BA lease QR aircraft
Unite may have scored an own goal by calling a second strike so soon after the first. Assuming QR doesn't need the aircraft back in a hurry, BA avoids paying the costs of ferrying the aircraft and crew to Doha and back to LHR again, and/or expensive standing charges to have the aircraft sitting around idle in the UK for an indefinite length of time between strikes. Literally a couple of days off in London for the QR crews and then back to work again for another fortnight !
Club class passengers probably aren't complaining either, enjoying 45" of legroom in QR's A320s compared to just 30" in Club on board BA's aircraft
Club class passengers probably aren't complaining either, enjoying 45" of legroom in QR's A320s compared to just 30" in Club on board BA's aircraft
Last edited by Logohu; 6th Jul 2017 at 12:36.
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QR operated shorthaul
Flew LHR - WAW this morning on a QR operated flight BA846
Overall impression : Excellent
Cabin interior : not the latest QR economy cabin. Separate J cabin configured 2-2
Seat pitch : excellent. Im 6'2 and I could certainly notice the increased seat pitch.
Crew: Outstanding, their focus on each individual was very impressive.
Service : standard QR inflight catering, refreshments and warm baked products. All without charge.
Overall, it was like the good-old-days. I wish QR were flying me home tomorrow.
Flew LHR - WAW this morning on a QR operated flight BA846
Overall impression : Excellent
Cabin interior : not the latest QR economy cabin. Separate J cabin configured 2-2
Seat pitch : excellent. Im 6'2 and I could certainly notice the increased seat pitch.
Crew: Outstanding, their focus on each individual was very impressive.
Service : standard QR inflight catering, refreshments and warm baked products. All without charge.
Overall, it was like the good-old-days. I wish QR were flying me home tomorrow.
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Simon Calder is not my favourite journalist, but I Flew LHR - WAW this morning on a QR operated flight BA846 an totally agree that the experience felt like a real upgrade!
Overall impression : Excellent
Cabin interior : not the latest QR economy cabin. Separate J cabin configured 2-2
Seat pitch : excellent. Im 6'2 and I could certainly notice the increased seat pitch.
Crew: Outstanding, their focus on each individual was very impressive.
Service : standard QR inflight catering, refreshments and warm baked products. All without charge.
Overall, it was like the good-old-days. I wish QR were flying me home tomorrow.
Overall impression : Excellent
Cabin interior : not the latest QR economy cabin. Separate J cabin configured 2-2
Seat pitch : excellent. Im 6'2 and I could certainly notice the increased seat pitch.
Crew: Outstanding, their focus on each individual was very impressive.
Service : standard QR inflight catering, refreshments and warm baked products. All without charge.
Overall, it was like the good-old-days. I wish QR were flying me home tomorrow.
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Calling for yet more strike action is at best ineffective. At worst those who are on strike are at risk of testing the patience of BA.
BA can easily contain the strike action.
The main long-haul route cancelled is Doha which BA can re-accommodate on QR. As BA and QR have a joint-venture on this route, BA still gets a proportion of the revenue.
BA wet leasing QR actually helps the airline at least in terms of providing some operational slack for maintenance for its own fleet during the summer season.
BA can easily contain the strike action.
The main long-haul route cancelled is Doha which BA can re-accommodate on QR. As BA and QR have a joint-venture on this route, BA still gets a proportion of the revenue.
BA wet leasing QR actually helps the airline at least in terms of providing some operational slack for maintenance for its own fleet during the summer season.
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How long will Alex Cruz last now?!... He may not be responsible in some peoples views... but will his Exit be an inevitable response in part of the solution? British Airways cannot be seen to be a LCC and trade on those "Values" for short haul - If AC wants to go down that route then a subsidiary LCC should have been created (Oh ... "GO") especially when fares are not LCC! - Maybe Alex Cruz will rightfully GO and BA will rebuild their brand as a premium product.
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In economics this is a great example of a big established business losing the plot, getting it all wrong. Small bad decisions keep mounting and things get worse. Them comes a tipping point, which arrives suddenly and it then becomes difficult to recover. BA are going down a dangerous road, especially with their product. Norwegian must be a real threat to them over the next few years, it won't happen over the next few months, but that is the direction of travel. Which market segment is BA trying to serve?
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They're trying to hang onto elites with a less than competitive product but banking on the power of Exec Club loyalty. They cannot invest in the same order of £ as the ME3 but some of their legacy competitors have better C and W.
None of which matters when you connect to long haul on an Airbus with EZY levels of seating. In the short term the numbers for IAG are good but the brand positioning is coming apart. You'll notice putting "To Fly, To Serve" back on the aircraft is seldom referenced now in brand marketing. Too many people laughed.
Cruz is a cost cutter from the consulting machine, (Accenture), that's all he knows, a by the numbers MBA creature. The next CEO will have some degree of damage to repair but only if the IAG board accept they've cut too far. Big if.
Maybe Qatar will just buy them, they're already buying up AA.
None of which matters when you connect to long haul on an Airbus with EZY levels of seating. In the short term the numbers for IAG are good but the brand positioning is coming apart. You'll notice putting "To Fly, To Serve" back on the aircraft is seldom referenced now in brand marketing. Too many people laughed.
Cruz is a cost cutter from the consulting machine, (Accenture), that's all he knows, a by the numbers MBA creature. The next CEO will have some degree of damage to repair but only if the IAG board accept they've cut too far. Big if.
Maybe Qatar will just buy them, they're already buying up AA.
Last edited by Skipness One Echo; 7th Jul 2017 at 09:27.
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One of the best airline management books ever written is Gordon Bethune's "From Worst to First" about the turn round of Continental. In it Bethune makes an observation to the effect that you can make a pizza so cheap that no one wants to eat it. Someone should put a copy of the book on AC's desk asap. I never worked for BA per se but I worked very closely with them for many years and also ran a BA subsidiary for a period and it distresses me to see how far they have fallen. Skipness points out that they don't mention "To Fly, To Serve" any more because people would laugh. It reminds me of when, several years ago, queuing pax at LGW would laugh at the "Fast Baggage Drop" signage. BA solved that problem by removing the word "Fast" from the signage. Maybe the writing was on the wall then. And yet, last month my wife and I had to travel unexpectedly and very urgently back to the UK from Sothern Europe. The only option was to buy 2 BA Club Europe tickets. It was expensive (about 500 Euros each) but the flight and service was superb so there is still some hope. Finally, I worked in airline (very) senior management all my career. Give me BA's slot portfolio at LHR, the Brand and The Executive Club, let me pick my own senior management team and I guarantee I could make plenty profits without resorting to ultra cheap pizzas (or M and S sandwiches for that matter).
Calling for yet more strike action is at best ineffective. At worst those who are on strike are at risk of testing the patience of BA.
BA can easily contain the strike action...
BA wet leasing QR actually helps the airline at least in terms of providing some operational slack for maintenance for its own fleet during the summer season.
BA can easily contain the strike action...
BA wet leasing QR actually helps the airline at least in terms of providing some operational slack for maintenance for its own fleet during the summer season.
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One of the most basic rules in business is that you cannot be all things to all people and it is foolish to try. Yet that is exactly what Alex Cruz has said in company emails that he's attempting to do! The guy is clearly out of his depth and it's worrying that Walsh can't see it.
Losing the Skytrax Four Star Ranking surely HAS to be the wake up call, if not then I fear for the future of this company and feel that I may have joined a sinking ship.
Losing the Skytrax Four Star Ranking surely HAS to be the wake up call, if not then I fear for the future of this company and feel that I may have joined a sinking ship.
