Unusual BA cabin developments!

[apaddyinuk]

This is one for frequent flyers at BA.
It has recently been suggested by BA that they intend to do a little bit of swapping around with the cabin configurations on the B747 fleet. Some bright spark in management has decided that it would be a brilliant idea to replace the small Club World cabin located between Doors 1 and 2 with World Traveler Plus and move club between doors 2 and 3 as our premium passengers apparently dont like this intimate, small and quiet cabin! This bright spark seems to think that it is acceptable to hold off club passengers disembarking so those in World Traveler Plus, a less expensive and lower standard of service cabin, can get out just after First passengers assuming doors 1 are being used for exiting. If doors 2 are to be used then World Traveler Plus passengers will be the first passengers off the aircraft even before First Class!!! This seems like a nice little gesture from management to our premium passengers who spend thousands to fly in the premium cabins. Yes I am also aware that a number of our FFP passengers sit in WT+ but do you consider this to be acceptable?
May I add that the cabin crew community are in uproar over this plan. It is clear that whoever made this decision is not a crew member and is totally out of touch with what our customers want.
May I ask that if you are an Executive Club member/Premier card holder etc with BA that you immediately put your thoughts in writing to BA over this plan and do so as soon as possible.

[TopBunk]

PAddy

May I add that the cabin crew community are in uproar over this plan. It is clear that whoever made this decision is not a crew member and is totally out of touch with what our customers want.

this would be the same crew who care so much about the passengers that they rush the service in order to maximise crew rest, leave minimum skeleton crew on duty to look after the paying public, would it? BA longhaul cabin crew really need to wake up and smell the coffee and realise that they do a service industry job where attention to the customer comes first, and should put their shopping and rest priorities in the proper place.

[GwynM]

I've never worked out why having paid more for a ticket means you can forget all manners and barge past people waiting in a queue.

[Globaliser]

As a Y pax who's been seduced by WT+ more than once when the numbers look right, I quite like the sound of this idea ... :D

I can't imagine who BA thinks dislikes the small cabin. Most J pax seem to clamour to go upstairs, precisely because it is small and intimate - and on the few occasions when I've been lucky enough to be up there, I can see exactly why.

Nevertheless, disembarkation priority shouldn't be a big issue in the decision. If you know what you're doing as a WT+ pax, you can already get off the aircraft ahead of some J pax on many flights. VS' upper deck arrangement presumably also means that their PE pax have to disembark before their UD UC pax - although I've not been there to see it.

[manintheback]

Must admit I try to avoid that part of the cabin as the world and its dog walk through it all night to use the toilets and also galley at number 1 door. If the segregation was properly enforced (the bit of rope gets removed no sooner than its put up) maybe it would be more favourably viewed.

[chippy63]

Topbunk
....and doing Sudoku

[PAXboy]

Small cabins are usually the best. Getting upstairs on a 747 is grand. For many years SAA had them as Y and it was a real bonus if you could get there. They may still do this.

I fail to see why anyone in management think it is worth the engineering cost of moving the cabins around. Even presuming that it was done at a C or D check, so that the a/c was not off line specifically for this task, there is cost and risk.

You are going to pull equipment and cables around, probably break something, panels that are taken down will not go back up as expected etcetera - the usual things that you would expect with this kind of redecorating. And just how much extra money are they going to get for this? What is the payback in months or years? I suspect that the payback cannot be identified as they will 'think' that pax like it more and customer service questionnaires will ask the right question to 'prove' that pax like it.

Sounds like a waste of time and money to me!

Once again Mr Vonnegut's statement is apposite ...
--------------------
"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

[apaddyinuk]

Topbunk,
Thank you for your less than productive childish comment. You have obviously never been on a flight with me!!! I have never used a rushed service nor do I go out of my way to maximise crew rest! But well done for missing the point of this thread! Now no more BA bashing for you mr, the vast majority of us are very proud of the airline we work for and the job we do and it is reflected in the high number of frequent flyers who continue to return to us!!! Anyways, your a pilot so you do your job and leave us to do ours!

As for the other comments. Think about how the layout of the maindeck would be..... First, Economy plus, Club, Economy!!! There is far more walking between doors 2 and 3 than doors 1 and 2 as few crew really need to go to the First galley. The rope into First is always 90% of the time across the aisle and crew in the galley by doors 2 do tend to question passengers heading further forward midflight!!!

[Hotel Mode]

Its about the layout of the aircraft, if you are upping from 38 to 50j you need to do it in a suitable sized cabin. B zone isnt a suitable sized cabin. The passengers will not care a jot once they see the new product. They will also now be in the most stable part of the aircraft which may improve rest. Additionally many stations board through doors 1 and 2 anyway and this is intended for T5.

[Final 3 Greens]

Top Bunk

Hear Hear.

I am delighted to hear that Apaddy and mates are so concerned about having to let the riff raff off early ......

Or could the new W class force them to up CC cover, since being near F in front and J behind might give the upwardly mobile serfs in W ideas , like we'd like a full service all the way?

At present everyone behind J can be handled like the true serfs that they are...heee hee :}

[apaddyinuk]

Yes Final, very funny!
Unfortunately my gripe is not at W class pax getting off moreso than it is that all of you that do sit in Club and First will be complaining nonstop at us when the change does take place!
Now dont turn this into a BA bashing thread, if you like the idea of the change, good for you....if you dont, then voice your concern to BA in writing!
And I think Topbunks reply was more a nag at cabin crew from the flight deck but at the end of the day, he/she doesnt see the people who pay his wages...we do! So we have a better idea of their needs so I suggest he leaves his misguided comments in the flight deck and try getting along with his/her colleagues as niether of us are experts in the others jobs!

[Hotel Mode]

Well as BASSA claims to know the job of Product and Engineering perhaps they could suggest a location for a 30 seat club cabin in the 747, whilst maximising other seating.

Just spoken to a frequent flier friend, he would barely even notice the cabin moving. And if you are all so worried about premiums getting off first why does no one ever stop W and Y pax blocking the bottom of the stairs?

[apaddyinuk]

Hotel mode...ever heard the expression "if its not broken, dont fix it?"!!!!

And I dont think its an engineering issue, as for Product...dont even go there, they should be liasing with crew, after all were the ones who do the job!!! All the things first of all that pax dislike about the Club seat could have been avoided had they just liased with the crew! I do testing for product myself and happen to know for a fact that they are not as with it as you would like to think!