icegirl

I was recently criticized by some for saying nobody would really care about BA were ever to go belly up.

Surely at the end of the day, this is nothing more than a piece of public transport to get from A to B. Sure I enjoy flying with the airline and whilst if they did go belly up it would be sad most notably for the short term but would be quickly replaced by other and probably better carriers. I just think people live too much in the past and can’t accept change in where it wants to go or be.

But I just don’t get it, why do people care so much and have an emotional attachment for BA?

orbitmic

Well, there is actually a large body of research on that. In a nutshell, rationality and emotion do not run counter each other but rather feed one another. People develop strong senses of emotional attachment to companies particularly if they become loyal to them, be they an airline, a car manufacturer, a restaurant or a newspaper. It comes with a mixture of cognitive and emotional causes, from dear memories that you may associate with the company (think of all the people here who flew BA as little kids for instance) to gratitude when the loyalty has been reciprocated (that time BA waived the rules for you and rerouted you for free even though it was your fault that you missed the plane, or that lovely upgrade etc), and how your own behaviour, including consumer behaviour becomes part of your self-perceived identity even when you don't realise it (I tend to wear x, I love to eat y, etc).

As I said, it would not be practical to summarise it here, but that has been studied abundantly (and at times interestingly!)

Joely

The truth is I care less and less about them these days. The reason I haven't completely stopped caring is historical, my Dad flew for BA so I grew up very much connected to the company, flying round the world with them, getting to sit in the jump seat on flights, having guided tours of the engineering base etc Iit saddens me to see the airline I was so attached to stripped to the bone and instead of trying to differentiate through quality of service like they used to just joining in on the race to the bottom.

rapidex

Because if they go belly up my Avios become worthless.

headingwest

hehe, that made me laugh.

As crazy as it may seem I still love BA. I suppose that has a lot to do with fond personal memories of a once respected national airline. I'd still be very sad to see it disappear, it's just that at the moment I'm choosing to fly with airlines that provide a better experience.

Hopefully one day, when I feel valued a customer, I may come back.

rapidex

Thats just how I feel about BEA

Ancient Observer

I agree with orbit. There is a ton of peer reviewed research on this. Branding can be very powerful to many people, but not everyone. So person A might be addicted to brands, but person B might not be. Then, some are only addicted to certain brands.
When push comes to shove, does the brand give the managers Pricing power? What BA is doing as they cruzify the service is admitting that it is losing pricing power.
For UK folk, think of the silly prices some folk will pay for paint. Farrow and Ball paint is twice the price of Dulux, and half as good.

orbitmic

Brownie points for moving away from the usual restaurant menu/cans of Coke analogies!

BApilotinsider

I guess 40,000 British employees and their families don't matter to you OP.

Anyone who says they want a company to go bust needs to have a think about what that means...

ahmetdouas

Fair point BApilotinsider.

But then the employees of the airline should do something about their CEO sabotaging the company. Surely one man cannot control 40,000 British employees the way he wants to without any blowback?

ahmetdouas

It probably has to do with its past. It is called 'British', it used to be government owned, and let's be honest here, the pilots and cabin crew can represent all that is good about the United Kingdom.
So if this is destroyed, it feels like the United Kingdom as a whole and naturally Britishness, is going down the drain in this very competitive, post empire, Brexit world.
And I would be very sad to see that happen!

spylaw4

I for one would not care at all. In fact I feel that that is what is needed to shake some sense into them. How many other so-called "national" airlines have re-invented themselves with a degree of success?

icegirl

So OCD...?

icegirl

Then again like everything in the UK how much is actually British owned?
Most if not all premium bands are trophy assets for foreign investors.

1P

Well, the "world's favourite airline" (hah!) was never that, however much they wanted to try and persuade the gullible public. What I see, apart from the race to the bottom, is a complacent, self-satisfied "national carrier" with a vastly inferior rewards programme, an over-complicated hierarchy of seating, a bevy of cold, remote cabin staff almost without exception, a check-in and baggage-drop system that simply doesn't work and habitually produces long queues and countless people missing flights.... What more can you ask for?

I fly to and from Rome fairly frequently on both BA and AZ. AZ is miles better than BA, despite inferior seat pitch.

So yes, why do people care so much about BA? Pure sentimentality, IMO.