What is wrong with BA?
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
From: uk
What is wrong with BA? They got themselves into a pickle over 11/09/01 with the result that more employees left either for good or on 3/6/9/12 month unpaid leave. the result that there are not enough people to deal with what was already a stretched system.
Debit Cards-Visa debit and the like accepted but switch/ delta not as "Administrative cost is too high".
Ticket Changes-You but £79 midweek roundtrip incl taxes and you want to change. Mr Bloggs buys, by choice, a £300 midweek roundtrip incl taxes and he wants to change. If we let you change, even for £25, is that fair or justifying the high fare and loung access and interline capability and higher Exec club miles and higher exec club points and use of fast track lanes (if open!)?
Of course not. Thems are the rules. No airline operates a single aircraft with a single fare ever.. even the Frill-less ones. The less you pay the less you can do..not customer friendly if you need to amend your plans, but extremely customer friendly if you can from Lhr/gla tues-thurs for less then the lhr express 1st class!
I wish that our beloved leaders would come to the regions so that they can see exactly whats going on in the offices off the phones and behind the ticket desks. The proletariat are trying their bloody damnest to give everything a professional air, which is bloody nigh impossible when new systems do not work and of course you have 30 people in a q or up to 200 on the phone trying to get through ALL comlaining about the wait.
I suppose i shall wait in vain
Debit Cards-Visa debit and the like accepted but switch/ delta not as "Administrative cost is too high".
Ticket Changes-You but £79 midweek roundtrip incl taxes and you want to change. Mr Bloggs buys, by choice, a £300 midweek roundtrip incl taxes and he wants to change. If we let you change, even for £25, is that fair or justifying the high fare and loung access and interline capability and higher Exec club miles and higher exec club points and use of fast track lanes (if open!)?
Of course not. Thems are the rules. No airline operates a single aircraft with a single fare ever.. even the Frill-less ones. The less you pay the less you can do..not customer friendly if you need to amend your plans, but extremely customer friendly if you can from Lhr/gla tues-thurs for less then the lhr express 1st class!
I wish that our beloved leaders would come to the regions so that they can see exactly whats going on in the offices off the phones and behind the ticket desks. The proletariat are trying their bloody damnest to give everything a professional air, which is bloody nigh impossible when new systems do not work and of course you have 30 people in a q or up to 200 on the phone trying to get through ALL comlaining about the wait.
I suppose i shall wait in vain
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 110
Likes: 0
From: London UK
I have never had a problem getting on an earlier BA flight using a ticket from Air Miles by asking nicely at check in. Sometimes I have only been able to get a booking on the busiest flight due to the way seats are allocated to Air Miles. On one occasion I flew on the half empty 15.00 BFS-LHR service when the 17.00 I was booked on was oversold. This was after the sales desk had told me I would not be allowed on the earlier flight.
Sadly for BA I have never paid to fly with them as most of my trips are planned in advance and often don't include a Saturday night away making the low cost carriers my first choice.
Sadly for BA I have never paid to fly with them as most of my trips are planned in advance and often don't include a Saturday night away making the low cost carriers my first choice.
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 293
Likes: 0
From: UK
The BA 757`s are on there way out. ie they are being retired after along 20 year service with the airline. Smaller Airbus 319/320 aircraft are re placing them.
As the MAN-FRA is operated by BA regional ie 737 aircraft. The MAN based 757`s were main line a/c which up and downed on the LHR route. The Embraer aircraft may operate less dense routes and a times of day.
Its like the BHX-GLA route its shared with A319 operated by BA crew whilst some flights may be done with EMB a/c at less busy times operated by Brymon now CitiExpress.
As the MAN-FRA is operated by BA regional ie 737 aircraft. The MAN based 757`s were main line a/c which up and downed on the LHR route. The Embraer aircraft may operate less dense routes and a times of day.
Its like the BHX-GLA route its shared with A319 operated by BA crew whilst some flights may be done with EMB a/c at less busy times operated by Brymon now CitiExpress.
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 204
Likes: 0
From: The Pub
Oh dear!
Hmmm reading all this it does seem we at B.A. have a way to go. Unfortunately with a big comany come big problems, and solutions take a long time to come around because they have to aproved by so many managers.
Don''t worry - the staff are disparing at the situation as well. I am constantly writing reports on things I find that are wrong but nothing seems to get done.
All I can say is PUT PEN TO PAPER AND WRITE IN!! If more of you do it the more notice they will take. It's all about numbers, nothing gets done until a certain amount of complains comes in on a certain issue.
That's all I can say - sorry no more answers for you except we're trying our best on-board for you but we can only work with the tools we're given.
Don''t worry - the staff are disparing at the situation as well. I am constantly writing reports on things I find that are wrong but nothing seems to get done.
All I can say is PUT PEN TO PAPER AND WRITE IN!! If more of you do it the more notice they will take. It's all about numbers, nothing gets done until a certain amount of complains comes in on a certain issue.
That's all I can say - sorry no more answers for you except we're trying our best on-board for you but we can only work with the tools we're given.
Just another seat number
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 128
Likes: 0
From: NW UK
Last night (29/7) the last BA LHR to MAN was delayed due to weather – initially showing one hour. No problem I think – not worth moving to BD who were leaving (about) to schedule. Then, 20 minutes before the departure of the BD, the delay is posted at 2 ¼ hours. We’re given this information when it’s too late to hop on to the competitors service. Coincidence – I think not. Did BA know that the delay was going to be > 1 hour? Given that the operating aircraft did not leave MAN until 22:25, I think people could have made an educated guess. A cynical attempt to keep the revenue, I think so.
However, I was not as unhappy as the lady & her daughter seated next to me on the delayed flight (at least I had the benefit of free BA Gin and Butties for a couple of hours). They arrived early from a connecting flight from Egypt, and had walked their bags through rather than trusting the LHR baggage transfer system (once bitten….). Ask if they can go on the earlier flight. No can do says BA. Seats available, PAX willing to pay for difference on restricted ticket. Still no can do. They reluctantly check in for later flight and are suitable annoyed at extended delay, as they watched the earlier service leave with empty seats. I sure that’s another lot of revenue off to BD next time.
Surely decent service is just common sense? Are people sticking religiously to the rules because:
· They’re told to and no longer have any discretionary powers
· They just don’t care
· Management has no idea what it is doing to the paying PAX?
However, I was not as unhappy as the lady & her daughter seated next to me on the delayed flight (at least I had the benefit of free BA Gin and Butties for a couple of hours). They arrived early from a connecting flight from Egypt, and had walked their bags through rather than trusting the LHR baggage transfer system (once bitten….). Ask if they can go on the earlier flight. No can do says BA. Seats available, PAX willing to pay for difference on restricted ticket. Still no can do. They reluctantly check in for later flight and are suitable annoyed at extended delay, as they watched the earlier service leave with empty seats. I sure that’s another lot of revenue off to BD next time.
Surely decent service is just common sense? Are people sticking religiously to the rules because:
· They’re told to and no longer have any discretionary powers
· They just don’t care
· Management has no idea what it is doing to the paying PAX?
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 978
Likes: 0
From: LGW - Hub of the Universe!
It's a mixture of all three!
- If, as a lowly Customer Service Agent or Ticket Sales Agent, you allow someone to switch flights on a restricted ticket, you can (and do) receive warnings on your personnel record. (It could be construed as fraud, say the mnagement - nice guys - not!!!)
- The management don't care - even six months ago, if we delayed a flight by as much as two minutes, we'd have to file a report explaining the circumstances. Now, we can delay flights by an hour or more and no-one bats an eyelid!
- The Senior Management don't know, and don't care, what happens. After all, to date, Rod Eddington has received £480,000 since coming to office for achieving - NOTHING!!!
Sincere apologies to our clients, the people at operational level DO care!
- If, as a lowly Customer Service Agent or Ticket Sales Agent, you allow someone to switch flights on a restricted ticket, you can (and do) receive warnings on your personnel record. (It could be construed as fraud, say the mnagement - nice guys - not!!!)
- The management don't care - even six months ago, if we delayed a flight by as much as two minutes, we'd have to file a report explaining the circumstances. Now, we can delay flights by an hour or more and no-one bats an eyelid!
- The Senior Management don't know, and don't care, what happens. After all, to date, Rod Eddington has received £480,000 since coming to office for achieving - NOTHING!!!
Sincere apologies to our clients, the people at operational level DO care!
Last edited by bealine; 31st July 2002 at 08:20.
Paxing All Over The World
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 10,842
Likes: 328
From: Hertfordshire, UK.
We know that you care (or most of you do!) because we can see that on your faces across the counter or the sound of your voice on the phone. Ultimately, we make the choice next time we travel.
I strongly believe that the forced marriage of BOAC and BEA was wrong and that many of the problems stem from that.
When the 'Right Size' report (or whatever it was called) came out it was no surprise that they avoided the option of selling off the short haul and using the One World to act as the feeder. Makig your company smaller is always looked upon as 'failure' and we know that big boys don't like that.
It takes a REALLY big boy to make the company smaller and admit past mistakes.
I strongly believe that the forced marriage of BOAC and BEA was wrong and that many of the problems stem from that.
When the 'Right Size' report (or whatever it was called) came out it was no surprise that they avoided the option of selling off the short haul and using the One World to act as the feeder. Makig your company smaller is always looked upon as 'failure' and we know that big boys don't like that.
It takes a REALLY big boy to make the company smaller and admit past mistakes.
