WeleaseBwian

So after several disappointing flights on BA - dirty / broken seats, poor service - we decided to spend our hard earned with QR for a J return LHR-DOH-KUL. What an eye-opener that turned out to be. By every conceivable metric QR is simply miles ahead of Club World and in many areas better than BA F as well. There is nothing - absolutely nothing that BA CW has to offer that can be considered even close to the QR J experience. Even Mrs. B (who, if moaning and criticising was an Olympic sport could single handedly take the gold, silver and bronze medals) was very impressed and wanted to know why we hadn't tried other airlines years ago instead of wasting money on BA. (Had no answer for that one!)

(Just to add a bit of context here - from 2003-2013 I was either a GCH or SCH, flying quite a bit for work and we were enjoying Amex 241s for leisure travel in CW or F. During that time I was a staunch BA apologist when anyone criticized them. Changed job in 2013 - no more work travel so the 241s and Avios dried up and through some weird sense of loyalty we stuck with BA, paying for CW tickets.)

Flying QR J has made us realise just how far BA has fallen behind it's competitors and I don't intend to spend a single penny with them again. When QR give you better than BA F class service in a seat that is as good as BA F all at a J class price, you'd be nuts to give your money to BA.

Here's a few messages to various groups of people....

To anyone using Avios/241:- Spending c.£500 on taxes to get an F class flight on BA is just about understandable I guess.

To the corporate monkeys who get their tickets paid for:- Get a new job, your employer hates you and has no respect for you if they send you on BA. Move to a company with a better travel policy.

To anyone thinking of spending money with BA:- Don't do it. You're an idiot if you do. There's so much better out there.

TheJayHatch

I'm sure others will have plenty to add, but I do rather think this is a bit general. For those of us on mainly European flights, the combination of timetabling, safety, comfort, crew, lounges and relative ease of status will mean I won't stop using them for the foreseeable. As for the idiot point...well, if the cap fits

Takiteasy

thebigben

Won't stop me flying BA for 95% of my short haul flights (except to Finland) and some other routes like LCY-JFK, LHR-YUL, or LHR-NRT.

It's good value, and the BA Amex kinda adds to that. If a competitor wants to take my business they can try, but at the moment BA Gold is where it's at for me.

subject2load

TheJayHatch

If i was flying with my own money LH in Y to Asia and beyond i think I would go EK every time. Was incredibly impressed on an AKL-BNE hop last year - particularly with the willingness to keep me in wine on a short flight. The service was arguably as good as CX J (although perhaps that too was the wine...)

simonrp84

Not sure that the BA you describe with these words has existed for the last few years.

Brisbane Road

TheJayHatch

I guess I must have low expectations

Comfort, perhaps, is arguable, particularly given I've not flown on the ironing boards on the NEOs, and lounges too (although I find them, as a minimum, perfectly comfortable places to spend 30-60 minutes pre-flight).

But safety and (flight/cabin) crew I've without fail found to be impeccable.

msm2000uk

Out of curiosity, have you joined QR Privilege Club?

If not, and you're still crediting to BAEC, then you haven't given up BA.

If you have, I look forward to seeing you on the QR Forum, where you'll find far more disgruntled QRPC cardholders than BAEC cardholders.

M

spicysoup

Why is that, out of interest?

Flyerstarter

You are never going to get a positive response with a title like that in a BA sub forum. Yes QR are great and I've had many an enjoyable flight with them this year, however it is a struggling airline expecting to make huge losses this FY and continues to be propped up with state money. BA do not have that luxury but as a person living in the UK I see it as the safest home for my loyalty and pile of miles.

LTN Phobia

I recommend visiting the QR section and seeing for yourself.

There is a wide world out there in FlyerTalk universe, well beyond the BAEC forum.

msm2000uk

Because, without warning, QRPC devalued their program overnight.

At 2359 things were fine. At 0001 they were not. There's a link below, but I'm conscious of derailing this thread itself.

Major QR Devaluation

M

frandrake

I lost you when you started calling employees who travel for work "monkeys". Anyone who works honestly deserves respect, regardless of the work.

That said, I do agree BA has been dropping to unexpected lows and I do enjoy the occasional QR flight, although it's a bit of a compromise. If I fly to SIN direct with BA or SQ I can go straight to the office and be productive, if I have to do the Doha layover it's a different story. The nicer seat and fountains in the lounge won't help much.

As I mentioned in another post, BA has the incredible vantage point of the city of London and T5. If you are London based and travel all over the world, BA is pretty much an obvious choice, especially if you travel premium only on long haul, as being Silver or Gold really makes a huge difference when travelling ET.

The only way you can afford not to travel BA being based in London is if you fly to a set of fixed locations well served by other airlines (e.g. CX, SQ, etc.) so you build your loyalty with them without missing out when flying non-premium.