So sorry to hear that, HIDDY. My sympathy to you and the family. May the cat have priority access to the comforting arms of Bastet.

Folks, can we get back to discussing the topic please? Also the abuse of the divisive and dismissive apologist term and personal digs do little to advance objective discourse.

Prospero
Moderator: BAEC forum

BA it was good while it lasted
 

I have just been over to the US. Four out of five sectors were on the other AAirline. The first was on BA. AA were not the disaster that I expected. In fact, the aircraft were clean, the food was good, they left and arrived in good time and the FAs were friendly and helpful. BA only managed one of these. We left so late we missed our connecting flight, there were crumbs on my seat and I had to clean the armrest and table, the food was ok but one of the FAs was excellent. It was a MF crew so they forgot to serve the tea with the afternoon tea.

This time AA won hands down. They even won on the price which was about £1k less per person for the same itinerary. They even won on TPs as the AA domestic legs booked into F!

I like BA though and most of my flying is CE s/h. I will continue to use BA as I rather like them. I'm not saying the flight above was unpleasant. It wasn't.

Any recommendation for flights to NRT, not necessarily via LHR. I normally fly from MAN. I tried KLM from HUY my local airport, however slopey seats are not my thing.

BA seems to offer the best value in J I can see but open to suggestions.

MH via KUL if you have the time. If not then CX via HKG. The late PM departure times options for both is better then the early PM BA time if you're looking to minimise jetlag.

I think I missed that official announcement. Lifetime Gold for being Gold for 10 years ... ...or was it actually that you might get $something for being Gold for 10 years? Possibly Silver if you're lucky.

Thanks for the suggestion. Much as I am a great advocate of BA, I keep hearing good things about CX. I also suffer terribly with jet-lag on the 005.

I wouldn't say much better, it's different; each has it's strengths and weaknesses. AC is a decent airline, but the FF program is really bad. You won't find any sparkling wine (never mind champagne) in any of the lounges though.

See a comparison I wrote here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ir-canada.html

I've shifted my Canada-UK flying to BA from AC.

I alternate between LX via ZRH and NH via FRA. Both have lie-flat seats. NH ex-LHR is more expensive as it's a non-stop flight but ex-MAN via FRA (or MUC after September when the 787 starts flying the route) is about £900 less.

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

It's been expecting longer than a pregnant woman

I believe that this thread encapsulates a lot of the current 'issues' in relation to brand loyalty, service standards, varying degrees of customer service and how some need some perspective (including not taking things so seriously!).

My thoughts are thus:

In the big scheme of things BA provide a generally quality service. This is inclusive of premium cabins and varying degrees of customer service (from cradle to grave - the whole customer experience). Overall, I have been very happy with BA. Most staff I have had contact with have been professional, courteous and some have gone the extra mile. Ultimately, it doesn't matter which airline you choose to fly, it is a fact of life that you will experience a varying spectrum of experiences from superb to extremely poor. These experiences remain in our psyche and of course, your views are ultimately dictated by these experiences but foremost, the negative ones.

It is always good to vary your experiences. In the flying business this obviously means experiencing what different airlines have to offer. My only word of caution is that if you fly BA say 100 times over a year and choose to vary your experience you may choose say CX a few times and be bowled over. Is this a fair comparison? I would suggest not as there will come a time that you WILL be disappointed. This is a fact of life and thus the grass isn't always greener.

Swanhunter stated that he likes NZ. I have travelled NZ premium many times and up to a point I was very impressed. I had two bad experiences with the crew which soured my overall view of the airline (human nature). This is the point I am making above. As such, I have steered away from NZ. Are they a bad airline? I suggest that they are not. My experience has dictated that I know as a consumer I have a choice and I have exercised this choice by not flying them after my few bad experiences. This does not make them a poor airline however.

What BA need to focus on in these difficult times is what it should always focus on - a quality customer experience from cradle to grave. Aspirational? Yes. Realistic? Probably not. Your staff will fail you on occasion because they are human. What BA need to do is instil a belief in its staff that the brand and airline are worth going the extra mile for. They also need to get rid of those who clearly don't share this ethos. The flip side is that they should reward those who do go the extra mile and we play a part in recognising those that do so. The motto 'To Fly To Serve' for me encompasses this ethos. The staff need the support to deliver this via quality in house training, support and inspirational leadership. This is the investment the airline should be making first and foremost. New aircraft are clearly drip feeding into the airline so concentrate on your staff!

I am not a BA apologist or an apologist full stop. All I wold say is that taking everything into account I am perfectly satisfied overall with BA.

I think a lot of people are weary of the petty arguments over trivialities on this forum from time to time. Accept that everyone has a right to an opinion and that there IS more to life than just BA. BA have good and bad points just like any other airline or business.

All the best to the OP and please report back your experiences as I for one will read those with interest.

Stevie, I came to the same conclusion a few years back.

I like BA but the CW product is no longer good enough to ensure my custom. Over the last 5 years I have encountered some good crew but unfortunately I have encountered too many lazy and/or disinterested crew. Considering the cost of a CW flight, I pay for my flights, very bad service is unacceptable. The human factor explains an occasional bad experience but the breadth of bad service suggests indifferent or ineffectual management.

5 years ago BA would be my automatic choice. I still fly BA if it makes sense (cost or routing) but now travel more with other airlines. I no longer am a GCH but as I only fly J or occasionally F I do not notice my lack of status.

I want BA to do well and would like the product to improve and the standard of service to be uniformly good. However, BA has to earn my money and as things stand it is too much of a lottery whether or not on any particular flight I will be pleased that I chose BA.

I won't quote what Giddykipper368 wrote but he strikes a chord about getting rid of the wrong 'uns. In my business, we can't afford passengers, (excuse the pun) and if they can't, or won't change their behaviors, they are gone.

CX latest recruitment really struck me recently and I hadn't noticed it before. Along with the usual requirements, height etc, one of the key requirements is "to be an ambassador for Hong Kong".

As the national flag carrier, it would not be amiss to include in BA's job descriptions for all the right reasons.

MAN is also my closest UK airport, but flight options are limited.

Given that I try to stick to OW, I've got a booking with Qatar coming up, HKG-MAN. It's costing me almost half what BA wanted to charge, for what by all accounts I'm told is a far superior product. We shall see. MAN-DOH-NRT is a bit of a long routing, but it's up to you. To HKG at least there are some very short connections available to negate the extra distance flown. You could also do similar on Bling Air if thats your cup of tea.

CX are also generally slightly cheaper than BA, to HKG at least, and wipe the floor with them.

If you want a direct flight from LHR, I think ANA should be your best bet.