you also need to consider how many silvers that lose status will.pay the extra for ce rather than y.

If I look at my and my +1 usage of the F wing and lounge, it won’t reduce my usage.
Yes, no longer BA Gold, but changed it to QF Plat for GBP 4K. I am confident many BA refugees found a new home.

Globalist

I'd discounted that as being negligible

i think that is a miscalculation.

Rather than reduce overcrowding in the lounges, the switch is to drive additional revenue, if which booking club rather than y or y+ is an example.

If it was the numbers of people visiting the lounges that caused a problem, there are any number of much simpler ways of addressing that than inventing the new "Club" . Simply adjusting the tier thresholds for example, or reducing access to guests.

I don't think its anything to do with the relative blend of customer statuses and/or the number of people in the Lounges. It's all to to with the margin, how much extra they can shave off their cost and how much they will now earn in add on fees.

They will tell you its all about the customers but in reality it's all about them...

It's an interesting conundrum - I too thought some of the equation *must* have been about reducing lounge cost - but Sixth Freedom marvellous graph largely debunks that theory....I love that modelling!!!

So it must *largely* be about increasing revenue/profit through people going 'oooh - just another �10k spend and I'll make Gold' or through a reset of the value of Avios/Tier Points, through driving greater credit card usage like we see in the US. But there isn't the interbank margin available to exploit in the EU...so that's a harder objective, than simply reducing cost by making it harder to get status.

We will see how it plays out - the interesting thing, for me at least, is I no longer feel invested because they made such a pigs ear of it. I'll watch from the comfort of whatever airline I'm flying, because BA unwittingly broke my loyalty to them with their crass implementation, and the other airline's value proposition is probably now better...

Hear hear. An in-depth, thoughtful piece with statistics we can all relate to. Nice work SixthFreedom

Part of the changes were to allow BA to make money on things they currently give away free (or at least believe they do). So if fewer passengers are expected in the lounge, they’ll be upselling entry passes. Indeed one of the reasons for the nexusification of the website and the new rev man system is to allow things like this at point of purchase.

I don't think the real problem is being addressed. The real problem is forcing someone trying to do some work into the same space as a family off to MCO - they have different needs and wants.

My fix would start with the physical space. First, the Concorde Room stays exactly as it is, exclusive for F pax and GGLs

Then, you sort out T5A by vibe. You create 'The Library', a proper quiet zone for working. Another of the spaces becomes the main adult 'Social Hub' for food, a G&T and a chat and you'd wall off a decent-sized area of it to make a properly sound-proofed 'Family lounge' to contain the chaos. Everyone gets the atmosphere they actually want without getting in each other's way.

The clever bit would be to add a simple tech layer to make status feel worthwhile, where a decent BA app becomes key.

A GCH in the Social Hub could use the app to unlock a menu from which they can order a proper main or a glass of high-end champagne from an exclusive menu, brought to their seat, while a Silver next to them still gets the decent buffet or alas pay for the stuff that GCHs get for free. GCHs could use the app to book or access a private work pod in The Library or get priority for a shower.

The idea would be to use tech as the status differentiator within a shared space, where the space is focussed on the environment that suits you best.

Sounds nice, but I have no doubt ‘The Library’ would be nothing of the sort and would instead be permanently occupied by American business travellers taking calls on speakerphone given the demographics of T5, the ‘leisure’ area may actually be more conducive to quietly working!

I am in the camp that BA’s focus should be to do something to make the Club World lounge experience at LHR better, the gap with the TATL competition is surely getting a bit large for comfort.

You're right to be cynical, but my thinking is that rules can't be enforced today as there's no where else to go. BA could nudge people to adopt the right behaviours (for example, when entering The Library you tick a bunch of boxes on a screen saying you understand the rules) and you have staff that can, ahem, "help" people go to the appropriate zone.

I have no doubt that none of this will be done, but thought I'd share my slightly unconventional way of sorting this out.

I'm afraid the real problem is that any airport Lounge is simply an extension of public transport. As such, one must manage expectations accordingly. I never normally expect to find a quiet place to work at an airport. If I manage to find one, that's a bonus. The old Boardroom in the CCR used to be pretty reliable, but even that was not guaranteed and then BA got rid of it.

Well, only time and data will tell, but the idea of entry level lounge access suddenly becoming a motivator for paying hundreds more for J over Y (which often won't even be available on the return leg from a lot of airports) doesn't sound like a mass market proposition.

Especially for lapsed Silvers, many of whom will be all too aware how mediocre said lounges can often be.

And then also factoring in the proportionally higher seat selection costs when you no longer have status...

Nor do I see large companies suddenly allowing their employees to book J out of sympathy for their lost status, and we know from previous threads that it's often tricky/frowned on/impossible for employees to self upgrade in those circumstances, even if they were minded to do so.

So while I'm not saying no one is going to do it, I do really think this is edge case stuff rather than a needle moving data point. The hundreds that one might spend on a single flight to upgrade could be much better used invested in an Amex platinum, Priority Pass, or similar, which would get you a whole year of benefits.

i have pointed out on several occassions, ce does not have to be hundreds more. I agree on the occassions its hundreds its unlikely to happen. And yes, companies will not change Y only policy.

I booked a reward flight today, 24500 avios + 6pln (y both ones) or 32750 avious + 65 pln (y 1 way, ce the other)

Without status, the 2nd option seems much better value as it gets me lounge and fast track, which i currently have so on this accassion took the first option. A year from now when i have lost silver i will be making a different choice. This is band 3 flight. The CE offering on band 3 is, in my opinion, good, maybe a sweet spot. It becomes a different value proposition.

Just one example, I have shared others on previous threads on this topic.