Exactly my thoughts. It is a crystal-clear admission that this is a bit of irritating badgering for the benefit of a beancounter at BA and not the passnger.

Since BA have yet to send me a useful SMS, I think perhaps I should "change" my mobile phone number, although the only times I don't OLCI are when it isn't working or (more rarely) I can't get to a computer easily; so I might escape this particular service disenhancment although if I don't it will make their hectoring all the more annoying.

To be fair, the only mention of an upgrade was in the very first post on this thread. Even if it were policy (official or not - and I have always doubted that it is) I sincerely doubt they'd ever mention it in official communication to customers.

My thoughts exactly. And where better an audience than tech-savvy internet users - the types of whom post to FT?

You'd miss out on the SMSes which BA do send (in my experience - 2 so far) when your flight is cancelled.

well BA have just managed to send me 5 e-mails confirming my check in, blackberry went into meltdown, seems to becoming a habit to send me multiple mails.....

In light of the confusion there appears to be with front line BA staff apparently unaware of the policy, I've sent a PM to BA Executive Club asking him/her to stop by this thread and help us out.

Specifically, I have asked whether s/he could clear up whether the policy she outlined has been implemented yet and, if not, when it will be implemented.

I don't actually think it was Nicci who outlined it in that post as it wasn't signed by her IIRC. Can't be bothered to look it up so I may be wrong.

I thought that the artist known as BA Executive Club was now Nicci. If I'm wrong, then I've asked whoever is BA Executive Club to stop by.

It seem now as if things at T5 have settled a bit and are generally improving. I wonder if BAA are under pressure to move things as soon as possible as there has been considerable fallout from many other airlines from the knock on effect of delayin T4-T5 transition.

Maybe they will start phasing things in May or something..... I don't know..

FD

Dear all

In the interests of clarity, I would like to re-confirm that at Heathrow, it is now our policy to prioritise customers who have used OLCI for operational upgrades on the day of departure.

I would like to apologise for any mis-information posted on this thread - any staff member who is unaware of the policy or process should contact their manager or myself directly and I will be happy to point them in the right direction.

Using OLCI as a method of prioritisation helps with both our transition to T5 and our customers enjoy the best possible experience through the airport. As a result of this and other self service initiatives we are now starting to succeed in achieving the challenging targets we set ourselves in this area and of course, we couldn't have done this without the input of our customers and frequent travellers.

Please do continue to check in online and let us know your feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Best regards

Nicci - BA Executive Club

Thanks for the clarification Nicci

Indeed, thank you.

Ditto thanks for clarifying.

In your first post you mentioned OLCIing and PYOBPing as being the criteria against which Goldies and Silveries would be selected.

Is PYOBPing still a criteria, or just OLCIing.

As you probably know, there are still valid reasons why it often makes no sense to PYOBP.

So you need to op-up 2 people from Y to J. 20 OLCI'd. What then is the second criterior you used to select those 2 out of the 20 - surname alphabetically? CIV? Status? Fare?

To be honest it could just be as much of a cr@pshoot as it always has been, especially if frontline staff aren't aware of the policy? (OT but how hard is it to send an email to all relevant staff? Or the managers who then inform their direct reports? Effective communication in a large company is not "go ask your manager" but should be the other way around.)

Good. Then no one will think he's entitled to an op-up.

After 11 pages I think those in the first few posts have largely been proven right. I fly fairly often with BA and the position is largely that you're not going to get upgraded.

That works well for me personally - I don't expect it, it's not even suggested and so I don't feel that some suggestion of occasional upgrades aren't being honoured (don't get me on hotels which promise upgrades but don't deliver). Life was different when my father was still a pilot, but nowadays I'm only been upgraded when on a replacement flight, etc.

I'm a huge fan of direct company engagement on these forums, but I'm not sure this announcement helps more than it hinders.