T8191

But … is it Art?

RG1X

Is the general expectation that "normal" service should be back by November?

britNY

isn’t there some announcement / update any day now?. Thought I read that some way up the thread

The _Banking_Scot

hi

It should be tomorrow 12th July

regards
tbs

chriswiles

I don't think it's a case of not listening. It's far more of a case of the crew are now king and, although we really don't like to admit this, most people (especially post-pandemic where we got used to sitting in the sun in our garden for weeks and weeks) have a different work ethic and know BA would struggle to let them go. Result? They cut corners knowing they can cut corners.

I've travelled Club 3 times recently and would say 1 flight was pre-pandemic level of service (4 top-ups), 1 was average (1 top-up), the other was poor (tried to serve coffee and a single drink with your meal and no top-ups!).

It really depends on the crew. On the flight with 4 top-ups, it was two older ladies who reminded me of old-school BA and they really made an effort.

chriswiles

Announcement tomorrow, we've heard. But as I said above, the 'normality' is driven by crew behaviour as much as it is BA. Crew is now king and know it's super-hard to recruit, so it allows them to cut a few corners. Not on every flight, but serving coffee + alcohol at the same time as handing out the meal was something I'd never seen before. Effectively trying to do everything in one serving.

Also, November is too far away for an announcement in July. If you're going to announce something in July, they should be ready to role it out soon. Apple wouldn't announce a new device and then release it 5 months later. They'd prep, train, make sure there's enough stock, then announce, shipping shortly after. BA need to do something similar. Announce tomorrow, deliver by September - kids back at school, a sense of normality returning, quieter airports and a focus back on business travel.

NoY

Could anyone share an insight to the current LHR-Middle East (RUH etc) CW day flight menus? Thx.

WingsAroundtheWorld

Why do the crew want to cut down / skip the service? It's not like they can get off the plane any quicker?!

I do seem to notice that the older crew are more professional and capable, with a better focus on quality and service. Does indicate some kind of training or management weakness on the part of BA...

dansound

maybe flying (i say in jest) LHR > ORD next week in Club, then back on 4th August in First.
Anyone know what treats we have in store?

cheers
Dan

chriswiles

If someone in their job can cut a few corners and do a little less work, many well. It's not 'skipping' service, it's more about doing minimum required. I've flown the same LHR<>IBZ flight 3 times recently and each time was completely different from 4 top-ups to Iberia offering every drink on your single tray and no top-ups.

And that long haul announcement didn't happen either. Sad times.

KARFA

In terms of long haul many flights are going out short of cabin crew - but obviously at or above minimum legal requirements. So that is mostly why the CW service is still one tray and overall service onboard isn’t quite what it should be.

orbitmic

Indeed. To give a bit of perspective, most short haul flights are already operating with the minimum crew levels allowed (they have for a while) so there is no scope for anything except when it comes to cancelling or moving to a smaller plane. By contrast, long haul has that margin and I think we can all agree that if those are the options, maintaining more flights whilst extending the one tray service a bit longer is preferable to cancelling more flights.

NoY

I'll answer the question myself for LHR-RUH 16/7/22;

Appetiser;
Cauliflower slop;

Main courses;
Beef cheek;
Chicken pie;
Vegetable korma;

Dessert;
Chocolate mousse;

Had Beef & Mousse plus cheese. Beef tasty.
Presentation awful, as always.

IAMORGAN

I don’t think that’s fair to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, there will always be people who CBA.

But remember that on a plane crew fly with different colleagues nearly every week. Each ‘position’ has certain laid down responsibilities. These have been updated post-pandemic, including things like “offer top ups” “offer bread basket” etc. A number of crew are working in cabins they’ve never worked in - so don’t know how it was done ‘before’ - as ever, a lot of BA quirks and softer skills seem to be passed down through generations of crew rather than still being in the service.

It follows it will also take crew who are unfamiliar with where stuff is located / how a flight will go in terms of passenger profile - ex JFK is going to be different from ex SIN to figure out what more they can do.

Plus, probably some of the longest suffering/serving crew are generally doing it because they love flying and interacting with the public; they don’t need a service flow, “of course” they would top up a glass if it looks empty - it’s almost a reflexive behaviour. Some newer recruits have no context and if it isn’t in the workflow for the Club World product then they have delivered the service to standard. If they don’t have a Purser/CSL character who has been flying for 25 years with eyes in the back of their head (and, yes, able like the experienced teacher to sniff out the CBA characters in their team…) working in their cabin, I expect you just end up with the bare minimum. I expect it also comes down from what the IFM said in briefing, whether they are able to get about the aircraft / any reputation that precedes them, and so on.

Then there’s the motivation thing - and I think that’s less from ‘sitting in their garden’ & more from the way people feel they’ve been treated and other mental health challenges.

Foofighter69

Literally the same menu on the BA115 LHR-JFK today. And I’m afraid it’s also still the awful my-kid-could-have-made-it-better chicken and tomato toasted sandwich or the veggie panini (always go for that if you have a choice!)

While I accept the crew limits and impact on quality of service I think the quality of the produce is on par with the 2020 covid cardboard (box and food) catering.