BA just tried to up sell me CE on the CityFlyer to LCY
May 21, 2018, 1:32 am
#76
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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Flight =1.99
Lounge access covered by credit card (free)
If you don't pick your seat on Ryanair you often get given an exit row last minute, so that's more legroom than CE (free)
Take food from lounge to eat on board.
Speedy boarding? Just board last or nearly last (no queue).
Lounge access covered by credit card (free)
If you don't pick your seat on Ryanair you often get given an exit row last minute, so that's more legroom than CE (free)
Take food from lounge to eat on board.
Speedy boarding? Just board last or nearly last (no queue).
May 21, 2018, 1:38 am
#77
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2017
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Programs: BAEC: Silver. Nothing else as TopCashBack trumps all hotel programs
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I guess this video is a few years old. The days of £2 flights on Ryanair are long over, their bargain flights from the UK at any rate now start at £20 one way. They also have changed the seating algorithm several times now, to ensure that people pay for seating, and to prevent gaming for good seats. Whereas families used to be able to get away with it, now they pretty much have to pay for seat selection. Something the CAA is investigating at the moment. You can get a really good deal on Ryanair as a single traveller if you decline all the extras but you can assume to be in a middle seat with limited leg room and one small bag in the cabin. And Ryanair don't have many services out of LCY. So personally this is an apples and pears analogy.
I'm not saying people should be doing that. To me it certainly worth paying the extra to fly with BA than RYA. even in ET. Just thought it was interesting that students and the like "could" get a half decent experience on RYA if they played it right. Just interesting.
May 21, 2018, 2:09 am
#78
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Vale of Glamorgan
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Just watched a very interesting video on YouTube in which the premise was how to get a better than CE experience for £1.99 on Ryanair. Was interesting.
Long story short...
Flight =1.99
Lounge access covered by credit card (free)
If you don't pick your seat on Ryanair you often get given an exit row last minute, so that's more legroom than CE (free)
Take food from lounge to eat on board.
Speedy boarding? Just board last or nearly last (no queue).
I mean. Yes I know there is more to it than that. But it was interesting to see.
Long story short...
Flight =1.99
Lounge access covered by credit card (free)
If you don't pick your seat on Ryanair you often get given an exit row last minute, so that's more legroom than CE (free)
Take food from lounge to eat on board.
Speedy boarding? Just board last or nearly last (no queue).
I mean. Yes I know there is more to it than that. But it was interesting to see.
May 21, 2018, 2:13 am
#79
Original Poster
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Location: GLA
Programs: BAEC: Silver. Nothing else as TopCashBack trumps all hotel programs
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I said it was "interesting".
May 21, 2018, 3:08 am
#80
Join Date: Sep 2013
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Just to show how even handed I am 
I did a fair bit of travelling on QF in Y recently. Domestically, they supplied a biscuit and a drink.
On the 3 hour flight from SYD to CHC (Christchurch) and ZQN (Queenstown) to SYD, the food was better in Y than I some meals I have had in CE. That return, including a feeder flight from the Gold Coast cost me around £300. Not cheap cheap and reduced price as I only got 5 TP for each sector, But for a trip that was not a standard return, it's not too bad, plus on the NZ ex and to, I grabbed row 4 right behind business class which meant I had better legroom than the exit row and it didn't cost me anything above my ticket price due to Emerald status ^
I did a fair bit of travelling on QF in Y recently. Domestically, they supplied a biscuit and a drink.
On the 3 hour flight from SYD to CHC (Christchurch) and ZQN (Queenstown) to SYD, the food was better in Y than I some meals I have had in CE. That return, including a feeder flight from the Gold Coast cost me around £300. Not cheap cheap and reduced price as I only got 5 TP for each sector, But for a trip that was not a standard return, it's not too bad, plus on the NZ ex and to, I grabbed row 4 right behind business class which meant I had better legroom than the exit row and it didn't cost me anything above my ticket price due to Emerald status ^
Have done a good bit of domestic travel myself with QF over the years.
In fact, just last month, I did a broad mix of sectors, some in J (the longest ones, coast-to-coast), and others in Y.
I imagine that when you refer to a free ‘biscuit and a drink’ you’re talking about the very short hops such as MEL-SYD. Although ..... even on those, I find that CC are very happy to offer a hot drink and a drink of water too, and (if you’re nice to them), you can often snag a little packet of nuts / snackie things, in addition to the biscuit. Not bad at all.
The more substantial offering you describe for Y travel on QF trans-Tasman is in fact available - also in Y - on the longer domestic sectors. I went up to Alice Springs from Sydney (around 3 hours) and was glad to get a trio of dim-sum ‘parcels’, each with different fillings. They were surprisingly good. On the return sector, IIRC, we were provided with a tasty meat pie instead.
As for QF domestic in biz class, the food offerings are - IMHO - satisfactory, but not exactly award-winning. In some cases, they are not much better than a typical CE meal on BA. But of course the seat itself IS noticeably better.
May 21, 2018, 3:18 am
#81
Join Date: Mar 2012
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As has been mentioned, this is the reason.
There was a time people were happy to pay up to £3 per TP. These days that figure is generally lower unless you're really a bind, but there's a whole thread dedicated to TP runs.
If I was coming to the end of my membership year and was on 3470 TPs, I'd pay the £70 to trigger my 2 x GUF1 vouchers, for example. So I'm more than happy to bite at this kind of price point on occasion.
I have a friend who pays £2000 a year to be part of a 'private members club'. I would never do this because personally I'd get no value from it; but that doesn't mean I'm going to chastise him for being a member - it obviously works for his circumstances.
Live and let live, etc. etc.
There was a time people were happy to pay up to £3 per TP. These days that figure is generally lower unless you're really a bind, but there's a whole thread dedicated to TP runs.
If I was coming to the end of my membership year and was on 3470 TPs, I'd pay the £70 to trigger my 2 x GUF1 vouchers, for example. So I'm more than happy to bite at this kind of price point on occasion.
I have a friend who pays £2000 a year to be part of a 'private members club'. I would never do this because personally I'd get no value from it; but that doesn't mean I'm going to chastise him for being a member - it obviously works for his circumstances.
Live and let live, etc. etc.
May 21, 2018, 4:25 am
#82
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I guess this video is a few years old. The days of £2 flights on Ryanair are long over, their bargain flights from the UK at any rate now start at £20 one way. They also have changed the seating algorithm several times now, to ensure that people pay for seating, and to prevent gaming for good seats. Whereas families used to be able to get away with it, now they pretty much have to pay for seat selection. Something the CAA is investigating at the moment. You can get a really good deal on Ryanair as a single traveller if you decline all the extras but you can assume to be in a middle seat with limited leg room and one small bag in the cabin. And Ryanair don't have many services out of LCY. So personally this is an apples and pears analogy.
May 21, 2018, 4:47 am
#83
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I think I would query the "tiny fraction" aspect of this. The cheapest domestic HBO oneway fare on BA is £19.34, that's not a sale fare either, and it can be reduced by a further £5 if you renounce the 500 of the 625 Avios you would have earned on the fare, assuming a Gold cardholder.
May 21, 2018, 5:19 am
#84
Join Date: Nov 2015
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I flew BA to Luxembourg last week for £41.50, same day return. T3 lounges at LHR, more than acceptable lounge in LUX, emergency exit row. Ryanair can suck it 
It's as easy to find fare exceptions as it is people that slate BA or Ryanair.
In a general sense of making half truth claims my single fare example is as balanced and reasonable as the video.
It's as easy to find fare exceptions as it is people that slate BA or Ryanair.
In a general sense of making half truth claims my single fare example is as balanced and reasonable as the video.
May 21, 2018, 5:33 am
#85
Join Date: Mar 2018
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I paid for CE tickets the week before last from EDI to London. Inbound was to LCY and oubound was via Heathrow and it cost £212 return. I had the whole of the CE "cabin" to myself on the way down on the 06:50 flight into City and very nice it was too - the crew insisted I have the full breakfast. Returned via Heathrow and bumped into two former colleagues, one in the Flounge and one at the gate - both surprised to see me sitting in row 2, and when I met them as we disembarked, we discussed the fact that they had both paid more for their ET tickets as we'd all booked late and they had to comply with separate corporate policies that said "economy only". The airlines have got wise to this and last minute economy tickets on some routes can be dearer than CE.
If I try and book EasyJet to Stansted for this week, on the first flight down on Wednesday, coming back up Thursday evening then I'm looking at £222 - why would I not fly CE and be in more comfort and earn 80TP?
If I try and book EasyJet to Stansted for this week, on the first flight down on Wednesday, coming back up Thursday evening then I'm looking at £222 - why would I not fly CE and be in more comfort and earn 80TP?
Last edited by JP Flyer; May 21, 2018 at 5:34 am Reason: Correcting a typo
May 21, 2018, 5:44 am
#86
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I think I would query the "tiny fraction" aspect of this. The cheapest domestic HBO oneway fare on BA is £19.34, that's not a sale fare either, and it can be reduced by a further £5 if you renounce the 500 of the 625 Avios you would have earned on the fare, assuming a Gold cardholder.
As to "non-fare sales", as you put it, well standard FR fares on some domestic routes can also be as low as £9.99. While the case for Ryanair can be overstated (and this comparison between a souped-up FR experience and BA CE is an example of that) , it seems to me that you fall in the opposite trap of understating the extent to which FR prices are routinely not just a little but markedly cheaper than BA fares even though there will always be some counter-examples.
May 21, 2018, 6:09 am
#87
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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it seems to me that you fall in the opposite trap of understating the extent to which FR prices are routinely not just a little but markedly cheaper than BA fares even though there will always be some counter-examples.
May 21, 2018, 7:13 am
#88
Join Date: Mar 2012
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The £11.99 was to MRS. Feel free to dedicate a post in full multicolour and bold capital letters when you see a £19.34 BA fare to MRS. These are fares, incidentally, which are not isolated but pretty common to dozens and dozens of destinations in FR price campaigns. Can you remind us exactly how many destinations BA offers at £19.34 or less?
As to "non-fare sales", as you put it, well standard FR fares on some domestic routes can also be as low as £9.99. While the case for Ryanair can be overstated (and this comparison between a souped-up FR experience and BA CE is an example of that) , it seems to me that you fall in the opposite trap of understating the extent to which FR prices are routinely not just a little but markedly cheaper than BA fares even though there will always be some counter-examples.
As to "non-fare sales", as you put it, well standard FR fares on some domestic routes can also be as low as £9.99. While the case for Ryanair can be overstated (and this comparison between a souped-up FR experience and BA CE is an example of that) , it seems to me that you fall in the opposite trap of understating the extent to which FR prices are routinely not just a little but markedly cheaper than BA fares even though there will always be some counter-examples.
This, coupled with status benefits, makes them more attractive than FR on most occasions for me. That said, I'm about to book FR for a family trip to Majorca in July as BA want 60k Avios and £130 and FR will sell me a return ticket from BHX (closer to me) with bags and seats for under £300 for the 4 of us.
Anyway, the point here was that FR can't realistically be compared to BA CE, and regardless of my opinions on CE (which aren't high), it's certainly a better product than FR.
May 21, 2018, 7:21 am
#89
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I think we need to take VY codeshares out of the question as they are really out of scope for this thread. On the routes on which BA offers fare for less than £19.34, I must say that I am stunned. I am aware of sub-£30 fares on a number of Gatwick routes but I can't think of many sub-£20 ones. Is there a list somewhere?
May 21, 2018, 7:25 am
#90
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I entirely agree with that, even with a "souped-up" version of FR.