Message to the crew of BA1370 this morning
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 373
Message to the crew of BA1370 this morning
14 rows of Club Europe on the Heathrow to Manchester earlier this morning and the crew did their absolute best to serve everyone a breakfast tray and drinks during the 33 minute flight. Passengers in rows 10-14 were being handed trays just before the 10 minutes to landing call. Whoever designed this product for such a short flight needs to rethink it. It is a mess from a passenger point of view and the crew clearly struggled to serve let alone clear away.
The crew were professional and brilliant and came around to apologise to everyone who didn’t get offered a drink. I declined the tray but why not just offer a good quality coffee and tea and pastry at that time of day, especially as most people grab something in the lounge.
Well done to the crew. The product sucked but you did your best and kept smiling. Thanks!
The crew were professional and brilliant and came around to apologise to everyone who didn’t get offered a drink. I declined the tray but why not just offer a good quality coffee and tea and pastry at that time of day, especially as most people grab something in the lounge.
Well done to the crew. The product sucked but you did your best and kept smiling. Thanks!
#2
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: UK
Programs: BA Blue, IC Spire Ambassador
Posts: 5,228
I doubt I could do their job, but historically hot breakfasts have been offered even on the MAN flights to ALL customers. Equally, they still do this for CE on Jersey flights. MAN is already a reduced club service. There should have been extra crew with that size of a cabin. It isn’t always going to be possible to complete the service but perhaps this is where having a few experienced crew can help as I suspect there’s a knack to it!
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 373
A lady in front of me said to her companion that she would be writing a strongly worded complaint to BA about not getting a drink in Club.
Anyway, first world problems, but a poorly designed product with staff doing their best to work with it.
#5
Join Date: Nov 2005
Programs: BA Exec
Posts: 647
Prior to the introduction of Club Europe on domestic flights, all of the assigned crew were dedicated to serving all customers, and additional crew were always rostered on domestic flights to help deliver the hot breakfast etc.
With the introduction of two separate cabins, some of the crew will be tied with buy on board and not available to assist in CE - so in some ways, things have got harder for the crew.
In addition to this, with the introduction of NEO and CEO configured aircraft with their tiny galleys, some of the trolleys for the buy on board service have to be loaded and set up at the front, impacting the timeliness of the CE service even more.
With the introduction of two separate cabins, some of the crew will be tied with buy on board and not available to assist in CE - so in some ways, things have got harder for the crew.
In addition to this, with the introduction of NEO and CEO configured aircraft with their tiny galleys, some of the trolleys for the buy on board service have to be loaded and set up at the front, impacting the timeliness of the CE service even more.
#6
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: Executive Club: Gold - Flying Blue: Gold
Posts: 1,382
Prior to the introduction of Club Europe on domestic flights, all of the assigned crew were dedicated to serving all customers, and additional crew were always rostered on domestic flights to help deliver the hot breakfast etc.
With the introduction of two separate cabins, some of the crew will be tied with buy on board and not available to assist in CE - so in some ways, things have got harder for the crew.
In addition to this, with the introduction of NEO and CEO configured aircraft with their tiny galleys, some of the trolleys for the buy on board service have to be loaded and set up at the front, impacting the timeliness of the CE service even more.
With the introduction of two separate cabins, some of the crew will be tied with buy on board and not available to assist in CE - so in some ways, things have got harder for the crew.
In addition to this, with the introduction of NEO and CEO configured aircraft with their tiny galleys, some of the trolleys for the buy on board service have to be loaded and set up at the front, impacting the timeliness of the CE service even more.
#7
Join Date: Nov 2005
Programs: BA Exec
Posts: 647
so on short flights, FAs struggle to deliver a proper CE experience due other FAs being in Y trying to sell BoB where the sales are minimal. On longer routes, it is the other way round: FAs struggle to serve the whole Y cabin due to the amount of time it takes to process Transactions and to the limited available galley space that doesn’t allow big stocks of M&S food. Whomever conceived this concept needs to be sacked and all his bonuses taken away. I am sure LH and AF/KL have looked into BoB and based on BA’s experience they might have decided not to go ahead. BoB and Business class may work if you have a tiny C cabin but for legacies such as BA, LH or AF, it is really a logistical nightmare.
#8
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: Executive Club: Gold - Flying Blue: Gold
Posts: 1,382
A friend of mine just came back from Chania: there wasn’t a single sandwich left after the first few rows in ET. He complained to CCs and they told him to complain to BA as it is a regular occurrence on longer routes.
#9
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: BA Blue, EI Silver, Honours Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,209
I doubt things will get much better. Aer Lingus have been doing BoB since 2002. They still regularly run out of the fresh food items. Thats 18 years of sales data - yet they still can't accurately stock.
#10
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: York, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold, Honors Diamond
Posts: 1,184
Interesting I had a very good experience on a 12 row club cabin on MAN-LHR last week, I think there were 3 crew plus the CSM who did his welcome speech on the ground. All crew were up as soon as the gear was up.
All rows served in plenty of time, with enough time for drinks refills. So it just shows it’s down to the individual crew. That was one time I didn’t begrudge the CSM thanking his crew for their hard work on the short flight (they all worked very hard!).
All rows served in plenty of time, with enough time for drinks refills. So it just shows it’s down to the individual crew. That was one time I didn’t begrudge the CSM thanking his crew for their hard work on the short flight (they all worked very hard!).
#11
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,926
Interesting I had a very good experience on a 12 row club cabin on MAN-LHR last week, I think there were 3 crew plus the CSM who did his welcome speech on the ground. All crew were up as soon as the gear was up.
All rows served in plenty of time, with enough time for drinks refills. So it just shows it’s down to the individual crew. That was one time I didn’t begrudge the CSM thanking his crew for their hard work on the short flight (they all worked very hard!).
All rows served in plenty of time, with enough time for drinks refills. So it just shows it’s down to the individual crew. That was one time I didn’t begrudge the CSM thanking his crew for their hard work on the short flight (they all worked very hard!).
I'm a big fan of CE on domestics - and I wouldn't want to see the service "enhanced" in any [FT] way. I think it just about right for such a short sector.
#13
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 3,595
#14
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: UK
Programs: BA Blue, IC Spire Ambassador
Posts: 5,228
I find this typical of the MAN sectors, the crew are fast on their feet and usually have the service started within 5 minutes of wheels-up. As a very regular passenger on MAN, I have yet to see them not complete a service. Yes, it is often rushed - especially when Club goes past row 8 - but the crew do a stellar job and often come round offering top-ups!
I'm a big fan of CE on domestics - and I wouldn't want to see the service "enhanced" in any [FT] way. I think it just about right for such a short sector.
I'm a big fan of CE on domestics - and I wouldn't want to see the service "enhanced" in any [FT] way. I think it just about right for such a short sector.
#15
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Traveling the World
Posts: 6,072
14 rows of Club Europe on the Heathrow to Manchester earlier this morning and the crew did their absolute best to serve everyone a breakfast tray and drinks during the 33 minute flight. Passengers in rows 10-14 were being handed trays just before the 10 minutes to landing call. Whoever designed this product for such a short flight needs to rethink it. It is a mess from a passenger point of view and the crew clearly struggled to serve let alone clear away.
The crew were professional and brilliant and came around to apologise to everyone who didn’t get offered a drink. I declined the tray but why not just offer a good quality coffee and tea and pastry at that time of day, especially as most people grab something in the lounge.
Well done to the crew. The product sucked but you did your best and kept smiling. Thanks!
The crew were professional and brilliant and came around to apologise to everyone who didn’t get offered a drink. I declined the tray but why not just offer a good quality coffee and tea and pastry at that time of day, especially as most people grab something in the lounge.
Well done to the crew. The product sucked but you did your best and kept smiling. Thanks!