thebigben

I would if it didn't cost an arm and a leg... this applies to QR in general too. I'd fly them for a couple hundred more on a long flight, but not much more than that. 200 quid on the ground can buy a lot of simple comforts

Soupdragon62

I'm always going to have an issue or two with BA, it't the nature of the beast, but don't really feel the need to grandstand on here unless I'm looking for help with a fix to the issue I have, or add context. Not sure what the point of these depressingly frequent posts are as there is nothing to be gained fro them, only the circular well rehearsed opinions any regular will already know.

Maybe a sub forum called "I hate BA' where these kinds of thread can be happily co-located is the answer.

jk1234

Agent69

I achieved BAEC gold status courtesy of several QR flights in J over the last year. No disputing that QR are a quality outfit (once you get off the ground).

Over the next 6 months I have flights with BA on B789 in F, A380 in J and B777 in J. It will be interesting to see how they compare with QR J.

itsmeitisss

Try over 9 hours as I did when trying out the CWL service on a trip to Seoul. Great only having to drive 30 minutes rather than 3 hours, but... the way back was a more civilised 3 hours. ICN to DOH apparently had Q suites for while but have reverted back to the old old seats where you have to climb across someone's torso.

VS have the same seat as NZ which I found great for service and for food, but awful for seat. No decent lounging position - maximum recline isn't quite enough. The BA seat might be showing its years, but at least on a day flight you can choose your position and not have the faff of having to switch the seat into a bed by flipping it over - something which you can't do in turbulence if the signs are adhered to. So if you have a bumpy route that the flight crew can't get around, you aren't getting a flat bed - or even a decent recline.

gegarrenton

Well that's just insane. VS maybe, but the other two are abysmal.

dulciusexasperis

Always nice to hear about someone who has woken up. It never fails to amaze me how so many people cling to the belief that 'reward' programs by airlines are about the traveller being 'rewarded' for their 'loyalty', when in fact airline reward programs are designed specifically to 'retain' the more frequent traveller flying with that airline. Chasing status, collecting miles is about 'retention' the airline, the 'reward' for the traveller is just pocket change. The traveller 'rewards' the airline by continuing to spend money flying with them, in return for being thrown a few crumbs of perceived 'status'.

When I chose a flight, I look for the least hassle and the most comfort that I can afford to buy. So I will avoid connecting flights if at all possible as an example. If doing so means I will pay a bit more for a non-stop on airline B over a connecting flight on airline A, so be it, as long as I can afford the price. And that really is what it is all about, PRICE.

'Reward' programs from the lowly supermarket 'Air Miles' programs that those who can barely afford to pay for an economy seat on an LLC join, to the airlines own FF 'reward' programs for the middle working class who fly on the 'company dime' join as there is no 'down side' to them doing so, all 'reward' the airlines. The traveller who cannot actually afford to pay for a seat out of their own pocket, perceive themselves as being 'rewarded' and in fact are in that they get something they cannot otherwise afford. Everyone wants 'something for nothing' and believe that is what they are getting. Who ever gets 'something for nothing' in reality however? No one. The airline is not a charity, it must gain more than it gives and that is what they do. Those chasing 'status' are not getting anything for free, they just think they are. They are paying the cost in other ways.

If you value money above comfort etc. then it is reasonable to consider yourself as being 'rewarded' for your loyalty. If however, you can afford to pay for the seat you want on the airline you decide to choose, then FF programs and having them be a factor in your decision are equally as easy to perceive as 'handcuffs'. You are 'handcuffed' to a given airline. When it is the only way you are going to get to fly in J class, someone may not see those handcuffs but when you can afford to buy that seat as you can WeLeaseBwain, then you begin to see the 'handcuffs'. There is no point in trying to convince anyone who cannot afford to pay for a J or F class seat out of their own pocket, that they are not being 'rewarded'. As the saying goes, 'they cannot see here from there'.

In regards to BA itself, I agree with you in general. There are airlines that offer more for the same money or even less sometimes. However, I would keep an open mind to change. BA has in the past been one of the best airlines around and may again in the future. An airline that is great on one route may not be the best choice on a different route. Each flight offers different choices and the best fit for your individual needs can vary not only by route but over time. Nothing is as constant as change.

Now that you are no longer handcuffed to BA, you may also want to consider other factors in your choices to maximize your comfort and convenience when travelling like non-stop flights. Or another example, we live an hour from a regional airport and 3 hours from our nearest major international airport. We could drive 3 hours and catch a non-stop transatlantic flight on several different airlines to our destination. Or we could drive one hour, take a short hop to the major airport and connect with our non-stop transatlantic flight.

Here's the difference. We all know the time and hassle involved in arriving at a major airport, parking long term, getting to check-in, through security, etc. to the departure gate. The whole pain in the butt experience. When we park at our regional airport, there is always a space less than a 2 minute walk to the check-in area. The cost of parking is significantly less. In fact, the difference in parking cost nearly equals the cost of our short hop flight! There is never a line of more than 2 or 3 people at the check-in desk meaning all e-boarding to avoid line-ups etc. becomes pointless. You can pre-print a boarding pass at home if you wish or you can just walk up to check-in and have them print it for you in about 2 minutes.

On a recent trip, I forgot to remove my little keychain sized Swiss Army Knife from my keychain. Oops. At security scanning, it was noticed. The security officer asked me if I had a car parked outside and I said I did. He then suggested I walk back out, leave the knife in my car and return. So that's what I did. Total time spent walking out and back to security, perhaps 5 minutes. We all know that if I had been at security in the major airport, I would have probably not even been given the choice, the knife would have been confiscated. If I had been given the choice it would have taken a lot more than 5 minutes to get out to my car and return to security and I would undoubtedly have voluntarily given up the knife.

Also on arrival at the major airport from the regional airport, you are already airside. All the hassle of getting to that point if you started at the major airport is avoided. That to me is a big deal.

Which brings me to terminals. I don't want to arrive at Terminal A and have my connecting flight leave from Terminal B if I can avoid it. That voids most of the advantage of starting from the regional airport. So if I have say 4 airlines I can choose from for my transatlantic flight, I want the same terminal to be the one my arriving regional flight goes to and my departing transatlantic flight leaves from. That will influence my choice of which of the 4 possible airlines I might pick. The decisions are all about our comfort and avoiding hassle, not price.

That same principle applies to choice of airports in general. Some airports are just a lot easier to arrive and depart from and where possible we try to fly out of and in to those airports. For example, we absolutely refuse to fly into Heathrow as a UK entry point. It's at the top of our 'no fly list' of airports in Europe.

All flights that would require us to get up at some ridiculously early hour are to be avoided. We want to get up at our normal time in the morning, enjoy breakfast, finish packing and drive to our regional airport for a departure at a civilized time in the early afternoon or so whenever possible. The same applies to return flights. if we need to add an extra day or pay more for a flight at a better time of day, that's what we do.

Door to door time is what matters, not flight time or cost. By that I mean again, non-stop flights where possible and the avoidance of arriving at a destination and still having to carry on for several hours beyond that to a final destination. For example, on a recent visit to Davos, Switzerland we arrived in Zurich and could have continued on by train to Davos, arriving in the early evening. Instead we stayed the night in Zurich and continued on the next day after a leisurely breakfast, arriving mid-afternoon in Davos. Comfort, not cost. We could have taken the train back from Davos to Zurich to catch an early afternoon return flight. But that would have meant getting up in Davos at an early hour, rushing breakfast and catching the train. Nope, we got up at a normal time, enjoyed breakfast, finished packing and caught an afternoon train to Zurich arriving with plenty of time to check in to a hotel and stroll to a favourite restaurant for dinner. The next morning, a relaxed morning before heading to the airport for a return flight at the same time as the flight we would have had to rush to catch the previous day. Comfort not cost.

Calling Japan at 1am to 'get the only 2 CW tickets', you must be joking.

rickg523

An interesting thing in this thread is the OP's statement
And how often that is reflected exactly in the responses to his post.
(Personally, I had the good fortune of flying CW long haul in 2008-2011. And then the misfortune of doing the same between 2012 and 2014 when I finally gave up on a carrier that enhanced itself into a shadow of its former very fine self. I posted about it here a little, but mostly just as I had when I was flying BA exclusively, I voted with my wallet, gave my Avios away or used them for hotels, and moved on. Not salty at all, the airline just doesn't measure up for me anymore).

WeleaseBwian

I'm not suggesting everyone should fly QR. QR just happened to be airline we used to get to KUL. I don't intend to stay loyal to any airline - I'll be very promiscuous from now on, now that I know there is far far better out there than BA.

Nimrod1965

lameizi

flying4workNfun

I mean no disrespect to OP, but these "I was loyal to X and now I am taking my money elsewhere" posts are always very interesting to me. I say we all should be glad that we have the ability to chose from many different vendors and services and products. If you don't like one airline and switch to another, then more power to you, you should be happy that you did so. But those of you who have flown long enough know that are always ups and downs. And every forum on here is full of it's fair share of complaints. I have yet to see a forum full of nothing but compliments.

I used to travel to a location regularly such that the only way to get to that location from where I departed, and not have to use multiple airlines, was to fly BA or EK. I did BA for some time and then had a bad flight and tried EK. I had a good EK flight and thought "EK is fabulous, why did I not leave BA sooner?". Then eventually I had a bad EK flight and went back to BA for my next. I had a good BA flight and thought "BA is fabulous, why did I ever leave." Rinse and repeat.

Again, I mean no disrespect to OP, and I sincerely do not like to hear about the negative experiences because I can empathize and they make me sad, but the fact you can chose between more than one airline and are not stuck with only using Air Koryo is a wonderful thing, I say.

ElmhurstNick

Everybody has to sit down every year, re-evaluate their priorities, and evaluate how their current service providers have revised their priorities. Then make a change if appropriate. Business travel client/conference mix, leisure travel target destinations, ability to take more long weekends vs. fewer but longer distance trips, ability and willingness to purchase emerging products (such as USA carriers slowly introducing true PE as opposed to Y+ extra legroom seating). All of it. Airlines, hotels, rental car companies.

Dave Noble

Cannot think of many times I need to phone an airline over a booking
Business class passengers get priority boarding anyway
I don't let an FF programme control my travel - FF points are an outcome not the reason
as before - plus I would rather have a better product rather than a chance for overprice redemption of a poorer one later
I am not fixated on row 1 - plus not sure that row 1 on a longhaul aeroplane in business class is going to be that much better than elsewhere - if it is then taking a better product seems a good idea anyway
if I needed to take 96kg of luggage on a trip, I would indeed take luggage allowances into account when choosing an airline, but value wise would take into account cost of extra piece - it is a lon while sine I travelled with > 50kg on a trip though

Greenpen

I have got Gold by flying QR. Previously I had Gold by flying *A with points to BD which was British Midland. I will exploit Gold by using quick check-in and lounges whilst flying Y (or J) on various OW airlines including BA. I still fly BA when I need to, but it is based not on loyalty but price. I too no longer fly for work (unless my boss asks me to on Monday) so I pay for my travel with Avios or cash.

I like flying so flew Aeroflot in the summer as I have never flown with them before; it was good, I'd fly SU again.

I am gearing-up to fly BA F for the first time in years (discovered JL and other OW F operators, so I wait to be impressed).