Akbar Al Baker: “Marks out of ten for British Airways? Two.”
Apr 17, 2021, 2:44 pm
#1
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Akbar Al Baker: “Marks out of ten for British Airways? Two.”
There was an article in The Times this evening of an interview with QR’s CEO, Akbar Al Baker. He accuses BA of losing focus, but praised Sean Doyle as a good replacement CEO.
Unfortunately it is behind a paywall, but I’m sure some users here can pick out the key points. Here’s the interview summary below:
Unfortunately it is behind a paywall, but I’m sure some users here can pick out the key points. Here’s the interview summary below:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a...ocus-2b7xhc2vq
In the course of just 45 minutes from his boardroom in Doha, he dismisses British Airways as a “two out of ten” carrier; accuses Dubai of becoming a Covid-19 superspreader and lambasts arch-rival Emirates as a gas-guzzling dinosaur; says any airline that offers premium economy is ripping off its customers; and demands $5 billion (Ł3.6 billion) in compensation from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt for their “illegal” economic blockade of his country, which ended in January.
In the course of just 45 minutes from his boardroom in Doha, he dismisses British Airways as a “two out of ten” carrier; accuses Dubai of becoming a Covid-19 superspreader and lambasts arch-rival Emirates as a gas-guzzling dinosaur; says any airline that offers premium economy is ripping off its customers; and demands $5 billion (Ł3.6 billion) in compensation from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt for their “illegal” economic blockade of his country, which ended in January.
Apr 17, 2021, 7:58 pm
#5
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Totally a right assumption if we compare QR with BA.
If QR is 10/10, the maximum that BA could get would be 5/10 in terms of onboard experience.
However, it's still true that BA's non-airport related experience ( FFP, customer care, baggage delays, etc... ) are much better than QR.
If QR is 10/10, the maximum that BA could get would be 5/10 in terms of onboard experience.
However, it's still true that BA's non-airport related experience ( FFP, customer care, baggage delays, etc... ) are much better than QR.
Apr 17, 2021, 8:11 pm
#7
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Apr 18, 2021, 1:41 am
#11
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Apr 18, 2021, 2:00 am
#13
Join Date: May 2014
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Al Baker is just a bully. And not a good CEO at that.
Apr 18, 2021, 2:09 am
#14
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As I am not a subscriber to the Sunday Times, I didn't read the full article but did read snippets of it yesterday over on the Paddle Your Own Kanoo blog.
'he [AAB] hopes British Airways will now “get the glitter back” under new boss Sean Doyle. But he dismissed the suggestion that BA would ever regain the title of ‘world’s favourite airline’ because that accolade now belonged to Qatar Airways.'
'Al Baker is slightly more optimistic about BA’s future now that Doyle is in charge: “He’s a very good leader. He has my confidence … British Airways will come back to its old glory,” he said of Doyle.'
'"Al Baker called out BA’s former CEO and his management team for removing free food and drink on short-haul flights. “We wanted an airline that doesn’t sell food but serves food,”'
'BA’s management team had “lost focus” according to Al Baker. The airline had been reduced “to a low-cost carrier — a level I never expected BA to be,” he continued.'
His comments about the loss of focus do resonate with me. IMHO, BA's short haul product had been stripped bare - with the introduction of transactional inflight service in Euro Traveller, and the mismatch of Pinnacle and Recaro SL3510 seats on board the Neos.
His comments about Premium Economy do seem a bit left field to me. I suspect this is mainly a defensive narrative aimed more at Emirates and the Dubai based carrier's recent announcement about its introduction of PE. World Traveller Plus is said to be a good performer for BA, which would explain BA's actions over the past three years where the cabin capacity has been increased, with the seat count more than doubled on 777 refits.
'he [AAB] hopes British Airways will now “get the glitter back” under new boss Sean Doyle. But he dismissed the suggestion that BA would ever regain the title of ‘world’s favourite airline’ because that accolade now belonged to Qatar Airways.'
'Al Baker is slightly more optimistic about BA’s future now that Doyle is in charge: “He’s a very good leader. He has my confidence … British Airways will come back to its old glory,” he said of Doyle.'
'"Al Baker called out BA’s former CEO and his management team for removing free food and drink on short-haul flights. “We wanted an airline that doesn’t sell food but serves food,”'
'BA’s management team had “lost focus” according to Al Baker. The airline had been reduced “to a low-cost carrier — a level I never expected BA to be,” he continued.'
His comments about the loss of focus do resonate with me. IMHO, BA's short haul product had been stripped bare - with the introduction of transactional inflight service in Euro Traveller, and the mismatch of Pinnacle and Recaro SL3510 seats on board the Neos.
His comments about Premium Economy do seem a bit left field to me. I suspect this is mainly a defensive narrative aimed more at Emirates and the Dubai based carrier's recent announcement about its introduction of PE. World Traveller Plus is said to be a good performer for BA, which would explain BA's actions over the past three years where the cabin capacity has been increased, with the seat count more than doubled on 777 refits.