aristoph

So today I had to make a last minute change to my flights this weekend as I now have to come back early. It turns out R class flexibility means just that if you've read my other recent thread, so BA wanted £700 to move me to a flight which only has C fare class left. The BA ticket however was cancellable without charge, however, and VS was offering flights I needed at the same price as my original BA ticket.

I was so tempted to try the VS flight. I understand many people prefer the BA seat or service, and I made that exact same conclusion 15 years ago when I last flew Virgin. But there was the possibility that I could be positively surprised with VS, whereas with BA I know exactly what I am getting and my expectations are (I think) appropriately low.

Against that my tier point year ends today, so the BA flights get me 280 towards renewing my Silver card, which is hard for me these days. And I will get 18,000 Avios now that the return bucket is C. Not that I need them, but hey what am I going to do with a load of random VS points??? (I even checked with headforpoints whether I could credit to my KLM Flyingblue account yet, and if the answer had been affirmative that might have swung it for me.) So BA here I come.

Now I am not paying that £700 (nor is my employer, to be clear; it will be reclaimed from the people who forced this last minute change of plan) and that was a big factor in my decision. But at the end of the day I just wasn't strong enough to escape the grasp of BAEC.

Globaliser

If FT ever ran an essay competition, I think I might suggest this topic: "Are frequent flyer schemes a competitive tool for airlines, or an anti-competitive tool?"

bhbloke

I'm just happy to have learnt a new word.

armouredant

Going to Africa recently, Virgin had cheaper flights. I successfully applied for Virgin to match my BA status.

Airlines would like to use loyalty schemes to keep you flying with them. I prefer to use loyalty schemes as opportunities to be taken advantage of.

Joely

+1

rossmacd

Blueboys999

Very to glad to find that it wasn't just me!

noddie09

Let us never forget that at the end of each day, BA will always be there to squeeze us for our last pennies in the hope that we will do anything to retain those digital status cards which make us feel a little special every time we fly..........

:D!

The OP appears not to be out of pocket in any way and preferred to receive Avios and TPs rather than Virgin miles.


If I were "the people who forced this last minute change of plan" I wouldn't be too happy that the OP wanted me to pay an extra £700 to remain on BA when it would cost me nothing extra for the OP to fly VS instead.

Unless 1) the OP hasn't mentioned something about the VS flights, such as they are horribly timed. or 2) the OP's work is so valuable to my organisation that it's worth paying £700 to keep them happy, etc.


If the OP had to choose between switching to VS at no extra charge or paying the £700 to stay with BA themselves - I wonder what choice would be made.

roberino

Ancient Observer

When I flew a lot - which I no longer do, I had "BA Gold" and a back up. Initially it was SQ Gold (or their version of it), but then I switched it to VS. VS were good for redemptions to Aus and some parts of the US, and at times had great deals for Le Manoir. (Gave me brownie points with SWMBO)
The reason that I stopped using VS at all is that their air miles seem pretty useless from my personal perspective. So I have sympathy with the OP.

BearX220

That's so sad. When a service provider has you where it wants you like that, it naturally needs to exert less effort to retain you.

Often1

The problem with the FFP schemes is that they are grounded on the premise that for their target customer, e.g. a business traveler who either does not pay for his tickets or has them reimbursed by a third-party such as an employer or a client, that the passenger is not as price sensitive as he ought to be and may not be at all.

I have no idea who paid for OP's ticket or what the reason was for that person to pay for the change, but one wonders how that third-party would have reacted has he been presented with the option of paying an additional £700 so that an employee or service provider (lawyer, accountant, consultant) may fly a preferred carrier when a cheaper and equally sufficient equivalent exists.

I certainly cannot imagine approving the £700 without requiring a review of whether there are more prudent alternatives.

Put another way, what would OP have dome had the £700 been out of his own pocket?

SKT-DK

SKRan

My English improves every time I read BA forum.