BA it was good while it lasted
 

After 10 years of huge commitment to BA and being a GCH during this time I have decided to jump ship to use various other airlines before deciding who I will stick with. But it is over with BA. I fly monthly in CW to North America/Asia and have decided now is the time. Surly crews that are p!ssed off with cost cutting and leaving it out on the customer, crap IFE (really poor), dirty old planes, average food, lack of CW updating to compete with CX for example, and then the GF lounge dining options which were the final straw.

I am actually excited to use CX/LF/Emirates etc to see if the faraway hills are actually greener. My limited experience on other airlines tells me they are.

BA may not care about losing individual customers (I own my company and we have 5 people travelling globally) but I was a BA loyalist until recently when I just felt things were going downhill, and I feel other more competitive, better options are out there.

But...IAG had great numbers this week so all is well and all middle and upper management will get their annual bonuses......to what expense?

No a rant in any way as the airline buisness is a tough one and I understand what BA is doing. I just do not want to be part of it.

+1
^

You might want to keep some flights with BA as they are expected to announce lifetime Gold, after 10 years you may as well wait and see!

but yes the product as gone downhill.

It makes no sense to be blindly loyal, as many here on FT do, to any one airline.

The grass us not always greener
 

I agree with spreading your loyalty but to be fair to BA I was in a similar position with Virgin and I have tried EK in F which was terrible in both directions including a substituted 777 on the return which was a shed. Delta :td::td: I am having terrible problems with bookings made with AA so prepare to be disappointed with whoever you choose, although so far my BA experiences have been excellent.

Or, indeed, to any one hotel chain!

Lifetime membership would be a fine solution - allowing the loyal-one to then move on to pastures new.

I don't recognise the airline you describe for 98% of my flights....but neither are BA the world's best either.

Flying other airlines is great as you'll uncover some real gems - like NZ who are simply superb.

I don't think theres much better out there going West from LHR, but if you fly East you're mad to use BA.

This is entirely understandable, though my experiences (having just rolled of a BA A380 with a superb crew) is completely different. Hopefully you will be back before too long: I am a frequent flyer on Skyteam and Star Alliance, and though there are some great airlines in that mix, none of them are perfect by any means.

+1 ^

I know some people don't like the herringbone but AC premium first is much better than BA CW IMO. Well at least until something goes wrong when AC don't gove a cr@p.

Sadly, I recognise the airline described in about 6/10 flights on average, including on my last flight having the call bell ignored three times in 10 minutes in F, when I wanted a glass of water and the belt sign was on, then getting a grossly overcooked lunch (special meal, so I couldn't even accept a substitute and had to lump it) and on my flight before (CW) when I had to call the crew on boarding, as my seat was covered in crumbs and dust and the floor area had lots of small pieces of torn paper on it.

It is not good enough and I have booked with another airline for my next TATL, as well as moving to EK for all eastbound flights from now on.

I can understand why the OP has dropped BA.

When the seatbelt sign is on, how are the crew supposed to answer the bell and bring you a glass of water? :confused::rolleyes:

Fully understand and agree with your view. Flying East in particular BA struggle.

(As an aside Final 3 greens - do I understand correctly you didn't get served when the seat belt sign was on?)

Yes it must be extremely tough when the likes of CX go on a cost cutting exercise after falling into the red. QF have had to go Arab, NZ axe some long haul routes due to major losses, Lufty scale down the number of flights offering First Class and Virgin who some say offer the best lounge at LHR have been in deep poo for a while and are now only 51% British owned.

BA seem to have had the foresight to make some changes while others may have left it too late. It'll be interesting to see what happens over the next few years.

At least you're prepared to move on.....some people just stay put and carry on moaning. :D

"Blind loyalty" depends on what options are available ... Routes, timings, wishing to acquire/retain FFP status, etc.

I suspect most on FT are actually sentient adults, who are aware of the choices (where they exist) and make sensible decisions (or have them made for them by clients/employers).

Well said ^

Are you joking?

Light turb, belt sign on, crew released, we were 1 hour into the flight.

Yes, the crew were not seated, but the belt sign was on.

As long as when you do move on, you don't keep posting moans on here, even though you no longer fly with BA!!!:D

Perhaps when they're walking around they could check what the repeated boinging is going on in F? I know they walk around as we exchange pleasantries (like "you know the seatbelt sign is on sir, be careful", "yes I do, and be careful for you also") when I'm in the way to or back from the loo.

Ah, I was wondering when the BA apologists will start their whining.

Well, this is the internet with (some ;) freedom of speech). I would encourage the OP to keep posting the comparisons here, so that all of us know how good it is in other airlines, and some squirm a little more! :D

Perhaps you could point the "BA Apologists" to other airline boards where people complain as well? Or are they all fanfares of trumpets and rose petals everywhere else?

Why would there be "BA Apologists" on other airline boards? There would be other apologists.

Since I am on this board, ergo the point about BA apologists.

Pedantic point noted, despite its inaccuracy. I just wonder why there are so many comments here about BA apologists. Perhaps they're just people who disagree? And get accidentally accused to being apologists?

Thanks for your acknowledgement of the validity of my point.

Actually, if you see the trends of this board, the moment someone complains about BA, the BA apologists jump on them. Case in point: this thread. Note the original mild complaint by OP and then, posts to suppress the OP's right to complain.

So, no, they are not 'accidentally' accused of being apologists. They are called apologists because they want to suppress free speech and go after people who dare to complain against BA.

And you clearly want to suppress their free speech by slapping an insulting label on people with whom you disagree. Not on :(

Really? "Moaning" is the label that they use while describing the complaint of the OP. I don't see anyone speak up against that before now. So they are at liberty to insult complainants, but others are debarred from free speech?

We are at cross-purposes, as you misinterpreted my comment ... But no matter.

If, and I emphasise IF, it was a completely even environment there are certain arguments that come in to play. BUT, it depends on routes/origin/timing and a multitude of other factors.

I was flying east from UK, there is no doubt that there's some serious competition. Flying west to the East Coast of the US, there are different options. Connect via somewhere in Europe, there are even more. I make no comment on the quality of those carriers I have never experienced ... I know they exist, but they neither suit my schedules or personal convenience.

BA has faults, for sure. But on my route, and with timings that suit me, it's my favourite. If I was going somewhere else, perhaps not. So I'm loyal to BA .., and I complain as much as anyone.

Stop taking life so seriously......tis only an airline you know. I'm off to bury the cat.

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.