Deterioration in service at BA-MRU?
 

I wonder if other people have experienced the same apparent deterioration in service from BA-MRU.

Up until early April, e-mails had been answered promptly -- often within one business day. Since then I have found it very difficult to get any response at all. Despite four e-mails to them during late April and May requesting pricing of an AONE6 itinerary settled in late April, the last response received from them was April 27. I haven’t tried phoning yet.

Is it a coincidence that the service deterioration coincides closely with the imposition of their service charge (e.g., maybe they are trying to discourage RTW bookings)?

I don't know, but I'd say the mere fact that BA has been reported here to restrict A availability on MRU POS would suggest they were never that interested in the increased business anyway, even before the service charge..

Sadly, I concur. My current rate of response is 3:1 (me:them). However the booking is made, it's in MMB, I have a price and am basically good to go.

FWIW I'm dealing with a different BA person than I did earlier in the year.

I do sympathize with these small outstations that encounter sudden fame in the arcane world of RTWers. A couple of years ago my wife and I met with the lovely (and she was) Ulya at BA's IST CTO, who expressed fatigue with xONEx products gobbling up days and days at her office. And that was a BA office, not a GSA like MRU.

We must be patient with these folks; if history is any indicator, the "popularity" of MRU will be dust in the wind one of these days.

Hmm - even though it's a different airline, the staff at the AA GSA in CMB gave me a different impression. The agent I dealt with expressed great disappointment at the loss of DONE revenue caused by CX suspending CMB flights. He mentioned that his office gets lots of bookings from Australians and indicated that they greatly appreciate the increased revenue brought on by the popularity of CMB with RTWers.

I don't want to sound like a smart ... but doesn't too much work fall in the category of a nice prolem to have? I mean look at WAW, IST, CAI,... no fatigue there now but I wonder if they don't miss the bad old days when a lot of RTWers bothered them so much.

Someone mentioned here that BA in Mauritius was actually handled by a GSA, specifically IBL Travel. (I'd thought it was a BA-operated TravelShop until I read that.)

If IBL, it's probably just a personnel issue. A year ago I had some dealings with IBL (probably an office at arms-length from their BA GSA operation, if that's indeed true) and had an absolutely abyssmal time getting them to respond. I eventually got hooked up with that office's manager, who was as brilliant and helpful as his minions were dullards.

If that's the problem, the way to get around it is obviously to find that brilliant person. I can PM my contact to anyone who cares.

Well you are smart, aren't you? ;)

Sure, I agree at one level. However I confess I don't think BA gives much of a flying fox about it - remember they summarily closed the IST CTO and canned Ulya (and probably some coworkers) right in the middle of their 15 minutes of RTW fame. IIRC CAI was mainly a TA-driven operation, and BA in WAW were miserable to deal with and it was TAL Aviation (AA's GSA) that were easy. And we know about the BA RTW call cent(e)r(e) business in N. America. Common thread here....?

Yes, IBL. Am dealing with a supervisor at present, who has told me that she has not received a couple of my emails (which I re-sent and she received.) Maybe the problem is technical.

If one is starting out on a BA flight, such as at MRU, and one wants to purchase the ticket at MRU for price reasons, is it a requirement to do the initial routing and MRU-based pricing through BA?

Or could one do the routing and MRU-based pricing through another OW partner (say AA), and simply show up at MRU (the appropriate 21 days in advance) to purchase the ticket there, thus only dealing BA-MRU at that time? Just wondering if there are ways around working with BA-MRU if a problem, whether technical or otherwise, does seem to continue?

MRU working well for me. Emails normally in my inbox on arrival in office. Just set up another AONE4 for July 20 segment fully confirmed. Reply time usually one day(12hrs) or two days(36 hrs) but as other posters say reservation is in MMB. Service when you arrive in MRU is outstanding, they know you are coming, personal escort into VIP lounge. Remember TIA so just have a little patience or get AA RTW to do the PNR first

I don't know the OW rules as well, but *A RTW tickets have SITI (Sold Inside Ticketed Inside) rules that require you to have the ticket issued and purchased there or they charge you the greater of the price there and where it is actually sold. Canada is an exception for some Canadian rule -- you could buy it there and have it start anywhere at the price of there. If that sticks for OW then you could get a Canadian travel agent to do it for you and get the MLE price (you still have to start from MLE).

Many of the OW airlines have various rules of their own making (it's ManyWorlds, remember) and refuse to ticket an xONEx unless they are involved in carrying the passenger at the beginning. AA is a pleasant exception, but afaik isn't represented in Mauritius. IBL Travel as noted is GSA for BA and also for Cathay, but Cathay is one that is unwilling to ticket from such a station.

A previous theme for ex-CAI itins. RTWs are high-maintenance, I know a TA who, tix rules permitting, will issue on a SOTO basis (am sure many of you have similar contacts), but based on the level of maintenance he knows to be inevitable in most cases when issuing such tix, he levies a (fair and reasonable) fee to cover his services.

I can well understand a small outstation struggling with the demand of people zoning in on these fares and there's no reason why a carrier should up its staff complement if there's little or nothing in it for them. I'm sure the effects are as pronounced at a GSA.

If you do discover a deal, such as fares which are preferentially-priced from points of departure such as MRU, be prepared to invest the additional legwork. You may be flying a premium cabin, but it is for a fraction of the price.

Maybe they should give a discount based on the number of FT posts.

MRU is not particularly preferentially priced, btw. I'm the ultimate cheapskate, but my holiday time is valuable to me, and the extra few days it takes to originate in MRU (thin service, lousy connections) plus the cost in airfare and hotels has caused me to stick with places closer to civilization despite higher sticker prices. Different strokes ..., of course.

Too true. Even from as close as SAfrica MRU has so far proved too much trouble for me. Not that the local airlines were that helpful. :rolleyes:

I've had great service with MRU
 

Thay are a small office and very busy thanks to people like me re-routing concurrent AONE's from them and yes you do have to wait a but but for the difference in price I feel its well worth it. I'm on my third ticket with them and also use then to change other BA tickets for me as they are more efficient than BA elsewhere as I am a QFF hence have to hold for about 10mins to speak to anyone from BA

Where is the second cheapest place for Aone's at the moment?

For anyone calling into MRU for their next ticket not wanting a direct turnaround I have a taxi driver who picks me up. gets me locals rates at good hotels, picks up my tickets...he's the MRU concierge and very reasonable.

This problem is technical and I faced it a few months ago. Sometimes their emails simply dont reach. I realised this only after talking to them. Also, I noticed they have the habit of posting comments at the very end of an auto generated itinerary ..I missed a few of these in the beginning as well when I was in the process of finalising the route. If you did not receive an expected reply within a reasonable timeframe , a phone call is in order.

There is no Canada exception for XONEX's. There use to be but it ended 4-5 years ago.

Oh well...I was reading the OWE rules last night and didn't see that in there like the *A RTW fares have, but I was just hoping I missed it.

I would appreciate getting the contact details! I would like to do a DONE4 sometime this Summer.

Rumor has it that MRU isn't worth the trouble except for A-class, but I haven't checked. There's that $300 fee, cases where they quoted incredibly high taxes, BA's fuel taxes in any case, availability issues, routing restrictions, and the time and cost of getting there and back. If you want, I'll PM you the contact, but I think there are better choices for D. Meanwhile, if you haven't already looked at the cost and schedule for getting there (and back, after your trip) I suggest you do that - I was all thrilled with the cheap A fare until I did that.

Even with the $300 surcharge a DONE4 is still a thousand bucks cheaper than ex-NRT for instance. I just set up a DONE4 ex-MRU for my wife and consciously avoided putting any BA longhauls in the itinerary (MRU-JNB-SYD-LAX, ORD-MAD-JNB etc) and the taxes/fees came in pretty comparably to a similar DONE4 itinerary I started with AA in Japan in March. But of course it's the getting there... And on those lines, one should remember that the 75K AA J award from Europe to Africa is still one of the best deals in the Aadvantage program.

In making these comparisons you need to remember that starting in MRU requires you to add Africa as a continent which you may not want to do given the dearth of flights there. So it may be more appropriate to compare a DONE3 ex-NRT with a DONE4 ex-MRU or a DONE4 ex-NRT with a DONE5 ex-MRU. When you do that, according to my figures, the NRT prices are less than $300 more than the ex-MRU prices- so with the MRU service charge the prices there are actually higher. Given the other hassles, it doesn't seem worth it for a DONE ticket.

I just got off the phone with BA MRU and as suspected, they have had big trouble with their email server. However, they accepted credit card info over the phone and are now updating the taxes and will issue the ticket when it's complete, hopefully later today. They were very friendly and restored my sense that the MRU staff is easy to work with.

When I said my name to the phone answerer, she immediately said, "Oh yes I'll put you through to (the supervisor) straight away." Like they knew who I was. Yikes.

Interesting point, Reel, -- one I hadn't considered. Of course now I'm sitting with the residue of my last AONE4 (essentially LAX-LHR-MRU) which I was going to use to get me there to buy the next one in August. Too, a comparably priced AONE3 ex NRT would save me nearly two days of flying. Yup, I'm going to have to figure this out. Thanks for the pointer.

Can you do a turn when arriving here in the 2 hours to get your ticket? And do I have to come earlier to purchase it or can I purchase with cc ahead and just come by pick it up and leave same day or two days later?

A lot of issues with this and the time needed are making me think of DOH and NRT now.

See these threads:
Turnaround:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ight=mauritius
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ight=mauritius
Purchase:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ight=mauritius
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ight=mauritius
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...ight=mauritius

I started a new DONE4 ex-NRT 2 weeks ago and it was very efficiently arranged with both the AA RTW desk and with the AA people in Tokyo. Because of the issues raised in my OP here, I began thinking about alternatives to starting a new AONEx when I return to MRU in October and the more I have thought about the implications of DOH instead, the better it seems.

Will BA MRU post tickets to you?
 

I am planning on starting an AONE5 ex-MRU in December. I would like to ticket the reservation now. Since travel is still ~6 months away, I would like BA in MRU to issue the ticket and fedex them to me now. Has anyone had any success in having MRU issue a ticket and send it to you? Or do they require you to collect it in MRU?

I've had a look on the various threads but have been unable to find the answer. Thank you in advance.

Ask them directly since other travelers simply may not have wanted that service. I think you'll get a definite "no" but may be surprised. Why not start with a ticket simple enough to be an e-ticket, and them embellish it?

It must be picked up in MRU.

In my experience, two hours is more than enough. If you're flying in on the BA from LHR and then returning right away to LHR, a BA person will meet your flight with your ticket in hand and guide you through transit (you don't have to clear immigration or customs) and back to the lounge or departure gate. You give them your cc number in advance, they charge your card, print the ticket at the city ticket office and deliver it to the airport.

After much pontificating I have decided (I think) to give an AONE5 a whirl out of MRU.

This thread is full of mixed comments on using MRU as a ticketing point and I still am a little ambivalent about going this route.

Are people having serious issues with the lack of A availability on the MRU-LHR route? Has anyone not been able to fly in F?

I understand that I can pay using CC over the phone, is this correct? Will they hang on to the ticket until such time as I am able to go to MRU to start the trip?

It would be the full 20 sectors and hence a paper ticket. Someone suggested taking the hit of the change fee and starting with E-ticket. How do people feel about this idea?

I am looking at starting my AONE next February and am knee deep in planning a route at the moment.

Now for the crystal ball question. Do the good folk here have any feeling about impending price rises? Should I go ahead and ticket sooner rather than later? Opinions please...

Before we changed course for my wife's DONE4 ex MRU, we had arranged to pay by credit card using fax, email, or phone. They were more than willing to set it up for an airport delivery at MRU.

Can't comment on the A availability question.

As for re-issuing, we planned on that all along, partly in hopes BA might get its act together re fuel surcharges and nuisance fees, also partly because we seem to be inflicted with reissuealysis so why not accept the fact beforehand? YMMV.

As for prognostications on price rises, do you remember the immortal words of Dirty Harry?

MRU standards high
 

I am finding MRU service excellent. Based in the Eastern US I can e mail requests during office hours and invariably have a reply on arrival at my office NBD.
I often make changes to my AONE4 which were dealt with promptly at a cost of $125 plus a new service fee of MRU1000 which is about $31. That charge is new
My most recent 20 segment AONE4 cost $7050 incl all taxes and the service fee which is charged seperately on the CC. As a comparison my colleagues just flew JFK-FRA-AMS-JFK for $7000 in C.
Unless I had business in JNB I would probably go ex Asia , NRT and buy a DONE3 which is a lot easier logistically although I have no experience of their service other posts sound positive

Thanks for the responses guys.

Now, how lucky do I feel? ;)

A question I am asking myself daily. :( Don't want to jump too soon and don't want to miss the boat. Every day my first visit to FT is this forum to see if the dreaded price increases have arrived. Guess I should just knuckle down and buy them and save myself the stress.

Currency fluctuations aside, you can be quite sure the prices won't go down, nor the rules move in your favor.

True, but I'm kinda hoping Dragonair joins before my next ticket is issued. ;) But I guess they will probably synchronise the increases and the new member. And, given my comparative proximity to MRU, I'm going to feel a right eejit if I don't make at least one RTW from there while the going is good.

Could someone be so kind as to PM me an email contact for IBL in MRU?

Tx

YHPM