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Posted

As for BA.... worse airline I have ever flown... never again! The only thing they are good at is apologising, which they have to do a lot!

And why LGW? 90% of the UK population have to travel past Heathrow another hour to get to Gatwick so why not just stop at LHR and use one of the lovely airlines that fly from there. This LGW route is doomed for failure.

Next trip Aug 31-Sep13, theme: try more freelancers, get dirty! Note to self: TAKE MORE PHOTOS!!!

Posted
2 hours ago, atst said:

Well I'm surprised I thought the few hundred in cattle class were subsiding the few in the front, you learn something every day, especially if you are a P.A


The stat also was phrased in a misleading way, as I assume 80%+ people on the plane are frequent flyer members, as the programs are free to join.
 

1 hour ago, par47 said:

As for BA.... worse airline I have ever flown... never again! The only thing they are good at is apologising, which they have to do a lot!

And why LGW? 90% of the UK population have to travel past Heathrow another hour to get to Gatwick so why not just stop at LHR and use one of the lovely airlines that fly from there. This LGW route is doomed for failure.


I assume because they didn't have the available gates/slots at LHR - those things are tightly held and next-to-impossible to come by.

LGW also inconvenient for people connecting in London, as many of those flights will come into LHR.  It sets up the situation in Tokyo where you fly into NRT, but your connection leaves from HND.

Posted
2 hours ago, par47 said:

As for BA.... worse airline I have ever flown... never again! The only thing they are good at is apologising, which they have to do a lot!

And why LGW? 90% of the UK population have to travel past Heathrow another hour to get to Gatwick so why not just stop at LHR and use one of the lovely airlines that fly from there. This LGW route is doomed for failure.

Yes ,

No BA services from my home airport to LGW so LHR would have been better for me.

Posted
21 hours ago, ICanand IWill said:

I wonder if this includes changing the obnoxious cabin crews that always managed to be on my flights up until 1998 when I vowed NEVER to use them again.

Unlikely, BA just wouldn't be BA without obnoxious cabin crew.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Posted (edited)
11 hours ago, par47 said:

As for BA.... worse airline I have ever flown... never again! The only thing they are good at is apologising, which they have to do a lot!

And why LGW? 90% of the UK population have to travel past Heathrow another hour to get to Gatwick so why not just stop at LHR and use one of the lovely airlines that fly from there. This LGW route is doomed for failure.

lol because Heathrow slots are a collosal price

Oman paid $75 million for 2 slots there

Edited by KyleReading
Posted

This thread really highlights for me the anti British feeling to anything remotely connected to our home country

I must have flown BA 50 times long haul and never once have I encountered obnoxious flight crews. Not once and every flight in economy

Posted
11 minutes ago, KyleReading said:

This thread really highlights for me the anti British feeling to anything remotely connected to our home country

I must have flown BA 50 times long haul and never once have I encountered obnoxious flight crews. Not once and every flight in economy

I, would disagree with your comment, although your sentiment does follow a lot of the 'UK' comments!

I was flying BA throughout Northern and Southern Europe at least twice a month in Economy from 1980 through to 1988, with occasional long haul to the USA and Asia in business.

From 1988 through to 1999, I was flying BA long haul business class monthly to HK, with other regular trips to Los Angeles, Toronto and Delhi. I was top tier card holder of whatever the 'club' was called.

In my opinion, the cabin crew and their attitude just became worse over a long period of time, and 5 particularly bad experiences made me plead with my bosses at the time to allow me to change from their designated (patriotic ) allegiance to BA.

From 2000 onwards, with the same flight frequency on long haul, I used Virgin and Cathay Pacific quickly becoming Gold and Diamond level respectively. For Europe I used British Midland.

So, I believe that the god knows number of miles I have flown, has allowed me to make my comments. I do know of people who swear by BA (in the air, not their ground service).

Like everything else, people experience or expect different levels of service etc.

  • Like 2
Posted
8 minutes ago, ICanand IWill said:

I, would disagree with your comment, although your sentiment does follow a lot of the 'UK' comments!

I was flying BA throughout Northern and Southern Europe at least twice a month in Economy from 1980 through to 1988, with occasional long haul to the USA and Asia in business.

From 1988 through to 1999, I was flying BA long haul business class monthly to HK, with other regular trips to Los Angeles, Toronto and Delhi. I was top tier card holder of whatever the 'club' was called.

In my opinion, the cabin crew and their attitude just became worse over a long period of time, and 5 particularly bad experiences made me plead with my bosses at the time to allow me to change from their designated (patriotic ) allegiance to BA.

From 2000 onwards, with the same flight frequency on long haul, I used Virgin and Cathay Pacific quickly becoming Gold and Diamond level respectively. For Europe I used British Midland.

So, I believe that the god knows number of miles I have flown, has allowed me to make my comments. I do know of people who swear by BA (in the air, not their ground service).

Like everything else, people experience or expect different levels of service etc.

Same for me only flew Biz and cabin crew were made up of overweight fat slags or overweight Benders who fawned over those speaking with a plum in their mouths and looked down on me often ignoring the call button when I attempted to get service.

Hard product had fold out screens that dependant upon which way I was facing needed wedged open with tissue so I could watch TV.

Compared to middle Eastern or Asian Biz/First BA to me are shit and stopped using them Yrs ago.

Maybe I should try them again and would maybe if a flash sale offered up a good price but for now I'm happy as I am using the Middle East Groups

Posted
18 minutes ago, FROST MEDIC999 said:

Same for me only flew Biz and cabin crew were made up of overweight fat slags or overweight Benders who fawned over those speaking with a plum in their mouths and looked down on me often ignoring the call button when I attempted to get service.

Hard product had fold out screens that dependant upon which way I was facing needed wedged open with tissue so I could watch TV.

Compared to middle Eastern or Asian Biz/First BA to me are shit and stopped using them Yrs ago.

Maybe I should try them again and would maybe if a flash sale offered up a good price but for now I'm happy as I am using the Middle East Groups

You sure you weren't mistakingly on a Qantas flight.

  • Haha 2
Posted
2 hours ago, FROST MEDIC999 said:

Same for me only flew Biz and cabin crew were made up of overweight fat slags or overweight Benders who fawned over those speaking with a plum in their mouths and looked down on me often ignoring the call button when I attempted to get service.

Hard product had fold out screens that dependant upon which way I was facing needed wedged open with tissue so I could watch TV.

Compared to middle Eastern or Asian Biz/First BA to me are shit and stopped using them Yrs ago.

Maybe I should try them again and would maybe if a flash sale offered up a good price but for now I'm happy as I am using the Middle East Groups

So the cabin crew looks and behaves like most of customers.

  • Like 1
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Posted
17 hours ago, KyleReading said:

This thread really highlights for me the anti British feeling to anything remotely connected to our home country

I must have flown BA 50 times long haul and never once have I encountered obnoxious flight crews. Not once and every flight in economy

Complaining is our nations favourite hobby tbf.

  • Like 1
Posted
2 hours ago, hggcraig said:

Complaining is our nations favourite hobby tbf.

Only after asking what the weather is like questions  :)

Posted
6 hours ago, hggcraig said:

Complaining is our nations favourite hobby tbf.

 

Problem is that a complete and utter internet myth has becomes an internet fact when it gets repeated time after time for no reason

I dont remotely care if the flight crew are not as pretty as Eva's etc

I get on a plane to get from A to B safely and absolutely nothing more

  • Like 2
  • 5 months later...
Posted

https://worldairlinenews.com/2024/08/07/british-airways-expands-its-codeshare-agreement-with-bangkok-airways/

British Airways expands its codeshare agreement with Bangkok Airways

British Airways customers now have a wider choice of Southeast Asian holiday destinations, thanks to an increase in flights from London to Bangkok, and an expanded codeshare partnership with Bangkok Airways.

The airline announced earlier this year that its direct route from London Gatwick to Bangkok will return on 28 October 2024, operating three times per week to the Thai capital. As of this week, the service will increase to up to five times per week between January and March 2025.

Furthermore, its existing codeshare partnership with Bangkok Airways has been expanded to open up five new destinations across Thailand and Cambodia, allowing customers to connect seamlessly in Bangkok onto:

Phuket (HKT), Thailand
Koh Samui (USM), Thailand
Chaing Mai (CNX), Thailand
Phnom Penh (PNH), Cambodia
Siem Reap (SAI), Cambodia

Customers will have the option to incorporate a stopover in Bangkok into their journey before continuing onto their final destination on the same ticket.

Bangkok Airways, known as Asia’s Boutique Airline, operates an extensive domestic network in Thailand, as well as to destinations across Cambodia, Hong Kong, the Maldives, Laos, and Singapore. It operates a fleet of more than 20 aircraft, each decorated in different liveries of its exotic destinations.

This agreement means British Airways customers travelling from or transiting through London will be able to connect to their final destination in Thailand or Cambodia on a single ticket. Customers can expect more choice and flexibility when travelling to one of these five popular holiday destinations.

 

  • Like 2
Posted

How doable is making your own way, between Heathrow and Gatwick?

 

  • Like 1
Posted
45 minutes ago, Leo_Bia said:

How doable is making your own way, between Heathrow and Gatwick?

 

There are regular coaches between the 2 airports, about an hour and a quarter??

Otherwise it’s taxi. Not feasible by train.

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"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

So remember to “Enjoy every sandwich”

Posted

I've been reading this thread, and others like it, out of curiosity after finding the American carriers service so sub-par. There is a clear trend here. American, European, Australian carriers all fare poorly when compared to Asian or Middle Eastern carriers. We are all stuck with the lower end of the spectrum, wishing we had it as good as those in Asia.

Wait a minute! It isn't just airlines, is it? No wonder we're all trying to get there!

Posted (edited)
13 hours ago, Leo_Bia said:

https://worldairlinenews.com/2024/08/07/british-airways-expands-its-codeshare-agreement-with-bangkok-airways/

British Airways expands its codeshare agreement with Bangkok Airways

British Airways customers now have a wider choice of Southeast Asian holiday destinations, thanks to an increase in flights from London to Bangkok, and an expanded codeshare partnership with Bangkok Airways.

The airline announced earlier this year that its direct route from London Gatwick to Bangkok will return on 28 October 2024, operating three times per week to the Thai capital. As of this week, the service will increase to up to five times per week between January and March 2025.

Furthermore, its existing codeshare partnership with Bangkok Airways has been expanded to open up five new destinations across Thailand and Cambodia, allowing customers to connect seamlessly in Bangkok onto:

Phuket (HKT), Thailand
Koh Samui (USM), Thailand
Chaing Mai (CNX), Thailand
Phnom Penh (PNH), Cambodia
Siem Reap (SAI), Cambodia

Customers will have the option to incorporate a stopover in Bangkok into their journey before continuing onto their final destination on the same ticket.

Bangkok Airways, known as Asia’s Boutique Airline, operates an extensive domestic network in Thailand, as well as to destinations across Cambodia, Hong Kong, the Maldives, Laos, and Singapore. It operates a fleet of more than 20 aircraft, each decorated in different liveries of its exotic destinations.

This agreement means British Airways customers travelling from or transiting through London will be able to connect to their final destination in Thailand or Cambodia on a single ticket. Customers can expect more choice and flexibility when travelling to one of these five popular holiday destinations.

 

 

The loads are already very heavy on that Gatwick Bangkok routing and thats the clear reason its increasing to 5 weekly in New Year....I wouldnt be remotely surprised to see that become permanent throughout the year and maybe even become 7 days a week

Gatwick is actually easier for a lot of people to get there via  train than Heathrow

Eva started their "direct" (but not non stop) service orginally from Gatwick to Bangkok 3 days a week. Stopped in Vienna on outbound sector

With 1 year went to Heathrow increased to 4 days then 5 and swiftly up to 7

Always been beyond me why BA discontinued the service in the first place

Edited by KyleReading
Posted
On 05/03/2024 at 13:18, par47 said:

As for BA.... worse airline I have ever flown... never again! The only thing they are good at is apologising, which they have to do a lot!

And why LGW? 90% of the UK population have to travel past Heathrow another hour to get to Gatwick so why not just stop at LHR and use one of the lovely airlines that fly from there. This LGW route is doomed for failure.

Quite the opposite

I can access loads and virtually every flight is showing less than 9 9 9 9 9 9 across all 6 classes of economy seat

54 seats is the most available the system can show as avilable. Virtually every day is showing along the lines of 3 4 5 4 6 2 etc etc

Heavily booked. When staff standby tickets are taken into account (not shown in system as stand by) those flight will leave full

Posted
7 hours ago, KyleReading said:

 

The loads are already very heavy on that Gatwick Bangkok routing and thats the clear reason its increasing to 5 weekly in New Year....I wouldnt be remotely surprised to see that become permanent throughout the year and maybe even become 7 days a week

Gatwick is actually easier for a lot of people to get there via  train than Heathrow

Eva started their "direct" (but not non stop) service orginally from Gatwick to Bangkok 3 days a week. Stopped in Vienna on outbound sector

With 1 year went to Heathrow increased to 4 days then 5 and swiftly up to 7

Always been beyond me why BA discontinued the service in the first place

They retired a lot of planes during Covid, did not plan or anticipate the industry growing so quickly after, so I believe it was basically a lack of planes. Not just on this route, but plenty of others, check all the Far East destinations 5years ago against today.

They still have a lack of long haul planes and they fell back on their codeshare partners, primarily Qatar far those routes.

New planes are on order and we will probably see them being introduced to bring the old network back to where it was.

   

 

Posted
On 05/03/2024 at 13:18, par47 said:

As for BA.... worse airline I have ever flown... never again! The only thing they are good at is apologising, which they have to do a lot!

And why LGW? 90% of the UK population have to travel past Heathrow another hour to get to Gatwick so why not just stop at LHR and use one of the lovely airlines that fly from there. This LGW route is doomed for failure.

Have to remember LGW is a big airport in its own right, with flights from all over Europe, Africa and the USA, many of the travellers on the BKK flight will be transfers from these destinations using LGW as a hub to BKK. It wont be full of Brits. 

Posted
On 05/03/2024 at 23:10, particle said:

Unlikely, BA just wouldn't be BA without obnoxious cabin crew.

Hence the old saying : "If you think pigs cant fly you've not flown with B.A."

Posted
35 minutes ago, hammerman said:

Have to remember LGW is a big airport in its own right, with flights from all over Europe, Africa and the USA, many of the travellers on the BKK flight will be transfers from these destinations using LGW as a hub to BKK. It wont be full of Brits. 

But its just not very user friendly for UK regional airports.

Posted
1 minute ago, Leo_Bia said:

But its just not very user friendly for UK regional airports.

True.

  • 1 month later...
Posted

A rant worthy of posting here.

https://morningporridge.com/blog/industry/air-travel/an-open-letter-to-sean-doyle-ceo-of-british-airways/

Blain’s Morning Porridge Sept 17th 2024 – An Open Letter to Sean Doyle, CEO of British Airways

“The life of everyone on board depends upon just one thing: finding someone back there who can not only fly this plane, but who didn’t have fish for dinner.”

 @Britishairways British Airways is something of a metaphor for Broken Britain. Doesn’t work very well, living off past glory and an uncertain plan for the future.

Dear Sean

As a shareholder of IAG, please accept my heartiest congratulations for the stellar success of British Airways’ customer care – ie not having any. All great business propositions depend on selling something fundamentally cheap by pretending its quality and value. BA’s ability to persuade passengers to pay premium for what might be Europe’s worst ultra-low-cost-carrier service is therefore a massive success.

The real brilliance of the current approach is to keep pretending the BA of today is the same airline that was “the world’s favourite airline” just a few decades ago. Not anymore. It’s Ryan Air, [pause for dramatic effect] without the smiles or laughter. The only question is how much longer can you sell passengers the promise of a Downton Abbey experience and give them Skegness instead. (That’s probably cruel to Skeggie… but, hey, they will never know…)

Last week my flight from Zurich back to Heathrow was cancelled without any warning. I figure I should be happy because, as long as paying compensation can be avoided, it will make a substantial contribution to the bottom line, improve the dividend, and no doubt make your bonus a little bit heavier. So, aside from being stuck in Zurich Airport all day, win-win all around then?

We’re all aware the real competition between airlines isn’t about spending money to deliver quality, customer satisfaction or the excellence of the experience. True budget airline success comes from testing the downside limits to see just how little service you can get away with. It’s a race to the bottom that BA is winning. The differentiator is while Easy Jet, Ryan Air and the rest make no bones about how awful their service is, BA still kidding passengers it’s a premium service, rather than just another no-frills, no-service low cost-carrier. BA, or “Bloody Awful” as some of your own aircrew now describe it, is plumbing uncharted depths that make Michael O’Leary of Ryan Air look a generous man.

As a shareholder, I urge you to find ways to further monetise the airline’s appallingness. Can I suggest you start charging passengers a premium rate to use the help-lines? Oh, you are, already… And charging for internet that doesn’t actually work? Respect.

Again, as a shareholder, I really admired the way BA handled the situation in Zurich last week. (As a passenger, not so much.) It was a masterclass in modern airline customer service. Wait till people are checking in their baggage, then randomly cancel the plane. Don’t tell anyone – especially not the local check-in staff – and sit back to watch the chaos.

To be fair – it wasn’t perfect. Some of the local staff actually tried to help and gave the unhappy customers the BA helpline number, but don’t worry: “due the unusually high volume of calls”, everyone calling BA for help was left on terminal death-hold for ages. And, when they did get through it was to some call centre in India which did their utmost to remain entirely unhelpful.

It’s a grand way to make money – leaving a plane load of passengers struggling to rearrange their travel. Sure, some of them might complain, and some of them might even try to claim money back – but that’s why your website and help functions are so carefully designed to be abysmal! The upside is genius. Leave the phones unanswered, make the website unusable, and most normal people will just give up trying to claim anything back… thankful if they crawl home exhausted just a few days late.

While its economic genius, I do miss what was once our national flag carrier. I remember my BOAC junior flyer club badge when I was a small boy. The first time I flew on a Vanguard from Edinburgh to Heathrow, then catching the Trident Shuttle up and down. I recall my sense of achievement when my multiple business flights won me the then coveted BA Gold Card, and the sheer joy of flying on the fast plane to New York and back.

I suppose the airline has become something of a metaphor for Broken Britain…. It really can’t be very nice for the staff faced by angry disappointed customers. But, hey-ho, we live in a financial age and if they don’t like it…. let them go fly planes for some third-world Austrian start-up!

As a shareholder I’m delighted my BA executive account refuses to record any of my flights – but as a passenger, it rather disincentivises me. I ask the staff in the lounges for help to get back my missing miles, but they just say… call customer service. To be honest, I’d rather have root canal surgery.

Some of the other money-making schemes are worthy of praise. Service on BA business back from Cairo is a half-a-Pret sandwich on a tiny cramped Airbus that normally does the Heathrow-Brussels sector on a 6 hour flight, which left our luggage behind so it could take off. Meanwhile, Egypt Air offers a B-787 Dreamliner with proper in-flight service and marvellous food – must be costing them a fortune to run… And did you ever fix the power socket on the A-350 business seats so you can actually put a plug in them?

When I found myself stuck in Zurich last week, I went onto my BA app and it helpfully said: Sorry, Your Flight Has Been Cancelled. Nothing more. It took me ages to get through to the BA “Help” desk – who surprise, surprise were “experiencing a higher than normal call volume.” I finally spoke to a woman in an Indian call centre, but after I gave her all my details she refused to help me because someone else had booked my flight tickets and I didn’t know their email. It was textbook unhelpful.

Some of the economy passengers I was with found they’d been rebooked onto earlier Swiss Air flights! I’m glad they got home less delayed and flew on a proper airline, but it says something about how BA value their business customers. Anyone unlucky enough to be making an intercontinental connection from Heathrow was booked onto earlier London City flights, meaning they then have to get all their luggage right across London, a nightmare experience. One elderly couple I spoke to were put on a City flight which gave them a 3 hour window to get to their next flight in Heathrow – which they will likely miss after stressing them unnecessarily.  The BA help desk in India had told them it was a simple short transfer by train. No, it is not.

As for all the things like vouchers for delayed flights…. Nice to see BA saving money by totally not supplying them.

The bottom line is your customer complaints and assistance is pure genius – it’s so awful no one will bother to use it, saving the airline millions in compensation and passenger expenses. Is that the ultimate plan? Just stop flying at all?

I was so impressed with the sheer awfulness of the day that I’m buying more IAG stock so I can come to all your shareholder meetings to let you know what a bloody marvellous job you are doing.

As long as it makes money eh?

All the best

Bill Blain
Author of the Morning Porridge

ABBA – Anyone But British Airways

  • Like 3

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