orbitmic

BA's main European legacy competitors (AF, LH, LX, KL, etc) are not despite BA's hope that they would follow suit. Whilst the UK-centric vision thinks of short haul as just that and compares it to U2 and FR offerings, bear in mind that for BA, this is not what those flights are as their primary value is, instead, as feeder flights to the lucrative long haul market.

Last weekend, on my NCE-LHR flight, I was sat next to a family of 5 flying to San Diego. When he crew came to ask them what they wanted to drink, they each placed their order and having already been annoyed that there was only one can of diet coke available (we were, literally, the first row of Y), they were then shocked and pretty much outraged to be asked to pay for their drinks given the price of their tickets. They were flying WT+ and I'm pretty sure that next year, for their holiday, they will choose another airline.

V10

True, but this doesn't fit with the recent desire mooted by BA to run a "two tier" operation with a low cost offering down the back and a premium one up front. In that sense the legacies aren't BA's short haul peers these days, but the LCC likes of Ryanair and Easyjet are if indeed this model is also intended for the short haul market.

Perhaps some exceptions will be built in for those connecting to WT+, on flexible fares and so on but I still don't expect a wholesale retreat from the BoB model.

Tobias-UK

At the #BAinvesting4U event Alex Cruz said BoB is here to stay, he did say there will be some tweaks as they learn and as the service beds in but it is staying. There has been some chatter recently that some elites may be getting 'something for nothing' in the not too distant future.

Moomba

I got the "How are we doing?" survey the other day and a nunwood "Help us shape the future" survey just now. The first couple of questions seem identical on both. Anyone else get the new one today that received the previous one?

MarkedMan

At least as long as the current management team is around, one presumes. Should numbers take a turn for the worse, enough to turf the double act out, one could see some change happening, but otherwise this isn't surprising, surely. Perfectly in line with the attitude and philosophy of Cruz & Walshe.

rapidex

BA finally got round to sending me the "How are we doing survey."It was a great pleasure to tell them what I thought.

corporate-wage-slave

If it makes you feel any better, mine only arrive at 02:20 hrs BST today.

Paralytic

The results will have been sanitised by the time they reach the upper echelons of BA - assuming they do reach that high and its not a middle-management initiative.

"Everything is fine chaps" will be the message.

VolcanoMan

This mirrors my own travel as well. As I type I have just checked in to a Delta flight to Portland for tomorrow morning. And, true to my handle, to go to a volcanology conference ;-)

/vm

rapidex

Obviously they were saving the best til last^

srbrenna

In the beginning was the Plan.

And then came the Assumptions.

And the Assumptions were without form.

And darkness was upon the face of the Workers.

And they spoke among themselves, saying, "It is a crock of s***, and it stinketh."

And the workers went unto their Supervisors and said, "It is a pail of dung, and none may abide the odour thereof."

And the Supervisors went unto their Managers, saying, "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it."

And the Managers went unto their Directors, saying, "It is a vessel of fertiliser, and none may abide its strength."

And the Directors spoke amongst themselves, saying one to another, "It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong."

And the Directors then went onto the Vice Presidents, saying unto them, "It promotes growth and is very powerful."

And the Vice Presidents went unto the President, saying unto him, "This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigour of the company; with powerful effects."

And the President looked upon the Plan, and saw that it was good.

And the Plan became Policy.

This is How S*** Happens.

CrazyJ82

I only just got the "Help Us Shape the Future" survey from Nunwood, so these still are going out.

They asked a lot of questions about brand perception. The main forward-looking component were a series of questions about variable reward pricing. All of them were designed in a leading way in the spirit of "Don't you think it would be terrific if variable reward pricing made the process fairer by matching supply and demand?" and such. From which I concluded they've decided it's going to happen already and are trying to measure which ways of describing it elicit the most positive responses.

Tends to confirm my impression that our household will spend down our Avios balance and then look for other airline options.

orbitmic

I suspect yours is a new survey, mine didn't have that.

hearingdouble

If it's done in a fair way (and that's a big if...) I think this could be a good idea -- it's a logical extension of the Peak/Off Peak pricing (which always was a fairly blunt instrument).

For example, reward pricing to Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai is identical, despite the fact that Tokyo is a much more popular route. Reward availability for Tokyo gets snapped up quickly, while Seoul hangs around for much longer. If Tokyo's reward prices were increased and Seoul's decreased, it might drive more balanced forward-looking availability across the network. Those who absolutely must travel to a particular city on a particular date would be more likely to find availability, whereas those with a bit more flexibility and an open mind would be able to save their points by flying in more typically undersold cabins.

Of course, knowing BA they'd just increase the price of Tokyo and leave the rest as they are...

Airprox

Precisely, you seriously believe that ANY reward costs would actually be decreased?? (below the current off-peak levels)