amt

I think we've all had to come to terms with the working class having the right to vote in the post Brexit/Trump era.

My issue is I am not going to pretend something not be the truth for the sake of the political correctness or the sake of someone's feelings. Does being on a Ryanair plane automatically sideline you in the C2/D/E social classes of course not. However from the colour scheme that mimics a discount warehouse, the level of English and political views in the tabloid publications in which they advertise, the there's no such thing as bad publicity appeal to the lowest common denominator they used for years to market themselves, the cheap bulk holiday destinations they serve, the sachets of booze and scratch cards they sell onboard. The entire product from top to bottom was designed to appeal to and capture the spending of a lower class demographic.

corporate-wage-slave

OK, well the point about buying 2 tickets becomes relevant at this point: had you purchased a through ticket to CPH then (a) the overall cost would have been lower and (b) the seat selection and baggage allowance is made available to you (based on status) and at the long haul rate. And it will be a few months before Ryanair can do that.

Instead, quite reasonably, you bought separate tickets, and so bought the Basic fare, which specifically excludes these benefits. That fare is supposed to compete with the similar LCC offering, though you have picked up on the LTN/STN inconvenience. In fact one still cannot fly on U2, DY or FR to LHR full stop, but if the price delta is too great then people will consider these airports.

However the Basic fare is generally a bit cheaper than a year or two ago, looking at the spending pattern of my team, and a lot cheaper when translated into Euros or Dollars. Our total spend has slightly decreased in GBP terms, though it is complicated by corporate fares (some of which only are actualised after 12 months ) and the moving date of Easter. So to my mind there is no question that fares are heading (slightly) downwards on the whole, not least because the Plus fares remove a lot of the cost of last minute changes - we used to pay £60 every time. You may have seen the thread about sub £30 flights, not many exist from LHR, but there are some sub £50 flights, which can only be a loss leader for BA, given

So drawing this together, I don't really see the complaint about baggage/seating costs, when there are low-ish cost options open to you to include them in the Plus fares: the conditions of Basic fares are well advertised and essentially exist so that on comparison websites BA has some sort of chance of showing up. It's worth bearing in mind that some corporate booking systems have a feed from these comparison sites.

The £1290 argument doesn't quite stack up since a single ticket from MSY to CPH automatically includes the items you are complaining to be missing. Dicing up the ticket diced up the benefits.

This wasn't the crux of your issue, but I am one of those willing and indeed happy to fly Club Europe, with a bit of research (and often a lot of cunning) some good fares can be found and I think it can be good value for money.

Finally maybe your employer needs to look into negotiating better corporate deals with BA, since the way they are often priced is a bit above Basic, but giving the advantages of Plus. Furthermore there are corporate deals for Basic available, which include free seating, but not the baggage.

It's a buyer's market, so we are all able to shop around. BA must be competing fairly well in this game, its profitability is reasonably strong in a market with many players, and though your experience appears different to mine, generally BA's flights look fairly full to me.

brewdog11

I'm just fine with being "entitled." I expect BA to care because it seems that more "premium" travel is their base. They cater to many business travelers from the USA, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia who are transiting to destinations throughout Europe. These people are paying what is probably close to top dollar to get to their respective destinations throughout Europe.

Being based in Tokyo, I'm sure your tickets are not inexpensive by any stretch. Do you appreciate being nickled-and-dimed? Even if you're a regular First/Club World passenger, how would you feel if F and C were oversold and you were forced to pay top dollar for an Economy fare and then forced to pay for your cup of coffee?

The BA I knew focused on premium travel. If BA wants to become Ryanair/some generic LCC, I can easily take my business elsewhere. There are other carriers (even within the oneworld system) that I can travel on.

I'm usually traveling on a Y fare from the USA, so that's whay brings the cost up.

LTN Phobia

OK, so £1,290 is a red herring in terms of Euro Traveller fare, because that's for a long haul trip (plus maybe a short haul connecting sector or two?).

However, there is no hand baggage only fare that includes a long haul sector, so I am not sure what the connection is with "£1,290" and comparison with Ryanair etc?

brewdog11

Not necessarily. I'm still charged for seat selection and BOB.

LTN Phobia

You should not be charged for seat selection if you are AA EXP, unless your short haul flight was booked separately from your long haul sector as a hand baggage only fare.

Was your AA EXP number entered properly into the system?

If you were booked on a hand baggage only fare, then yes you would have had to pay for seat selection. But that would not have been booked as a connecting flight from a long haul sector so the fare paid for the long haul flight becomes immaterial.

(BoB applies to all short haul flights in ET now, but an AA EXP on non-HBO fares does not pay for seat selection.)

MeltingAlf

Wait, what era are you living in?

As usual, not happy - then don't spend your money on it. It is hard to defend BA - but it's their business model for short-haul and that needs to be recognised. No one would question FR or U2 if they did all that nickel-and-diming. It's best to take your money elsewhere, and they'll come begging back for it if enough people do it and they're starting to bleed - which should since the service is indeed atrocious.

PeacefulWaters

Are you serious? I've flown with them a lot this year, northern chap you see, and while they are remarkably efficient the multiple efforts to flog you multiple things is incessant. Vamping samples being the latest.

Only one stag party so far.

My observation is that the FR flights are full of foreigners behaving perfectly reasonably.

londonba2014

Rip off prices and more frequent delays..

LTN Phobia

Foreigners or not, I have observed with interest behaviour of FR, U2 and BA passengers at a set of gates, all leaving for somewhere in the UK about the same time.

By far the worst lot were BA ones - spread out their bags onto seats despite having a lot of people standing around, not giving up seats for those with walking sticks, parents holding young babies etc.

This is sadly the pattern I observe again and again, and not a one-off.

You also don't get the DYKWIA around the boarding gate at FR or U2, perhaps because you have to pay for priority boarding regardless of how important you deem yourself to be? (I am assuming that's the case as I have never flown FR and only flown U2 a couple of times).

rocketship87

OK, but the flight you're talking about is a 2 hour flight and has nothing to do with the fact that you've already spent 19 hours travelling.




You missed my point, I'm saying STN and LTN are not convenient, which is why someone may choose to fly BA over FR. My employer pays for J.

tuff

We fly London to Glasgow (and back) at least twice a month. We have stopped using British Airways in favour of easyJet. We still get lounge access (using Priority Pass) and with our easyJet plus cards we can get row 1 with them (no longer available on BA due to the introduction of CE on domestic flights). easyJet crew can serve a full flight with BoB goodies whereas BA still struggles. Oh, and easyJet are considerably cheaper than BA.

South London Bon Viveur

In answer to the OP's question, in my opinion the difference is that BA operates a hub and spoke system with a large intercontinental network and therefore uses main airports and it has a FF programme with perks such as lounge access, fast track etc. for certain frequent flyers. Other than that, there really is very little difference. This is all entirely deliberate on the part of BA management. Depending on which side of the fence you sit this is either trashing the BA brand by placing short term gain over long term sustainability or it is prudent management seeking to reflect the modern reality of short haul air travel thereby ensuring the long term sustainability of BA.

ahmetdouas

The difference is :

LHR instead of STN. LHR is much better. So BA + 1
FR has better catering. So FR + 1.
FR is cheaper. So FR + 1.
They both have pretty much the same announcements = a draw
FR has more legroom. So FR + 1.


So by my book, FR 4 - BA 2.


= )

And this is regarding intra europe Y, so I am not comparing it with anything else (CE, L/H, etc.)

fife

I love flying Ryanair now. I don't have to make connections - they fly direct to where I want to go from either Edinburgh or Glasgow.

I use the No1 lounge at Edinburgh (priority pass) before I fly, which allows me to have a gluten free bacon sandwich - the BA lounge doesn't offer such choice.

Onboard I buy a decent size cup of decent coffee and a box of chips.

As fit fast track security, it's only a fiver purchased from the airport, and Ryanair often offer it cheaper. I paid just 2.40 for it recently.

For me, Ryanair is more convenient and gives me greater choice.

At least for the Europe traveler from Edinburgh, I can't imagine why anyone would want to fly BA.