Can I help you

I guess that I mean that to some it might seem offensive to say this but it is actually a reality, is it wrong, it is not for me to say.
Our uniforms regulations have actually been change to allow these "enhancements".

m0hamed

Is BA15 SIN-SYD MF?

I flew this route in F yesterday and had the least F experience I have flown. All of my previous BA flights in F I have praised because of experienced, senior crew including Pursers whose years of customer service and attitudes ensure they anticipate your needs. They always interact and look after you as much as possible.

I ate in the QF SIN lounge before moving to the BA CCB. Upon boarding was told "Your seat is there to the right." Isn't it standard in F to be escorted to your seat?

I waited for ten minutes trying to get the attention of the crew member because I wanted a glass of water. She was too busy walking up and down the aisle delivering PJs and amenity kits. I had always been offered a drink by the person who escorted me to my seat.

I didn't have high expectations or demand much, I simply wanted to get on board and sleep to maximise my rest.

I ended up having to stand out of my seat and walk to get her attention. She came back 5 mins later with my water. Meanwhile my partner next me had his Champagne, PJs and amenity kit.

The cabin was full which may have impacted their service, but F should F, regardless. Oddly they made conflicting announcements about whether devices could be used during take off and landing which they had to rectify.

After we levelled out I wanted my bed made up and the crew were nowhere to be seen. I pressed the call button which was ignored. As another non F crew member handed out immigration cards I asked if she could please arrange for my bed to be made. I know she wan't a F crew member but it seemed I was being ignored.

I went to use the washroom to change and the chap in 1A walked out and said there was no water coming out of the tap to wash his hands. The crew decided not to inform pax, write a sign of any sort to only use it as a change room but to leave it to pax to discover the issue for themselves.

I went to sleep and my husband complained that the food he ate was poor quality and he wished he ate more in the lounge.

Overall, I think it was disappointing. I normally sing BA's praises and state that EK and EY crew could never produce the level of service I have come to expect from BA, but this was a truly disappointing flight. I didn't eat any food, all I asked for was a glass of water and my bed to be made up and that seemed to inconvenience the crew.

Is this what MF are like or am I making a wrong assumption?

morges1

Yes, it is MF. However, I'm afraid you had a "poor crew day" experience. Mme M1 and I were on the same flight a couple of nights before, 29 Nov, and we had a very good and pleasant cabin crew in F. Everything was as should have been and the crew were immediately responsive to requests like getting the bed made up, etc.

One trivial detail (on which we have previously had a long thread) was that we were not addressed by name nor did the CSD/CSM make any attempt to address us (my CIV is 100). On this particular issue, in the past year MF were doing marginally better than WW but on the way out to SIN on BA11 and WW, the CSD made a beeline to welcome us aboard by name and have a meaningful discussion.

m0hamed

We all have off days, I understand that. To the contrary the crew member on the other aisle showered attention on my husband. Other than the food he had a good flight. Oddly though when we were clearly in conversations he male crew member would just completely ignored me. Not even a "hello."

They define the aisles for service very clearly on BA it seems!

Flexible preferences

This kind of crew attitude in F (MF or WW) is so unacceptable

m0hamed

Yo've reminded me that we weren't addressed by name at all. Just "Sir."

I sent an email to You First. I don't expect much in return.

PUCCI GALORE

At last. Someone has said it. This could apply to so many things which cause complaint. There seems to be a body that think because they think in a particular way, so does everybody else. Similarly it has always amazed me how practically everybody here seems to ride first (I say seems as I was not there to verify this one way or another)

We notice changes and we notice enhancements as we are on aircrafts too much for our health or our own good. We are probably all kerosine crackheads fuelled on Champagne and whatever passes for edible in whichever cabin we have the misfortune to sit.

I do feel uncomfortable at the way MF is constantly being rubbished here. I am sure that they do try but the very set up was against them. Had they worked with other fleets things might have been different. The fact that they do not do so to this day is no fault of theirs either. One day, wastage, and retirement will whittle WW and EF down to being merged and it will be all one great big Mixed Fleet. I cannot say that I am glad to be out of it and not around when that blood bath takes place.

Zzzap

I have to start using this as my email signature or somesuch.

Globaliser

No, that's not a BA thing or even an MF thing. When we were in F on exactly the same sector, my companion had the much more switched-on crew member, who ended up looking after both of us whenever it made sense to do so even though we were technically on opposite aisles, like you two.

m0hamed

I tried to take advantage of his stellar service on his side and without even looking at me the crew member just said "X will look after you."

I can't fault the crew but I am truly surprised how many people stayed awake for the meal service. I was annoyed with the amount of noise the crew were making talking to the pax next to me in 2A but when I looked around I appeared to be only the pax wanting to sleep. It would have been nice if they lowered their volume a little, or even leaned down to talk to pax like SQ crew but just as I wanted to sleep the other pax have the right to enjoy the full F meal service so I put my ear plugs in.

I noted only Satay sticks in the CCB at SIN. Is the food in the outer lounge any better?

For those flying this route I highly recommend the QF SIN Lounge which had the following on offer:







They also differentiate service between OW F pax and OWE than other pax by escorting you to a table, offering you a drink and taking your food order.

morges1

That's because we are desperate to have PG as our hostess! No matter how often I fly, it just doesn't happen!!

BA.MF.CSM

While I do look at the bigger picture, there are occasions where sub par service occurs, on all fleets. I'm sorry you didn't receive the service you should have done for one of our First cabins.

I would like to give you another viewpoint from somebody who manages Mixed Fleet flights. I had a Cape Town flight a couple of weeks ago, with less than the required number of First trained crew rostered. I contacted our scheduling department a couple of days before to address my concerns with the overall level of experience on my trip. I was given another First trained crew member, and I was a little happier. On the day, this situation had mysteriously reverted to the original crew. I approached our management on the day, and was told nothing could be done, and that they didn't have enough First trained crew to cover the flight. As you can imagine, I was unhappy with the seeming lack of support and understanding regarding our situation. The result; a complaint from a Gold GL customer inflight, which removed me from the Club service for some time.

At the end of the day, sadly, we are occasionally put in compromising situations by BA, and through no fault of their own, colleagues are ill equipped to offer the required service offerings, especially, it would seem, in Premium cabins. As a manager, I genuinely do the best I can with the situation, but occurences like the one brought up in this post recently, will continue to happen. BA have created this, we are the mere minions of the new regime.

I just try to keep smiling��

Kind regards

BA.MF.CSM

m0hamed

What in insightful post, thank you. I note it must have been the CSM who noticed I was waiting at the washroom to change into my PJs and she escorted me through the J galley to the other washroom. When I walked back it appeared she was giving a briefing to the J cabin crew.

I don't post on the BA board, it seems a little club like and can intimidate newcomers.

I have had exemplary BA crew in the past, in fact I have always rated BA F > QF F > EK F > EY F in terms of service. I'm yet to experience the infamous CX F, ever flight we book with it gets subbed. Pursers and First Class cabin crew who engaged with us, anticipated our every need and made sure we were happy.

I don't know the status of other pax, I'm not the kind to look at others' boarding passes, however it appeared that the gentleman in 2K was receiving the utmost care at the expense of other pax. During boarding the male crew member spent 80% of his time while we we were waiting to leave the gate engaging with him.

I could be wrong but I believe there were only two crew members working in the F cabin. Is this standard?

If it is BA putting crew in positions they aren't equipped for then it will create disgruntled pax.

I have flown BA F several times and had an idea what to expect. We even used to fly SYD-LHR-CAI return annually despite the duration and the extremely lengthy transits because we rated the service as the best. For this occasion to be below J class on other airlines was the disappointing aspect.

The new QF J A330 Business Suites are fantastic and in future this will be choice for this sector. I'm afraid I'll think twice before flying BA again.

londonba2014

As a former critic of MF - I have just come off BA233 LHR - DME.

The crew were absolutely incredible and one of the best I have ever encountered with BA.

They were all extremely helpful, friendly and chatty. The bar trolley was not out of the aisle for the duration of the flight and they were being incredibly generous with the alcohol throughout the flight!

Although we only got a roll....

m0hamed

I received a response from BA Customer Care that appears to be a canned response with minor personalisation.

The most compelling part is, despite the webform I completed and entering all appropriate details, the response and voucher are addressed to my husband.

I appreciate the acknowledgment, and the voucher but I wonder if the crew will be spoken to or retrained?

Dear Mr xxx,

Thanks for letting us know what happened when you were travelling to Sydney. I'm sorry for the delay in responding to your email. You’re clearly disappointed with the service you received on board your flight and I absolutely agree we let you down.

I'm so sorry staff were not responsive to your needs. I understand you expect to be warmly greeted and shown to your seat when boarding the aircraft. I'm very disappointed to hear the bathroom had no running water as this is not acceptable.

Our staff are highly trained and we’re really proud of the service we offer. Our Managing Director of Brands and Customer Experience ensures our service remains outstanding by regularly taking flights. So, I’m sorry to hear our crew weren’t as helpful as we expect them to be.

When we find out something’s gone wrong we do everything we can to fix it. We're very grateful you've taken the time to let us know what happened, as it’s only through your comments we’re able to focus on areas where we need to improve. I’ve contacted our Customer Experience team to tell them about your journey, and I know they’ll appreciate your insight.

To show you how much we appreciate your support, I’d like to offer you an eVoucher for £xxx as an apology. I've included your eVoucher details below with a link to some helpful information about how you can use it.

If you have any questions about how to use this eVoucher, or for the Terms and Conditions, please go to:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...=searchResults

It’s only through your comments we’re able to focus on areas where we need to improve. We’re very grateful for your feedback and we certainly value your insight. I’ve sent a report to the Manager of the staff members mentioned who will handle this internally.

Thanks again for getting in touch with us. Please feel free to contact me directly by using the blue link below if I can help you with anything else.

Best regards

xxxx
British Airways Customer Relations Executive