tigertanaka

Currently at 30,000ft on MAN-HEL with AY (in flight wi-fi on an A319, 0.68 Mb/s for €6.95) and reflecting on a couple of things that BA could copy off their competitors that would be fairly cheap to implement and could make a big difference passenger experience:

1. My AY digital boarding pass tells me what lounge I am entitled to use at MAN and HEL and where it is located. What a good idea when you are flying from an outstation and are not familiar with the airport!
2. A few days before an LHR-ZRH flight on LX earlier this month, I got an email to say that "Due to operational reasons we regret to inform you that your seat reservation has changed. We have done our utmost to assign an adequate seat. By clicking on Manage your booking you have the possibility to view your new assigned seat". Now seat changes happen but if there is an equipment change and you lose that exit row seat it is pretty annoying to find out a few hours before departure - but if you are proactively told in advance you have the possibility of doing something about it. Note I have no status in M&M.
3. The AY boarding passes also seem to show the correct information with regards to Priority Security (ie MAN: none, HEL, ARN, BMA, TLL all yes). In my recent experience BA doesn't show it on DUS, LBA or AMS (available at all three) and has only just started showing it on my NCL BP.

Without wanting to start another thread about cleaning aircraft, gold member greetings or amuse-bouches, are there any other small things that BA could copy off other competitors that could make that bit more of a difference?

(As a OW emerald, I also got offered a complementary drink from the AY BoB menu - which was quite nice)

South London Bon Viveur

corporate-wage-slave

The lounge information and location is (normally) showing in the App via Manage My Booking / flight line/Lounges.

Seat changes on BA are generally notified now, though if done at the last moment or you haven't set your privacy settings, you may not get the email.

Proactive seat change notification!

Your seat has changed - a new feature from BA?

The priority security is fair comment, but there is Flyertalk!

IAMORGAN

UKtravelbear

AY is a separate airline to BA offering different services to other airlines.

UKTraveller4Fun

Pretty sure the Op knows this as they list it as copy from the competition to improve BA.

Joshm300

PrimaVista

ratypus

Although it doesn't always work perfectly, I like that the American Airlines app will tell you which gate you're headed to and - very helpfully - where the inbound aircraft is coming from and whether it is on time. With BA, I have to check FlightRadar to get a sense of whether a departure is likely to be on time, especially at out-stations.

ratypus

I also mentioned this on another thread, and I accept it may be more complicated for BA especially in non-EEA short-haul locations (with different customs & duty rules)...but pre-departure drink on American in First is a really nice thing and a proper incentive to board early (and then relax...much more restful to sit through boarding with a decent G&T in hand...)

PUCCI GALORE

My Dear, I nearly burst out laughing. There are pages of PDBs not being done over at AA. I basically boils down to whether the Flight Attendants can be bothered. As often as not they are can't. You have the Lounges, they don't. I agree that it would be lovely to have glasses as people clomp past you with their bags and baggage particularly those unspeakable back packs designed to hit everyone in the face.

Improvement that I would make at little cost.

1) Throw those useless HighLife magazines at which no one who has graduated to solid food would even glance. Think of how much fuel is wasted dragging those around the skies.

2) Free soft drinks to all which was the downfall of BonB - people can manage without eating unless they are FTers where they appear to do little else - everyone wants something to drink. Actually with the ditching of the High Lifes you could probably bring back spirits again as well.

3) Tear out those interminable, unfunny, and to foreigners incomprehensible Luvvie parade of soi-disant National Treasures that calls itself the safety video.

4) Foreign Language speaking is a disgrace at BA and should be addressed as a matter of urgency

5) Sort out baggage handling in general and Premium Baggage handling in particular - last night at ALC it took at least 30 minutes last night, Iberia care less.

ratypus

I've almost always had PDB on AA - maybe I'm just lucky

windowontheAside

I love AA's baggage tracing via the app. I had a pretty tight connection in the US and was impressed to see that my bag had made it before I boarded.

T8191

unles, of course, the advertising revenue offsets the fuel burn.

I recall from the distant past CC wearing assorted National Flags on their uniforms [in some cases, several at once] to reveal a degree of ability in that language.

And so say all of us, but I suspect that would require some complex ground-handling arrangements with associated handling agent costs.

YacozA

Can we at least keep the BA system map? Seems to be the only portion I read.

My only addition is:

1. Free soft-drinks for all