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BA could have enhanced the F and C experience instead of penalizing WT/WTP.

BA could have enhanced the F and C experience instead of penalizing WT/WTP.

Old May 3, 2015, 6:54 pm
  #46  
 
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the most annoying thing from my pov is that the peak/off-peak calendar slavishly follows the ridiculously long holidays the 'effin private school lot have.
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Old May 3, 2015, 11:47 pm
  #47  
 
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Originally Posted by paul4040

The fact is, you and I, and everyone else know that UuA W to J was ridiculously good value. With the Avios you earned on the underlying fare it almost cost nothing at times.
Just to offer an alternative view to this. When you see WT+ tickets priced at the same level as J fares on other airlines, does the old UUA system still seem such a good bargain, or value?

I personally thought the WT+ prices were just about right for the CW product I was receiving. Full CW & WT+ fares are overpriced imo, especially for my individual needs (mostly leisure or leisurely business).

No particular anger about the changes, they are what they are. It would be interesting to know the maths behind the 140% increase however. Did they expect myself and others like me to bite the bullet and start paying CW fares or was I actually costing them money and they are happy to see the back of me!

Overall point being they havent tried to find a realistic sweet spot that would allow for inreased points charges but also retained customers.

We have now just booked 3 trips over the next year with EY in J. Average fare was a little over 100 pound more than a WT+ ticket. First time I have actually looked forward to flying in years!
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Old May 4, 2015, 4:19 am
  #48  
 
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Originally Posted by Only1BD
Hi drmish1; we did our first First to GIG on Fri Feb 13th this year. A 2 hour delay meant that we passed midday and could therefore enjoy the non-breakfast menu in the CCR (which was excellent), and we were able to dine later on in the flight without any pressure from the crew to eat early on in the flight. IIRC we had a chap whose initials were AT and he was outstanding, as was his colleague (MM). As ever, much of one's on board experience is down to the crew, but we were looking to sit back and relax, and did just that.
If your crew and flight are half as good as ours were, you'll have a great time! Am hoping we get the same crew to IAD in Jul on the A380...if only!!
Sounds great, thanks!

Any advice on the best seats for a couple travelling together?
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Old May 4, 2015, 4:48 am
  #49  
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Originally Posted by drmish1
Sounds great, thanks!

Any advice on the best seats for a couple travelling together?
Go for the middle seats: http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/...boeing-777-300
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Old May 4, 2015, 4:57 am
  #50  
 
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Originally Posted by LondonFlight
Thanks, 2 E/F sound good in that case!
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Old May 4, 2015, 4:58 am
  #51  
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Originally Posted by LOUDNOISES
Just to offer an alternative view to this. When you see WT+ tickets priced at the same level as J fares on other airlines, does the old UUA system still seem such a good bargain, or value?

I personally thought the WT+ prices were just about right for the CW product I was receiving. Full CW & WT+ fares are overpriced imo, especially for my individual needs (mostly leisure or leisurely business).

No particular anger about the changes, they are what they are. It would be interesting to know the maths behind the 140% increase however. Did they expect myself and others like me to bite the bullet and start paying CW fares or was I actually costing them money and they are happy to see the back of me!

Overall point being they havent tried to find a realistic sweet spot that would allow for inreased points charges but also retained customers.

We have now just booked 3 trips over the next year with EY in J. Average fare was a little over 100 pound more than a WT+ ticket. First time I have actually looked forward to flying in years!
I completely agree, that's also my point - with the fares being charged for WTP outside the BA sale the amount of Avios needed were not exactly a bargain.
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Old May 4, 2015, 12:03 pm
  #52  
 
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Originally Posted by LondonFlight
I completely agree, that's also my point - with the fares being charged for WTP outside the BA sale the amount of Avios needed were not exactly a bargain.
That I agree with. I've never understood how BA can get away with their WT+ rates in the long-term -- certainly travelers weren't banking on UuA en mass.
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Old May 4, 2015, 3:26 pm
  #53  
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Originally Posted by LOUDNOISES
When you see WT+ tickets priced at the same level as J fares on other airlines, does the old UUA system still seem such a good bargain, or value?
Are you saying that on the same routes, you can get J tickets on other airlines for the same price as WT+ on BA?

If you're actually comparing connecting itineraries on other airlines to BA's non-stop flights, that's comparing apples to oranges.
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Old May 4, 2015, 3:49 pm
  #54  
 
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Originally Posted by Globaliser
Are you saying that on the same routes, you can get J tickets on other airlines for the same price as WT+ on BA?

If you're actually comparing connecting itineraries on other airlines to BA's non-stop flights, that's comparing apples to oranges.
And it begs the question of why they weren't buying those other J fares in the first place. I don't buy the regular claims on here about being "loyal" to BA - if you have a genuine sense of loyalty to a capitalist firm (some unexpectedly generous act of kindness aside) then I'd question your sanity!
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Old May 4, 2015, 3:59 pm
  #55  
 
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[/PHP]
Originally Posted by Globaliser
Are you saying that on the same routes, you can get J tickets on other airlines for the same price as WT+ on BA?

If you're actually comparing connecting itineraries on other airlines to BA's non-stop flights, that's comparing apples to oranges.
Just happen to be shopping for a RT Business class trip. JFK BOM JFK.
Dec 10 to Jan 09 . BA price is $4758. Qatar is $2800.

Personal experience, QR trumps BA business class in all things that matter.
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Old May 4, 2015, 4:01 pm
  #56  
 
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Originally Posted by Often1
It's all about business plan. BA does not want to clog up premium classes with leisure travelers when it can sell those seats to people who will actually pay for them (whether business or leisure travel).

This is largely a function of a vastly improved worldwide business climate.
... and to a lesser (but significant) extent a function of a fixed-size airline, limited by the slots they have at LHR. They have to try to get more revenue out of a fairly fixed number of seats.
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Old May 4, 2015, 4:34 pm
  #57  
 
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Originally Posted by HMPS
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Just happen to be shopping for a RT Business class trip. JFK BOM JFK.
Dec 10 to Jan 09 . BA price is $4758. Qatar is $2800
True (and I've made a considerable saving myself booking QR vs BA on flights to Australia), but that's not the comparison being mentioned. JFK-BOM isn't a non-stop on BA. The more relevant comparison is, for example, someone comparing BA WTP fare LHR-BOM with EK J LHR-DXB-BOM. The EK fare may be close in price or even cheaper (and I've no idea how these fares compare, it's a hypothetical example), but it's a connection and a longer travelling time. The OP in this thread made one such comparison, it wasn't clear if they were comparing a direct or indirect J on another airline with BA WTP.

BA will price the WTP at a level they feel they can sell against direct flight competition. This applies much more to UK-based customers (Or perhaps rather London-based) than those based elsewhere, where a connection is anyway required.
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Old May 4, 2015, 4:38 pm
  #58  
 
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Originally Posted by Oaxaca
True (and I've made a considerable saving myself booking QR vs BA on flights to Australia), but that's not the comparison being mentioned. JFK-BOM isn't a non-stop on BA. The more relevant comparison is, for example, someone comparing BA WTP fare LHR-BOM with EK J LHR-DXB-BOM. The EK fare may be close in price or even cheaper (and I've no idea how these fares compare, it's a hypothetical example), but it's a connection and a longer travelling time.

BA will price the WTP at a level they feel they can sell against direct flight competition. This applies much more to UK-based customers (some would say London-based) than those based elsewhere, where a connection is anyway required.
QR flies BOM DOH ORD. Making both these flights comparable. This is a concrete example, why bring in Emirates ?
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Old May 4, 2015, 4:42 pm
  #59  
 
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Originally Posted by Oaxaca
True (and I've made a considerable saving myself booking QR vs BA on flights to Australia), but that's not the comparison being mentioned. JFK-BOM isn't a non-stop on BA. The more relevant comparison is, for example, someone comparing BA WTP fare LHR-BOM with EK J LHR-DXB-BOM. The EK fare may be close in price or even cheaper (and I've no idea how these fares compare, it's a hypothetical example), but it's a connection and a longer travelling time. The OP in this thread made one such comparison, it wasn't clear if they were comparing a direct or indirect J on another airline with BA WTP.

BA will price the WTP at a level they feel they can sell against direct flight competition. This applies much more to UK-based customers (Or perhaps rather London-based) than those based elsewhere, where a connection is anyway required.
Is a JFK-BOM non stop on Qatar then? I thought they were both one stop. As is EK.
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Old May 4, 2015, 4:58 pm
  #60  
 
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Originally Posted by HMPS
QR flies BOM DOH ORD. Making both these flights comparable. This is a concrete example, why bring in Emirates ?
Originally Posted by simons1
Is a JFK-BOM non stop on Qatar then? I thought they were both one stop. As is EK.
Both correct, but that's not what Globaliser was talking about in the post that HMPS responded to. It was about comparing a non-stop WTP fare with a J fare on another airline which would require a stop, which would not be apples with apples (and hence my hypothetical EK example, could have been anything).

To be more concrete in my example, I asked the same question up-thread of the OP, who mentioned that other airline J was similar price to BA WTP on LHR-GIG, but didn't clarify if those other airlines were direct. In fact they could not have been, as AFAIK only BA flies nonstop LHR-GIG. The point being that BA may not be concerned about others selling J competitively on an indirect flight if they can fill WTP on a direct at the same price.
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