BA Connect

[stenoman]

Flew two flights with the new BA Connect service. Not a great deal different than before, except the catering.

However, what HAS seemed to have become worse is the seemingly never-ending announcements soon after take off. We were first reminded of the Executive Club, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah, then even more blurb about how they would be coming through the cabin with a variety of hot and cold snacks, including hot breakfast baps and pizza slices, sandwiches, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah, and CHOCOLATE FINGERS. Here we are, barely off the ground, and they're advertising chocolate bl**dy fingers!

I find flying stressful enough, but this constant haranguing is too much sometimes. When I asked one of the cabin crew to cut the announcements down to what was strictly necessary, she said, "Yes, but were you happy with the fare?" I said the fare wasn't my main consideration I chose BA Connect, that my main consideration was the fact they weren't Ryanair. I'm beginning to wonder if the rot's set in...

[radeng]

The fact that they don't offer Business Class with free meals means that I can't be bothered with going to Bristol. So they lost my business.

[zed3]

stenoman , the rot set in a few years ago , it's now starting to take hold . It started when they served the old economy meals as Club meals and the deli thing in the back . Nothing wrong with the fares or crews but the so called managerial decisions are all wrong . For a flag carrier and British Airways at that to have to pay for meals is just plain wrong . The good old days of a poached salmon salad and a glass of wine cannot have cost much more in the long term and had a certain style AND was welcome if flying at meal times , I would rather pay a bit more and have the service . What do they do with all the unsold sandwiches etc , is it sale or return ? wouldn't surprise me in the least . I liked flying BA and am due to fly in two weeks or so again with Connect , 'twill be interesting to see if I still like them !

[PAXboy]

If your favourite legacy carrier has not yet taken these actions - then they will be doing so very soon now! The LCCs must be hugely amused by the effect that they have had on carriers. Watching your competitors reduce costs, so that think they are competing with you but are merely devaluing their own product, must be rewarding. In due course, some punters will think that, since there is no great benefit in going with the old carrier, they might as well go pn the one that is even cheaper.

Of course, some will always stick with the old carriers and for all the reasons that we have reahearsed but it is interesting to watch established companies give away their carefully crafted reputation, so that they can increse the pax numbers this year. Some managers just ain't interested in what happens in five years time. Afterall, they will have moved on by then and taken their profit sharing. Heigh-Ho, that's the way the world turns and nothing we can say wil change it.

[CargoOne]

PAXboy

Looking on a recent developments at LCCs you would actually notice that they are coming back to traditional service, step by step. Seat allocation, some cold snacks and drinks, IFE, flexible tickets. I expect some of them will introduce a kind of economy-premium seats, and I bet that would happen earlier than someone may think.

The only question is how quicky majors will realize that trend has changed again.

[PAXboy]

Fascinating observation CO. I do not travel so much these days as I am in a different job but I have seen some of what you say. An amusing parrallel of this is in South Africa. Being part South African, I keep an eye on that forum and have a nephew who is a commercial pilot there.

They have had a number of LCC start ups in the country to the point where the legacy carrier, SAA, is now planning an LCC start up!!! Given that SAA is STILL a state owned carrier, you can imagine the temperatures this plan is raising. With the rapid development of Jetstar in Oz, it will be interesting to watch how their actions follow the curve here in Europe.

[the_fish@blueyonder.]

Originally Posted by CargoOne

PAXboy

Looking on a recent developments at LCCs you would actually notice that they are coming back to traditional service, step by step. Seat allocation, some cold snacks and drinks, IFE, flexible tickets. I expect some of them will introduce a kind of economy-premium seats, and I bet that would happen earlier than someone may think.

The only question is how quicky majors will realize that trend has changed again.

I'm not aware of any UK Low Cost Airlines that offer any of those features. I would imagine that the bigger carriers such as Easyjet and Ryanair would be making enough money to offer free soft drinks at least, and maybe introduce a moving map display on fold down screens.

While I can't see any of this actually happening, I can't think how the introduction of such things as a map display would affect profits in the long run, as it surely can't cost that much to offer such a thing. Do LOCO's in the USA not offer free drinks, personal IFE (I read somewhere that jet Blue offer seat back screens) and the like?

[840]

Giving out free drinks wouldn't cost the airline too much money, but they would lose the sales to customers who were buying these drinks. Even if that's only £20 per flight, over the number of flights that Ryanair or Easyjet operate in a year, it's significant money.

[bealine]

Apparently, EasyJet and Ryanair are both being hit hard at the moment by the high fuel prices which are likely to remain with us until the end of summer.

I wouldn't expect to see these two offer free anything in the near future - certainly not O'Leary's lot!

[radeng]

So far this year, I've made 27 flights on BA/BA Connect. Only two of those weren't jam packed full, and 23 of them were European flights where the LCCs could be considered as competition. So from my viewpoint, it seems that the LCC's have led to more people flying, and possibly a few less BA flights on some routes.

[PAXboy]

Cargo One

Seat allocation, some cold snacks and drinks

What I took CO to mean were the old charter companies that have moved carefully into scheduled and are now expanding their product.

[apaddyinuk]

Originally Posted by stenoman

I find flying stressful enough, but this constant haranguing is too much sometimes. When I asked one of the cabin crew to cut the announcements down to what was strictly necessary, she said, "Yes, but were you happy with the fare?" I said the fare wasn't my main consideration I chose BA Connect, that my main consideration was the fact they weren't Ryanair. I'm beginning to wonder if the rot's set in...

Ever consider buying an iPod and whacking it on before all the announcements start??? Be warned, the crew are prob on commission so PA's will increasingly be made to advertise what they sell!!!

[stenoman]

Originally Posted by apaddyinuk

Ever consider buying an iPod and whacking it on before all the announcements start??? Be warned, the crew are prob on commission so PA's will increasingly be made to advertise what they sell!!!

I would have used an iPod if I had one! I have a Sony mp3 player that the instructions say can't be used on a plane (why, I don't know - it's all solid state, but does have a radio receiver). I did the next best thing on my return flight and stuck my fingers in my ears. It was bliss!

Thanks everyone for the great replies. Seems we're in a time of big change and flux in the airline industry as they all chase after our £££s.

I today received a letter from BA in response to my complaint form that said nothing in particular other than they were sorry that I didn't find the flight satisfactory, but were pleased to offer low fares to UK and European destinations!

If anyone from BA is listening, here are the requirements for a flight:

1) Safety.
2) Comfort (seats and light/dark/airflow).
3) Peace and quiet, minimal announcements.
4) A sarnie and cuppa or a hot meal on a long flight.
5) Something to keep the kids amused and strapped to their seats for the duration of the flight and as far away from my seat as possible!

Is that so hard in this day and age?

[derekvader]

Originally Posted by CargoOne

PAXboy
Looking on a recent developments at LCCs you would actually notice that they are coming back to traditional service, step by step. Seat allocation, some cold snacks and drinks, IFE, flexible tickets. I expect some of them will introduce a kind of economy-premium seats, and I bet that would happen earlier than someone may think.
The only question is how quicky majors will realize that trend has changed again.

Ah but the majors still go to sensible airports, whereas the LCCs all go to stupid airports that you spend half your day on coaches being bussed back to the city centre.

[Cyrano]

Originally Posted by derekvader

Ah but the majors still go to sensible airports, whereas the LCCs all go to stupid airports that you spend half your day on coaches being bussed back to the city centre.

Not over-generalising just a little bit here, are we?

PS Is Londin somewhere near London?

[brian_dromey]

Originally Posted by derekvader

Ah but the majors still go to sensible airports, whereas the LCCs all go to stupid airports that you spend half your day on coaches being bussed back to the city centre.

Precicely the point. Also you dont have to endure the shouting of stag parties and the rude crews selling everything except the overhead lockers.(especially on a certain Irish Lo-co). Last month I made a multi-flight trip which had both EI and FR in it. The difference is amazing, and the fare for EI over FR on the same route was €10 each. Well worth it. No scramble on boarding, no screaming, hassle, and best off all ploite crews who dont go for the hard sell. What they do sell is much better(and cheeper) than that rubbish British Rail wouldnt have the cheek to serve, which FR pushes, along with scratch cards, train/bus tickets and holiday villas.

As I reclined in my personally selected exit-row seat, ate and drank well, I thought to hell to FR its well worth the tenner.

to the poster who thought BACON announcements were too frequent....DO NOT try FR, the PA never gets a break.

[MerchantVenturer]

Originally Posted by derekvader

Ah but the majors still go to sensible airports, whereas the LCCs all go to stupid airports that you spend half your day on coaches being bussed back to the city centre.

I use easyJet from BRS a fair bit and they fly to (or will do so shortly) 29 destinations in the UK and Europe from Lulsgate's rear end.

Which of these 29 are not sensible airports in terms of the cities they serve? They fly to the main airports in such places as Madrid, Barcelona and Venice and use SXF in Berlin and CIA in Rome - both sensible airports to serve those cities in my opinion.

In fact, BAConnect uses the more distant MXP on its Milan route from BRS. I'm not knocking this BTW. It's great to have such choice from a local airport.

[slim_slag]

Originally Posted by derekvader

Ah but the majors still go to sensible airports, whereas the LCCs all go to stupid airports that you spend half your day on coaches being bussed back to the city centre.

It takes me well over three hours to get to LHR or LGW from my door, and God knows how long to get through the airport. There is an EZ and FR base less than 20 minutes away from my door and I can get through into the departure lounge in minutes. What is 'sensible' about LHR or LGW for people like me? Total time from door to door, and total cost from door to door is all that matters when flying short haul in Europe.

As for BA Connect, who cares? FR and EZ have made economy class travel in Europe a commodity, and us passengers should be very very grateful for that. What BA should be concerned about is the decrease in service levels in their premium cabins.

[derekvader]

Originally Posted by slim_slag

It takes me well over three hours to get to LHR or LGW from my door, and God knows how long to get through the airport. There is an EZ and FR base less than 20 minutes away from my door and I can get through into the departure lounge in minutes. What is 'sensible' about LHR or LGW for people like me? Total time from door to door, and total cost from door to door is all that matters when flying short haul in Europe.

I'm talking about the destination end. Examples: Ryanair into Oslo, Stockholm, Hamburg, Venice, Barcelona etc. When I go from London to places like these, I generally only have 1 or 2 days there, so what matters to me is getting to the City Centre inside 45 mins or so. If I have to spend three hours on a coach through the Norwegian countryside, as you do when flying to "Oslo" with Ryanair, and another three hours back, half my weekend is gone.

I agree that it's the total door-to-door journey time that matters, but for some people like yourself that live close to Luton/Stansted there will be some time savings to be had on the London end, but for the majority of London travellers, particularly central London ones, adding the time to get out to Luton/Stansted, to the time to get from the minor airport that Ryanair use at Oslo etc, makes the Ryanair journey considerably longer and prone to missed connections.

[Cyrano]

Originally Posted by derekvader

Examples: Ryanair into Oslo, Stockholm, Hamburg, Venice, Barcelona etc....as you do when flying to "Oslo" with Ryanair...the time to get from the minor airport that Ryanair use at Oslo etc, makes the Ryanair journey considerably longer....

I think we could agree 100% that a lot of Ryanair airports are out of the way and require long bus journeys. But your original assertion was "the LCCs all go to stupid airports" and I think you're tarring them all with the same brush. Easyjet, Jet2, Germanwings and the like seem to get by OK at primary airports.