Other special BA cards

Old Mar 2, 2005, 6:51 am
  #46  
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Originally Posted by Brian_1
It shows Emeralds first in alphabetical order then Saphire in alphabetical order................simple as that.
So BA is as bad as QF on this, then? Of all the rankings to use, this is definitely the most arbitrary and unfair, esp as those of us further down the alphabet get penalised every single time.

I am definitely going to change my name now. (Or maybe just fly more often with Miss A.)
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 7:07 am
  #47  
 
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Originally Posted by Brian_1

Geez will you guys stop going on about this.

You all know the upgrade procedures.

When Closeouts/FMU/Flight Finalisation (different names for the same depts depending which airport or terminal you're in) bring up a list of card holders on the flight. It shows Emeralds first in alphabetical order then Saphire in alphabetical order................simple as that. And who gets upgraded depends on various things on the day. Do you have a special meal? Are you travelling as part of a group? Have you already checked in (if they are looking for someone that instant)? Are you Gold or Silver............etc etc etc etc.

I have said it in the past and I shall say it again. You all have a tendency to jump on your horse and gallop away. But sometimes it's in completely the wrong direction.
If a flight needs to leave, or managers need to make quick decisions, it seems that there is no reason to the madness of operational upgrades: gold, silver, blue, premier, full fare, discount, VIP, CIP, Gold 99... What has been said regarding the fact that most BA employees have no access to CCV and Gold scores seems to reinforce this idea, because if they cannot see how important a pax is commercially, there is plenty of reason to believe decisions to upgrade and the general treatment by the frontline staff will not change from Mr. Gold-99 and Mr. Gold-01.

I still found it very odd that my brother and I were upgraded from a redemption in Y to the upperdeck, but the duty manager told us they were pressed to open up seats, so they just picked and chose whoever they could find (generally those who had already checked in online, despite the large number of Golds on the flight who had yet to check-in). A customer service manager has also told me that BA once had, may still have, policies that specifically discourage the practice of upgrading Goldmembers first; why should they pay the full premium fares if they will get upgraded anywAAy? And at the end of the day, no one has a right to an upgrade, premier or lowly blue. You get what you paid for, no complaints.
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 7:33 am
  #48  
 
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Originally Posted by Brian_1
Geez will you guys stop going on about this.

You all know the upgrade procedures.
You omitted to add:

1. The pax in front of you was obnoxious and asked for an UG;
2. You didn't;
3. The lady (or in rarer instances, gentleman) sitting behind the desk liked you - whether insomuchas a brief snapshot of your character or something more lustful;
4. Perhaps #1 it's always a question of timing/circumstance. I upgraded (using QF's rewards) on a domestic flight in Oz today. The chap next to me had a BP stating 24K Y, scratched out and put in as 1 K next to me. It wasn't a particularly overbooked flight and I noticed that he was a non-QF Emerald.

As it turned out he was a thoroughly decent economist and writer and very pleasant company. But it only served to remind that there really are no rules other than cash and anti-cash (if he's reading this he'll know what I mean )
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 7:41 am
  #49  
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Originally Posted by Globaliser
So BA is as bad as QF on this, then? Of all the rankings to use, this is definitely the most arbitrary and unfair, esp as those of us further down the alphabet get penalised every single time.

I am definitely going to change my name now. (Or maybe just fly more often with Miss A.)
You've got to feel for Mr Zyrgymuhov....
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 9:23 am
  #50  
 
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FMU staff decisions

Well I was only going on what the FMU staff told me!

They quite clearly said to me BA Gold, BA Silver and the 1W Emerald then 1W Sapphire.

This puts the QF Aussie resident frequent BA user cannot join the BAEC because he lives in Australia behind BA Silver.

Now if you wish to tell me that LHR have a different policy than that applied by my two personal friends at LGW FMU, well that is fine. I was only trying to work with "facts" from the people that do the upgrading as part of their job.

I would also like to say that I often do not receive what I have paid for. I have had far more non-refundable business class paid but travelled in Y long haul than I ever have upgrades. I have even travelled Y with J available on an A class ticket in the wonderful alliance way of working!

I have received two long haul op-ups in the last 3 years. One was when travelling handbaggage only and offering to get off the flight at check-in when it was overbooked. They gave me a standby boarding card and got me a seat in WTP from a full Y fare. The other day I had a boarding card as J on an F fare in a two class aircraft that turned out to be a 3 class on CX with F empty. The CSD saw my ticket and that I needed the sleep and let me have two hours of horizontal, as opposed to slopey rest out of HKG.

I average about 50 long haul sectors a year.

PS this was not a rant! Just factual statements, well at least reported facts.
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 9:45 am
  #51  
 
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Originally Posted by Globaliser
So BA is as bad as QF on this, then? Of all the rankings to use, this is definitely the most arbitrary and unfair, esp as those of us further down the alphabet get penalised every single time.

I am definitely going to change my name now. (Or maybe just fly more often with Miss A.)
Don't you think the staff might have an idea that if they took the list at face value Mr A might get more upgrades than Mr X..........please give them some credit.

I could go on and on and on explaining the procedures (which I won't do as I don't feel comfortable giving out any info I shouldn't be), and you guys would try to pick holes in them anyway.

Last edited by Brian_1; Mar 2, 2005 at 9:50 am
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 9:49 am
  #52  
 
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[QUOTE=spotwelder]They quite clearly said to me BA Gold, BA Silver and the 1W Emerald then 1W Sapphire.

This puts the QF Aussie resident frequent BA user cannot join the BAEC because he lives in Australia behind BA Silver.QUOTE]

BA is very fair in it's policies and makes sure staff stick to them.

Last edited by Brian_1; Mar 2, 2005 at 10:40 am
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 10:10 am
  #53  
 
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So what was all this about then?

Originally Posted by Brian_1
Geez will you guys stop going on about this.

You all know the upgrade procedures.

When Closeouts/FMU/Flight Finalisation (different names for the same depts depending which airport or terminal you're in) bring up a list of card holders on the flight. It shows Emeralds first in alphabetical order then Saphire in alphabetical order................simple as that. And who gets upgraded depends on various things on the day. Do you have a special meal? Are you travelling as part of a group?
Do two people post with your acount?
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 10:33 am
  #54  
 
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Last edited by Brian_1; Mar 2, 2005 at 10:36 am
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 11:03 am
  #55  
 
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Originally Posted by Brian_1
Sorry Brian, why are you confused? You've edited your previous posts so things don't make a lot of sense right now.

Spotwelder pointed out as he's 'Australian' he can't join BAEC, so his Oneworld emerald status pushes him down the upgrade list behind EC Silvers when on flights with BA. You said this wasn't the case, as lists were ranked by OW status - "It shows Emeralds first in alphabetical order then Saphire in alphabetical order................simple as that."
A few hours later, you said that staff deliberately pick names at random from this alphabetical list, to give you all people with equal status an equal chance at an upgrade.
Then you posted that BA actually looked after its own elites first, and then looked at OW status - a la all other airlines.
You then deleted the majority of the above. Is it any wonder we're confused?
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 11:04 am
  #56  
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Originally Posted by Brian_1
Don't you think the staff might have an idea that if they took the list at face value Mr A might get more upgrades than Mr X..........please give them some credit.
I'd be very glad to hear that they do, but your explanation didn't give that impression. We all know the pressure that the relevant people are under - and there are persistent rumours on the QF forum that the QF people just go from the top of their alphabetical list and work downwards ...
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 11:11 am
  #57  
 
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That explains it...

I wondered why our Mr Aardvaak always seemed to get more upgrades than me.... I must have been a difficult birth with a name like Zack Zebra.
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 11:39 am
  #58  
 
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Originally Posted by bobnick
. Is it any wonder we're confused?
Didn't mean to confuse you.

There a lots of different factors taken into account when closing a flight. I edited my comment as you can read into them how you like. No matter what info I give it might be taken out of context. So I shall say no more on the subject.

During my time at BA, I found the company very fair and structured as far as looking after passengers was concerned.

Sometimes a little knowledge can be dangerous.
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Old Mar 2, 2005, 12:06 pm
  #59  
 
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Originally Posted by Maws22
Levels were replaced by your CCV. Some time ago I might add. CCV is 1-99 with 100 being prem. Do a search for CCV and "pond life" if my memory serves.

Welcome back Maws
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Old Mar 3, 2005, 2:21 pm
  #60  
 
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Originally Posted by SchmeckFlyer
What has been said regarding the fact that most BA employees have no access to CCV and Gold scores seems to reinforce this idea....
What does CCV mean? ('Scuse my ignorance)
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