Filthy Cabin [787-9 from Mexico City]
Jan 4, 2019, 11:48 am
#76
Join Date: Feb 2005
Programs: BA(Gold),LX(Gold),EK,AF,AC(Star Silver)
Posts: 4
response. I would start Instagram posting and tweeting pictures with the #BA and encouraging retweets to followers. This will get BA’s attention. It’s amazing how BA has given up on premium cabin customer service. They haven’t really had a Product update since they introduced flat beds in Club World. Food quality has gone down a lot even with ‘new improved’ offering. I wonder why anybody is still flying with them ? They haven’t invested much in aircraft or product in the last 10 years. Just buying low rate airlines like Vuelling, Iberia and Aer Lingus. Let’s hope Qatar increases its holding and brins it back to standard. I can always dream
Jan 4, 2019, 12:58 pm
#77
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 35
What also let’s it down for me is the fact that BA cabin crew generally consider keeping a cabin tidy an activity that’s beneath them. Let’s face it, there’s so much detritus that accumulates over the course of a flight. Countless plastic wrappers from headphones, bedding, amenity kits, paper napkins, coasters, which, if you fly a Japanese airline or Qatar will be whisked away immediately by the crew no matter the stage of the cabin service. Leave as much as small toothpick paper wrapper lying around openly around your seat and it will be gone within 15 minutes. On BA you can demonstrably wedge all plastic wrapping behind the footstool or leave something on a table and it will still be thee 12 hours later when you land.
To me that filters down to the flying public. If the crew doesn’t respect a tidy cabin why would a passenger and let’s face it, where are you meant to throw all that stuff yourself? Personal storage around seats should be for my personal items, not rubbish forced on me by BA cabin service.
To me that filters down to the flying public. If the crew doesn’t respect a tidy cabin why would a passenger and let’s face it, where are you meant to throw all that stuff yourself? Personal storage around seats should be for my personal items, not rubbish forced on me by BA cabin service.
Jan 4, 2019, 2:48 pm
#78
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6,349
This has nothing to do with the OP - it has everything to do with the people who sat there before him and in the pictures that followed,
I am well aware what the issues are, thank you. The rubbish would have been collected - or do you expect it to be scattered all over the floor? I don't. If I open blankets or read newspapers, I leave them where they can be collected as I do not care to sit with trash at my feet.
I worked with this and I assure you that it has got far worse in recent years.What I was trying to say was that this is the situation and BA should deal with it,
I am well aware what the issues are, thank you. The rubbish would have been collected - or do you expect it to be scattered all over the floor? I don't. If I open blankets or read newspapers, I leave them where they can be collected as I do not care to sit with trash at my feet.
I worked with this and I assure you that it has got far worse in recent years.What I was trying to say was that this is the situation and BA should deal with it,
Leaving behind the plastic wrap of a blanket or headset is not unreasonable. Nor are crumbs on a seat. This is the normal debris of a long haul flight and should have been cleaned. Similarly the use of inferior quality fittings is hardly the traveller's fault.
Sadly the reason this seems to come up more regularly is everything to do with penny pinching and the lack of proper supplier management. Very soon we will no doubt hear that planes will only be cleaned at base so if outward travellers could take their rubbish away and clean their area with a wet wipe that would be appreciated.
Jan 4, 2019, 5:24 pm
#79
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,208
Sadly the reason this seems to come up more regularly is everything to do with penny pinching and the lack of proper supplier management. Very soon we will no doubt hear that planes will only be cleaned at base so if outward travellers could take their rubbish away and clean their area with a wet wipe that would be appreciated.
Jan 4, 2019, 9:56 pm
#80
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX (elite) and a few others (non-elite)
Posts: 687
I sense this may not just be a BA problem. I have flown on a number of new generation planes (NZ, LA, UA, QFand AA 787 and CX and SQ A350’s) in the biz cabins and feel that the manufacturers are using slimmer and less robust materials to keep weight down and deliver promises on range and fuel consumption. My last few flights on CX A350s showed the plane (less than a year old) with gaffer tape and knocked corners and general scuffing, as well as scratchy paint jobs on handsets. They won’t see five years without really showing wear and tear in the cabin and the need for a refit.
Jan 5, 2019, 1:32 am
#81
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, EK Skywards (enhanced Blue !), Oman Air Sindbad Gold
Posts: 6,399
The (very simple) explanation is that there is a far greater cross-section of experienced BA users on this Forum, and who collectively spend far more time in the air, than is the case within your rather more limited circle of contacts.
If you’re happy to accept at face value what you hear from your own contacts, then why are you not equally ready to respect and accept the word of FT members where their flight reports are concerned ?
If, on the other hand, you’re of the view that people come on here just to make up stuff that didn’t happen, then you should at least have the courage to say so outright - along with reasons as to why anyone would wish to do that.
With few exceptions, FT contributors do not lead a charmed life of travel. They see both the good and the bad in various airlines, at various times ; and when posting, they choose to speak as they find - just as OP norrie09 has done, in this very thread (with supporting evidence in the shape of some unpleasant photos).
There can be no merit whatever in attempting to excuse any premium travel supplier - whether it be hotelier, car rental company, or airline - which presents its product in the unaaceptable way described by norrie09 - and indeed by many, many others who have personally witnessed similar results of shoddy cleaning standards onboard BA aircraft.
Many a business leader would do well to heed the wise words of Bill Gates :
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”
Jan 5, 2019, 2:27 am
#82
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,923
It was lovely to meet you, we had a very good flight with very good crew.
Jan 6, 2019, 12:17 am
#83
Join Date: May 2015
Location: South Florida
Programs: DL Skymiles KE Skypass
Posts: 2,362
Hall of Shame: Photographic Evidence of busted or broken Delta Air Lines jets
As I have never flown BA, and have no plans to do so, I will leave it up to someone in your forum to create one.
Jan 7, 2019, 7:39 am
#84
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: London
Programs: Hilton Diamond, NZ Gold, BA Gold
Posts: 134
@noddie09 - thank you for coming back once again, and it was interesting to read of the official response by BA.
We see a fair few similar reports by FT-ers, but don’t always get to hear of the denouement, so to speak ^
It was not me who experienced the filthy cabin as you did, nor was I party to the subsequent telephone conversation. And for those reasons I totally respect your view that “the feedback was taken constructively.”
That said, I tend to share the underlying sense of cynicism expressed by several others here ; indeed, in all honesty I could have pretty much scripted that response myself !
What intrigues me above all is that only now - or, rather, next week - is this unacceptable situation about to be (allegedly) addressed :
“She informed me that the aircraft was due to be serviced next week and that the condition of the seat was one of the top priorities on their list”
This raises two - equally unwelcome - possibilities :
1. BA only became aware of the bad condition of the seat (+ its facilities etc) as a result of your photos ; which in turn begs the question .... just what sort of inspections take place in BA’s First class cabins ?
OR
2. BA were aware for quite some time of the bad seat, but couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it.
And this bit is especially interesting :
“I mentioned that in my opinion the seat should be taken out of service asap to avoid further disappointment for other passengers however she mentioned that due to load factors, this wouldn't be possible.”
I believe the translation of the above is :
“We recognise that this seat - in its current state - is nothing short of a disgrace to a First Class cabin, but we prefer to keep raking in big money for it from more unsuspecting passengers such as yourself, than take it out of service, as you rightly suggest.”
We see a fair few similar reports by FT-ers, but don’t always get to hear of the denouement, so to speak ^
It was not me who experienced the filthy cabin as you did, nor was I party to the subsequent telephone conversation. And for those reasons I totally respect your view that “the feedback was taken constructively.”
That said, I tend to share the underlying sense of cynicism expressed by several others here ; indeed, in all honesty I could have pretty much scripted that response myself !
What intrigues me above all is that only now - or, rather, next week - is this unacceptable situation about to be (allegedly) addressed :
“She informed me that the aircraft was due to be serviced next week and that the condition of the seat was one of the top priorities on their list”
This raises two - equally unwelcome - possibilities :
1. BA only became aware of the bad condition of the seat (+ its facilities etc) as a result of your photos ; which in turn begs the question .... just what sort of inspections take place in BA’s First class cabins ?
OR
2. BA were aware for quite some time of the bad seat, but couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it.
And this bit is especially interesting :
“I mentioned that in my opinion the seat should be taken out of service asap to avoid further disappointment for other passengers however she mentioned that due to load factors, this wouldn't be possible.”
I believe the translation of the above is :
“We recognise that this seat - in its current state - is nothing short of a disgrace to a First Class cabin, but we prefer to keep raking in big money for it from more unsuspecting passengers such as yourself, than take it out of service, as you rightly suggest.”
Jan 8, 2019, 5:19 am
#85
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,255
The ledge between seat and fuselage had not been vacuumed for a long while, covered in dust and debris. The controller and surrounding areas were covered in sticky drink splashes. Plenty of hair and fluff on main seat / foot rest.
Crew and food were spot on and it didn't impact my journey, it's just disappointing
Jan 8, 2019, 6:15 am
#86
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold; FB Silver; SPG; IHG Gold
Posts: 2,983
I think you hit the nail on the head with your comments above @subject2load. We are raking it in and therefore couldn't afford to take the seat out of service. We are aware of the problem but most folks don't complain!! Shocking stuff
Question for those in the know: do the CC do a cabin walk through pre-flight to carry out a visual check on seats/rubbish etc in the same way that the flight crew always inspect the outside of a/c? I appreciate that there will be a lot of work to do pre-flight, especially on short haul sectors, but I wonder whether a "cleanliness visual" is SOP at BA?
Jan 8, 2019, 6:39 am
#88
Join Date: Oct 2015
Programs: BA Gold for Life
Posts: 1,390
I have previously experienced a delay in boarding without much explanation as to reason. Once on board the explanation was given, namely the captain was unhappy with the cleanliness of the aircraft and had required an additional clean before passengers boarded. For info the flight was from Santiago.
Jan 8, 2019, 8:20 am
#89
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYZ
Programs: BA Gold/Marriott Gold/HH Diamond/IC Plat Amba
Posts: 5,989
Since the 789s are used on flights where the F cabin is not sold and is used as a crew rest area surely a crew member resting in one of the seats would have noted the premature wear and tear on the seat area and the IFE and seat controllers at some point. That didn't happen in the course of one flight. Or would their concerns be ignored as well?
Jan 8, 2019, 8:33 am
#90
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Programs: Mucci des Hommes Magiques et Magnifiques
Posts: 19,092
As I have said all these faults would have been reported and BA are either waiting for a retro fit from the manufacturer or enough time on the ground to fit the replacements, this is not an excuse but just to explain that the cabin crew log many defects daily and wouldn’t have ignored them.
Last edited by Can I help you; Jan 8, 2019 at 9:07 am