I've flown 229 sectors with BA over the last 5 years and have had gold and silver Exec club cards for the last 3 years. During that time I've also flown around 80 sectors with other airlines.
That there are BA staff who go above and beyond the call of duty to resolve problems is undeniable - I have seen it myself many times, and experienced it myself here on PPRUNE. And I don't doubt that at present as a result of the cabin crew strike and the ash disruption there are even more staff doing this than ever before.
That the BA service on board, on a good day, can match any other carrier in the world is also beyond question.
But I'm afraid F3G is absolutely correct about the service _on the ground_ provided by BA (and its agents) not being up to standard.
Having had my luggage go to Madrid while I was flying from Gatwick to Edinburgh and been left in the inexpert hands of BA's ground handlers at Edinburgh I fully sympathise with F3G in his predicament.
What BA frequent fliers are looking for, frankly, isn't that the company goes out of its way to resolve problems when they arise - that's taken as read. It's that the problems don't arise in the first place. And that applies from the moment we buy our ticket until the moment we retrieve our luggage from the carousel.
For all easyJet may be low cost, they've never left my luggage behind, nor has their website ever failed to send me a receipt when I bought a ticket. They may well be crAp at dealing with complaints - but I don't know: because they've never given me cause to complain.
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