BA and inter European travel. Terrible.
Jan 20, 22, 2:38 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: Ba gold, gha black
Posts: 265
BA and inter European travel. Terrible.
Took a few flights this week to and from Copenhagen. BA has sadly plunged to even lower depths of despair.
The first irritation i have with BA, is that they ask me to upload my covid details. Every time i do it and every time it comes back they are unable to verify the documents. This then results in a check in only option at the airport, which for Copenhagen and an early morning flight before 7am, means you have to add an extra 30 minutes onto your journey. The problem doesnt occur with easyjet, ryanair who instead check your documents at the gate. Over and over again, i have had the same issue. Why is it so much simpler on the budget airlines, of which BA is now one. Service in economy was dreadful, the only thing served was a bottle of water and a snack. There was for some reason, no extra service for hot drinks or paid for food/drink. I asked the CSD on the way out of the plane if this was an enhancement for 2022, but he said he was really sorry, they should have served the second round. There was no seatbelt sign on the whole flight. Lost revenue for BA. The plane itself was a nice newish A320 neo, no complaints there, but the good old flightmap is now gone from the aircraft which is a shame. Instead you get an altimeter for free on the app, otherwise its a fiver internet to do anything more than the basic. Next issue, which may not be BAs fault is London Heathrow passport control. While waiting times are much better than previous at the gates, the queues for families continues to be absolutely disgraceful, with wait times upto 1hr. Conversely, if you goto London Gatwick which obviously has less long haul flights you can breeze through. Again, another negative on the benefit to having to fly through London Heathrow.
On the return, decided to fly club europe and was on the 18.45 flight home... The food service was the worst i have seen it in years. The champagne enhancement is now a thimble sized glass as they have done away with serving individuals their own miniature bottles. Instead they poor champagne from a normal size bottle. The glass size is absolutely ridiculous. Also the main courses for an evening flight were really rubbish. I had shepherds pie, consisting of about 5-6 mouthfalls. The salad was barely there on the side as was the desert. Bread rolls served out of plastic bag....
I also visited the lounges prior to boarding in Heathrow. The galleries first and the business class lounge south by the a3 gates... I thought even there the differences between the two lounges were marginal at best now. The south lounge was looking quite nice. You get sandwiches in there, you get sandwiches in the first lounge... Champagnes and wines marginally better, but the days of BA rolling out decent wines are long gone. The wine in club europe is atrocious.
Really disappointing BA. Theres no reason to overpay for your tickets. You dont get anything unless you specifically want to fly into LHR or have a transit.
And the cost of he ticket for this. 250 GBP, compared to 25 gbp return on Ryanair and 50 gbp on easyjet...
The first irritation i have with BA, is that they ask me to upload my covid details. Every time i do it and every time it comes back they are unable to verify the documents. This then results in a check in only option at the airport, which for Copenhagen and an early morning flight before 7am, means you have to add an extra 30 minutes onto your journey. The problem doesnt occur with easyjet, ryanair who instead check your documents at the gate. Over and over again, i have had the same issue. Why is it so much simpler on the budget airlines, of which BA is now one. Service in economy was dreadful, the only thing served was a bottle of water and a snack. There was for some reason, no extra service for hot drinks or paid for food/drink. I asked the CSD on the way out of the plane if this was an enhancement for 2022, but he said he was really sorry, they should have served the second round. There was no seatbelt sign on the whole flight. Lost revenue for BA. The plane itself was a nice newish A320 neo, no complaints there, but the good old flightmap is now gone from the aircraft which is a shame. Instead you get an altimeter for free on the app, otherwise its a fiver internet to do anything more than the basic. Next issue, which may not be BAs fault is London Heathrow passport control. While waiting times are much better than previous at the gates, the queues for families continues to be absolutely disgraceful, with wait times upto 1hr. Conversely, if you goto London Gatwick which obviously has less long haul flights you can breeze through. Again, another negative on the benefit to having to fly through London Heathrow.
On the return, decided to fly club europe and was on the 18.45 flight home... The food service was the worst i have seen it in years. The champagne enhancement is now a thimble sized glass as they have done away with serving individuals their own miniature bottles. Instead they poor champagne from a normal size bottle. The glass size is absolutely ridiculous. Also the main courses for an evening flight were really rubbish. I had shepherds pie, consisting of about 5-6 mouthfalls. The salad was barely there on the side as was the desert. Bread rolls served out of plastic bag....
I also visited the lounges prior to boarding in Heathrow. The galleries first and the business class lounge south by the a3 gates... I thought even there the differences between the two lounges were marginal at best now. The south lounge was looking quite nice. You get sandwiches in there, you get sandwiches in the first lounge... Champagnes and wines marginally better, but the days of BA rolling out decent wines are long gone. The wine in club europe is atrocious.
Really disappointing BA. Theres no reason to overpay for your tickets. You dont get anything unless you specifically want to fly into LHR or have a transit.
And the cost of he ticket for this. 250 GBP, compared to 25 gbp return on Ryanair and 50 gbp on easyjet...
Jan 20, 22, 6:01 am
#2
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 3,810
At least you could fly BA... there is no service to/from BRU for the next 2 weeks, then just one per day - middle of the day - for other two weeks.
And the grass isn't much greener elsewhere...
And the grass isn't much greener elsewhere...
Jan 20, 22, 6:03 am
#4
Join Date: Oct 2019
Programs: BAEC Silver, Volare Executive / Skyteam Elite+
Posts: 657
Doesn't sound a great trip; hopefully the covid 'hassle' will dissipate this year (I'm getting deja vu of saying the same 12 months ago though) which should make check-in and borders more 'normal'.
At risk of sounding an apologist, I wonder if the lounge comment is as much about GC getting better as it is GF going 'downhill' in any real way. Cost comparison is a fair point, but not sure it's like for like, isn't it more like ~100 BA vs ~90 Ryanair (assuming economy and taking a carry on case) or did they stop charging extra for carry on?
At risk of sounding an apologist, I wonder if the lounge comment is as much about GC getting better as it is GF going 'downhill' in any real way. Cost comparison is a fair point, but not sure it's like for like, isn't it more like ~100 BA vs ~90 Ryanair (assuming economy and taking a carry on case) or did they stop charging extra for carry on?
Jan 20, 22, 6:26 am
#5
Join Date: Nov 2005
Programs: BA Exec
Posts: 647
I do agree that uploading documents is a hassle -and frustrating when for some unknown reason the process fails.
I also agree with some of the other comments youve made but Ive put it down to extraordinary times .As a silver Ive not bothered upgrading to CE during the pandemic as Im not chasing tier points or Avios at this time and 9 times out of 10 I seem to get my preferred seat in the exit row .
The service / food isnt really the reason I choose BA. I want to fly from LHR (my local airport ) and their schedule , although reduced , still suits me.
I also agree with some of the other comments youve made but Ive put it down to extraordinary times .As a silver Ive not bothered upgrading to CE during the pandemic as Im not chasing tier points or Avios at this time and 9 times out of 10 I seem to get my preferred seat in the exit row .
The service / food isnt really the reason I choose BA. I want to fly from LHR (my local airport ) and their schedule , although reduced , still suits me.
Jan 20, 22, 6:26 am
#6
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,623
Took a few flights this week to and from Copenhagen. BA has sadly plunged to even lower depths of despair.
The first irritation i have with BA, is that they ask me to upload my covid details. Every time i do it and every time it comes back they are unable to verify the documents. This then results in a check in only option at the airport, which for Copenhagen and an early morning flight before 7am, means you have to add an extra 30 minutes onto your journey. The problem doesnt occur with easyjet, ryanair who instead check your documents at the gate. Over and over again, i have had the same issue. Why is it so much simpler on the budget airlines, of which BA is now one. Service in economy was dreadful, the only thing served was a bottle of water and a snack. There was for some reason, no extra service for hot drinks or paid for food/drink. I asked the CSD on the way out of the plane if this was an enhancement for 2022, but he said he was really sorry, they should have served the second round. There was no seatbelt sign on the whole flight. Lost revenue for BA. The plane itself was a nice newish A320 neo, no complaints there, but the good old flightmap is now gone from the aircraft which is a shame. Instead you get an altimeter for free on the app, otherwise its a fiver internet to do anything more than the basic. Next issue, which may not be BAs fault is London Heathrow passport control. While waiting times are much better than previous at the gates, the queues for families continues to be absolutely disgraceful, with wait times upto 1hr. Conversely, if you goto London Gatwick which obviously has less long haul flights you can breeze through. Again, another negative on the benefit to having to fly through London Heathrow.
On the return, decided to fly club europe and was on the 18.45 flight home... The food service was the worst i have seen it in years. The champagne enhancement is now a thimble sized glass as they have done away with serving individuals their own miniature bottles. Instead they poor champagne from a normal size bottle. The glass size is absolutely ridiculous. Also the main courses for an evening flight were really rubbish. I had shepherds pie, consisting of about 5-6 mouthfalls. The salad was barely there on the side as was the desert. Bread rolls served out of plastic bag....
I also visited the lounges prior to boarding in Heathrow. The galleries first and the business class lounge south by the a3 gates... I thought even there the differences between the two lounges were marginal at best now. The south lounge was looking quite nice. You get sandwiches in there, you get sandwiches in the first lounge... Champagnes and wines marginally better, but the days of BA rolling out decent wines are long gone. The wine in club europe is atrocious.
Really disappointing BA. Theres no reason to overpay for your tickets. You dont get anything unless you specifically want to fly into LHR or have a transit.
And the cost of he ticket for this. 250 GBP, compared to 25 gbp return on Ryanair and 50 gbp on easyjet...
The first irritation i have with BA, is that they ask me to upload my covid details. Every time i do it and every time it comes back they are unable to verify the documents. This then results in a check in only option at the airport, which for Copenhagen and an early morning flight before 7am, means you have to add an extra 30 minutes onto your journey. The problem doesnt occur with easyjet, ryanair who instead check your documents at the gate. Over and over again, i have had the same issue. Why is it so much simpler on the budget airlines, of which BA is now one. Service in economy was dreadful, the only thing served was a bottle of water and a snack. There was for some reason, no extra service for hot drinks or paid for food/drink. I asked the CSD on the way out of the plane if this was an enhancement for 2022, but he said he was really sorry, they should have served the second round. There was no seatbelt sign on the whole flight. Lost revenue for BA. The plane itself was a nice newish A320 neo, no complaints there, but the good old flightmap is now gone from the aircraft which is a shame. Instead you get an altimeter for free on the app, otherwise its a fiver internet to do anything more than the basic. Next issue, which may not be BAs fault is London Heathrow passport control. While waiting times are much better than previous at the gates, the queues for families continues to be absolutely disgraceful, with wait times upto 1hr. Conversely, if you goto London Gatwick which obviously has less long haul flights you can breeze through. Again, another negative on the benefit to having to fly through London Heathrow.
On the return, decided to fly club europe and was on the 18.45 flight home... The food service was the worst i have seen it in years. The champagne enhancement is now a thimble sized glass as they have done away with serving individuals their own miniature bottles. Instead they poor champagne from a normal size bottle. The glass size is absolutely ridiculous. Also the main courses for an evening flight were really rubbish. I had shepherds pie, consisting of about 5-6 mouthfalls. The salad was barely there on the side as was the desert. Bread rolls served out of plastic bag....
I also visited the lounges prior to boarding in Heathrow. The galleries first and the business class lounge south by the a3 gates... I thought even there the differences between the two lounges were marginal at best now. The south lounge was looking quite nice. You get sandwiches in there, you get sandwiches in the first lounge... Champagnes and wines marginally better, but the days of BA rolling out decent wines are long gone. The wine in club europe is atrocious.
Really disappointing BA. Theres no reason to overpay for your tickets. You dont get anything unless you specifically want to fly into LHR or have a transit.
And the cost of he ticket for this. 250 GBP, compared to 25 gbp return on Ryanair and 50 gbp on easyjet...
Jan 20, 22, 6:35 am
#7
Join Date: Nov 2004
Programs: BA GGL, LH FTL
Posts: 3,561
A lot of very valid criticism from the OP. But BA's strategy seems to be pretty successful. They have a product that is just a notch above that of the competition (FR/U2), but charge it at a premium and are very profitable doing so (at least pre-Covid). It seems there is a market out there for people who actively dislike the race to the bottom (service and price) that air travel has become and don't mind paying disproportionately for a little extra comfort.
Jan 20, 22, 6:44 am
#8
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Sussex
Programs: BA; IHG; LHW; Hilton
Posts: 701
Double seats
A lot of very valid criticism from the OP. But BA's strategy seems to be pretty successful. They have a product that is just a notch above that of the competition (FR/U2), but charge it at a premium and are very profitable doing so (at least pre-Covid). It seems there is a market out there for people who actively dislike the race to the bottom (service and price) that air travel has become and don't mind paying disproportionately for a little extra comfort.
Jan 20, 22, 6:50 am
#9
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: London, ARN, HEL, ..... or MAN
Programs: BA GFL, Mucci Diamond!, HH Diamond, Radisson Premium, IHG Diamond, Hertz Gold 5*
Posts: 5,741
Just a note on comparative costs - a group of 6 of us go to Alicante every summer to a friend's apartment there. This year we are heading out in June. As usual we looked at U2 which has been the cheaper of the acceptable options over the years - but then we wanted to add in seat selection and to be allowed to put our bags in the overheads (rather than under the seat in front of us) and by the time we had added in those "necessities", then BA was materially cheaper than U2.
So although in the OP's case the value equation may not have been there for BA, it's not always the case.
The better news for me is that, as I booked it for all 6 of us on my PP Amex, then I'll get an extra 3k Avios for really not doing very much at all 👍🏼
So although in the OP's case the value equation may not have been there for BA, it's not always the case.
The better news for me is that, as I booked it for all 6 of us on my PP Amex, then I'll get an extra 3k Avios for really not doing very much at all 👍🏼
Jan 20, 22, 6:53 am
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: Ba gold, gha black
Posts: 265
Why is this out of interest, Copenhagen also gone to two a day from 7 at its peak.. Is there no demand for travel ?
Jan 20, 22, 6:57 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: Ba gold, gha black
Posts: 265
A lot of very valid criticism from the OP. But BA's strategy seems to be pretty successful. They have a product that is just a notch above that of the competition (FR/U2), but charge it at a premium and are very profitable doing so (at least pre-Covid). It seems there is a market out there for people who actively dislike the race to the bottom (service and price) that air travel has become and don't mind paying disproportionately for a little extra comfort.
Jan 20, 22, 7:06 am
#13
Join Date: Oct 2019
Programs: BAEC Silver, Volare Executive / Skyteam Elite+
Posts: 657
I guess it's route dependent, but if you're comparing BA economy (esp HBO) vs a LCC with carry on you're often looking at cracking on for 100+ on the LCC rather than the 9.99 'headline' fares versus maybe 100-150 for BA. And often with better timings on the BA routes.
BA's far from perfect and a lot of criticism is valid, but I honestly don't see 5-10x costs on a like for like basis. Maybe if you're literally getting on the plane with nothing but what's in your pockets, but surely most people at least take a few toiletries and a fresh change of clothes..?
[edit] beaten to it! [/edit]
BA's far from perfect and a lot of criticism is valid, but I honestly don't see 5-10x costs on a like for like basis. Maybe if you're literally getting on the plane with nothing but what's in your pockets, but surely most people at least take a few toiletries and a fresh change of clothes..?
[edit] beaten to it! [/edit]
Jan 20, 22, 7:14 am
#14
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 3,810
Jan 20, 22, 7:47 am
#15
Join Date: Mar 2020
Programs: British Airways GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond & Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,561
Took a few flights this week to and from Copenhagen. BA has sadly plunged to even lower depths of despair.
The first irritation i have with BA, is that they ask me to upload my covid details. Every time i do it and every time it comes back they are unable to verify the documents. This then results in a check in only option at the airport, which for Copenhagen and an early morning flight before 7am, means you have to add an extra 30 minutes onto your journey. The problem doesnt occur with easyjet, ryanair who instead check your documents at the gate. Over and over again, i have had the same issue. Why is it so much simpler on the budget airlines, of which BA is now one. Service in economy was dreadful, the only thing served was a bottle of water and a snack. There was for some reason, no extra service for hot drinks or paid for food/drink. I asked the CSD on the way out of the plane if this was an enhancement for 2022, but he said he was really sorry, they should have served the second round. There was no seatbelt sign on the whole flight. Lost revenue for BA. The plane itself was a nice newish A320 neo, no complaints there, but the good old flightmap is now gone from the aircraft which is a shame. Instead you get an altimeter for free on the app, otherwise its a fiver internet to do anything more than the basic. Next issue, which may not be BAs fault is London Heathrow passport control. While waiting times are much better than previous at the gates, the queues for families continues to be absolutely disgraceful, with wait times upto 1hr. Conversely, if you goto London Gatwick which obviously has less long haul flights you can breeze through. Again, another negative on the benefit to having to fly through London Heathrow.
On the return, decided to fly club europe and was on the 18.45 flight home... The food service was the worst i have seen it in years. The champagne enhancement is now a thimble sized glass as they have done away with serving individuals their own miniature bottles. Instead they poor champagne from a normal size bottle. The glass size is absolutely ridiculous. Also the main courses for an evening flight were really rubbish. I had shepherds pie, consisting of about 5-6 mouthfalls. The salad was barely there on the side as was the desert. Bread rolls served out of plastic bag....
I also visited the lounges prior to boarding in Heathrow. The galleries first and the business class lounge south by the a3 gates... I thought even there the differences between the two lounges were marginal at best now. The south lounge was looking quite nice. You get sandwiches in there, you get sandwiches in the first lounge... Champagnes and wines marginally better, but the days of BA rolling out decent wines are long gone. The wine in club europe is atrocious.
Really disappointing BA. Theres no reason to overpay for your tickets. You dont get anything unless you specifically want to fly into LHR or have a transit.
And the cost of he ticket for this. 250 GBP, compared to 25 gbp return on Ryanair and 50 gbp on easyjet...
The first irritation i have with BA, is that they ask me to upload my covid details. Every time i do it and every time it comes back they are unable to verify the documents. This then results in a check in only option at the airport, which for Copenhagen and an early morning flight before 7am, means you have to add an extra 30 minutes onto your journey. The problem doesnt occur with easyjet, ryanair who instead check your documents at the gate. Over and over again, i have had the same issue. Why is it so much simpler on the budget airlines, of which BA is now one. Service in economy was dreadful, the only thing served was a bottle of water and a snack. There was for some reason, no extra service for hot drinks or paid for food/drink. I asked the CSD on the way out of the plane if this was an enhancement for 2022, but he said he was really sorry, they should have served the second round. There was no seatbelt sign on the whole flight. Lost revenue for BA. The plane itself was a nice newish A320 neo, no complaints there, but the good old flightmap is now gone from the aircraft which is a shame. Instead you get an altimeter for free on the app, otherwise its a fiver internet to do anything more than the basic. Next issue, which may not be BAs fault is London Heathrow passport control. While waiting times are much better than previous at the gates, the queues for families continues to be absolutely disgraceful, with wait times upto 1hr. Conversely, if you goto London Gatwick which obviously has less long haul flights you can breeze through. Again, another negative on the benefit to having to fly through London Heathrow.
On the return, decided to fly club europe and was on the 18.45 flight home... The food service was the worst i have seen it in years. The champagne enhancement is now a thimble sized glass as they have done away with serving individuals their own miniature bottles. Instead they poor champagne from a normal size bottle. The glass size is absolutely ridiculous. Also the main courses for an evening flight were really rubbish. I had shepherds pie, consisting of about 5-6 mouthfalls. The salad was barely there on the side as was the desert. Bread rolls served out of plastic bag....
I also visited the lounges prior to boarding in Heathrow. The galleries first and the business class lounge south by the a3 gates... I thought even there the differences between the two lounges were marginal at best now. The south lounge was looking quite nice. You get sandwiches in there, you get sandwiches in the first lounge... Champagnes and wines marginally better, but the days of BA rolling out decent wines are long gone. The wine in club europe is atrocious.
Really disappointing BA. Theres no reason to overpay for your tickets. You dont get anything unless you specifically want to fly into LHR or have a transit.
And the cost of he ticket for this. 250 GBP, compared to 25 gbp return on Ryanair and 50 gbp on easyjet...
