Ah, OK, I'm with you now.

I don't think any are actually back in service yet - there is only one currently at LHR, although G-XLEH must be due back from Manila soon so there may be another about to go out there. It's hard to think what routes might support an A380 right now.

British Airways values and standards
 

Given the awful way staff have been treated at British Airways resulting in widespread condemnation of the company has the time now arrived when the title British should be removed from this business ?

Does the organisation and its culture reflect the true values and standards of the British people ?

The underlying essence of being British might amongst many things be viewed as having an underlying sense of fair play and given that the company is really an international group of businesses should we continue to allow the operations of this business to be associated with our national identity when its corporate, standards, goals and values seem to differ and contrast so much from the traditions of our national culture ?

Was the privilege of being called British Airways natural when it was a Nationalised asset ?

However now that it is part of a global group of companies is it appropriate that the business continues to wrap itself in our national flag and continues to call itself British ?

Does concept of being British involves identification with values and standards which are of much deeper significance and permanence than mere short term corporate expediency ?

The Director Of People has left BA according to CH Aviation. Does that help your cause..

anglosaxon business model?

Slippery slope if you think an airline's name is meant to reflect a sense of its country. Because surely the very first airline whose name must change would be the USA carrier, United Airlines.

Which are? Define that and then the debate is worth having.

As wiggy asks, what are they?

In case you hadn't noticed the cultural identity of the UK has changed enormously over the past 50 years with the influx of people whose cultural background is different from the original indigenous population of say 70 years ago.

Not a judgement simply a fact.

FFS really? All for a bit of BA bashing but what a pointless thread.

Worst crisis ever. Could they have handled it better? Yes, could staff groups have behaved better? Yes. Everyone has some responsibility. Rather than trying to tear the company apart knuckle down and drag the company through. Wait for the pendulum to swing in our favour then campaign for our rewards.

To quote the great Robbie Burns “O wad some Power the giftie gie us, to see oursels as ithers see us!"
As mentioned above , I would hate to think what some people would define as Britishness. Drunkiness, loutishness, warmongers, chavs?
Reading the daily newspapers one would certainly be forgiven for thinking they are the main character traits of the average Brit, though I would like to think there is a silent majority with better traits tucked away at home

Good point bex88..a couple of points if I may.

Firstly knocking lumps out of BA management is one thing, criticising certain individuals, indeed the whole management committee, is IMHO fair enough...they have thick skins..OTOH knocking lumps out of BA, the entity, and worse still perhaps encouraging people not to fly with them does very little, if anything, to help those still working at the company..in fact it could end up being positively damaging for many people's job prospects..

Secondly please remember some of the public perception of "BA" has been generated by a clever PR campaign run by on particular organisation who very definitely have an axe to grind.

Wiggy, true. Ba is us. It is the front line staff.

As far as cabin crew redundancies go,the demise of the legacy crew will hit the airline so hard.
Many crew have over 25 years experience,a substantial number,much more.
Nothing like being greeted and taken care of,flying home from the other side of the world,by experienced,highly trained crew.
Imagine the future,a crew of inexperienced youngsters,complemented by the odd,bitter and disillusioned old timer,on vastly inferior pay and conditions.
Not the ideal senario for a customer experience perspective.
Combined with disgruntled flight crew,demoralised ground staff and embittered engineers,doesn't bode well does it.
Not the BA experience we are used to,not a future i look forward to either.

Do the passengers in economy really care enough to pay extra ? People said the world would end when BA made economy short haul pax pay for a sandwich and gin & tonic.... but the world carried on

Oh how we live in unprecedented times and its altogether very unsettling for all of us in the industry.

As it stood before the current crisis BA particularly its short haul was at an enormously large cost disadvantage when compared to the low cost airlines, who have immeasurably lower costs and operate in the same market pairs.

The industry wage, especially in cabin crew, (and various ground handling jobs) has been dropping, with many roles being outsourced by many airlines in order to attempt to somewhat level the playing field of cost. The low cost airlines are the ones who have torn the Ts & Cs up and brought in substantially lower starting salaries. I understand people are angry but also worth considering the macro environment. If BA is to survive it will need to slim down its cost base. It looks like it will be firmly reliant on its short haul flying for some time, without its profitable US operation that would appear to subsidise its less profitable short haul flying. Management are left with limited options and nothing they attempt to do will be attractive to those impacted.




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The world carried on but most of their short haul passengers now fly with EZY and the other LCCs.

Really! Most of my short haul passengers come to LHR to go onto a LH destination. BA have the SH resources sitting there. While our network feeding operation is broken, let us go head to head with EZY, RYR etc on point to point leisure traffic.

Maybe BA should have held on to BHX and MAN as bases

bex88......I would suggest that is exactly what BA are doing, moving the point to point leisure traffic from LGW to the much more attractive LHR. Certainly more attractive for those of us living north of the river.

...and those of us living north of London!

Absolutely delighted our flights to Funchal have decanted to LHR. I think some weeks last year there were 9 weekly to FNC from Gatwick with double daily at weekends. There might be an argument for at least one or two of those to remain at Heathrow.

Except surely that many areas to the north of London have direct trains to LGW while LHR requires at least one change?