Cabin crew "attitude"

[miche2]

As an ex-hostie (gorgeous, at that) I cringe when I see and hear (BA) crew attitude on board. Where does it come from? Do crew nowadays really hate their job? On two occasions in the last month, I've heard passengers on BA flights being spoken to like dirt. BUT, the passengers have paid to be served and receive a service from an airline that advertises itself as "full service"! Irony? So, why the attitude? Is working for BA now that vile that the crew take it out on the passengers? I understand that flying is pretty tough now, with flights pretty much always full and the job has lost a lot of its glamour, but please try to make flights enjoyable and stop the bitter comments with "don't you dare ask me for a drink" faces.

[BMED LHR]

Hello ,
Your point is true , but not all crew are like that .
But I find some passengers are being very rude to
Cabin crew and also there is no respect for Cabin crew .
I was on the Heathrow express train , And was asked by a
passenger to please give my seat up , As he was a Gold card member BA.
Cabin crew are also working longer hour's and paid less . (NOT LIKE THE OLD DAYS)

[OzzieO]

BMED LHR just out of interest did you give up your seat?

[BMED LHR]

I didn't give up my seat , but I was shocked to be asked .
And I think the passenger was more shocked then me ,
When I said No to his request and I did pay for the seat .:ok:

[OzzieO]

:D Good for you - what a bloody nerve.

[tofster]

[QUOTE=miche2]As an ex-hostie (gorgeous, at that) QUOTE]

Attitude?:ugh:

[SuperBoy]

Irony?

I hate to say this but the 'irony' seems to be that you seem slightly bitter.

Your generalising. There are thousands of cabin crew who work for BA and as many who have applied to BA and failed will tell you it's not every tom, dick and harry who get in. :=:=:=:=

I for one am offended by your comment. (And no I'm not being sensitive and no I don't have a face that says:'how dare you ask for a drink')

Yes, one or two people might've had a bad day. We all have atleast one of them in a lifetime. As a 'gorgeous' ex-hostie you should know better.:suspect:

[miche2]

superboy - Please enlighten me about my bitterness....:confused:

The reason I have brought this up is because it isn't just the odd flight now, but many! And sweetie, of course I know about crew "off" days, but here are a few of the comments I've heard lately.....from several crew, not just one:

- "choice? In economy?"

- "did you not get a drink earlier?"

- "I'll get your son a coke in a bit. You can see I'm clearing the trays."

and the best so far, sitting in row 41 of a 747, hearing loudly"I've just cleared the galley of passengers, Sir, please return to your seat." And no, no turbulence or meal service. The lady next to me said, "wouldn't dare ask her for a drink!"

Don't take offence, superboy, but I'm genuinely interested to know where the attitude stems from and the causes of it as it's offensive to hear.

[SuperBoy]

Well Miche2 I completely agree with you those comments should not have been made by all the crew on your many flights.

Did you comment back? Did you complain to anyone about it? Did you ask for a Global Perfomance Monitor? Did you write into the company. Did you take the flight number and there details and do something about it? There are numerous things you can do and could've done. Unfortunately these crew will keep on doing this and nothing will change unless something is done about it and the company informed.

I can clearly see that your upset about it however sweetie I can guarantee you nobody does that on any flight that I've ever been on. I have found the crew at BA to be better than most.

As to where the attitude stems from. To be quite honest I've not experienced it on BA so i guess the answer would be:"Nowhere";)

[miche2]

Superboy - I can see I've hit a nerve. Sorry. However, I am trying to understand the "issue" and why crew are like it. You seem to imply that because you've never seen attitude, that I must surely be talking fictiously! No honey, these are actual quotes.

Have you just started flying, sweetie, as your flights are all a joy? I'm an ex BA 747 girl - surely my posts show my experience and years :) Any I know what it's like to have passengers standing over you in the aft galley of a 747 at 2am whilst you try and eat your third meal or passengers who want, want, want, but that was my job...to fly to serve. I fly BA as they definitely are one of the best, and this post is to almost remind crew that attitude just makes the person look bitter.

Ps De nial is a very long river.

[SuperBoy]

superboy - Please enlighten me about my bitterness....:confused:
Thread: It's not all it's cracked up to be! posted on the 28th May 05 by Miche2

Sure seems to me that my original post was correct.

I don't mean to be derogatory in anyway and please don't take it as such but I really am enlightened as to your opinions on BA after reading that thread.

Quite irrelevant but no I haven't just started flying

[miche2]

Superboy - Your replies are actually proving my whole point!

[Roadster280]

Boy and girl,

As a (BA gold card holding) pax -

BA have THE best CC in the world. Unfortunately, they also have some of the worst. Some of the high points in my BA pax career:

Being recognised by CC on yet another transatlantic, despite the thousands of longhaul CC.

Exit row seat on a 767 RUH-LHR, discussing life with the CC on takeoff. Described my month in Saudi. No sooner had the ac crossed Saudi airspace, than said chap appeared with three beers for me. Top man. 15 minutes later, three more. I didnt make an arse of myself, and that's the way it should be.

The return of silver cutlery in Club World. I just about broke down.

After being asked in the terminal to take a package on the SVO-LHR flight. I reported this to the CC on entry to the ac. Never have I been so happy to hear an English voice, and the immaculately pressed white blouse.

I don't live in the UK any more, but when I did, travelling for British industry all over the world, I used to get the feeling, on a British Airways aircraft, that this was UK plc taking on the world, especially watching "and now, from London, the news from the BBC" about 15 minutes into the flight.

As for the BA Gold card holder asking for the seat, that is insane. As for the bad BA CC, as an example, old biddy CSD "There's a good reason to ask you to sit in the seats assigned, which is ------ TRIM!". Now, I understand that, but how many others did? Others too, but in general, BA are top of the pile.

Gives me great pride to see the BA 777's tail towering over the lesser types every time I fly out of ATL on Delta.

[apaddyinuk]

What a nice post Roadster.

Miche...As crew for BA out of LHR WW, I know that there are the odd one or two out there that put the world to shame but I do find your post over generalising. As Roadster said, we have the best cabin crew in the industry but also some of the worst...we are no different to any airline.
What you need to do (and obviously can if you have flown in the past) is recognise these ones, single them out and follow it up. Simply coming onto pprune and creating a BA bashing post (I am sure that was not your intent but that is what this thread will easily turn into) is not the answer and if you are looking for answers as to why there is an apparant "ba crew attitude" which I have yet to recognise then I suggest you take up a course in pyschology and do the research into it yourself, I for one would be very interested in reading it.
If you are looking for possible reasons which may result in upset bad tempered crew here are just a few....Pensions deficet, unstable industrial relations (we are all holding our breath this August), internal debates such as the JFK 6, hourly pay, reduced allowances due to T5, no buses resulting in extended duties of up to 90 mins without pay after long flights, EG300, personal problems associated with being away for long periods of time...etc etc etc. The list is endless. Not an excuse in my book to be rude to customers but just a few of the many issues that currently exist and are having a poor effect on 13000 strong crew community in BA.
I personally do my best to provide the best damned service onboard and I know the vast vast VAST majority of my colleagues do, but you also need to accept that some people have different personalities and a different sense of humour which may lead them to say things a certain way without it meaning to sound bad.
But hey, just my few pence worth.
Remember, if your not happy, put pen to paper or ask for the CSD!

[computer jockey]

As a SLF who has flown BA for over 25 years I have to agree with Roadster
that BA have the best cabin crew in the world bar none. Although I am usually found in World Traveller, the service I have found to be far superior to LH, KLM and assorted other European long haul, Although I haven't tried the Far East airlines.
I have worked in some pretty awful places and the feeling of stepping onto a BA plane with a smile and the words "Good morning, sir" Just lifted my spirits (I lifted even more later in the flight!). It's just the small things like that which make it so good.
Of course everyone has their off days, but I find that any requests made with a smile and the magic word "please" usually gives me a smile back from the CC. It's just a question of respect.

Apaddyinuk, I really do hope that you guys get your pensions and everything sorted out - you deserve it.
--
cj

[jerrystinger]

The problem with this forum is that anything negative about BA is seen as bashing! BA crews are good, but I do say that it is very much hit and miss - maybe the BA crews replying should accept that. Sometimes the crew are very attentive (as expected) and sometimes you are treated as a hindrance. I'd like there to be some form of consistency, but I'm resigned to seeing what happens on the day now. I have encountered bad attitude on several occasions - and have written comments - but nothing ever comes back or changes. I have slowly started to sympathise with crews though, as serving hundreds of people must be pretty tedious!

[OzzieO]

I have worked for BA for 16 years now. On the whole the cabin crew I work with are a great bunch. There is of course the odd one or two I could throttle.

But heres a suggestion. The next time you take a flight and your on the receiving end of some monster with a face like a slapped arse take them to one side after the service.

Have a discreet word with them. Ask the crew member if they realise how they are coming across in the cabin.

I was on a NRT once working on the upperdeck when a passenger came into the galley and asked me why I was being so miserable and off hand with passengers. The direct approach worked. I explained my father had recently passed away and I was still upset. I apologised and realised I needed to address MY problem.

Unless you speak out the problem is not going to be addressed.

Just a thought!

[BMED LHR]

People , People !!!
This forum is for present cabin crew not ex-cabin crew , time
for some people to hang up there wings !! , And move on eg..
build a bridge and get over it :ok: and enjoy the fab weather .

[EI-CFC]

I cringe when I see and hear (BA) crew attitude on board. Where does it come from? Do crew nowadays really hate their job?

Oh, it's not just BA crew attitude. It's EI, FR, U2, KL, AF, EK, DL, VS, CO, AA, UA..you combine some letters and/or numbers and you will find some of those people. Even outside the aviation world you find them.

Some people have off days, some people are bitter, some people are just ill-suited to the jobs they have to do - and there is a huge range of good people we never encounter, or remember when we do because the bad sticks out. Rotten apples are found everywhere in life. You just have to try and remember there are countless more in X company that are doing a sterling job, and that the person with the attitude is the one with the problem in the long run.

[apaddyinuk]

BMED, Disagree with you there... its a public forum and until it asks for specific airline ID to sign in, anyone is welcome. If the person is however unable to provide intelligent posts then they should get lost but to be honest, Miche is just venting some steam about a matter which effects her no matter how misguided it may be and she is getting appropriate responses.
I personally enjoy the input from customers and ex flyers on this forum and you could perhaps learn a thing or two from them too. If you want to go on a website where you can have a good gossip or biyatch or whatever join BASSA and use the crew forum for that!!!

[BMED LHR]

OK OK OK ...YOUR RIGHT :D :D
Take Care .

[jennihopkins]

it is the same in any customer facing job role though. you can go into a shop and have a really rude shop assistant and in the shop next door one who will go out of their way to help you. and it is the same on planes. its a shame the human race cant be happy and smiley at all times, like me! he he

[GaryJon]

WITHOUT PREJUDICE!!!
With the risk of making a load of enemies before I even complete my training I don't think Miche is being unreasonable. I have found this forum to be an invaluable source of help and advice both before making my application and then preparing for the interview, and hopefully will continue to be in the future as I start my career with BA. Personally i think it's important to hear what ex crew think.
Also, I have flown as a pax with BA and other airlines for many many years and yes, i have received some unkind comments and stony faced service from crew on many, not solely BA, although one particular flight to Nice with BA did have the grumpiest Senior Cabin Crew member I'd ever encountered but thinking that she might have had a bad day i gave her the benefit of the doubt.....unfortunately on the return flight 2 weeks later, there she was ready for war again!!
My point is that I think Miche was just asking the question in general. We as customers wouldn't want to be treated as such so why should others? I agree that these types are still a minority but it certainly won't make their days any easier by behaving like this, maybe they should try to recall their reasons for going into this customer service based profession in the first place.

[SuperBoy]

I cringe when I see and hear (BA) crew attitude on board.

Garyjon, Hope you realise, what miche2 said also encompass you.

(See quote above) Not one, not two but all. That is a very broad statement.

Alot of the posts do make alot of sense however defending someone who cringes at the very sight of you. :mad:

[GaryJon]

Sorry, maybe I didn't take it in the same vein.

Maybe Miche has only travelled BA?

I wasn't trying to be controversial. No offence meant.

[SuperBoy]

Garyjon, None taken. :):):):)

She does make valid points ie. crew should not behave in such away, if you don't like it get another job. (If you don't mind mon-fri 9-5) :p:p:p:p

Unfortunately on a forum all you have are words. There is no body language there is no tone of voice etc. etc. so what you write comes across exactly as is written.

I am sure alot of people, including myself, are not offended by the message I think she intended to write. However my personal opinion is that it was done in a very cynical, derogatory and patronising way. :*

Anyway i think apaddyinuk summed it up very nicely and I think she got her answer.

Alls well that ends well, hopefully. :D:D:D:D

[jde]

BMED, cannot believe you are attributing that story about the Gold Card holder to yourself! I've been flying for 15years and heard every variation of it!

[BMED LHR]

What can I say it did happen to me and it's happened to loads of friends of mine who commute, when the gate lounge is full .

Kind Regards.

[wanderin_star]

What cabin crew should remember, and not just B.A., is that todays economy class passengers could well be tomorrows business class. Part of your job is to portray and sell the company in a positive way. If I come across rude and unprofessional cabin crew in economy whilst goin on holiday, I would think twice about using that airline for my business trips.

[Turroncin]

It's true come crew can be a bit "off" but passengers do come out with some comments that even Mother Teresa would find hard not to raise a weary eyebrow at. Only this week I had this conversation with a delightful passenger::

Me: Would you like some wine with your meal?
Pax: Do you have Sparkling Chiraz?
M: No sorry, we have Chardonnay or Merlot. Which would you prefer?
P: Oh good god, I can't stomach the stuff if makes me sick. Well honestly...A water then.
(weary me pours water)
P: How much is that?
M: Oh it's complementary Madam
P: Oh right, two chardonnays, a merlot and a G+T.

:rolleyes:

[Escape_Slide]

I think these days, Miche2, building customer values must come down from the CEO. I think when people build an airline from scratch and everyone develops an understanding of what brings the bacon in, you have developed a good team spirit. I used to think this is what Ansett people had over the other airlines but somewhere after the collapse those same people changed when they joined the other airlines. I guess it is driven by passion that you belonged to a team. You sound like you previously worked for Ansett. :)

[ABZ_Wannabe]

Hey all,
Felt compelled to reply after reading everything on this post.
Don't think 'miche2' was meaning to 'bitch' - she was simply observing things having been a CC herself. As a CC she must know that everyone has on and off days but she wasn't speaking about one flight - she was speakig about many.
As a former CC she knows that on and off days are natural but she is commenting on what she sees as a general decline in standards.
Having been CC she is keen to know why - as much through concern as through complaining. She is wondering what has changed being a BA employee.
I have to say I am not CC at present but am keen to be. PLEASE do not shoot me down in flames for posting this - I'm merely trying to explain what I think 'miche2' meant.
I've had many bad and good airline experiences as a PAX, from being adored (how many times does someone nead to lean in THAT close to check my seatbelt and upright position) to ignored (stuck at the back of the cabin listening to bitching in the galley).
Thought I'd try to clear the air - despite being new - as I think CC customer service affects us all (whether current, former or wannabe CC).
Criticism isn't always bad - it should be used to learn and grow from.
Happy flying,
Martin
ps Fingers crossed for flyglobespan from ABZ

[keeperboy]

I would take this post with a pinch of salt.

For what ever reason, Miche2 seems to pop up in most threads involving BA cabin crew to compare how crap we (and the job) are today, compared with her era. (do a search)

I think I must 'have attitude' because I don't really see anything wrong with asking a passenger to wait a few minutes until you finish clearing trays in before getting her/his kid a can of coke.

At the end of the day, at the arse end of a jumbo there is only 7 of us for 280-ish passengers. Do you leave 20 passengers with dirty trays in front of them or do you ask the kid to wait a couple minutes til you finish and bring them another coke (or in most BA crews case we would bring him/her another two).

As they drill in to your head in Cust service training, it's not so much what you say, but how you say it. You can still come accross as being very polite and professional by asking someone to wait a few minutes, or a complete ar=ehole.

PS. I love my job.

[keeperboy]

P.P.S. BA has just been awarded 'Skytrax Airline of the year' after the worlds largest annual airline survey.

This is the first time a non asian airline has won the award for five years.

See www.airlinequality.com.

Also check out the passenger opinions on there regarding BA.

Yeah we have some idiots, but it's not all bad.

[flyblue]

I have flown 4 times with BA in the last months (and many times in the past years) and I was always amazed by the quality of their CC. I won't get into the details, but I always got off the plane with an very good impression, both safety and commercial wise.

I think you have been quite unlucky miche2, and met the inevitable bad apples :)

[Domaiv]

I work for a regional airline. We have on average 20mins to complete our service, 2 cc upto 49 pax in a 2 class cabin, thats 25 seconds per pap. This can be quite stressfull, you get to the rear of the cabin then run back to the front to start your gash dash. Due to tight schedules we get 25-30 min turnarounds, just enough time to get the aircraft ready for the next sector, a quick (luke warm) coffee or glass of (luke warm) water and were off again. Try 20 sectors a week like that without once being the slightest bit sarcastic when asked for a second drink or a blanket and pillow and i will recomend you for an MBE. Most of the time its a quick smile and "If I get time" but now and again its good to get that little sly comment out of you system.

D

Q:"where the fluk do you stow blankets on an erj?"

A: easy! that will be the store room at the back of the wine celler next to the second washroom by the crew rest area.

[veryEZYboy]

I love my job; however, one thing that grates on me is ignorance and silly questions. For example, I recently had a situation during a meal service.

ME: What would you like for your meal Sir?
PAX: What do you have?
ME: We have Chicken with..., Beef with ... and Pasta with...
PAX: Sorry, what do you have to eat?
ME: If you take of your headphones, you might be able to hear me.

Now I wasn't rude, it was to the point and a matter of fact. You can take that any which way you want, but you can't sit there listening to music/movies whilst I'm trying to explain what's on offer, that's rude.

Can you believe that once during a manual safety demo, I had a passenger call out to me to ask me what time we were going to land, DURING the manual demo!!! She was so engrossed in NOT paying attention to it, that she didn't even realise that I was standing there in the aisle with an oxygen mask over my face for a reason other than looking pretty.

[submariner]

as a slf who travels regularly, please tell me where too get off if my comments are not appropriate, I can take it!

However, I am a regular traveller, who alas rarely travels BA anymore as I don't consider them point to point (at least for the destinations I that I require).

However, when I have travelled BA I have ironically found them both the best and the worst. The most consistently good is ej. I have had superb cattle class BA service, yet appalling long haul club class service.

One particular flight I was travelling long haul with a colleague who had never travelled club class previously. We never asked for service at any stage (not that we got any), and I was informing my colleague about the available chocolates. When she was looking for these goodies she was informed there werent any as they were about to provide meals!. Despite only being 1/4 full, my choice of meal was not available and I was told I could have the alternative or nothing (literally). I chose nothing. She was absolutely appalling.

However, on the plus side, her colleague on the opposite aisle approached us when the 'original' had disappeared, apologised to us for her behaviour and provided a first class meal in lieu, albeit the original staff member was not impressed upon her return.

I only state this to show the 2 sides. I don't know why, but LCC's appear to have a better consistency towards their slf.

[BA CLASSIC]

It's true come crew can be a bit "off" but passengers do come out with some comments that even Mother Teresa would find hard not to raise a weary eyebrow at. Only this week I had this conversation with a delightful passenger::

Me: Would you like some wine with your meal?
Pax: Do you have Sparkling Chiraz?
M: No sorry, we have Chardonnay or Merlot. Which would you prefer?
P: Oh good god, I can't stomach the stuff if makes me sick. Well honestly...A water then.
(weary me pours water)
P: How much is that?
M: Oh it's complementary Madam
P: Oh right, two chardonnays, a merlot and a G+T.

:rolleyes: That Did make me laugh :) , You have got a great sense of humour !!

[BA CLASSIC]

I would take this post with a pinch of salt.

For what ever reason, Miche2 seems to pop up in most threads involving BA cabin crew to compare how crap we (and the job) are today, compared with her era. (do a search)

I think I must 'have attitude' because I don't really see anything wrong with asking a passenger to wait a few minutes until you finish clearing trays in before getting her/his kid a can of coke.

At the end of the day, at the arse end of a jumbo there is only 7 of us for 280-ish passengers. Do you leave 20 passengers with dirty trays in front of them or do you ask the kid to wait a couple minutes til you finish and bring them another coke (or in most BA crews case we would bring him/her another two).

As they drill in to your head in Cust service training, it's not so much what you say, but how you say it. You can still come accross as being very polite and professional by asking someone to wait a few minutes, or a complete ar=ehole.

PS. I love my job.

:D I think your right , I wonder if this person is on staff tickets and
If so, He/She should be lucky they are not paying full price .And there
are many other airlines to choose from these days. Oh but I wonder if
they take hotline ticket's proberly NOT!! .
Keeperboy is right , think this is a bad apple , so don't play there
GAME ..Take care

[Pinkman]

I'm SLF, an EC Gold with BA and I do about 15 L/Hauls a year with BA, never mind the other airlines. I'm 52, and have been flying since I was about 2 - I still have my BOAC junior jet club logbook - signed by Captain O.P. Jones (never mind - in the days when Pilots were like God, he was "the man").

From Britannias through Comets to 777's BA FA's have looked after me really well. As a child, when I tripped on the top step of the VC 10 stairs as an excited kid coming home for the holidays in BAH - a BA FA caught me headfirst at the bottom and literally saved me from breaking my neck. As a teenager when I checked in (can't remember where) and they saw me chatting admiringly to a beautiful teenager next in line, I somehow ended up in the adjacent seat. As a professional when I was down after a bad business trip in BKK an FA cheered me up. When I had the pre-wedding jitters coming back from BWI one of you calmed me down and talked to me in the small hours.

Whether I have been in 1A or 59K I have - with a few exceptions - recieved incredible service. Yes, there have been a few miserable FA's on a few miserable flights but overall BA have the best, and that is is why I continually defy my company travel policy to fly with you - even if you are not always the cheapest.

I will make two observations. Firstly, the Exectutive Club reward and recognition system from SLF to FA's is not good. I know the thinking behind it (your job is reward enough) and you can e-mail, but I think we should have a more formalised method to say 'thank you' if it was really special. Secondly, I've noticed that its very rare to get a miserable or rude FA in isolation. Generally everyone is efficient, or maybe jokey, but sometimes you get entire crews with a bad attitude - its as if it comes down from the top.

Does that mirror how it is?

Anyhow this is my overdue thank-you note to those BA crews that have made my life bearable in my travels.

Rob - BA 73878354

[SLF3]

I think part of the problem for BA crew is that it is a lot harder to be proud these days. Pride leads to enthusiasm, and enthusiasm to quality service. It also gives the insouciance to deal with the occasional whingeing passenger. A lot of it is obviously behind the scenes (eroding terms and conditions), but a lot of it is also visible to the passengers:

Examples:

The all day deli: the staff are embarassed handing it out.
Club Europe Food: its not very special, is it? Pasta on a three hour flight? The cost cutting is very obvious
Limited menu choices: Last four club world flights out of LHR I've been told my first choice is unavailable. Cairo flight has the same menu day in, day out: and as the nice lady said, 'its not good, is it?'
Pointless cut backs: two single malts in a club world drinks trolley
An old one: No complaints form in High Life (I guess too many people used them)
Lack of gates at LHR: 'just like Ryanair, but they don't make you wait for a bus'
Doubts about maintenance: some of the planes are filthy. Too much oil and filth on moving surfaces of wings. Is it me or are there more funny noises than there used to be? If it looks like that on the outside, what does it look like underneath?
Tatty planes: club world product is no longer best in class, and the cabins are very tired. Many short haul planes are just plain (excuse the pun) shabby.

I suspect a lot of BA cabin crew are getting tired of apologising.

In economy, BA does not really differentiate itself short-haul in any meaningful way over Easyjet, and the crew know it and don't like it. Club in Europe is not as good as it ought to be for the price, and the crew don't like that either. Club World is still good, but not as good as it was, and still on a downslope: the crew see it and don't walk tall anymore.

BA makes a lot of its revenue from business travellers who pay a lot of money to fly with them. If I pay £650 pounds for an economy ticket to Rome, it is no good telling me the service is terrible because the person next to me only paid £79: I expect to get what I paid for. And if I don't get it, I'm surly, and the cabin crew, who don't thinks its terribly clever either, get surly, and everyone has slipped one step down the ladder.

Same long haul: if I pay £1,800 to fly Club World to Cairo, and the food is terrible and I don't get my menu choice, and the flaps make a funny grinding noise and are covered in oil, and theres a rubber seal flapping in the breeze, I'm unlikely to smile brightly when the nice lady by the door wishes me a pleasant afternoon. So next time, she doesn't bother, and we all lose.

I like BA, and want them to do well. Whoever started this thread is right, the service ethos that made BA in the late 80s and early 90s is visibly fraying, and the airline will pay a bottom line price for it.

The management have to address the terms and conditions issues (and the efficiency issues on the ground) at BA, and that is obviously going to have an effect on the staff. But to simultaneously downgrade service levels to try and compete with people who have a lower cost base than you is commercial suicide.

[keeperboy]

"Secondly, I've noticed that its very rare to get a miserable or rude FA in isolation. Generally everyone is efficient, or maybe jokey, but sometimes you get entire crews with a bad attitude - its as if it comes down from the top.

Does that mirror how it is?"

Spot on Pinkman. The large majority of CSD's are great to work with and really know how to motivate their crew. There are a small minority that are the total opposite though, every one hates working with them and they put a general 'downer' on the whole trip. You will notice this most if you are unlucky enough to be sat in the cabin nearest the CSD's office.

SLF 3, you are also right in many of your comments. BA does need to pay more attention to the general presentation and cleanliness of their aircraft. As with most things cleaning is 'out sourced' and rarely seems to be audited by BA. As with most other departments within BA, our engineering department (which mend most of the small cabin issues such as lose seals or broken armrests/lights etc) have faced numerous culls and there just don't seem to be the numbers anymore to tend to all these presentation issues.

I've also noticed that whenever it is 'announced' something new will replace something old (for example the IFE), in the interim until the new equipment arrives, the exisiting equipment is rarely fixed when it breaks down (IFE screens etc).

As for steps off the aircraft instead of jetties. This is nothing new and something BA has little control over. Stands are allocated by Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) and around 15-20% of our flights on a daily basis are allocated 'off pier' stands. Even when we move to T5 this will not be remidied until 'T5C' will not open until 2011. T5A (main Bldg) and T5B (initial satellite) will be used from 2008. Something that DOES embarass us with off pier arrivals though, is the often long wait for busses @ LHR.

In terms of a long haul Club passenger not receiving their first meal choice, yes, I do find it embarassing having to let them down. I don't think any airline caters 100% for every meal choice (say we have 4 options and 50 passengers in club...would equal 200 meals, 150 of which would be wasted) but I certainly agree that passengers not getting their first request happens all too often and some extra buffers certainly wouldn't go astray. The absolute MOST embarassing scenario (which SHOULDN't happen but occassionally does) is when neither the passengers first, or second preference is available. :uhoh:

As for shourt-haul, I think what is offered is still fairly good. I think it is just as good, or in most cases better, than the other european 'flag' carriers. I use my staff travel a fair bit to go and visit friends around europe and often fly some of the other european carriers (and are often lucky enough to be upgraded). I must say, I think BA are streets ahead of the last two competitors I used (KLM and Iberia). On the other hand I flew Olympic to Athens (which I was dreading) and they turned out to be amazing!

In short, the best thing you can to as SLF (especially if a frequent flyer) is to ask the CSD for a 'GPM' (those surveys that most people hate completing). Or alternatively, a 'comments card'. Sometimes when passengers to complain about the state of the aircraft or catering, i actively encourage them to complete one. BA DOES log the stats of what comes back on those forms, both positive and negative. So, next time you are on a filfthy flight, put pen to GPM and tell them just how dirty or tatty you think those aircraft are! :)

PS. Club World will be receiving a complete new cabin as well as new seats and galleys this summer. IFE will be new (AVOD) thru-out the aircraft. Maybe they can re-do the loos and carpets down the back as well! (fingers crossed)

[submariner]

In response to pinkman, I am of similar age and have similar travelling experience, but I am not London based, therefore BA is just another airline and I do not have rose coloured spectacles, therefore I can be more objective.

I too could state that I have travelled in ambassadors, DC3s, Tridents, VC10s etc, but that was a different age. I have travelled on numerous airlines also, from the tiny princeair in the caribbean, Branniff, Laker, TWA and hundreds of other mostly forgotton airlines.

As i mentioned previously, BA has provided some of the best and worst aircrew, but it is difficult to judge some airlines. For example, the staff on Oman Air were O.K., but then again how do you deal with almost the whole flight grabbing their overhead baggage the second the aircraft has touched down on the tarmac, I was amazed and shocked at the danger, but its issues like these that BA staff fortunately do not have to deal with.

In the late 70s and on a small seaplane, there were no smoking signs everywhere, yet the pilot saunders on with a cigarette loosely hanging from his lips. To be fair, I believe that it was to create an impact with the PAX, but otherwise the service was excellent.

Its difficult to compare as in many cases it is like mixing apples & pears and everyone can have an off day, but the BA of today is a different animal than its predecesors of 30-40 years ago. I only fly them at most once or twice a year now as there is no need to interline through LGW or LHR anymore, so my recent experiences are limited, but I believe my views are still justified.

However, all cabin & flight crew do an excellent job and I don't envy those who work very hard on charter flights to say Tenerife in the middle of the night where they get no break at all.

[homesick rae]

Having just returned from a week overseas and now in USA, I travelled 4 different airlines and saw many examples of crew attitude!

Turkish Airlines: Extremely friendly
Singapore: IST DXB Superb
Singapore: DXB SIN Indifferent
Emirates: SIN DXB So rude it was unbeliveable except for one crew member who epitomised the EK of old...and I told her
Emirates: DXB LGW Extremely new team with some old heads thrown in so over zealousness coupled with a personal touch...good in some ways but inconsistent
Virgin: LHR BOS Good but one crew member saw my call bell light on and asked me if I had pressed it..I hadn't, my fellow pax did...so she just gave a smirk and said "Well, perhaps you pressed it by accicent, hmmph!" and walked off! Then maintained the attitude the entire flight!

So, as mentioned above in another post, it is not just BA although I flew with them to IST and back recently and the outbound was awful, but the inbound cheerful!

My tuppence worth.

Cheers

HR

[bigflaps]

well i just flew with monarch and i had the most miserable old dragons, maybe the old ba staff retireing at 55 are going there!!!

[norihaga]

I have flown 4 times with BA in the last months (and many times in the past years) and I was always amazed by the quality of their CC. I won't get into the details, but I always got off the plane with an very good impression, both safety and commercial wise.

I think you have been quite unlucky miche2, and met the inevitable bad apples :)
I flew London - Singapore frequently when I was younger, always with BA, Qantas or SIA. More recently I've been flying PHL-LHR monthly, although sometimes I take VS from EWR.

As far as the awful (esp. in the days of the -200, with Abu Dhabi refuelling stops and 18-hour flights) LHR-SIN legs, BA crew were always v. professional, but I recall that the reception was not always the most cordial, and sometimes fairly surly. Especially compared to Qantas. Nothing breathtaking of course, just the usual "sit down, shut up and don't bother me!" brusqueness you'd expect in cattle class.

But it seems to me like BA's service has substantially improved since the 80s/90s rather than the other way around. I certainly wouldn't put them below VS, let alone the very occasional "domestic" LCC (ATA, Southwest...US Airways(!)) I've flown. Food and service are now much better than I remember and as good as anyone else's. I wonder if that's the sector, though? Maybe they are still grim-faced (probably dog tired) on the far east flights?

[SXB]

Agree with Norihaga, anyone who remembers BA from the 1980's in a positive fashion is looking through rose tinted spectacles.

I'm a very frequent business traveller and rude cabin staff are so rare I think I can remember every single occasion when its happened. That said I'm always polite and don't make unreasonable demands. BA CC are fine, generally very professional and efficient and I value this higher than some of the beautific but empty smiles you get on some airlines. I have come across the odd prima donna on BA (and AF as well) and if they are rude then I'll speak to the number one and if that doesn't work then to the Captain when the aeroplane lands.

Being CC is harder than most people imagine and it shouldn't be forgotten that their customer service role is actually their secondary function. Also, I've forgotten the number of occasions I've seen them deal with complete and utter idiots in a far more doplomatic way than I ever could

[NewbieGaz]

[quote=SuperBoy]I hate to say this but the 'irony' seems to be that you seem slightly bitter.

Your generalising. There are thousands of cabin crew who work for BA and as many who have applied to BA and failed will tell you it's not every tom, dick and harry who get in. :=:=:=:=

I for one am offended by your comment. (And no I'm not being sensitive and no I don't have a face that says:'how dare you ask for a drink')

Yes, one or two people might've had a bad day. We all have atleast one of them in a lifetime. As a 'gorgeous' ex-hostie you should know better.:suspect:


This is all kinda worrying as i have an assessment day on the 4th of July!

By the way, i don't suppose you have any advice on the day itself do you. Just a bit nervous...:O

[SLF3]

BA has won numerous awards including best Business class 2006, check it out before your wild and untrue remarks www.worldairlineawards.com (http://www.worldairlineawards.com)
Help me out - which remarks are wild and untrue?