aristoph

An old complaint I know, but one that feels even more pertinent in these days of egregious air fares. Just boarded First ATL-LHR (feeling way less than premium after the horrendous Club at ATL) and was served the below as my PDD.


The delightful cabin crew member explained that it was due to booze being bonded on the ground (which I knew) and has since poured me
a healthy refill but why does BA put him in that position? My work paid (£8k) for my ticket but imagine if you didn’t know better and thought that bought you First class treatment! Penny wise once again.

HIDDY

Tell your work to put you on another airline?

1Aturnleft

Perhaps the generous refill came after first seeing whether there was enough for other passengers who may have requested the same PDB? Knowing what you do, you'll appreciate BA only make X number of bottles of champagne available. A carefully determined algorithm will have decided the optimum number of champagne bottles required to serve pre departure taking into consideration passenger load and predicted uptake due to tax and duty needing to be paid on said bottles.

I don't know what the £8k ticket cost has to do with with the price of fish..... F is F.... J is J.... if youre entitled to sit in the cabin that's all there is to it.... all passengers in that sense are equal.... inluding the avios upgrader accross the aisle who only paid airport taxes and fees.

settlenick

It’s pathetic isn’t it?
BA need to stop counting the pennies in First and Club.

Dave Noble

if it finds it is losing customers and losing margin , then it will likely change. if people still book and travel on BA, why would it change?

steveholt

"In these days of egregious air fares ... for which my work is paying."

crazy8534

Interesting post, thanks for sharing. Some comments, if I may be permitted:

The Club @ATL is, indeed, garbage.
Genuine question to which I do not know the definite answer- when champagne is served in a glass like that (i.e. not a flute), how far should it be filled?
I had thought to the widest point, so slightly higher than where it is.
I am glad the crew were delightful, I feel that a good crew can make up for a lot.

£8k isn't and wasn't ever unusual for full fare F to the USA. These came in at about £6k 4-5 years ago and then you consider inflation is at 10%+ in the UK and you get there pretty quickly.
But this is certainly the direction of travel for F fares, particularly as the number of seats falls with BA and JBA partner AA get rid of them.

Radiation Station

For the plebeians in the audience, can someone explain what the issue is here? The glass isn’t full enough? What does bonded on the ground mean?

crazy8534

I am reliably informed by my children that the correct term nowadays is "povos"....
I think it is the fact that the glass is not filled adequately.
Bonded means that they can't open (e.g. the LPGS) until they are in the air, normally for local taxation reasons.

Radiation Station

Thanks! Follow up povo question - if they can’t open the champagne until they are in the air, how did the OP get part of his glass filled?

Moleish

The alcohol loaded into the sealed bar trolley doesn’t have duty paid on it - thus it can’t be opened to be served whilst still on the ground in the US. However, BA pay duty on a small number of bottles of champagne which are loaded outside of the locked bar trolley - to be used for pre-departure drinks

stevie

My takeaway from this post is your work needs to become more penny wise.

Greenpen

Is the champagne used on the ground before takeoff the same as served after taking to the air?

We hear a lot about the wines served when flying but not much about the welcome drink when you do not see the list or bottle.

cosmo74

At least you got champagne, flying back from JNB recently we were told that it was only orange juice or water, apparently because BA didn't want to pay the taxes. She started off by saying it was a new policy but then I heard her saying to other people it was just an issue on that flight. That was in CW, not sure whether they stumped up for any in F.

mikeyfly

Couldn’t agree more