BahrainLad

"Radical improvement in quality and presentation" = portions will be smaller, served on a different plate.

"Increase choice through pre-order" = you will not get a choice unless you pre-order.

Mike P

I find this extraordinary. Not to understand your competition at a high level seems a huge mistake.

BugAlugs

I did follow up on the boarding point with the 'dude' singled out for it by Troy. In summary he knows the issues and his challenges at T5.

I did offer some observations on other outstations, team Amsterdam especially seem effective if not quite using the new scripting.

I also managed to discuss, with I think the commercial officer:
Ticket validation seems to be a problem for me with most of my and friends bookings failing to be reissued despite no changes for weeks.

Calling BA out of hours at an outstation is made as difficult as possible with some VOIP services being unable to dial the +44800 numbers and not allowed to dial the +44local number if your service uses a local point of presence. He hadn't heard of this before and took notes.


Nice event, no surprises for me with the feedback I witnessed. Troy and others all mentioned that consistency of delivery was a real focus.

Dave_C

I was also there last night. The OP's summary was pretty spot on.

Overall, they're listening, know they have challenges, but simply are unwilling or unable to do anything meaningful.

The only exception being the first wing I believe will be a genuine and meaningful improvement.

The point was made that AA are becoming the carrier of choice westbound and they know how to look after elites when they're down the back. This point was noted, but expect no change based on the [lack of] response it got from Troy.

I expect the new Club World product to be a damp squib, more evolution than revolution and some nicer pillows and blankets and changes to the service routine. I'm sure there will lots of hoo-ha made of it at the time, but won't be a game changer in the slightest.

The other telling point that Raffles made is that virtually none of the people in the room had flown the competition. This is something that they really need to do but suspect the purse strings are too tight to allow it.

Overall I left with the impression that very little will change in a substantial way. The slow, sad decline continues.

subject2load

Speaking as one who has never had the opportunity to attend such events (albeit with wide experience of using BA over several decades), it really is quite mind-boggling to read of what gets trotted out by those hosting, versus both day-to-day happenings in reality, and the current pace - not to mention actual substance - of change.

I say 'change' advisedly, because - apart from some isolated ground facilities (eg small number of new lounges, plus F wing at T5) - I'm not personally aware of any significant recent product improvements onboard which encompass all flights.

The fact that senior managers do not, even on the odd occasion, fly with competitors is, frankly, beyond belief.

Many thanks OP for taking time to provide the feedback ^

MPH1980

Fascinating that there were 4 of us FT-ers (at least) in the room last night. I was looking around and trying to guess who was.

I *suspect* I introduced myself to dave_c (based on username).

MPH1980

Just to feed back on the change of seat point.

I think BA definitely recognise they are falling behind. There was a reference to becoming the 'poor cousin' on transatlantic.

And while they didn't actually say anything about the seat directly, they did call out a few things they know need to change - aisle access, gate to gate IFE (beyond catering etc).

So I think they know they need to invest in the seat, I suspect the plan is still the same (launch it with the A350) and they simply don't want to give the game away. Because, as we've seen, even if you talk to a group of 30 "important" customers - stuff makes it onto the internet.

One of the other areas that was called out during the group Q&A was consistency and small things crew could do that wouldn't cost money - like being addressed by name.

Bluebirdnick

It beggars belief that they don't fly the competition. I am well paid enough to do so out of my own pocket and they will earn multiple times what I do. They are the senior management for Christ's sake. AC blathers on about ignoring HR policy, so surely they have licence to ignore expense policy to make a booking on another airline. Utterly inexcusable. It genuinely angers me that a group of well paid senior executives can be collectivity and individually so stupid.

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Schwann

But, on my 10+ Qatar Airways J flights in the last 18 months I've not once been addressed by my name unless the purser has come around to do an introduction. That's not what I want from an airline and not what makes QR superior to BA and won't suddenly fix anything.. although I know the point you're trying to make.

Egoldstein

This is interesting and a shame. I wonder if in their off hours, if some executives have booked flights on competitor airlines, or if the incentives and peer pressure (policy?) would discourage otherwise?

I also wonder if they have two sets of surveys of customers, the one that gives the answers management would like, and then one that just collates the responses of customers?

Or is everything happening in a vacuum and echo-chamber

UKtravelbear

I find this an astonishing admission! No budget to check out the competition?

I bet they have never made a call to customer services either. Or hung around a few boarding gates just to see what boarding is like. Or observed check-in or security queues.

subject2load

I guess some airlines (ok, very, very few) just don't bother looking at / experiencing the competition, partly because they're worried about just what they might find. And some airlines don't really have much - if any - competition at all : the likes of Libyan Arab Airlines (now simply 'Libyan Airlines', AFAIK) or Air Koryo come to mind.

I still recall being relieved (initially) on being informed by the receptionist at my hotel in Tripoli that Libyan Arab actually had an office within the hotel, and that they could organise the changes to my domestic flights that I urgently needed. I found my way to the office, whereupon the manager barred my entry and locked the door in my face, shouting through the glass that it was his 'lunch time'. I shouted back - politely - to ask if he could just spare a minute as I was really concerned about seat availability for the changes I needed. He said no. I said "what about a bit of customer service ?" He looked me in the eye and said "What service ?? Our planes are full"

Stez

Despite that, I thought they were streets ahead of Afriqiyah. That was quite something else where a seat fitted to the floor was entirely optional.

Thankfully BA is a long way from any Libyan airlines, except maybe Buraq...

daftboy

Comparisons to AA westbound are unlikely to worry BA management given there is a full metal neutral JV - it literally makes no difference if someone "votes with their feet" and decides to fly on a carrier to which it is entitled to a share of the revenue. While there might be some marginal impacts on revenue splitting at the edges as long as BA maintains its N America capacity, which has been increasing (in terms of destinations anyway), it is just not going to worry about this.

Eastbound is a completely different story, where there are a vast array of alternative choices providing better soft and hard product for at least a similar price, if not lower.

hugolover

When some of us met Alexandre de Juniac he and his senior management team told us they had never travelled on other carriers at all. Perhaps now that AF P is considered the best F class in Europe they tried a few others since then. Come to think of it, I don't recall Carsten Spohr having any serious knowledge of the products outside LH group and whether he (and others) flew them. I remember Oliver Wagner telling me he hadn't tried BA CW (which was at the time significantly better than LH C).

So its really not unusual. It would require real money to try other carriers, who would sign off on that?