IAMORGAN

This is not true - some of the 777s had looped IFE (ie non-AVOD) until last year iirc.

Genius1

Indeed, this was the case in all cabins on these 772s. Thankfully they have all now been refurbished with Thales AVOD.

Flexible preferences

I'm curious as to the reasons for this. Does anyone know if 'leisure' routes are actually less profitable for BA than 'business' routes? Or, are leisure travellers less likely to be put off by older cabins etc? Or both? Or other reasons?

I think in their latest refurbishments VS have upgraded their entire leisure fleet from LGW ahead of some of their LHR aircraft. Maybe high loadings of leisure routes deliver high profits which can be taken for granted? Just a thought, I have no data whatsoever on the matter, just curious.

Genius1

Leisure routes are generally less profitable, because people don't usually need flexibility and search for the cheapest fares.

Business routes generally have higher numbers of flexible (ie. more expensive) tickets, including last minute bookings. Cheapest fares are usually below convenience in the priority list for business travellers (depending on the company!).

I do also think that regular travellers (more likely business travellers) have higher expectations in regard to cabin products etc.

Flexible preferences

Thanks, what you say does seem to make sense, but do you actually have data for this, or inside knowledge? You see, I'm wondering if what you say is just the general perception, but may be surprisingly not the case. For instance, business routes may have lower loadings, and some leisure routes people will pay very high fares, especially in school holidays etc.

Genius1

A mixture of general perception and a little insider knowledge

Flexible preferences

Well thanks, interesting

corporate-wage-slave

I'd also concur with Genius1. At lunches and other events for Prems and GGLs the BA management are quite open in saying that business locations give them their highest returns, with various nuances. For example business travel on many routes is tied to the economic cycle, whereas some leisure routes are more inelastic (and I'm almost sure that this particular service, one of the very few I've never been on, falls into this category). The other aspect of leisure travel which important to any leveraged airline is that leisure travel can generate very helpful cashflow (not profits) at the right time. But having said that, I'm pretty sure Chengdu weighs more strongly in the corporate vision than, say, Fort Lauderdale. And rightly so.

Flexible preferences

Thanks. OK, no axe to grind here. Most of my own travel has been to 'business' locations, albeit for leisure reasons. I think if I had to choose which were more profitable for BA, then on balance I'd also come down on the side of business routes.

However, that said, are we really that sure? LGW probably has a much lower cost per passenger base than LHR for a start considerably helping profitablity. Inflexible tickets come with a hidden cancellation/change bonus for the airline, whereas flexible tickets come with a further cost if change or cancellation is enacted. Leisure routes often have high loadings. And, I'm not asking if BA takes more revenue from business routes, I'm questioning if the profit per passenger really is that much higher, if at all. I'd be very interested in any hard stats on this, although accept that is unlikely they will be forthcoming!

NVAUGHAN123

Hi, bit confused from the some of the answers given above - to confirm - no 777s from LGW have the new AVOD / Thales system?

globalste

You would struggle to tell anyway unless you knew the difference and are in J or F with the larger screens. IMO.

Can I help you

None of the LGW based B777s have the Thales system but they sometimes get one down there while their aircraft are under maintenance.

Skipcool3

INVAUGHAN 123

None of the Gatwick based 777s have been re fitted with the new wt and wt+ product.

If one of these aircraft has a technical issue or other reason for not flying (scheduled maintenance , etc) then a plane may be flown in which may have the new products....

NVAUGHAN123

Thanks Skipcool. Will be in either CW or F, depending whether I upgrade at the airport. Seems like you can tell the difference between the old and new content and certainly the screens on the large TVs.

thadocta

Not true, I flew on a B747-436, B! 21 LHR-SIN-SYD back in Feb 2002 (being just after the collapse of Ansett, it was originally a QF flight which BA took over as QF aircraft were needed elsewhere, and it was definitely looped, in no way was it AVOD.

Dave