cruisr

I have become a fan of this forum since it always pops up on the trending now feature that was recently introduced here.

I only usually fly BA once or twice a year for short hops but have flown them in J and F overwater, most recently, I think 2-3 years ago. Except for a flight in F in 2004 (when they still served caviar) I haven't been overwhelmed.

BA is not the largest airline represented on FT but it gets the most activity. I'm thinking, since there seem to be more "challenges" with BA it gets more activity or are the patrons of BA just more invested in their experiences and wish to share them.

I do enjoy reading everything and I guess I have now added to the "activity"

BrianWBrazil

I suppose you could ask the same question as to why so many people watch the BBC? It's a national institution that generates a lot of polemical discussion. Pan Am and TBWA came and went and, to my mind, the USA did not blink because the US has always embraced change, but the prospect of BA being messed about with is something that is really important to the British psyche

IcHot

I enjoy the BA forum much more than I do flying BA. The posters are of higher quality and tend to share.

There is a (s)train of thought here that seeks loopholes and angles and tactics that I find entertaining. Half of the ones brought forth are self-serving and half are brought forth by BA defenders to explain why BA has to be ridiculous about some aspect of doing business. To be succinct, this place is full of chancers of one sort or another.

When I Travel The World

100 % agree with you there.

V10

Probably a bit of both, I'd say. BA is getting a bit of a bashing from various directions at the moment (and for the most part deserves it) and a lot of people still have an attachment to it that dates way back before it became the low cost arm of Iberia.

The other aspect is that the Brits of course like nothing better than the opportunity to demonstrate some good old-fashioned class one-upmanship and a forum like this is ideal for that.

There is some long-standing and valuable knowledge here also which aids it, although I feel that of late this is diminishing.

Greenpen

I don't fly BA much but regard this forum as my home. There are very interesting threads all the time. There are sometimes strange moderation actions that are annoying but overall it's a great place to base yourself!

squawk

I would agree with your first point, though do hope you're wrong about the second. I haven't posted much until recently (had little to add!) but have lurked for a while, and have been the beneficiary of the wisdom you mention. I hope that it isn't declining, and that the many knowledgeable contributors remain active.

On a personal level I find both the knowledge and the wit to draw me back. Often, the way that knowledge is imparted via the "British sense of humour" (and understatement) on here can be highly entertaining...

UKTony

Probably language, demographics and a complex BAEC status system than can still be gamed without concern over sharing tips and tricks.

I first found FT/BA when flying weekly LON-HEL and it was a valuable resource to maximising the personal return on business travel both flight and hotel programmes. The level of reward enhancement the various contributors enabled means you come back sometime to contribute but more often to learn or verify something.

IAG/BA only gain from this forum so I would not be surprised if they encourage constructive staff comments and advice.

As a mechanism for filling seats I suspect FT might be seen as a valuable resource -- honestly how many of us have taken a flight somewhere (especially EU JBA) we would never had rationally gone to if we had not read an FT post and seen a good ���/TP ratio?

HIDDY

I'm only here because I'm a corporate-wage-slave 'groupie'.

Ancient Observer

I have to say that CWS, Hiddy, and other regulars are worth reading. You need this base of steady, wise, thoughtful contributors to provide the backbone of a site.

I now spend more time reading here than I do at pprune. I would never have thought that before!!

Even the BA CC strike coverage seems to have moved from pprune for the last strike to here for the current one!!

FlyingWeasel

This place is a lunatic asylum. I'm fairly convinced some people are stuck here and can't find the way out, others just visiting and stay for the entertainment

V10

On that basis the FT BAEC forum is at least twice as good as the Basingstoke Ring Road - I'm convinced that people get stuck on that and can't find their way out, but at least here there is entertainment.

HilFly

Hiddy is such a believer in c-w-s that he joined FT before c-w-s, and hung around for 4 years, waiting for his arrival. A bit like the second coming.

Saltire74

Although a moot point now, I thought it was to talk about the lack of square sausage on Scottish Domestics

S

Explorer789

To me, BA used to be one of the premier European airlines. Today, they are buckling under cost controls trying to cope post-Brexit and the Iberia merger. Everything is just falling apart from the looks of the daily complaints about seats and service. So, it remains to be seen how they will continue adapt and if they ever return to their former glory. Just makes for an interesting read.