Anybody Travelling BA This Christmas?

[caller]

That's easy - my last vist to Thailand - Apr'08. £660(ish - can't remember exactly, for 2 people).

Agree, they're usually expensive, but the cheapies are there if you look hard enough.

Alas, they are never there when I'm looking to travel (or with Qantas) as I always do look first and get offers sent to me. I would have spent 300GBP more on my current trip had I used them and that was before the Christmas price hike, which now appears to be from 1 December, that used to be the 9th (apart from the millenium year when that changed to the 1st as well).

[Big Boy]

Likewise, I have never, ever found a cheap flight with Eva at a time that I want to fly, yet loads of people swear by them. In fact whenever I've brought family across to visit us Eva have always been the cheapest.

It's obviously the luck of the draw, and I do agree BA cheapies are harder, but not impossible to find.

[caller]

Likewise, I have never, ever found a cheap flight with Eva at a time that I want to fly, yet loads of people swear by them. In fact whenever I've brought family across to visit us Eva have always been the cheapest.

It's obviously the luck of the draw, and I do agree BA cheapies are harder, but not impossible to find.

I wouldn't swear by EVA at all, but they clearly seek to fill the LHR-BKK leg of the flight to Taiwan, hence all the consolidators out there that get deals through them. This time I flew via WestEast at 432GBP. A few days later it went up to over 600GBP. That still undercut BA by over 120GBP. In fact WestEast took my deal and allowed me to close on it after the offer had officially ended.

As for the airline, well yes, the leg room is more but thats about all. I think the food is crap.

[Big Boy]

As for the airline, well yes, the leg room is more but thats about all. I think the food is crap.

Which airline is that? BA, or your carrier on this occassion? For legroom, I don't think you can beat Thai, with their older style seats and an extra 2" pitch advantage on the likes of BA. Hence my awful trip the first time I used them.

[Khundon1975]

What was it that WC said "Jaw Jaw, not War War" if the idiots cannot resolve their issues and go on strike, that will be the end of BA.

People will not forget being let down over the Christmas period and will take their business elsewhere in the future.

One less dolly on some long haul flights and new staff are put on a lower salary. So what's the problem with that? it does not affect the present staff salary rates.

I travelled back to UK during the SARS scare with BA star alliance, most had cancelled their flights but I had to fly to attend a meeting.
Only 11 passengers on the flight, could not get served a drink, had to help ourselves despite their being more staff than passengers.

I flew out on Christmas eve 2001 (last minute decision to fly BA) one way ticket cost me £850 and the plane was packed, could not get served with a drink

They need to wake up and smell the coffee or lose their jobs, like many others have in this recession.

The wife is flying out from UK early January, thank God she is on Thai airways for this trip, otherwise I would have been stuck with her for two months.

[sfs]

During my earlier years flying to Thailand I always used BA, then one time I tried Thai. I love the extra space between seats, the attitude of the staff on Thai compared to BA (which I believe stands for Bad Attitude) is so so different and I have vowed not to fly BA again.

I agree with other posts, these stuck up over paid trolley dollies need to get a reality check.

[TAMAN]

BA is and has been in serious financial strife for some time with a fairly aging and expensive to run fleet of aircraft. Yes the company needs to change but the union has to be in a time warp if it thinks this strike will be to their members’ benefit. The union delegate I saw on the news was a flashback to a 60’s union leader – same thick black rimmed glasses and the same outdated language (quite a time warp). By hitting the BA brand so badly, the union will ensure BA’s place as the Leyland of the airline industry with a consequent loss of British jobs. Pity, as I think that BA is a good airline.

[komfortablynumb]

Bugger. Must remind myself to replace my thick horn rimmed glasses.
If i am to be taken seriously.

[TAMAN]

horned rim - that's OK

[pharvey]

Vowed many years ago never to fly BA again - quite frankly I thought the attitude towards economy class passengers was a disgrace. Service was vastly improved in business class, but unfortunately the days of business class travel for myself and the company are long gone! Why should common courtesy and an acceptable level of service be reserved for higher paying customers? Striking over the Christmas period with zero thought for the misery this will cause passengers typifies the attitude.

The gulf in standards between western and Asian airlines is huge IMHO and thankfully I have the opportunity of flying the likes of Thai, Cathay and Singapore rather than BA.

The Worlds' Favorite Airline? F**k off is it.

[The understudy]

Good evening Ladies % Gentlelads

Well never liked flying with BA that much after me flying to the states and back. Their treatment of people sitting in Economy class sipmly ain't worth to mention. but The Attendant that escorted me from the airport to the Gate to my feeder aircraft to Berlin was kinda hot. but that was more than 10 years ago.
If you guys ever stumbled to the BA site these days they are offering generous discounts on their Online Bookings. Not very much Asian routes are offered.

I find BA very snobbish Airline who wants to cater to the business or first Class passengers but where are they now?

Britsh Airways the worlds favorite Airline! No No No No No not for me,

Your's The understuddy!!!

[Condoking]

Just got news of another, potentially more serious, industrial dispute in UK over the Christmas period

Muslim suicide bombers in Britain are set to begin a three-day strike on Monday in a dispute over the number of virgins they are entitled to in the afterlife.

Emergency talks with Al Qaeda management have so far failed to produce an agreement. The unrest began last Tuesday when Al Qaeda announced that the number of virgins a suicide bomber would receive after his death will be cut by 25% next January from 72 to only 54. The rationale for the cut was the increase in recent years of the number of suicide bombings and a subsequent shortage of virgins in the afterlife.
The suicide bombers' union, the British Organisation of Occupational Martyrs (or B.O.O.M.) responded with a statement that this was unacceptable to its members and immediately balloted for strike action. General Secretary Abdullah Amir told the press, "Our members are literally working themselves to death in the cause of jihad. We don't ask for much in return but to be treated like this by management is a kick in the teeth." Amir accepted the limited availability of virgins but pointed out that the cutbacks were expected to be borne entirely by the workforce and not by management. "Last Christmas Abu Hamza alone was awarded an annual bonus of 250,000 virgins," complains Amir. "And you can be sure they'll all be pretty ones too. How can Al Qaeda afford that for members of the management but not 72 for the people who do the real work?"

Speaking from the shed in the West Midlands where he currently resides, AlQaeda chief executive Osama bin Laden explained, "We sympathise with our workers' concerns but Al Qaeda is simply not in a position to meet their demands. They are simply not accepting the realities of modern-day jihad,in a competitive marketplace. Thanks to Western depravity, there is now a chronic shortage of virgins in the afterlife. It's a straight choice between reducing expenditure and laying people off. I don't like cutting wages but I'd hate to have to tell 3,000 of my staff that they won't be able to blow themselves up." He defended management bonuses by claiming these were necessary to attract good fanatical clerics. "How am I supposed to attract the best people if I can't compete with the private sector?" asked Mr. Bin-Laden.

Talks broke down this morning after management's last-ditch proposal of a virgin-sharing scheme was rejected outright after a failure to agree onorifice allocation quotas. One virgin, who refused to be named, was quoted as saying "I'll be buggered if I'm agreeing to anything like that........it's too much of a mouthful to swallow". Unless some sort of agreement is reached over the weekend, suicide bombers will down explosives at midday on Monday.
Most branches are supporting the strike. Only the North London branch, which has a different union, is likely to continue working. However, some members of that branch will only be using waist-down explosives in order to express solidarity with their striking brethren.

[The understudy]

Good evening Gentlelads

another attempt to dilute this Topic with aan article which doesn't fit to this at all. Sometimes I feel like Chas who get so turned off by derailments and off topic comments such as the one above which doesn't get us anyhwere. I know you want to get some fun into this Topic but any constructive comments how the BA can reslove their desute would be, be OK




The Problem: BA relied to haevily on it's business and first class Customers on it;s Trans - Antlantic routes for profitability, The Economy was treaded marginally as operrative result fillers so to speak.
Now we're right in the middle of a recession and suddenly those revenues from those high payng passengers broke off. And suddenly those passenger numbers of economy becomes important. ans BA struggle to adjust to current problems. Anc competition from Low cost carriers like Ryannair ect. are also bounding on BA.

Any solitions to his current crises @ BA

[Big Boy]

Pros & cons of BA aside, I guess that we've got no forum members affected by the forthcoming Christmas farce ............. or at least none that are prepared to discuss it, and tell us what options are available to them.

[PeteC]

BBC reported two things last evening: 1) A new meeting is scheduled between both sides. 2) BA has filed for a court injunction to stop the strike. Perhaps there is some hope but as I said earlier, I think the damage is already done with many changing plans already. Pete