|
Originally Posted by DYKWIA
(Post 32662447)
I wonder what this means for the new MAN lounge that was mooted for T2? I believe it would be a OW lounge rather than BA - and would have covered BA/QR/CX/AY etc.
|
BHD Lounge is still closed- there are rumours it will reopen this month.
Both Lounges at BHD were supposed to be combined into one but I don’t think this has happened and would question if it will now happen at all. Very sorry to hear about NCL- it has reminded me to get a catch-up from LurkerWilf..... |
This really isn't good news anyway, but especially if it will start a domino effect for other UK regional lounges. I have only visited the NCL lounge once but was really impressed by the team working there and it's such a shame on a personal level for any of the team affected.
No MAN lounge for the foreseeable might be a game-changer for me as my client is 2 minutes from Piccadilly and the train service is far more frequent. I can't see being able to work on client presentations in the open seating area at MAN T3 !! It's the only part of the "premium" experience at MAN that works even vaguely as well as it should :) |
Sad news, the BA lounge is far superior (in terms of views, physical size and in food/drink) to the Aspire lounge next door. Unless NCL are planning on increasing the size of the domestic arrival hall, I can't imagine that the space will be used for anything apart from a lounge in the future.
|
I hope this is not on the outlook for ABZ
|
This is shockingly bad and sad news. I really do feel for the staff who have always been fantastic. The lounge itself was always a haven of peace and quiet before the flight down to London and I always enjoyed spending time there. It's a real shame that BA has decided to close the lounge. It's another kick in the teeth for customers.
|
Really sad to see this happen, it’s been worrying me for a while about the relationship between Newcastle and BA, just worried now that we will never see a night stopper again.
|
Originally Posted by Rob0895
(Post 32663675)
Really sad to see this happen, it’s been worrying me for a while about the relationship between Newcastle and BA, just worried now that we will never see a night stopper again.
|
Originally Posted by Rob0895
(Post 32663675)
Really sad to see this happen, it’s been worrying me for a while about the relationship between Newcastle and BA, just worried now that we will never see a night stopper again.
I really hope they do keep the frequency. Even for someone that was doing the flight weekly and working in the Victoria is still worked out the same as travelling by train (if not quicker). The trains arent going to get much quicker from the North East for quite a while and the early/late flights are needed for some connections. Even Durham Tees Valley; my closest airport, (or what ever they call it on Wednesdays in September) is picking up flights including to London City. |
Originally Posted by Brighterside
(Post 32663733)
It is rather ironic that BA have a large call centre presence in Newcastle.
|
This is quite incredible news - and very sorry to hear about the staff who are potentially affected. NCL lounge is a great space and friendly staff - I just don’t understand the logic given in normal times it always seemed busy to me.
I will send a note to GGL tomorrow with some feedback. |
Originally Posted by gw76
(Post 32663786)
Are they regular users of the lounge?
Flights were often used by crew in the North East to position themselves for work also. It was also the main IT location at one point (not sure how much IT still exists in the North East) |
Originally Posted by Brighterside
(Post 32663733)
It is rather ironic that BA have a large call centre presence in Newcastle.
|
Originally Posted by our_kid
(Post 32663798)
This is quite incredible news
As intimated upthread, I wouldn't be particularly surprised if NCL were at risk of losing BA service altogether, much like LBA was. |
Originally Posted by Ldnn1
(Post 32663863)
I'm not sure why you view it as incredible. Pretty much everything is 'at risk' right now, and even with that in mind, a regional lounge closing is very much at the credible end of the credibility spectrum.
As intimated upthread, I wouldn't be particularly surprised if NCL were at risk of losing BA service altogether, much like LBA was. |
Very disappointed to hear this news. Always enjoyed our visits to the BA lounge and the staff are so pleasant. The Aspire lounge often turns guests away as it is often full, so can't imagine it could cope with the extra BA guests. It also doesn't compare with the BA lounge which is usually a haven of peace and such a pleasant start to our holidays. Good luck to all the staff.
|
Originally Posted by GumshoeW12
(Post 32662371)
Iberia doesn’t have any of its own lounges apart from at its main hub does it?
Maybe that’s the most viable future model. Airport-operated or third party lounges only apart from LHR and maybe JFK. Personally, if this is part of his initial ‘okay we need to do this as I’ve done it before so it works’ strategy for helping Alex Cruz & IAG save costs then I really fear for what else Alex Cruz and Luis G decide and sign off, or should we say...sign away. I understand it’s desperate times and these can call for desperate measures but it’s not all short term. There is and will be a long term. It’s not all end of world stuff. |
The only advantage to the Aspire lounge is that it offers hot food. A sausage stottie in the morning is definitely a step up from BA's offering. However, I do agree with what others say about the capacity issues. I have been refused entry on more than one occasion on the basis that the lounge was "full" (although when looking in the window it was anything but). It is indeed used for Emirates passengers, and priority is also given to those who have pre-booked and paid. If you're trying to get in on the back of a Priority Pass membership you are seemingly bottom of the pecking order.
|
Originally Posted by BAeuro
(Post 32663881)
Personally I can’t see the route being axed altogether. LBA never had a nightstop and during its final year only had 10 flights per week. NCL has a lot more flights, so they’d permanently cut the frequency before axing it.
Places like SXB lost all their Paris flights when the TGV came along, and AF now codeshare with rail to get people to connect long-haul via CDG (I don't know if you collect XPs though). If and when HS2 starts, I'd be surprised if MAN still gets many flights. Of course it would be even easier if HS2 extended to LHR and LGW via Thameslink but that may yet happen. |
Originally Posted by alex67500
(Post 32664177)
The difference with LBA is Leeds isn't that long a train ride from London. It will be even shorter come HS2 if they branch off to that line. NCL is much further so the time saved by flying is much bigger for now.
Places like SXB lost all their Paris flights when the TGV came along, and AF now codeshare with rail to get people to connect long-haul via CDG (I don't know if you collect XPs though). If and when HS2 starts, I'd be surprised if MAN still gets many flights. Of course it would be even easier if HS2 extended to LHR and LGW via Thameslink but that may yet happen. MAN flights have been reducing over the last few years because of the non-BA options that are available from MAN. The direct US flights have been decimated over the last year, and it wouldn't surprise me if BA tried to pick up some of that once things start to normalise. |
Originally Posted by alex67500
(Post 32664177)
The difference with LBA is Leeds isn't that long a train ride from London. It will be even shorter come HS2 if they branch off to that line. NCL is much further so the time saved by flying is much bigger for now.
Places like SXB lost all their Paris flights when the TGV came along, and AF now codeshare with rail to get people to connect long-haul via CDG (I don't know if you collect XPs though). If and when HS2 starts, I'd be surprised if MAN still gets many flights. Of course it would be even easier if HS2 extended to LHR and LGW via Thameslink but that may yet happen. I do think it is a mistake not to open the MAN lounge sooner than 21Q2 though, there are flights, it would encourage J travel and profitability and help the recovery. It could be operated at reduced hours and is large enough that social distancing isn’t an issue. I know many who have switched to the train because of the current experience including lack of lounge. |
Originally Posted by gw76
(Post 32663786)
Are they regular users of the lounge?
|
What a shame! I only used it once or twice, but definitely felt its lack when I flew the route last month.
|
Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
(Post 32661150)
I hope those based in the North East and other regular users send in complaints to BA about this. I appreciate that BA is losing millions of pounds every day, and things will perforce have to change, but if BA cuts off their own legs they are asking not to be able to walk again.
Thank you for getting in touch with us. I'm sorry to hear of your concerns regarding our lounge at Newcastle airport and the frequency of flights. Please see the link below showing that our lounge in Newcastle is only temporarily closed and no final decision has been made on this yet. https://www.oneworld.com/airport-lounges?location=NCL We're working hard to ensure we have the correct measures in place to open our lounges while keeping both passengers and staff safe. The extraordinary nature of coronavirus, and the rapidly changing situation across the world, has meant we’ve cancelled an unprecedented number of flights. Safety is at the heart of everything we do, and we continue to liaise closely with global health authorities and government agencies on behalf of our customers. This situation will remain under review and we will continue to provide regular updates. As with our lounges, no final decision has been made on future schedules at this time. We do appreciate that you have a choice of airline, and hope you’ll choose us again in the future. Thank you for getting in touch with us about this. If there are any other issues I can help with, please use the blue link below to contact me. |
Originally Posted by layz
(Post 32665062)
Has anyone else received a reply?
But many thanks, D, for posting your reply. |
Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
(Post 32665071)
But it's interesting about "no final decision" when the BaxterStorey staff are definitely in consultation for redundancy.
|
Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
(Post 32665071)
But it's interesting about "no final decision" when the BaxterStorey staff are definitely in consultation for redundancy.
|
Originally Posted by GumshoeW12
(Post 32665089)
If the statutory consultation with staff is still ongoing, they’d be on very dodgy ground legally if they confirmed it at this stage!
|
Did they not do similar with ABZ when it was being refurbished? (Sack existing staff and then advertise when new lounge reopened?).
|
Originally Posted by decowie1903
(Post 32665097)
Did they not do similar with ABZ when it was being refurbished? (Sack existing staff and then advertise when new lounge reopened?).
|
Great lounge. It'll be such a shame if many or all the BA outstation lounges close and we get shipped off to the pay per use option instead. I've just sent in my note of disappointment to the GGL email address.
|
Originally Posted by DYKWIA
(Post 32664959)
HS2 may knock 30 minutes off that, but you still end up at Euston.
As for regional lounges, we would do well to remember the economics involved. Stations with other oneworld flights in the same terminal will be a revenue stream to BA, which may (or may not) tip the balance in favour of keeping a lounge. That’s MAN and EDI hopefully sorted. The latter is also a different category entirely given the huge volume of flights. ABZ will (in my opinion) be saved by the petrochem industries - flights may be smaller in number and load but there are times it’s a high-yield route... plus JER saved by the tax exiles and a very supportive airport authority. By that logic, my ‘danger’ list would be GLA. |
At this time, I think putting “logic” and “BA” in the same sentence when it comes to cuts would be foolhardy.
They will swing the axe regardless of how it affects passengers. I would expect that all domestic lounges are under threat apart from those at LHR (potentially even one of those, in the long term) EDIT : Operationally I am not sure what the cost of running a lounge is, but in terms of the bottom line, I am sure closing them would have a significant cost saving. |
My reply from BA was not a copy / paste of layz's response, but it amounted to the same thing: the NCL lounge is temporarily closed, and there hasn't been a decision on permanent closure.
|
Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
(Post 32665892)
My reply from BA was not a copy / paste of layz's response, but it amounted to the same thing: the NCL lounge is temporarily closed, and there hasn't been a decision on permanent closure.
|
Originally Posted by Confus
(Post 32665418)
plus JER saved by the tax exiles and a very supportive airport authority.
|
Originally Posted by Confus
(Post 32665418)
No you don’t: you end up at Old Oak Common, with a fast and frequent service (effectively a shuttle) to the heathrow terminals. Add in a stop at Manchester airport and it’s a given that it will replace the few flights that remain.
|
Obviously I hope this speculation is incorrect, but to be honest the writing was on the wall. I flew NCL LHR yesterday and I mentioned the speculation to the Checkin agent and she said she'd heard that too. Time will tell.
|
It’s sad that those employees from the Newcastle lounge who offered such good service as has been detailed on here have to worry about the BA lounge closure and their future employment.
I suppose BA may reduce NCL flights or just push eligible passengers to a third party lounge. They probably think their revenue won’t be much affected and passengers will book as before. |
This would be very sad news - the staff are excellent and it is a fantastic, homely lounge.
I have been very busy in the last week so have yet to complain about this; I also suspect my voice will carry little weight as a lowly Silver. However, every little helps! What would be the best way of raising this - via the Complaints -> Lounges -> Something else part of the website? Or via the Silver email? Or something else? |
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:58 am. |
This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.