with freelance accountancy consultants who get a bonus for every they save. Of course the losses from this are more difficult to monetize so the consultancy are in a win/win whereas BA could end up on a lose/lose
itsmeitisss is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:32 am
  #139  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: London, UK and Southern France
Posts: 18,351
Originally Posted by sunrisegirl
I'm not going to comment on the rights and wrongs of this. But unfortunately some people have taken the benefit a bit too far by takng big bags full of food and drink, especially at LGW when they're travelling on easy jet.
Out of curiosity, how on earth would one know that those pax are traveling on EZY? It is not as if catering in short-haul Y ex-LGW is sumptuous these days, to why should one assume that these would be EZY travelers rather than BA travelers? Or is it not just something which is more 'comfortable' to think and that, therefore, one is more inclined to believe as an explanation, regardless of whether it is the truth or not?
NickB is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:32 am
  #140  
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Near Edinburgh
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 9,034
Originally Posted by irishguy28
Unless you consider a GCH who happens to be flying on easyjet a freeloader? They can't be flying on easyjet very often if they still manage to maintain Gold in BAEC!
I think others have hit this square on the head. This is likely aimed at blocking those people who earn Gold flying via their work (and often the choice of airline will not be their own) but then chose a budget airline for their personal flying, visit the lounge and potentially grab stocks of food on the way out.

Unfortunately, BA's decision has caused collateral damage.
Paralytic is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:36 am
  #141  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: London, UK and Southern France
Posts: 18,351
Originally Posted by HIDDY
Obviously they are....I doubt BA would have done this if it was just the odd one or two.
I imagine the Golds get their status through long haul travel. Their work travel policy will be you fly EZY when in Europe and BA when on long haul. BA won't lose anything through this change in my opinion.
mmm... 4 sentences. 4 assumptions and zero evidence for the assumptions. Not a bad score, eh?
NickB is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:38 am
  #142  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: MAN and LON
Programs: Mucci, BAEC LT Gold, HH Dia, MR LT Plat, IHG Diamond Amb, Amex Plat
Posts: 13,758
I don't even know why I am bothering but I would add my 2p here. this is utterly unacceptable. As the Gold benefits have been gradually eroded over time such that you now need to think really hard about what benefits you get over and above F lounge access when travelling OW, this was a genuinely useful benefit which cost little and I would imagine few of us used regularly.

Whilst I only ever used to use Open Doors once or twice a year I valued my ability to use it to access a decent lounge rather than a crappy third party lounge and on occasion pick up a magazine when flying with a decent carrier with a poor LHR lounge (e.g. TG ex T3).

If hordes of "freeloaders" are pillaging the lounges then surely BA needs to look very carefully at a) the reasons why these people are not flying BA and b) If they had no choice of carrier because BA had abandoned their route to the even lower service carriers (and the distinction between BA and Easy is getting ever more marginal in Y) it is hardly the loyal passengers fault that BA left them no other options.

On my rare forays to the dark side of the lounge pavilion (AKA Galleries Club) I have hardly encountered a stampede of goody bag toting Golds and strongly suspect a mountain is being made of a molehill in order to make yet another small cost saving. It leaves no doubt as to who is in charge of BA, Marketing and Customer Services functions very obviously play second fiddle to the men in grey suits. And the insinuation in the email that somehow Golds have been clamouring for BA to end this occasionally useful perk would be funny if it wasn't so deeply sad and pathetic.

The data mining value of discovering who else a "highly loyal" passenger is flying with is worth a great deal to a forward thinking airline, but in BA's headlong rush to the bottom of the barrel this is clearly no longer of value.
Land-of-Miles is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:41 am
  #143  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: London, UK and Southern France
Posts: 18,351
Originally Posted by Land-of-Miles
On my rare forays to the dark side of the lounge pavilion (AKA Galleries Club) I have hardly encountered a stampede of goody bag toting Golds and strongly suspect a mountain is being made of a molehill in order to make yet another small cost saving.
^ The perverse effect of different departments having "efficiency gain/productivity" targets without consideration of the broader implications of the changes being introduced.
NickB is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:42 am
  #144  
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Wales (Home base), Germany (Work base) & around the world!
Programs: BA Gold, LH FTL, Priority Club Gold
Posts: 352
Originally Posted by NickB
Out of curiosity, how on earth would one know that those pax are traveling on EZY? It is not as if catering in short-haul Y ex-LGW is sumptuous these days, to why should one assume that these would be EZY travelers rather than BA travelers? Or is it not just something which is more 'comfortable' to think and that, therefore, one is more inclined to believe as an explanation, regardless of whether it is the truth or not?
+1 ^^

When I have to "slum it" in ET out of STR, I usually ask the (fantastic) lounge dragon of she mind's me taking a packet of pretzels and a "Bifi" to supplement the paltry offering behind the curtain. On the rare occassions I fly Easyjet / Germanwings and the like, I'm quite happy to pay a fiver for a salad or hot snack. I don't have that option on BA
arcticfox is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:44 am
  #145  
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Programs: BAEC Gold, M&M Sen, Delta Skymiles Gold
Posts: 866
What an absolutely awful decision!
gordon0808 is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:46 am
  #146  
vla
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Europe
Programs: Mucci, BAEC Gold, Aegean Gold
Posts: 2,115
Originally Posted by Land-of-Miles
I have hardly encountered a stampede of goody bag toting Golds and strongly suspect a mountain is being made of a molehill in order to make yet another small cost saving.
Perhaps excepting, of course, when the sandwiches were cut from Y and, erm, goody bags were placed in the lounges encouraging passengers to take something along for their journey.

(Someone in Wallyworld is now undoubtedly going hmmm.. @:-) Oh yeah.)
vla is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:47 am
  #147  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,167
Originally Posted by NickB
mmm... 4 sentences. 4 assumptions and zero evidence for the assumptions. Not a bad score, eh?
Seen as every other FFP has done away with the benefit. One hardly needs to have attended Harvard to understand what lies behind BA making this change.
HIDDY is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:48 am
  #148  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,548
Originally Posted by HIDDY
Seen as every other FFP has done away with the benefit. One hardly needs to have attended Harvard to understand what lies behind BA making this change.
Seeing as?

Iberia hasn't - yet!!!
irishguy28 is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:51 am
  #149  
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Wales (Home base), Germany (Work base) & around the world!
Programs: BA Gold, LH FTL, Priority Club Gold
Posts: 352
Originally Posted by Land-of-Miles
The data mining value of discovering who else a "highly loyal" passenger is flying with is worth a great deal to a forward thinking airline, but in BA's headlong rush to the bottom of the barrel this is clearly no longer of value.
So true!!

If they bothered to do some analysis on this, they would be able to better match proces & identify routes which their "high value" passengers use often.

Not to mention every time a GCH stops by a BA lounge when not flying with them, it should remind them of one of the few noticable benefits BA has over its competitiors. If anything, one could argue BA should go out of its ways to "remind" the high revenue passengers why they should stay loyal to BA - not take, seemingly, every opportunity to destroy that loyalty.
arcticfox is offline  
Old May 20, 2011, 10:51 am
  #150  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,167
Originally Posted by irishguy28
Seeing as?

Iberia hasn't - yet!!!
Manana, manana....

I didn't know they had an open doors policy.
HIDDY is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.