To fly but NOT to serve. Is British Airways' new M&S paid-for food service always...

richardw

dickydonkin wrote: »

.....BA and their saving grace is their Executive Club which has (so far) been relatively unscathed, but gold status can still be achieved without flying on a BA aircraft....

Don't hold your breath, tier levels are bound to rise, especially for Silver status.

dickydonkin

richardw wrote: »

Don't hold your breath, tier levels are bound to rise, especially for Silver status.

I think you are right.

Currently, Silver is easily achievable for a relatively low cost and I suspect that not only will the tier levels rise, but the 4 flight requirement will also increase.

So long as they don't tamper with the reward flight savers any more, I will be quite happy to use BA and their lounges when positioning to Europe for a better flying experience on CX/QR etc.:)

richardw

dickydonkin wrote: »

.....So long as they don't tamper with the reward flight savers any more....

Don't hold your breath. They've improved the club product so that means more Avios and more than £25 to fly in club short haul.

In economy they'll raise the number of Avios required and move airports further out to other zones and raise the minimum to more than £17.50 and change more flights to peak from off peak.

There are simply far too many avios in circulation, they need to reduce this.

dickydonkin

richardw wrote: »

Don't hold your breath. They've improved the club product so that means more Avios and more than £25 to fly in club short haul.

In economy they'll raise the number of Avios required and move airports further out to other zones and raise the minimum to more than £17.50 and change more flights to peak from off peak.

There are simply far too many avios in circulation, they need to reduce this.

Do you have evidence of the changes or is this just speculation?

As for the 'improvement in the club product', are you referring to the new blanket/mattress that will take a couple of years to roll out or the proposed new seat that may or may not come to fruition?

There has been a slight improvement on short haul food offerings, but the seat is still the same as the back of the bus....albeit with a free blocked out middle seat.

I certainly won't hold my breath for BA to significantly improve their dated business product and to be honest, I don't really care as there are better options.

Their dominance at Heathrow ensures that they don't really have to match the likes of the ME3 so I see so significant change to the filthy aircraft, dire food and indifferent crew anytime soon.

I think BA do genuinely value their FF scheme but for many, tampering with it may be the straw that breaks the camels back for many customers and would be another own goal IMO.

richardw

My speculation, but they have too many Avios in circulation which is a liability.

Why stop at just removing free short haul booze for Economy passengers?

maisie06

Can't say it bothers me, if they never served meals on any plane again I would be happy!! Those vile and disgusting pasta trays Air Canada tried to poison me with have never been forgotten - I can't even look at the pasta ready meals in the supermarket without shuddering since! And as for the nasty, nasty "toastie" courtesy of Air Transat...well.

I would be quite happy for prepack sandwiches to be served instead - paid for by those who want them and no smelly filling please!! Or better still, packets of plain crisps and cheese and crackerss, and none of the awful stinky coffee that people insist on ordering as I'm starting to feel queasy!!!

I just pretend to be asleep when they bring food round and I really must get some travel tabs sorted out for next time...funny thing is fine flying out but coming home ughhh!!:eek:

maisie06

richardw wrote: »

There are some very cheap BA fares from Gatwick Sept-October, if you like blue seats.

We've just got a great deal for Croatia with car hire included and much better flight times than easyjet!! Not bothered about having food for a short flight...:j:j

the_gardener_2

Just give me a punctual service anyday. I know you cannot generalise but BA do tend to have departures at decent hours.

peachyprice

dickydonkin wrote: »

Maybe the question should be asked as to why many firms now send their employees on a low cost carrier.

.

Well that's easy, the less spent on expenses the more profit is made.

I travel regularly for work and choose my flights based on airport and price. Most are Flybe or Cityjet out of LCY or Easyjet out of STN. I wouldn't pay extra just to fly with BA.