BA6948

Alex Cruz has responded to an open letter on the web about the BoB. Not impressed by his answer. Reminded me somehow of Kellyanne Conway answers: you think she is answering questions but what she is actually doing is diverting the discussion to other topics.

http://www.godsavethepoints.com/news...-ceo-alex-cruz

sxc

Now that they won't interline between separate PNRs, they don't let you build an itinerary that meets your scheduling needs eg booking one trip now, and a connecting trip to that a month later....

nux

Title should be changed to 'allegedly reacts'.

Also the original article is incorrect, such as specifying 500 avios for a bottle of water.

Globalist

I am sure he is not sticking around to read the comments.

Globalist

BA6948

I don't think so too or he just ignores them. Pity, as they are valid comments from Gold and loyal customers.

agehall

Seriously? Has the whole world gone mad? I'm tempted to buy some BA shares just so that I can attend the shareholder meetings and tell him in person what an idiot he is.

Dan72

It might not be what people want to hear, but he does answer the question. He tells us that people prioritise price not food on shorthaul, something that is difficult to challenge. It's in BA's interest to offer something that appeals to more people. If adding wifi and taking away food leads to better returns, BA will know that they took the right decision.

I think much of the bleating around the introduction of BOB is wasted energy, the best measurement of whether it works for passengers is whether they continue to buy tickets with BA. Either it will work and others will follow, or it will fail and BA will re-introduce complimentary catering.

I also think he answers the recurring pass-agg taunt that BA is now a low cost airline well, BA is far from alone in its approach.

Finally he mentions providing power at seats on short-haul, I hadn't heard about this. Had we heard of this before? I hadn't and can see this, together with wifi, being more popular with travellers, particularly business, than a free drink and snack.

Dan72

But they do let you build itineraries with other carriers. They just won't let you combine cheap fares. Presumably because they feel they don't need to and the costs involved when it goes wrong are too high.

In your example, a travel agent or BA can amend the ticket. Yes, it will cost, but it can be done.

Mapman

The point about premium bags seems to be an alternative fact. Does it not specifically say somewhere on the OneWorld site that BA does not offer priority bag services?

corporate-wage-slave

He has given a robust and logical answer to the core questions of (a) why Buy on Board and (b) why that doesn't make BA a Low Cost Carrier. The second question his answers seems sensible and coherent to me, his first answer is much weaker at this point, but he could be proven right: he merely needs to hold on to most of his existing customers for it to work, and if he gets more people into Club (and I've seen some evidence this may be happening albeit without producing the usual revenue) then he may be on to something. You may disagree with the argument, and I have doubts about some details, but he makes a plausible case.

Now some people are never going to be happy with his reply, and not seek to understand the argument that he is making, but the fact that food / drink provision is not a key factor in the short haul service for most passengers is an important point that can't be wished or ranted away. On BA's data it's not in the top 5 and though we all know how BA gets that data, nevertheless seen from the perspective of a 3 times a year traveller it seems plausible to me.

As an aside, this is about the fourth time I've heard him point out that his very first flight as a child was on a BA 757 from his native BIO to London. He can only be making this point over and again to say "I'm making changes, yes, but I'm not killing this airline".

Worcester

Which would make sense if BA had reduced fares inline with the reduction in service, which manifestly has not been the case. People are willing to pay more for "better service", otherwise CE would be empty.

Cruz has not explained how BA can compete with the LCCs given the the pension deficit and other associated legacy costs. Installing sockets on SH may be the only sign that Cruz is not a one trick pony.

sxc

But if I book a work trip LHR-JFK-LHR and then decide later to go on holiday immediately after that LHR-HEL-LHR then I'm not taking advantage of cheap ex-EU fares, I can't combine the trip into one PNR because I need to keep work/personal separate, and BA is acting like a low cost carrier by making me pick up my bag in LHR and rechecking it.

BahrainLad

Really? To me they seem rambling, incoherent (priority baggage...as not offered by BA... and seat selection...available on every LCC as two bizarre examples), tangential and in some cases downright incorrect.

BA6948

The key factor for Frequent, Elite and loyal customers is the customer experience. When you travel a lot, you want a seamless and relaxing experience especially if you connect to long-haul flights. Waiting for the BoB trolley not knowing if you going to be served and if your choice is available removes that feeling of being relaxed. Moreover, if you sell a shorthaul £500 Y ticket, do you think people will still be happy to have to pay for something that was included in the price in the past. Surveys have shown that people value BA's cabin crews. With BoB that is all gone. Cabin Crews are not providing a service now, they are just resellers. On my last BoB flights, I haven't said a single word to flight attendants. So the whole experience was bland and boring.

I have my first SH with AF this year tomorrow and I am looking forward to that knowing that I would be taken care of. The food might not be a 5 start Michelin offering but it is the gesture and the AF welcoming feel that now drives me to spend my money and that of my company with AF. And after that it is another AF to JNB. So all in all around £2200 in Y that might have gone to BA but now going to AF instead. And again it is the customer experience that comes first and ti is a package: feeling relax, enjoying a complementary snack and drinks and interacting with flight attendants who are also relaxed and not struggling with machines, supply and being under stress to serve the whole plane.

johnaalex

"if we didn't give your premium bags special handling, "

Of course, silly me - it must be the special handling that means that when flying in F my bags are never close to being the first on the belt!