goingforapee

BA’s digital customer experience is beyond embarrassing. The head of digital should be ashamed.

Every BA app experience has some kind of barrier. Barriers which don’t show up in other airlines apps that I use regularly.

Barrier 1 - trying to use Avios to upgrade a WTP to CW flight with loads of I class available - 7 to be exact. App does not even give you the option to upgrade. Have to call in.

Barrier 2 - uploaded covid docs, docs verified. Email received stating docs verified, please check in. Go to check-in using the app. Sorry can’t check you in because your docs have not been verified. 🤦‍♂️

corporate-wage-slave

For the second one, see the Salesforce and VeriFLY threads for a specific workaround which works for some people, though if you accessed Salesforce via MMB and you have a connection then it's more for "next time" since you only get one shot at Salesforce. Or keep an eye on this forum since it is a weekly event here, or so it seems.

Yes there are limitations, and certainly the USA airlines have apps which are better. But I suspect you haven't used Lufthansa's app, KLM's app (though it has improved a bit over the last year), Vueling's app, Air France's app, ITA's "app", Aer Lingus, the list goes on - BA's app really is a lot better than some of the others.

Robespierre

Unfortunately it used to be class-leading before Alex Cruz decided that as part of "cost-cutting is our DNA" mentality that digital excellence was capable of being outsourced to the lowest bidder and sacked the BA in house team. IAG then decided that IT should be managed as a shared service and you end up one step further removed. As for BA's IT track record from that moment on then the history speaks for itself.

I typically use 4 or 5 airlines every month (BA/EZY/LX/AF/EY) and none of their apps are great to be honest. BA is just frustrating because it used to be so much better. The iPad version was totally wrecked.

AF is probably the best of the bunch at the moment. Easyjet does the basics well and reliably.

ermis177

BA IT in general not just the app. In the last 2 months I have received 3,4 emails regarding “changes I have made to booking reference XXXX”. The person in the email is not me but some random guy including the booking ref number. I did check the first time just to be sure there isn’t any issues with my ticket and I can see all his details including his BAEC number and more. I can even cancel his ticket, change seats, order a special meal etc for a ticket that is not mine! This is a serious data breach and to people saying “ you haven’t seen Lufthansa/KLM/TAP etc IT” I have and it’s not amazing but definitely I do not receive random emails with other booking ref numbers which I have access to!

corporate-wage-slave

I have the same surname of a minor French politician, a distant relative, and Air France sends me her travel emails despite the security implications and objections from both of us.

wutlol

Try something like Royal Air Maroc’s app (which won’t let you check in if you admit to having toiletries in your carry-on) or TAROM’s. You’ll be thankful for how great BA’s app actually is.

LondonAussie

The BA App is mostly just a shortcut to the BA website. Most of the app 'features' just redirect onto the website, and ironically I then get a popup at the top suggesting I should download the app instead of using the website.

Penfold101

The one thing it IS good it is searching for and showing you reward flights - it’s a million times easier than the website.

adrianlondon

They removed the iOS widget functions, which is a pity.

Kgmm77

Whether it’s better or worse than other airline apps is somewhat subjective. What is, to my mind at least, objectively clear is that its functionality, reliability and user experience has materially worsened over the years. Which is unforgivable.

bhbloke

4 or 5 year ago it was a great app, really useful and did the basics well and showed the info you needed for your flight.

Nowadays it is atrocious, and a shadow of its former self. Well and truly Cruzified.

The Android widget is barely functional now, hit and miss as to whether it can even show your flight or boarding pass.

squawk

While I agree it isn’t great (and it used to be quite good, as others have indicated) I can only echo corporate-wage-slave ’s comments relating to how poor other airlines’ apps are.

Lufthansa, in particular, is atrocious. I have three different ways to log in, and for a time the other day, none of them worked.

None of that excuses, eg, data breaches and so on by BT or anyone else. But from a website/app perspective, while poor BA is far from the worst even within Europe.

Trident 3B

Barrier 2 - uploaded covid docs, docs verified. Email received stating docs verified, please check in. Go to check-in using the app. Sorry can’t check you in because your docs have not been verified. 🤦‍♂️[/QUOTE]


I referred to exactly this in another thread. All we get is the same old mantra (advice) repeated on almost a daily basis from someone who himself admits that "it only works for some" and because of it's limitations is " more for next time". Well it's certainly got it's limitations that's for sure, see the quote above which is representative of the experience of countless others most of whom have never heard of this forum. What, pray, are they supposed to do?. I'll answer that myself. Take their docs to the agent at the desk in the terminal. If it's more for next time how does that help the passenger this time, that's if there is a next time given people's experiemce with BA's idea of modern technology. Why not just spend a few rupees and fix it so that it actually works or save people an awful lot of needless faffing around and just scrap the damn thing altogether.

skipness1E

United only takes US base credit cards so I can't even use it to book, unlike American, Delta, Southwest and jetBlue!
WHY?
I find that more annoying..

subject2load

I think the real irony here is that Alex Cruz was of course widely regarded (or at least was at the time of his dramatic promotion to CEO of global player British Airways, immediately after running a small LCC) as being a valued specialist where all things digital, within the commercial airline world, were concerned. And yet his BA legacy - in the wake of so much cost-cutting* as you correctly highlight - was a rather average / poor IT system, known for countless error messages and ‘sorry we cannot process this online, please call us’ and ‘you have no current flight bookings’ etc etc. ; not to mention the far more worrying issue of data breaches and subsequent punitive fines.

* FT-er and former BA manager 13901 has posted in detail on the matter of Alex’s hasty cost-cutting ‘initiatives’

I have even heard Snr Cruz himself say, on a number of occasions, that “digital is everything”. I was actually in the audience at WTM London when he spoke at some length on the very subject. But I eventually came to the conclusion that he was so often more about talking rather than doing.

Specifically on the matter of mobile apps, I have recently found myself using TAP’s app a fair bit recently. It’s probably not much better than BA’s (but you would expect an airline as large as BA to perform better in almost all areas (not just digital) than the likes of say, TAP) although I DO find the TAP app pretty good for searching for Star Alliance reward availability.