Well from another paper that states.. "BA are also looking at lifting charges on tickets sold overseas"

Now is that meant to say increasing, or getting rid of the charges to tickets sold overseas?

If it's the later, then not good news for UK passengers on BA, who yet again get shafted!

M.

moku

why should overseas pax pay more than uk pax?

Incidentally, the last time I checked, the BA fare YYZ-ORK-YYZ was always substantially higher than ORK-YYZ-ORK... before charges! Riddle me that one.

Mark D Your premise assumes that BA (And any other airline) knows in advance what the Oil Prices are to be. if they could do that, they could (And should) get right out of the Airline business and make their fortune speculating on the stock exchange and guarantee a profit.!!

If one carrier puts their surcharge up more or sooner than another, it ignores the fact that thier cost base is hugely different.
Example.... BA and QF on their common rute stations (eg: Singapore, Sydney, London, Frankfurt etc etc etc) pool their fuel buying power so that their fuel costs are lower than the carrier who operates once, twice three times etc per week. Simple premise....the customer with the highest volume purchases gets the lowest price. It's the Law of supply and demand. :confused:

Put this question to a Qantas manager recently, and the reason is that if its in the fare the travel agent gets a percentage, if its a levy they don't, so overall there is less of a fare increase. I agree with you that its misleading, especially as the levy only covers part of the fuel used. IMH(and cynical)O, there will be a move to gradually increase the fuel levies and reduce the base ticket price.

BRITISH AIRWAYS
 

Since there doesn't seem to be an active BA thread at the moment I thought I'd take the opportunity to start one and let you know what I believe Willie Walsh should do with his fleet:

Order the Boeing 747-800 to replace the Boeing 747-400's.

Order the Boeing 787-800 to replace the Boeing 767-300ER's.

Order 10x Boeing 777-300ER's to compliment the 748's and assist with the replacement of the 744's.

Dispose of all Boeing 737's and 757's.

Make BA Connect an all-jet airline, therefore dispose of the Dash8's.

The above orders would be expensive but the long term benefits would make it worthwhile. I think this may already be underway, but remove the United Kingdom and Royal Mail stickers from all aircraft. Also, get rid of all the logojets including the Official Airline of the England Football Team logojets unless they decide to do a real logojet like Qantas' Wuanala Dreaming.

Order the Boeing 747-800 to replace the Boeing 747-400's.

Order the Boeing 787-800 to replace the Boeing 767-300ER's.

Order 10x Boeing 777-300ER's to compliment the 748's and assist with the replacement of the 744's.

Dispose of all Boeing 737's and 757's.

Make BA Connect an all-jet airline, therefore dispose of the Dash8's.

The above orders would be expensive but the long term benefits would make it worthwhile.
What do you believe the long term benefits would be? and why?

I think this may already be underway, but remove the United Kingdom Why would you remove the United Kingdom logos?

and Royal Mail stickers from all aircraft. Why would you do this?

Also, get rid of all the logojets including the Official Airline of the England Football Team logojets again why would you do this?unless they decide to do a real logojet like Qantas' Wuanala Dreaming.

It is very easy to come in with bold statements as you have - but it would add to the presentation of your point of view if you gave some explanations.:ok:

As a BA employee; as you state we do not have the finance to replace anything at the moment. The idea of replacing union colour scheme seems good to me as BA is international and its income and equipment is something like 75% sourced from outside the uk.

I think you'll find the vast majority of our profits come from UK based customers and companies. Why do you think the Utopia livery was so unpopular?

BA have plenty of cash at the moment, including over £2BN in cash and another £2BN odd in 'undefined' liquid assets. They are paying off debt at a rate of over £1BN per year, they have been able to make provision for a potential £850M fine by the OFT and procure 10 delivery slots from Boeing for777s. The only reason BA won't invest is to perpertuate the lie that they cannot afford to invest until they've robbed the staff of their pensions.

Are you nuts? That's what Robert Ayling said with his "Project Utopia" and world tails!!! The whole point was that the Union Flag was an unbeatable brand known throughout the world.
British people, and I am one, have no idea how lucky they are.
Does the goldfish know you have it's memory btw?

Firstly it's the 747-8 there is no need for the extra zeros :ok:

10 x 777 already ordered, first delivery April 2008.

Agreed the 787 is the logical choice for 767 replacement but getting advantageous line numbers will be the problem.

Last point - DTVAirport wasn't suggesting removing the Chatham Flag design but the words "United Kingdom" from the side of most of the fleet.

Seeing as the Dash 8 fleet has been the only section of BACON other than LCY to have ever made any money this is unlikely to happen. Its the poor jet equipment that is the main problem.

Also consider the success of flybe with their fleet of Dash-8 aircraft. Unsure whether they still operate the Dash 8-300, but the Q400 has completely revitalised the company, and allowed them to comfortably compete in numerous markets alongside low-cost airlines flying bigger Airbus & Boeing jets. Surely BA Connect would want to phase out the ERJ-145 with more Dash 8s, rather than do the opposite, given today's price of oil.

The Q400 is a very different aircraft to the Q300 in terms of perfomance and economics though.

BA Connect will not be getting any new aircraft whatsoever in the near future, so you can forget an all jet fleet.
BACON are disposing of another Dash 8 at the end of September (BRYX), which has come from a bean counter's abacus not working correctly!.
What next for us Mr Walsh?

The Union schemes reinstatement was actually driven by foreign pax feedback IIRC (the Bearded One's "we're the flag carrier" probably helped too).

Funnily enough some people still like British stuff despite the best efforts of President Tone :D :D :D

BA 1st Quarter Profits
 

Quarter one headlines 2006-2007:

Pre-tax profit up to £195 million
Operating profit up to £211 million
Operating margin of 9.1 per cent
Revenue up to £2.3 billion
Total costs up 11.8 per cent

Quarter one headlines 2006-2007:

Pre-tax profit up to £195 million
Operating profit up to £211 million
Operating margin of 9.1 per cent
Revenue up to £2.3 billion
Total costs up 11.8 per cent

Re, the World Tails/Utopia scheme, remember taxiing in at LGW one day and there was a line up of various BA tails at the North Terminal. Conversation between 2 American PAX in the row behind:-

"That's a colourful tail. Wonder what airline?"

"Must be Caribbean!"

What a corporate identity!

Any company can achieve a short term rise in profits by the simple expedient of reducing costs. (Yes, I know they are up 11.8%, but I am speaking in relative terms and not scoping in fuel into my thinking.)

The question is whether this performance will be sustained in the longer term and time will be arbiter of that.

I find it hard to characterise BA's cost reductions as a "simple expedient", as if it were some slash-and-burn operation. A lot of what's been done has been structural, and good for the long term. Think, for example, about the work on distribution channels and costs.

My personal worry is that some of what BA is doing now has moved into the realm of the silly, causing problems which may have disproportionately adverse operational effects that ultimately really irritate pax and drive them elsewhere. An airline operation has to have some fat, some margin, to deal with irregularities and randomness, and BA is showing many signs of now having insufficient.

When did BA stop being proud to be British (again)? Keep the UK and keep the Royal Mail.

Jordan

Jordan D

BA havn't suggested removing either of those. It was suggested by DTVAirport earlier in the thread.

Airclues

I think you'll find they have - take a look at BA photos on Airliners.net

Don't forget net debt down by over £1 Billion ...:)

Thanks BA
 

Having just nearly f***ed up my wedding anniversary by getting my departure time at Gatwick for Prague wrong by 3 hours, I would just like to offer a big THANK YOU to BA, who, despite me having non-refundable tickets, offered me same day secured tickets from Heathrow, and saved my bacon!!
Well done, and EZ jet - look and learn about customer service.
Cheers BA!!!
(Oh & another point, you can make it from Gatwick to Heathrow in under 2 hours, but 4 days in the short stay car park at T1 will leave you crying at the cost (have a clean credit card!)).

Actually easyJet have done the same for me - twice!!!!

and ryanair for me

So who exactly did you book the tickets with? a ticket discounter or ez jet because not sure why blaming ezy if you booked your tickets with a third party, surely it would be down to those who you booked with and not who is providing that service. :uhoh: Just curious

And also who do you think has been saving all the passengers from canceled ba flights..............hmmm i wonder, could it be ezy. think it goes round in circles!!

What follows is an email I sent to BA customer services and never got a reply. Having flown EZY and EuroManx this week, I was amazed at their service compared to BA. Literally streets ahead.


this concerns an appalling lack of customer service on the flight noted. I arrived at 1830 at MAN for my 1940 flight. At 1845 I noticed that they had just started to board the 1710 flight. Realising there was a delay and knowing there was only one aircraft on that route I went to the enquiry desk. I had no luggage. I asked that, as there was a clear likelihood that there was going to be a considerable delay, whether I could be placed on that flight. I was told because I had a non flexible ticket, this couldn't be done. I asked about capacity, and was told there was capacity on the delayed 1710, but there was nothing that could be done. Clearly there was something that could be done, but it was chosen not to.

Had I turned up, and everything was on time, and there was no likelihood of my own flight being delayed, then I would have found it perfectly reasonable that my request was declined. However, when there is a forseeable delay, and there is an opportunity to transit a passenger early, then I consider there is a duty to take that action. This was a weather delay, so it wan't the companies fault, and not the pax' fault either. Some middle ground has to be arrived at.

The attitude of the staff on duty on the help desk was appalling. The BMI/AA staff on the next desk were aghast,watching the 'customer service performance of your staff. To tell a customer 'we're in the business of making money. Go and fly with Manx Airlines (sic) and see what happens to them' is beyond belief. This was a gentleman around 60 years old, wearing a jacket. His younger male colleague told me ' we've been on a training course, and people want consistency' Well, no they don't - when there is a way of helping, they want to get home.

Due to the Dash 8 we were meant to be going on going tech, we eventually departed at 2200. this was down to the hard work and 'can-do attitude of the engineers and aircrew. They were appalled at what was related to them and clearly embarrassed.

A number of years ago, Mercedes Benz started to do 'just enough' to put cars on the road. If you read the reliability problems, and destruction of customer loyalty, you will realise why they have started engineering cars properly again. BA can only dine out on its badge for so long.

I did not want any special treatment, and if I had gone to the desk to be told that they had already done this for a number of others, on a first come first served basis, just to get them home then I would have been happy.

The Isle of Man is a bit different, in that the passengers can't get a train or hire a car to get home.

Finally, I tried to ring 0870 850 9 850 twice. I gave up after six and five minutes respectively. This is atrocious.

I have effectively lost a day's work through this

Typical response that you get from BA at Manchester. Most there, I am sad to say, have been in the job too long and they seem to be jealous of other people travelling.

I flew BA last week on a European flight to Heathrow. I got to the airport with a non-flexible ticket and asked if it was possible to get on the earlier flight which was an hour late and was still in. The BA staff said certainly and couldn't have been more helpful.

Where possible I always try and avoid Manchester. Much prefer Liverpool.

Ametyst
I would not get use to this. They are indeed accomodating at LHR at the moment with all the hoo haa as there have been cancelled flights so they will try and get as many out on flights as they can. But to be honest, if you have chosen to buy an unflexible ticket they are well within their right to refuse you an earlier flight and you should not feel you have the right to complain! Just my opinion!

You may well have received customer service that was not up to quality, however enforcement of ticketing rules is absolutely correct, even if so abysmally explained to you on the day. If however your arrival had been earlier, so that you were not checking in 25 minutes prior to the delayed departure time of that flight, something might have been achievable.

Furthermore, with security delays as they are, to expect to check in at 1845 for a delayed departure at 1910, while the remaining passengers on that flight are already screened and at the gate ready to go, while you are pre-screening and possibly a distance from the gate (especially if remote stand) is somewhat unrealistic.

Travelling from the Isle of Man to outside the UK always involves two flights each way. People travelling for liesure with inflexible tickets usually allow several hours for connections in case of delay. They often arrive in time to be checked in for an earlier flight. Manx Airlines recognised its responsibility to the Isle of Man community and pax would be allowed to travel earlier if capacity permitted. In the case of BA total inflexibility prevails. I have even had staff laugh at me when I have asked. The problem is BA's completely inflexible rule book administered with no latitude or discretion. I would have some sympathy were pax trying to abuse the privilages of their ticket. When they make a reasonable request to travel earlier, freeing up a seat or two on the next rotation, it seems petty to refuse.

Incidently if you have to to pay the extra for two return tickets per pax it is no wonder inflexible ticketting is chosen.

I appreciate there must be added complications to changing flights under the present security arrangements. My comments are directed at the attitude which prevailed before, and no doubt will return when and if the some of the current tensions are relaxed.

As an observation about IOM + BA, don't forget that they did not want the IOM and all of MANX - they wanted the four pairs of landing slots per day at EGLL. Nothing else was wanted and all of the subsequent bad service is just to run down the MANX routes until they can justify off loading them without it being too obvious as to why they bought the old airline.


Now, picking up a point that was discussed in this thread in April (yes, I am on the ball): MarkDYes and the LHR~JNB~LHR is more expensive than JNB~LHR~JNB. The short fact is that the carrier will charge whatever the market will bear. As I have understood this on a route that I and my family travel quite often ... the airlines know that the exchange rate for South Africans to European currencies are very high and, when they get over here, their costs will be high.

They also know that for the Europeans, when they get to South Africa, their costs will be low. So - they balance the flight costs accordingly and the Europeans are subsidising the South Africans but if this were not done, then the folks down South could not afford the seats and so the flights would not be viable. Whether this also applies to Canada, I do not know!

Between the UK and South Africa, all three main carriers do this, BA, SA, VS and I have yet to hear my theory challenged and proved wrong. I sit to be corrected.

__________________
"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different."
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

This ticketing is nothing new. A close family member flies regularly LHR-SFO-LHR, but her company's travel agency book her "Europe Destination (eg Berlin/CDG/etc)"-LHR-SFO-LHR-"Europe Destination", with breaks in LHR on both ways. Saves them at least £2k on a ticket at the sharp end, including a one way ticket from LHR-"Europe Destination".

Still, there are always going to be ways to cheapen a cost of a ticket.

Jordan

British Airways
 

Hi all

Just wondered if anyone knows how much British Airways charge when you want to change the dates which you have already booked?
I am looking at booking a flight(s) from london to Brisbane in Australia and the dates when i can travel both to and from Aus may be vulnerable to change.

I have had a look on the website but cant seem to find the info anywhere.

Many thanks

Foil

It will depend on what sort of 'ticket' you have purchased. I believe a 'full fare' ticket can be changed at no cost, whereas a real 'cheapo' may not be changeable at all. I'm sure someone will be along shortly with the correct info, but best tell us the type of ticket?

Just to let you know - there is an established British Airways thread in this forum currently on the next page so no need to start another.

The answer to your question is: How long is a piece of string? The price will depend upon (amongst other reasons):-

1. The booking class of the ticket defines whether it can be changed at all.
2. The booking class defines how much a change will cost.
3. The difference between what you booked and what you want.
4. How many seats are available on the flight/s that you now want.

The only way to find out is to visit the place where your ticket was issued. If you bought on-line direct from BA, then you will have to phone the BA customer service desk to find out.

Foil

All BA public economy fares to Oz have the same penalty clause which says, basically, that it costs £50 for each transaction of change. Don't forget that it's the outbound part of your journey that governs which season the fare is in so if you change that outbound date and it falls into a different season you might have to pay more. Also assumption is that the same 'booking class' is available.
These days airlines try and make the rules 'simple' and as easy to follow as possible!

Taff

The Independent " BA joins anti-BAA campaign"
 

By James Daley Published: 25 August 2006

British Airways joined the campaign to split up BAA's monopoly of Britain's largest airports yesterday, calling on the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to refer its inquiry into the UK airports sector to the Competition Commission.

Responding to the OFT's consultation, which was launched in June, the airline hit out at BAA, warning that air passengers would continue to get a sub-standard service until London Heathrow and London Stansted were under separate ownership.

BA's chief executive, Willie Walsh, said that both airports were in need of additional runway capacity, but claimed expansion had been held back "to suit the commercial needs of a monopoly owner. If we had separate owners, you'd have additional capacity coming into the market much quicker," he said.

UNQUOTE
The article continues.