Re: BACitiExpress The final solution!
An interesting development, but surprised the changes weren't deeper.
In many ways it would be good to see BA win back market share in the regions, where some of the mainstream locos have for too long been able to take advantage of BACX's rather tired and defensive (rather than proactive) position in that market.
But just not sure they've found the answer with this announcement.
A lot depends on how the marketing people bring it to life, but on the surface of it there is a vague statement about lower fares, and a very definite statement about less frills (eg no free catering). So it sounds like locos will still beat BA on price, and the product differential between loco and BA has been further eroded. So why fly BA?
I can to some extent understand the logic of stripping out the Club cabin on the 50-seaters, but don't see the logic of one-class RJ100 from, say, MAN into Europe, and two-class Airbus from, say, LHR to Europe. A real mixed message for the poor old customer. And dropping the Club cabin must mean the loss of premium customers on competed routes where their only reason for choosing BA over loco was because their employer allowed them the perk of flying business class.
I guess part of the rationale for BA mainline is to try some of this stuff in the regional marketplace - if it works, roll it out on mainline; if it doesn't, damage is confined to the regional business.
Anyway, what do I know. Interested to see how this develops.