rather_be_on_a_griffin

I don’t like to excuse bad service but honestly there is not much going right for any airline or airport right now. I have tried to train myself to expect problems no matter what.

I’m back to OW long haul after a couple of years this summer because of cheap CDG-NYC fares (EUR 1.6k on AA metal for LHR-NYC). I have contingencies and buffers built in with the expectation that I’m delayed a day or two. That’s the new reality and it is not changing this year.

At least in Europe you have EU/UK compensation schemes and some legal requirements on duty of care.

HIDDY

Curt more than witty I would say.

I'm all for the general public getting back to flying...good for them!!. However, the OP is no newbie to it all, he's been contributing to this forum for many years and has BAEC status. He, as well as many of the regulars on here should know what negative effect the pandemic has had on BA. Especially as it hit them at the worst possible time during their restructuring programme.
So I have to ask, why are these regular Flyertalkers so surprised when their flight experience doesn't all go to plan? They must be fully aware of the situation? If I were them I'd be flying with the airline that's been reported as performing as normal during the pandemic..

To be fair being injected twice with Sputnik V vaccine didn't help. Anyway...Patrick Moore never went into space yet knew more about astronomy than many an astronaut.

westmidlandsguy

My flight with BA has been delayed twice in the last 12 months (and I’ve flown BA about 8 times in that period) and both occasions - they were excellent with communication. Sent me a text & email informing me of the delay and why the flight was delayed, given a £20 food voucher even though I was in Club and had lounge access, pilot & crew apologized for the delays once onboard.

I have no problem with easyJet, my friend flew with them to Amsterdam and her flight was cancelled 3 hours before departure (which worked in her favour as the compensation was more than the weekend away!)

LCY8737

I get people being surprised and angry. The rebound in air travel post-pandemic was predictable, and with the sky high prices a certain minimum of service can (should?) be expected. The fact that airlines and airports used the pandemic to fire staff just adds insult to injury.

Having said that, it is neither BA specific nor even UK specific. AMS is as much a hell hole as MAN. LH is cancelling flights left right and centre.

It is a disgrace, BA is to blame, but so is much of the rest of the European airline industry.

HIDDY

Good to know it's not only BA that's been affected by it all, as that's not the impression one gets on here. I popped ino the Easyjet forum and after getting over the shock of seeing Tobias-UK posting there I was surprised to see there's been hardly a murmur regarding their operational problems.

Tim_T

Not just Europe, plenty of issues in the US as well

subject2load

Well I don’t have too much first-hand experience of EasyJet in recent years (largely because they typically cover very few of my destinations), so I prefer not to question your personal assessment that “they are certainly no better than BA”

In terms however of more general EasyJet v BA comparisons, one thing we do know is that these two airlines, as the largest ex-UK operators, have totally different business models. When things go wrong with EasyJet - or indeed any of the LCC’s - whether EasyJet, Ryanair, Wizz, etc etc - they can, ultimately, shrug their shoulders and say …..”look folks, we’re just the cheap & cheerful option, (£8.99 Gatwick to Palermo, anyone …..?!) …… what are you expecting ?

By contrast - and after years of BA talking up their product whilst professing constantly to be a premium carrier - what exactly is management’s defence ?? By which I mean defence when taken to task on sundry irritating issues ranging from poorly-executed boarding processes / substandard catering / wilful obfuscation or plain deceit on EU / UK 261 claims / unacceptable phone support wait times ……. or just (particularly amidst current climate) IRROPS handling generally …..?

Let’s consider again the OP’s main grievance as described above, and more specifically BA’s real-world responsiveness to the delay rather than the delay itself : “NCE LHR delayed 4 hours and again no information, no news, no updates, certainly no meal vouchers, and of course no one within 100 miles who actually will admit to working for BA”

And so the fundamental, ongoing, conundrum for BA v Easyjet seems to me that when the former faces the same charges of poor operational performance (and / or random cancellations) as does the latter, it’s not so easy to use the ‘cheap & cheerful’ excuse if you’re asking punters to shell out what can - at times - be eye-watering amounts for a biz or first class ticket.

jeremyBA

I fly easyJet constantly. Typically row one for free with easyJet plus. Fare a fraction of Club Europe. Fair comparison ? Maybe not but one of the big benefits to me is getting out of the airport asap.

I have easyJet flight club - no change fees. Fantastic use it regularly.

oh and you call and they answer the phone and you talk to them within 1/2 minutes.

as above the frustrations with ba go far deeper than flight delays

NickB

That is because there is no-one within 100 miles who does work for BA. BA got rid several years ago of all staff at most European stations, relying 100% on airport handling contractors instead. They don't even have local station managers anymore, just a phone contact hundreds of miles away in charge of multiple airports in the same area.

subject2load

Was fully aware of the widespread use of third party ground handlers by virtually every airline, but was not aware that BA had gone quite this far. I guess this explains why, in so many cases of IRROPS around the network, we commonly hear of affected pax (assuming they actually manage to find anyone in person) being met with a shrug along the lines of “Sorry, nothing to do with me Guv” and at best being handed an email address & phone contact number for customer support.

PGberkshire

Just think of the 261 payments....

ratechaser

And just think of the spurious 261 rejections that BA send, sadly accepted by many/most as being legitimate...

If they actually paid out everything owing, in full, that might prompt some change. Or possibly bankruptcy...

cosmo74

Not necessarily. I was notified a couple of weeks in advance of my recent EZY flight to Olbia from LGW that there many not be any food or drink to buy on board. In the end you could buy drinks and crisps etc but no fresh food, although they had no white or rose wine so I didn't bother. I guess at least they gave people a heads up, but there must be something seriously wrong with their operations if they know they're not going to be able to offer catering that far out.

T8191

Well, I was idly browsing my recent Amex transactions, and received a surprise. It would seem that Amex have a low opinion of BA, according to this BA Holidays deposit transaction!

ThatT1Feeling

LGW-ALC this morning with 5 friends. All 6 of us given access and actively welcomed to the LGW F lounge as per GGL guesting rules. Breakfast for all of us delivered quickly and in a very friendly way. Group 1 boarding handled well which for LGW was a surprise. Exit row for free for all of us. Friends blown away by the whole experience.

nothing from the crew in flight but otherwise all very very good.

Just goes to prove the inconsistency but it can be good when it works