aristoph

We are off to SA on safari in a couple of weeks (yay!) and have Avios flights in J with a 2-4-1 on BA. Tonight I booked LX/LH business class for hard cash (well, additional hard cash given the charges on BA redemptions these days) and plan to cancel the BA flights. Am I crazy?

The thought of the BA flight was just a drag on my excitement for the holiday. An A380 with OCW. Probably delayed looking at the recent flight history, and reading the threads on here as they are now “hangar queens”. The awful food we experienced on our flights to ANU over Christmas. And on our flight to SEA in July. And that you are all posting in the thread on here. The crew lottery. Knowing that even if they are nice it will take them 2 hours at least to start serving dinner after a 10pm departure while Y will be fed and falling asleep. The certainty of an overheated cabin. And the arrival at T5C on a Monday morning, the 30 minute slog to immigration and taking another hour plus to get our bags back, off last despite being in J.

I’m a GCH with BA and feel totally disloyal to them right now. I’ve reached the point where I don’t care how many Avios or 2-4-1 vouchers I have, I just want a nice flight to begin and end my holiday, and yes something different. I have no status or miles with Star, and I won’t be surprised if I’m back with my tail between my legs, but I’ve reached that point with BA.

noFODplease

I think you are absolutely right to try something else if you feel disillusioned! You may love LX/LH and never come back. You may also find they come with their own special set of issues and problems.. but you should definitely explore, no company deserves your money unequivocally.

BA is a mess at the moment. I just booked PE instead of J, despite a very reasonable fare, as I just refuse to pay J level cash for that miserable and predictable one tray service.

I still value their familiarity and brilliant crews (I feel I am luckier than most here). But only just.

aristoph

Oh I’m sure I’ll be back, as most of my travel is to the US (though honestly I have preferred AA for some time already - I know, BA still gets my $$$!) but where I have a choice, even if I need to connect, I would rather roll the dice with other airlines right now than lower my expectations and fly BA.

ermis177

Never understood why some people will only fly with a specific alliance or even worse with only 1 airline. Plenty of airlines out there with much better service than BA at the moment not to mention the dreadful 2-4-2 configuration. You will probably find LX service and seat much better. Probably LH will be the same as BA. At least with LH the cabin will be clean and the aircraft interior will not be falling apart...

HIDDY

Well flying LX J isn't exactly slumming it....is it?
I'd say what you're doing is perfectly normal behaviour, especially if you have taken advantage of a good fare.

HIDDY

Indeed...

Although some people on the forum won't have any say in which airline they fly with. The BAEC is of course the number one reason.

Midships

I suspect there are a number of reasons, some of which you wouldn't know unless you discussed it with them. Keeping a elite status would be one, I've had a flight I need to catch in an emergency re-opened, I don't think that would have happened if I were not a GCH. Being the first to be looked after when things go wrong. Keeping all reward miles in one pot could be another. The convenience of priority check in if you are in economy. The main reason for me? Being less than ten long hauls away from GFL and not that far off retirement, Mrs. M has given me a three line whip to have GFL before retiring so she can enjoy some luxury on the ground when flying around Europe. Of course if you fly enough to maintain multiple elite tier status, its a different matter.

ISTFlyer

Exactly, that's why I am top-tier in all three alliances where I could go for GGLfL within 15-20 years if I stick all my travel into BA/AA.
Having choices is much more a privilege rather than being tied to one airline and it's partners.

In addition to this many people would also not tell about their employer policies regarding airlines if that person is mainly traveling corporate, so it's very normal to see many people complaining and ranting about BA to fly BA again in the future. ( not related to the OP's case )

Midships

Unless I am missing something, 20 years of BA should put you at 30,000 plus?

ISTFlyer

I meant that if I switch all my travel to BAEC partners, I could have easily earned 5000-7500 TP's per year with my travel patterns and detoured itineraries and pursue GGLfL but I prefer to keep top tier status on 3 alliances instead. ( oneworld Emerald, Star Alliance Gold, Skyteam Elite Plus )

SxMan

I sincerely hope that she is not disappointed because that luxury appears to be being eroded, bit by bit, each and every time I fly. Slowly, the luxury is being removed – notably at outstations.🙈😬😵‍💫

RJBP

I am very much at that point as well. GGL with real prospect of GGL4L but I will now always look for alternatives to BA. The reliability and quality have just eroded too far. Too many times I’ve regretted having chosen BA. This weekend’s operational meltdown was the final straw.

Midships

I suspect as long as the First lounge at T5 remains open, and we get to choose seats without a fee - she'll be content. Having spent much time in research camps in the tropical rain forest, luxury is a relative concept for her.

Door5L

I fully get your position. I have also cancelled my World Traveller Plus flights to JFK in March after seeing how poor the general product has become and the lottery around the service you will get, not to mention if bags will end up being loaded either end. I will still use BA in the future but they need to sort themselves out first.

ThatT1Feeling

Whilst we are not quite as far forward as others with plans of reducing time spent on BA, we have decided to book WTP outbound for our summer trip to the US West Coast, rather than CW.
Clearly the bed is a nice thing to have, but it's scheduled to be NCW and with the service cutbacks it's no longer seen within our family unit as value for money, especially for a daytime flight, when we could be spending the money on other things.

As per Midships , as long as there's still some kind of lounge access and seat selection with GFL, we will be happy. The rest we will be able to live without. I assume checkin will become much more self-service going forward anyway and we will have more time to take our time in the airport!