Club World: How do they get away with it?

Old Sep 3, 2018, 4:20 pm
  #16  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
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Originally Posted by Greenpen
Then youll appreciate the Worlds favourite Airline.
Why did I think of QR?
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 4:28 pm
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by shuly
What I liked:
- The number of landings equaled the number of take-offs. Which is what really matters.
Originally Posted by kennycrudup
I like this quote so much I'm almost considering stealing it as a signature line
I don't understand it. How can they not be equal? What goes up ...
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 4:29 pm
  #18  
 
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At it's worst, with old aircraft with dated entertainment, and lacklustre (albeit never truly awful) crew, CW is a very disappointing experience. At it's best and at the right price it is a decent product. That's about as much as I can say about it.
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 4:35 pm
  #19  
 
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Originally Posted by s0ssos
I don't understand it. How can they not be equal? What goes up ...
Doesn't necessary have to come down in one piece, and/or be reusable
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 4:48 pm
  #20  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
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How do they get away with it?
Probably because for every one who doesn't like it there are many more who do.
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 4:49 pm
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by Jagboi
Doesn't necessary have to come down in one piece, and/or be reusable
You mean there are people floating in the air still?
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 4:49 pm
  #22  
 
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- As a non-status member, you can't book your seat before check-in. I can't think of any other airline that actually charges (north of $100) for seat assignments in business.
I regard it as a discount to frequent customers.
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 5:10 pm
  #23  
 
Join Date: May 2016
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Originally Posted by shuly

What I didn't like:
- As a non-status member, you can't book your seat before check-in. I can't think of any other airline that actually charges (north of $100) for seat assignments in business.
Much discussed elsewhere. This is not quite the money grabbing exercise it appears to be, it's (at least in part) a way of ensuring the most loyal customers get preferred seats regardless of when they book. It works rather well. As a non-status pax I was able to travel 747 UD because I was prepared to pay and now as a status pax I can pick my preferred seats every time. Without this system the best seats would simply be snapped up for free on a first come, first served basis with no regard to customer loyalty.

Originally Posted by shuly
- I would have had status had my two Iberia flights the week before counted as eligible flights. But one of them was on AA code, so no. I had the TP to make Bronze, but not the flights. I know, these are the rules... I just don't like them.
Them's the rules. It's a BA loyalty scheme and a bonus that in some circumstances flights in other IAG fleets count, but primarily the scheme favours flights in BA metal.

Originally Posted by shuly
- The hard product is ridiculous. 747 on the transatlantic flight and 777 on the second one; both 20 years old. The seats are top of the line for 1998, but we're in 2018. It wasn't just that they were extremely narrow; it's the fact that there's simply no storage space. Want to read a book? No place for it. Phone? No. Eyeglasses when you sleep? Sorry, no. And don't put your bag on the floor during takeoff and landing because the entire floor space is considered exit row. Yes, the upper deck on the 747 has some space, but with no access to advance seat assignment...
The age of the aircraft is less relevant that the age of the last refurb.
Few people would argue that CW is now well overdue an overhaul.
The storage in CW varies. It's generous in the windows with side bins, and definitely lacking in the seats without, although I find I can fit a surprising amount in the 'shoe drawer' (certainly enough space for your eye-glasses .
[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by shuly
- All window seats face backward.
Is this an observation or a complaint? I prefer it. In fact the window seats in CW have excellent privacy and make a nice sleeping area for me with the more comfortable head position.

Originally Posted by shuly
- Service was indifferent. On the transatlantic flight I (tried to) sleep. But the crew simply wasn't there. On the second flight, a day flight, they disappeared after the meal service and stayed in the galley for the entire duration of the flight.
This is really the crux I suspect. Had the crew been outstanding, as they sometimes are, I wonder if your overall impression would have been less negative about the hard product. Good service goes a long way and bad service creates issues where none need exist.

Originally Posted by shuly
- What would you serve on a flight that is supposed to take off at 8am and land at 3pm (local times)? BA serves breakfast. Two versions of scrambled eggs, one porridge (porridge? seriously?) and a continental spread. They ran out of the latter as they only loaded four of them (for 56 pax). I can't remember when I had such bad food in business class.
Isn't 'breakfast' the correct answer to the question about a flight that takes off at 8am? However I agree the breakfast is not great.

Originally Posted by shuly
What I liked:
- The number of landings equaled the number of take-offs. Which is what really matters.
This is an important part of the BA pilot training syllabus.

Originally Posted by shuly
I can't see why anyone would want to fly in these miserable seats. I understand that service can be inconsistent and that delays happen. It's the hard product that I find totally unacceptable. Iberia (including the new 350 to NY) was so much better; and so are TK, LH, LX and even RJ, the airlines I tried in the past two years in business. I learned.
It's a long way from 'unacceptable' in my view. But it is in dire need of a fleet-wide refresh and redesign. This is happening too slowly, as everything with BA happens too slowly.
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 5:30 pm
  #24  
 
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How do they get away with it?

Because we keep paying for it
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 5:45 pm
  #25  
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
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Club World has to be the worst lie-flat J product in the world. My wife and I had the misfortune of flying it once and tried out the backward facing honeymoon seats. While they were fine for us, I cannot fathom how unbelievably awkward those seats would be for strangers. Zero personal space whatsoever!
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 6:36 pm
  #26  
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Originally Posted by jackcarr
How they get away with it is very simple. Nigh on monopoly of some very lucrative transatlantic routes. They have no incentive to innovate whatsoever when they can fill an 86 seat J from LHR to JFK multiple times a day.
This. Sadly it will take a third runway and release of new slots to carriers outside IAG for BA to step up

That or a big drop in demand post Brexit that forces them to compete harder
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 6:39 pm
  #27  
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
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Originally Posted by shuly
I had the misfortune of taking two BA flights in Club World (business) this week: IAD-LHR ad LHR-TLV. It's the first time I've booked and flown BA since 2012. It was bad.


Shuly
You don't mention how much you paid.
I'm not asking for that info, but I get UK to USA return for 1300 in CW. That's why they get my business.
If the other airlines matched it regularly, then quality would come into it more. I'm just happy with a flat bed (always a rear-facing window seat, or I'm not going) and I put my screen up and avoid the BO & coughing of others.

On a footnote, Virgin is normally between 2000 & 2800 for the same fare.
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 8:00 pm
  #28  
formerly rxfleming
 
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Originally Posted by AmericanLawyer;30162945[left
Also every airline in the world services breakfast on an 8am flight. And while I dont eat it porridge is a very common English breakfast.
Scottish, actually.
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 8:34 pm
  #29  
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
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I actually think it gets bashed too much on here. I agree reg the lack of storage and charging fees for seat selection, but I much prefer the seat to the coffin like reverse herringbone on other carriers, the new food is better than on any other OW airline Ive flown this year (Qatar excepted, and Ive not flown Cathay), and the service is normally (though not always) polite and attentive.

I vowed a few years back never to fly BA again, but having tried the alternatives, Ive found myself coming back.
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Old Sep 3, 2018, 10:15 pm
  #30  
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
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Originally Posted by no1cub17
Club World has to be the worst lie-flat J product in the world. My wife and I had the misfortune of flying it once and tried out the backward facing honeymoon seats. While they were fine for us, I cannot fathom how unbelievably awkward those seats would be for strangers. Zero personal space whatsoever!
I have to laugh at this. As a regular flier on the BKK route with BA's worst planes I find the window seat affords me plenty of privacy and comfort and I can rest, refill my wine at the galley myself and enjoy the entertainment all for half the price of a QR or EK ticket.

Yes I am one of those who believes in value for money over high prices and exclusivity.
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