Make British Airways Great Again!
Sep 6, 2020, 11:43 am
#46
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,065
Change the HBO fares. Make them the more expensive product and limit their number on each flight. With HBO there should be a guarantee that your wheelie will come inside the cabin with you. So unless you are on an HBO fare your wheelie must go in the hold.
It is obvious that that the real premium element if SH is not having to wait at the baggage belt and knowing that your bag will not be lost, delayed, offloaded for performance or any other reason. Make that a Gold privilege and police the policy with germanic efficiency.
It is obvious that that the real premium element if SH is not having to wait at the baggage belt and knowing that your bag will not be lost, delayed, offloaded for performance or any other reason. Make that a Gold privilege and police the policy with germanic efficiency.
Sep 6, 2020, 11:48 am
#47
Join Date: May 2015
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 83
I’d open all seats on every aircraft open to avios rewards bookings. In other words, no limit in avios seats per flight.
This then incentivises getting people back in seats, and reducing BA’s total number of avios on their books in the short to medium term?
Also a great PR move surely?
This then incentivises getting people back in seats, and reducing BA’s total number of avios on their books in the short to medium term?
Also a great PR move surely?
Sep 6, 2020, 12:24 pm
#48
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver (for now)
Posts: 1,000
The problem is we were seeing good improvements before covid hit. Catering was improving, club suite is being rolled out etc. I don't think BA can make F work the same way ME3 airlines can (although AF and LH are way above IMHO), but realistically speaking I'd say get back on the previous trend, and in the short term, they should do something about catering! And then maybe improve the F soft product.
On the downside, the way the staff cuts have happened is a let down in my opinion. But their schedule and routes means they're second to none if you live in London.
On the downside, the way the staff cuts have happened is a let down in my opinion. But their schedule and routes means they're second to none if you live in London.
The sooner this returns the better for everyone concerned. Start with catering please.
Sep 6, 2020, 1:18 pm
#50
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Scotland
Programs: BAEC - Silver | Hilton Honors - Gold
Posts: 297
Probably complete optimism, but this could be the opportunity to push aircraft back into the regions for leisure short haul routes.
Stationing a few A320’s at MAN/GLA/EDI/BHX for summer 21 to push leisure routes, might an untapped opportunity, since there is already pent up demand for 2021. Refocus the remaining short haul flights from LHR, to allow full flights on a reduced schedule. Granted the slot rules are the risk factor.
Stationing a few A320’s at MAN/GLA/EDI/BHX for summer 21 to push leisure routes, might an untapped opportunity, since there is already pent up demand for 2021. Refocus the remaining short haul flights from LHR, to allow full flights on a reduced schedule. Granted the slot rules are the risk factor.
Sep 6, 2020, 1:27 pm
#51
Join Date: Jul 2019
Location: UK
Programs: BA Silver, IHG Platinum
Posts: 943
Anyway, back on topic:
1) Get rid of BoB and bring back the free snack and drink. Since this will probably cause the accountants to have kittens, increase the base fare by £2.50 to cover the wholesale cost of a vodka miniature, coke and a packet of Walker's shortbread. Benefit for the passenger includes the prevention of the aisle being jammed for the duration of a short flight and the end of the will it/won't it lottery of stuff being available on a flight that isn't the first of the day.
2) Clean the planes properly. Even when and if Covid is no longer the threat it is now, the cat is rather out the bag here, I think. There was never a defence for soiled interiors, but now the perception of mess will be even less acceptable.
These are probably the only two that I have that are remotely realistic. Ditching the Recaro seats on the NEOs and bringing back the free suitcase as standard to prevent the overhead bin shenanigans are I imagine non-negotiable.
Sep 6, 2020, 2:32 pm
#52
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 1,281
Change the HBO fares. Make them the more expensive product and limit their number on each flight. With HBO there should be a guarantee that your wheelie will come inside the cabin with you. So unless you are on an HBO fare your wheelie must go in the hold.
It is obvious that that the real premium element if SH is not having to wait at the baggage belt and knowing that your bag will not be lost, delayed, offloaded for performance or any other reason. Make that a Gold privilege and police the policy with germanic efficiency.
It is obvious that that the real premium element if SH is not having to wait at the baggage belt and knowing that your bag will not be lost, delayed, offloaded for performance or any other reason. Make that a Gold privilege and police the policy with germanic efficiency.
I guess the problem is that if these services become payable for a fee, the fee-payers would have to be accommodated before the gold card-holders. I imagine quite a few gold-card holders will be a bit annoyed when subjected to gate checking on full flights...
Sep 6, 2020, 2:41 pm
#53
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Scotland
Programs: BAEC - Silver | Hilton Honors - Gold
Posts: 297
This is where I think BA is losing medium-yield customers. If you're a blue-card holder travelling in economy there's no way to ensure your wheelie bag definitely stays with you in the cabin. But if you fly EasyJet you can spend £15-£20 to get an up-front seat and your bag won't be tagged, so this is a better option. Obviously these customers aren't spending a fortune on tickets, but they're spending quite a bit more than the lowest-paying customers.
I guess the problem is that if these services become payable for a fee, the fee-payers would have to be accommodated before the gold card-holders. I imagine quite a few gold-card holders will be a bit annoyed when subjected to gate checking on full flights...
I guess the problem is that if these services become payable for a fee, the fee-payers would have to be accommodated before the gold card-holders. I imagine quite a few gold-card holders will be a bit annoyed when subjected to gate checking on full flights...
In theory they could use this data to predict how many “free” cabin bags and how many paid for bags they could allow on board and adjust the modelling for each flight.
a bit optimistic I know.
Sep 6, 2020, 4:22 pm
#54
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: London
Programs: BAEC, AA, Emirates, Hilton, Hyatt, Taj Hotels
Posts: 2,345
1) Get rid of Alex Cruz, please
2) Put people (passengers and staff) first
3) If you can't be bothered to provide a proper First product, then kill it - sad though that may be
4) In the interim, allow F seats to be used by full fare paying passengers and/or top tiers
5) Roll out CS as quickly as possible with a view to developing a premium J product ( eg pajamas on night flights)
6) In the short term, open up more Avios seats and upgrade availability. Do whatever in takes to get bums on seats again
7) Keep the CCRs but limit 'invites' to full fare CS passengers and really top tiers (Premiers etc)
8) Reward full fare passengers with more TPs. I am aware that this already happens in Economy, but shouldn't those paying top dollar be incentivised? Sure, a full fare ticket gives you more flexibility, but perhaps paying full whack J should also get you 1.5 x standard TPs?
9) Drop seat pre-selection charges especially for CS. I think with all CS seats being more or less equal there really isn't any need for this. It just looks 'cheap'. By all means continue to reserve 1A/K for Golds.
10) Start being a bit more dynamic again rather than just reacting or catching up. I suspect this will never happen unless 1) above happens. I think the mindset needs to change.
2) Put people (passengers and staff) first
3) If you can't be bothered to provide a proper First product, then kill it - sad though that may be
4) In the interim, allow F seats to be used by full fare paying passengers and/or top tiers
5) Roll out CS as quickly as possible with a view to developing a premium J product ( eg pajamas on night flights)
6) In the short term, open up more Avios seats and upgrade availability. Do whatever in takes to get bums on seats again
7) Keep the CCRs but limit 'invites' to full fare CS passengers and really top tiers (Premiers etc)
8) Reward full fare passengers with more TPs. I am aware that this already happens in Economy, but shouldn't those paying top dollar be incentivised? Sure, a full fare ticket gives you more flexibility, but perhaps paying full whack J should also get you 1.5 x standard TPs?
9) Drop seat pre-selection charges especially for CS. I think with all CS seats being more or less equal there really isn't any need for this. It just looks 'cheap'. By all means continue to reserve 1A/K for Golds.
10) Start being a bit more dynamic again rather than just reacting or catching up. I suspect this will never happen unless 1) above happens. I think the mindset needs to change.
Sep 6, 2020, 4:47 pm
#55
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: BER
Programs: BAEC GGL/GfL, Lufthansa SEN, Hilton Diamond, misc other stuff
Posts: 1,374
For me one of the key indicators to see what direction BA will be going is what is going to happen to the C/F vs. Y seat ratio. Pre-Covid the Super-Hi J 747s had ~100 C+F seats vs. ~150 Y seats (yes, deliberately omitting WTP and not writing 147Y - it's about the right estimate). Premium cabins were in good demand and the Club Suite product and service were reasonably good.
If BA doesn't want to change the actual seat configuration they need to find a way to attract premium customers as quickly as possible again.
Looking at the 787s and A350s operated now the premium-to-Economy range is in the 25-40% range vs. >65% before (on the Super-HI J 747).
Would that be doable? I certainly hope so.
I believe not having special meals is an issue for several markets. I never really thought about this until I traveled with my then new +1 who is lactose intolerant. There's absolutely no value in booking premium short haul flights if you cannot eat the food anyway (Lufthansa et al understandably don't have SPMLs on domestic flights). But flying something like TLV-LHR-JFK or even India-LHR-US vv. in C without having a special meal, i.e. no meal for 16+ hours? Not very premium.
Oh, and BA should finally fix some of their security issues
If BA doesn't want to change the actual seat configuration they need to find a way to attract premium customers as quickly as possible again.
Looking at the 787s and A350s operated now the premium-to-Economy range is in the 25-40% range vs. >65% before (on the Super-HI J 747).
Would that be doable? I certainly hope so.
I believe not having special meals is an issue for several markets. I never really thought about this until I traveled with my then new +1 who is lactose intolerant. There's absolutely no value in booking premium short haul flights if you cannot eat the food anyway (Lufthansa et al understandably don't have SPMLs on domestic flights). But flying something like TLV-LHR-JFK or even India-LHR-US vv. in C without having a special meal, i.e. no meal for 16+ hours? Not very premium.
Oh, and BA should finally fix some of their security issues
Sep 7, 2020, 1:46 am
#57
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 133
Reintroduce basic food/drink on SH - Feel free to charge for something more premium, such as alcohol or bacon sandwiches... but offer free Tea/Coffee/Juice (/Soda?) and a packet of crisps. Such a small additional cost goes a long way to feel more premium. If people want to eat a meal they're still going to buy something, same if people want alcohol.
Free basic Wifi for (1 hour?) for OWS and Streaming Wifi for OWE (or unlimited basic).
At least two quick wins that are fast and cheap to implement.
Free basic Wifi for (1 hour?) for OWS and Streaming Wifi for OWE (or unlimited basic).
At least two quick wins that are fast and cheap to implement.
Sep 7, 2020, 2:16 am
#58
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: LHR/LGW
Programs: LH *G (SEN), VS Silver, BA Silver, Goldpointplus Gold, Marriott Silver, Accor silver, *ACP
Posts: 443
Sep 7, 2020, 2:16 am
#59
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC: Bronze
Posts: 136
Suspect BA would do well to look forward a little more, problem with being shareholder led is you are firmly looking at today and to an extent yesterday ( to push up margins), with the slot constraints they've perhaps been slow off the mark to markets like China (why fly there when you can fill something on the US instead?!).
Sep 7, 2020, 7:22 am
#60
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: LHR, LGW
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,436
A new CE.
This brave new world calls for more reason for business travellers to fly with BA. I hear that private jet flights are doing well, fares are coming down and you can segregate, socially distance etc. Will BA lose business to this? That’s for a separate discussion...But...
Most know that CE is just economy seats with a blocked middle seat. If you don’t know, it’s pretty obvious once onboard. The other onboard benefits are very modest, yes you get a nice meal (preCV), drinks aplenty all included but that’s it really.
So bar the F&B, over the most recent times it’s been degraded to something very subpar as an overall true business class.
So here’s my proposal:
Remove the current layout. The middle seat doesn’t generate revenue and the days of all Y config on domestics are gone.
Replace the layout with the WTP seats being trashed on the 747s (clearly cherry picking the latest seats). 2x2 layout. Nice way to recycle a fit for purpose product. Would it fit across? I don’t know.
Increase legroom back to 35” pitch (remember those days?)
Restrict to 5-7 rows whatever numbers works best. Use the IFE for menus, ordering and tv. Stick with the pre-CV catering.
Check out StarLux airline new A321 neo layout. I’m not suggesting this but it’s an interesting direction for SH Biz.
Increase fares by 5-15% and bobs your uncle, they could be onto a winner.
This brave new world calls for more reason for business travellers to fly with BA. I hear that private jet flights are doing well, fares are coming down and you can segregate, socially distance etc. Will BA lose business to this? That’s for a separate discussion...But...
Most know that CE is just economy seats with a blocked middle seat. If you don’t know, it’s pretty obvious once onboard. The other onboard benefits are very modest, yes you get a nice meal (preCV), drinks aplenty all included but that’s it really.
So bar the F&B, over the most recent times it’s been degraded to something very subpar as an overall true business class.
So here’s my proposal:
Remove the current layout. The middle seat doesn’t generate revenue and the days of all Y config on domestics are gone.
Replace the layout with the WTP seats being trashed on the 747s (clearly cherry picking the latest seats). 2x2 layout. Nice way to recycle a fit for purpose product. Would it fit across? I don’t know.
Increase legroom back to 35” pitch (remember those days?)
Restrict to 5-7 rows whatever numbers works best. Use the IFE for menus, ordering and tv. Stick with the pre-CV catering.
Check out StarLux airline new A321 neo layout. I’m not suggesting this but it’s an interesting direction for SH Biz.
Increase fares by 5-15% and bobs your uncle, they could be onto a winner.