Why all the hate for BA ?
#1
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Why all the hate for BA ?
Most of the travel videos I watch or news items on airline ratings inevitably seem to descend into either jokes about Ryanair or criticism of how lousy BA is “these days”. Of particular focus is often BA First with frequent comparisons to Etihad, Lufthansa, and Air France La Premiere. So finally I have the opportunity to find out for myself in 2 weeks (First from LHR to ORD - A380) but the first surprise was the price - I booked economy out and First return for $2,600 which to me is a great deal, if I looked at Lufthansa the price would be at least double that.
So is this BA’s secret - their First class product is deliberately sub-standard compared to other airlines simply because they sell those seats at such a competitive price point ?
So is this BA’s secret - their First class product is deliberately sub-standard compared to other airlines simply because they sell those seats at such a competitive price point ?
#2
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Charlottesville, Va. USA
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I think the criticism of BA first is very exaggerated, I just flew BA F rt iad/lhr. Was it the caviar and champagne in days of old? No. But that is true of most major's these days. AA in the 80's had incredible world class F service.Today not so much. F on almost any major carrier beats the heck out of economy. YMMV
Last edited by jmj9905; Aug 22, 2019 at 4:42 pm
#4
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[left] Of particular focus is often BA First with frequent comparisons to Etihad, Lufthansa, and Air France La Premiere. So finally I have the opportunity to find out for myself in 2 weeks (First from LHR to ORD - A380) but the first surprise was the price - I booked economy out and First return for $2,600 which to me is a great deal, if I looked at Lufthansa the price would be at least double that.
#5
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 6,334
How does the joke go? First on BA is a very good Business class ? I've only flown in First twice... (747s both times FWIW) once on BA, once on CX.... and I can assure you CX was better...significantly better..in every way. (Other than FA friendliness, I must add that!)
#6
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#7
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Unfortunately that model means that BA can get away with an inferior product (people value the no-stop element over caviar), and the high number of people on cheap tickets give further incentive not to invest.
#8
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Price is part of the equation. BA tends to have more seats in F than their competitors (depending on aircraft type and competitor more than double), which allows them to milk the maximum on direct routes (think >Ł10k) and then sell the rest cheaply to connecting traffic (plus of course the various GUFs & POUGs). For the core target audience (not very price sensitive but focused on convenience and comfort) that works very well - a lot of rich people want to travel between London and the world. A connection in Frankfurt (even if it is a Porsche aircraft to aircraft transfer is probably not what these people consider ideal).
Unfortunately that model means that BA can get away with an inferior product (people value the no-stop element over caviar), and the high number of people on cheap tickets give further incentive not to invest.
I think a lot of the "hate" comes from those flying to other markets (ME, Asia) where there are indisputably superior F products available, I'd even rather J on QR QSuites planes to BA/AA F.
#9
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Some of the "hate" comes from BA used to be a world class, innovative airline. As an example they introduced the first lie flat beds 20 years ago. For perhaps the last 10 years or so, they have rested on their laurels and in the last couple of years aggressively penny pinched the product and service. If I recall, the standard for wines in First is nothing to cost more than 5 Euro per bottle (champagne excepted). It wasn't that way 15 years ago.
It's become a shadow of it's former self, and it's sad for those who knew and loved the old BA to see things quickly descending into mediocrity and low cost carrier levels of "service". It's like watching an old friend slowly die before your eyes; yet you know it doesn't have to be this way.
It's become a shadow of it's former self, and it's sad for those who knew and loved the old BA to see things quickly descending into mediocrity and low cost carrier levels of "service". It's like watching an old friend slowly die before your eyes; yet you know it doesn't have to be this way.
#10
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(In next week’s review we’ll be looking at how the Bentley Continental GT stacks up against the Nissan Micra )
But joking apart, it’s hardly a state secret that BA have zero desire to create some sort of benchmark for First class air travel, or to even attempt to match the sort of products currently offered by the more innovative carriers, where F (or in some cases, biz too) is concerned.
So you certainly won’t be seeing any Singapore Airlines type luxury on BA aircraft any time soon ....... no onboard lounges / bars as on Qatar .......and no inflight showers or chauffeured limo pick-up / drop-offs as enjoyed by Emirates passengers.
Plus, I really cannot agree that it’s a matter of ‘hate’. If people find that their shopping experience in, say, Waitrose is superior to that in Tesco, it does not follow that they hate Tesco.
As others have said above - and very often across many previous threads - the current-day BA chooses to follow an entirely different strategy and with that comes a different pricing structure.
Last edited by subject2load; Aug 12, 2019 at 9:29 pm Reason: spelling
#11
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Question: How many of those carriers that subjectively have better F products are also state owned?
#12
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Its also the taxes of the country. Whilst someone is cheap on Ł25 - 30 k there are a number of taxes in the background which are significantly more than other countries. It all builds up and either the consumer pays or the company cuts costs.
#13
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#14
Join Date: Aug 2010
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I suppose it’s mainly down to the relentless shift to become a LCC. People have good memories of when it was leading the way. Now it’s far behind the competition in almost every aspect.
However for destinations, timetable and FF scheme it is one of the best. People who express anger just want them to be on par with some of the others again.
However for destinations, timetable and FF scheme it is one of the best. People who express anger just want them to be on par with some of the others again.