Two worlds - BA in South Africa (Comair)
Aug 13, 2019, 4:26 am
#1
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Two worlds - BA in South Africa (Comair)
After a late wake-up and a missed flight on Mango this morning I was stuck in CPT needing to get to JNB, and managed to snag a last minute Avios booking on BA in Y for the 9am flight. I've flown BA in SA pretty often in the past, but still was impressed today and it's astounding how different the service is compared to European short-haul operations.
Friendly service, complimentary hot breakfast with two choices (chicken or vegetarian), full drinks service (including alcohol on the afternoon flights), including another offer of a drink after top of descent (pro-actively from crew while passing by, no one in my row had asked nor took her up on her offer). Brisk flight with tailwinds, so an on-time arrival despite a late departure. Unfortunately bus gates on both sides.
One wonders why BA can do it here but not in Europe. To be clear, there are five major short-haul operators in SA, and only one full-service competitor (South African Airways).
Friendly service, complimentary hot breakfast with two choices (chicken or vegetarian), full drinks service (including alcohol on the afternoon flights), including another offer of a drink after top of descent (pro-actively from crew while passing by, no one in my row had asked nor took her up on her offer). Brisk flight with tailwinds, so an on-time arrival despite a late departure. Unfortunately bus gates on both sides.
One wonders why BA can do it here but not in Europe. To be clear, there are five major short-haul operators in SA, and only one full-service competitor (South African Airways).
Aug 13, 2019, 4:33 am
#4
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Aug 13, 2019, 5:47 am
#5
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Then you will have noticed all of the subtle changes that have progressively taken place over the years. The direction of travel is the same as in Europe. The cost structures there (and it's Comair's that matter, not BA's) and the state of the competitive environment mean that Comair is at a different point on the timescale from mainline BA in Europe. That's what is superficially noticeable. But changes are afoot there as here.
Aug 13, 2019, 6:01 am
#6
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I've done the BA Comair JNB - CPT - JNB a couple of times in recent weeks. They are having fleet issues so it was a (different) white coloured plane each time. All bar 1 boarding/dis-embarking was via bus. The checked baggage at JNB took 50 minutes to arrive after the bus! So definitely not the solid brand it was just a couple of years ago.
However, indeed, the onboard economy service was good. I got a passable bite of food each time, the red wine was okay but no G&Ts! The lounges remain as excellent.
All-in-all my experiment to move back from Biz to Economy went well, even on a full flight. As with BA mainline in Europe the Club cabin has become a very weak proposition and I don't need the tier points
.
However, indeed, the onboard economy service was good. I got a passable bite of food each time, the red wine was okay but no G&Ts! The lounges remain as excellent.
All-in-all my experiment to move back from Biz to Economy went well, even on a full flight. As with BA mainline in Europe the Club cabin has become a very weak proposition and I don't need the tier points
.
Aug 13, 2019, 7:19 am
#7
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Then you will have noticed all of the subtle changes that have progressively taken place over the years. The direction of travel is the same as in Europe. The cost structures there (and it's Comair's that matter, not BA's) and the state of the competitive environment mean that Comair is at a different point on the timescale from mainline BA in Europe. That's what is superficially noticeable. But changes are afoot there as here.
Aug 13, 2019, 8:17 am
#8
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That’s true in the sense that ba in the 90s was already not ba in the 70s but the lag between the two is still very significant. Domestic SA flights are also vastly more competitive than in the U.K. and so far at least SA and BA still want to compete on quality to justify cost premia over their own low cost subsidiaries.
Aug 13, 2019, 8:18 am
#9
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How was the hard product compared to CE?
Aug 13, 2019, 8:46 am
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Aug 14, 2019, 2:34 am
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Aug 14, 2019, 2:50 am
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