layz

Did the card readers accept card types common outside Germany? I remember many ticket machines would accept EC and Maestro, neither any use for a UK resident.

ahmetdouas

Yes it is surprising to some people, as for example in the US and UK cards are pretty much everywhere to the point where i have spent days without 1 GBP or USD of cash needed in my pocket doing my daily life.

And BA is a British airline so tries to apply that policy, which in practice internationally is not so easy to implement due to different payment cultures.

DirtyDavey

Its not rocket science at all, and the implementation of this policy (and others), and the contempt which has been shown to customers with the marketing BS, is now what has led me personally to not default to BA as my carrier of choice.

The impact for me on my decision making hasn't just been SH but LH too, and my experience so far this year on other carriers has exceeded what BA generally provides - hard product, cleanliness, catering, all have been better.

The only consistent thing that BA beats other carriers on is the cabin crew, however, has has been pointed out, you remove the ability for CC to go that little extra and then that disappears too. Many CC I now talk to are openly embarassed about the company they work for, and seem to spend a lot of time apologizing for the declines they see in a company they were once proud to work for.

I'll still fly BA occasionally when schedules favour but thats it.

I'm sure Mr Cruz doesn't give two hoots about losing the annual 6 figure sum my company used to spend with BA thats gone to other carriers, but he should also be aware that word of mouth and personal endorsement also matter and when I'm asked (which is quite often!) I no longer now recommend to colleagues and friends to fly BA, and infact now actively encourage them to look at other carriers.

Ultimately time will tell whether Mr Cruz is making the right choices, whichever way it works out BoB is going to be a defining moment in BA's history!

DirtyDavey

Agreed - my trips to Germany are one of the few where I still take hard cash with me. Taxis and restaurants still frequently don't take cards. I haven't experienced this with hotels over the last few years though, they do seem to be better, though do seem to insist of using the practice of 'holding' a deposit on your card which can be annoying if you're close to your limit!

bot_beany

It is very simple. BoB was introduced to g̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶q̶u̶a̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶c̶h̶o̶i̶c̶e̶.̶ save BA on inclusive meals and extract more money from PAX while on board.

Corrected that for you.

papyPiHi

CDG-LHR yesterday afternoon, CC trying to sell bottled water instead of giving out tap water.
Needless to say, my cup of tap water never materialised again...

BA6948

It is laughable that some still believe BA is doing it to give choice and quality. On routes to Band 4, BA used to give quality and choice (hot meal tray) but that has been taken away. On other routes the offering was not bad (flat breads, wraps or full breakfast on domestic).

Tuggster

Taxi's yes, but in my experience living here for 9 out of the last 15 years on and off, i haven't come across restaurants not taking cards, but I suppose that is because I use an EC card being paid over here.

miamiflyer8

To give you another example of how Germany is largely cash based:

When the Lufthansa A380 arrives or departs at MIA, there are frequently sniffer dog for cash as I once on the TV show Miami Airport 24/7 saw two German doctors carrying $20K cash... It isn't a problem with the quantity of cash you have but rather if you fail to declare anything over $10K.

They are losing lots of revenue as those who want to purchase something can't and those who want to get rid of their last Ł's and give them to Cruz.

You'd think Cruz would take all the money he can get...

miamiflyer8

+1.

Is it really choice and quality to have to pay for water and coffee?

Well it sure is a choice as I don't want to pay Ł2.30 for a hot beverage on a "full service" carrier but it ain't quality to me other than bad quality.

BA6948

Another cutting review on airlinequality.com. There are some passengers that valued the old service who don't bother with the new "quality and choice" offered by rip off BA.

BA6948

Reports on twitter on flights coming back from Funchal and Athens without food after the first few rows. passengers are pissed and angry on twitter. Shambles continue!

streetmagix

I used a Halifax issued Mastercard and it worked fine on the DB machines, at the station vendors, REWE and Europa Park. I used cash for everything else (museums etc). The machines are basically the same type as the UK Contactless ones with icons for VISA, Mastercard and (IIRC) AMEX.

Forever in Seattle

I'm sure the volume of twitter complaints will rise when they finally roll out wifi onboard, when people are able to tweet in real time!

fransknorge

Remember that the Wifi will have a price, it will not be free. And if it's organised by the same team, the whole plane will have a throughout of 1MB total