British Airways

[delt1c]

Just flown BA Edinburgh to Heathrow, unbelievable nearly every seat taken , no social distancing, centre seats occupied,at least expected centre seats to empty. This from a premium operator shows complete disregard for customer

 

[yorkie]

Just flown BA Edinburgh to Heathrow, unbelievable nearly every seat taken , no social distancing, centre seats occupied,at least expected centre seats to empty. This from a premium operator shows complete disregard for customer

I disagree. And if you had wanted to know what plane travel was like before you made the journey, you could have asked here, and we'd have told you.

If you'd used LNER, every other seat would have been free.

You pay your money and you take your choice.

 

[delt1c]

Sometimes in life choice is taken out of our hands, this was one of those times. I would rather have used the train , however due to circumstances beyond my control I had to use the plane. What I trying to highlight here is BA's lack of care for the customers health.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Most airlines are using an "all seats are available to book" policy at the moment, not just BA.

I'd be quite happy to fly on an "all seats available" carrier right now.

 

[delt1c]

Most airlines are using an "all seats are available to book" policy at the moment, not just BA.

I'd be quite happy to fly on an "all seats available" carrier right now.

Flew Air Malta on 30th from Heathrow, centre seats were blocked of.

 

[Bletchleyite]

This from a premium operator shows complete disregard for customer

To be fair that is the view I would normally hold of them - an operation that derives its reputation from its distinguished history, not from its present state which is basically easyJet (I won't quite go as far as saying Ryanair) with a more respected brand. Though easyJet is presently in my doghouse after many years of respect due to the ridiculous new nickel-and-diming baggage policy - even though it won't affect me because it's exit row or not travelling due to my height.

I'd be quite happy to fly on an "all seats available" carrier right now.

I'd not, but more because of risk of being required to self-isolate for 14 days than because of actual risk to myself.

 

[trebor79]

Just flown BA Edinburgh to Heathrow, unbelievable nearly every seat taken , no social distancing, centre seats occupied,at least expected centre seats to empty. This from a premium operator shows complete disregard for customer

Meh. What are they meant to do, fly aeroplanes at a fraction of their capacity? That only "works" on the railway because the government is writing blank cheques (for now).
I actually think anecdotes like this bode well for a return to the rails once the pandemic passes. It isn't fear that's keeping passengers away, it's government messaging.
I don't think "social distancing" in an enclosed metal tube makes any difference whatsoever. I know the air is being replaced quite quickly on an aeroplane, but that's only true whilst the engines are running. There's at least 15 minutes of faff getting everyone seated, shutting the doors, getting clearances, pushback etc before that happens.
I'd be quite happy to get on a packed plane, train or ferry.

Some friends flew to New Zealand at the weekend, with Singapore Airlines. They reported that the flight was "rammed" on the sector to Singapore, so it's not just BA.

 

[nlogax]

Just flown BA Edinburgh to Heathrow, unbelievable nearly every seat taken , no social distancing, centre seats occupied,at least expected centre seats to empty. This from a premium operator shows complete disregard for customer

Why is this 'unbelievable'? Airlines need full flights where possible to survive in the current climate. If there's a full plane then I'm glad to hear it. FWIW I've had my fair share of BA London - Glasgow flights this year and it's been a mixed bag, some maybe a third full, some packed.

 

[Darandio]

Flew Air Malta on 30th from Heathrow, centre seats were blocked of.

Air Malta has and is receiving government support. British Airways isn't, there is your answer as to why.

 

[FQTV]

I recently few with British Airways shorthaul and guaranteed that the middle seat would be free by booking in Club Europe (Business Class), which would be my choice anyway.

As an alternative, I could have flown in Economy and guaranteed the middle seat free (had I so wished) by booking a 'comfort seat' for the cost of an additional base fare, with no APD, plus any relevant seat selection fees. This does require a 'phone call to British Airways, however with Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2.com there are protocols in place for the arrangement to be booked online (albeit including APD if relevant).

In any event on my flight, at the aircraft door, all passengers were offered a complimentary 'Personal protection pack' containing hand sanitiser gel and an antibacterial towel. The aircraft itself had been 'fogged' prior to boarding commencing, and there was obviously no turnover of passengers or crew during the flight. Use of the washroom was requested via the call bell, and on my flight use was very limited.

Whilst the doors were closed, the on board air would have been recirculated through HEPA filters with top-down airflow and negative pressure extraction at floor level.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A reasonably easy way to ensure an empty middle seat on easyJet or Ryanair is to look for an exit row seat where there is already one passenger there. Almost nobody will, as a lone traveller, pay to book exit row middle, as you're near guaranteed to be stuck between two massive blokes, and it won't be auto-allocated until last in case someone does want to pay extra for it. It's almost always the last seat to be filled.

Do BA charge extra for the exit row? If so, it probably works there too.

 

[najaB]

Just flown BA Edinburgh to Heathrow, unbelievable nearly every seat taken , no social distancing, centre seats occupied,at least expected centre seats to empty.

An airliner at 66% load factor is likely pulling not pulling in enough revenue to pay its costs. No commercial operator is going to be able to do this long-term, especially on a domestic UK route where there's almost no freight revenue.

 

[nlogax]

In any event on my flight, at the aircraft door, all passengers were offered a complimentary 'Personal protection pack' containing hand sanitiser gel and an antibacterial towel.

Don't know about you but I've racked up nearly a drawer's worth of those packs!

 

[FQTV]

Don't know about you but I've racked up nearly a drawer's worth of those packs!

The 'child' in me titters every time that I see 'Personal protection pack' written on them, not helped by one member of cabin crew telling me discreetly that he was neither easy nor a Virgin but still kept one in every pocket.

And, I kid you not: his name was Ryan.

 

[delt1c]

Air Malta has and is receiving government support. British Airways isn't, there is your answer as to why.

Fully aware of that, so shows Malta government cares for air passengers health, as an aside the fare from Edinburgh to Heathrow was 3 times that of Heathrow to Malta.Nice to see Malta is safe guarding the national carrier

 

[Bletchleyite]

Fully aware of that, so shows Malta government cares for air passengers health, as an aside the fare from Edinburgh to Heathrow was 3 times that of Heathrow to Malta.Nice to see Malta is safe guarding the national carrier

BA isn't really a flag carrier any more. If anything easyJet is a more British airline.

 

[nlogax]

BA isn't really a flag carrier any more. If anything easyJet is a more British airline.

Disagree, I think that the BA brand still has a certain cachet and perception of 'Britishness' right around the world. EasyJet's doesn't really extend outside of a two or three hour flight from our shores.

 

[Darandio]

Fully aware of that, so shows Malta government cares for air passengers health, as an aside the fare from Edinburgh to Heathrow was 3 times that of Heathrow to Malta.Nice to see Malta is safe guarding the national carrier

In all fairness, Malta just cannot be compared to Britain in this respect. In terms of transportation it has around 250 buses and then Air Malta and not really much else, they have the financial means to support them. It should be obvious that we cannot support everything, something has to give.

 

[gordonthemoron]

I've flown with BA & Lufthansa in the recent past, almost all seats were filled

 

[route101]

I think there's less flights at the moment too ! Only a few a day. I can understand why someone would feel uncomfortable.

 

[Techniquest]

Disagree, I think that the BA brand still has a certain cachet and perception of 'Britishness' right around the world. EasyJet's doesn't really extend outside of a two or three hour flight from our shores.

Agreed. The 'flag carrier' status of the airline certainly still applies, and I still concur with the notion that even just the sight of the plane at a far-from-home airport is comforting

It certainly was on my way home from Tokyo in November 2019, a piece of Britain waiting to take me home

I tend to look for a BA flight to somewhere ahead of other airlines. A stark contrast to the past, when it would have been Ryanair, but that's a long time ago. It's a simple pleasure, but a welcome one to be on the flag carrier airline. I certainly would not count easyJet as a British airline.

Good grief, what an image that produces, a 777 in their colour scheme inside and out! I might have orange as my all-time favourite colour, but not even I could endure that for several hours crossing the Atlantic or anywhere outside Europe! Come to think of it, I've only ever flown easyJet from Liverpool to Isle of Man and Bristol to Newcastle. They were far enough for the orange version of Ryanair...

Anyway, as for a full BA flight as with the OP's experience. I'm conflicted on this at the moment. I work around lots of people and the inability of some people to wear face coverings properly really annoys me. I'm not comfortable at present being near them, but that's partly down to not wanting to isolate again. I had to do that when a housemate tested positive, and it was a gruesome 2 weeks. I am trying to avoid that, for obvious reasons, as I doubt I could survive another 2 weeks of being stuck indoors.

Would I be comfortable being sat in a middle seat on a full A321 then? I'm not sure quite honestly. I suspect on a flight there would be more control over people wearing coverings properly, which would make a big difference. Not to mention the filtered air system, I'd imagine that helps a lot too.

Not that it makes any difference for me currently, as I'm not booked to fly until late March 2021. I'd fly sooner, but I've not booked as I don't like the idea of someone shoving a swab up my nose or down my throat. I'll tolerate it for my heavily delayed Iceland mini-trip, but more than that does not bear thinking about. For that reason alone, I'm keeping my air travels to virtually none.

 

[najaB]

I tend to look for a BA flight to somewhere ahead of other airlines. A stark contrast to the past, when it would have been Ryanair, but that's a long time ago. It's a simple pleasure, but a welcome one to be on the flag carrier airline. I certainly would not count easyJet as a British airline.

I also look for the "flag carrier" airline over others, though for me it is usually KLM rather than BA - I've had some really good experiences with them that have engendered some loyalty. If KLM's not available then it'll be BA, then others.

Not to mention the filtered air system, I'd imagine that helps a lot too.

It does, significantly. There have been several studies that have all concluded that, while non-zero, the odds of being infected on a flight are a lot lower than on a train, coach or the typical car.

 

[trebor79]

Would I be comfortable being sat in a middle seat on a full A321 then? I'm not sure quite honestly. I suspect on a flight there would be more control over people wearing coverings properly, which would make a big difference. Not to mention the filtered air system, I'd imagine that helps a lot too.

My friend who flew to New Zealand at the weekend reported that everyone in Premium Economy was masked for the entire flight, whereas hardly anyone in Business was as "nobody gave a damn" (her husband was in Business as his work paid for his ticket, they swapped seats at Singapore). So she only had to nurse multiple gin & tonics for half the flight. Both of them share my view that masks are utterly pointless so were happier in Business.
I suspect the crew enforce "the rules" with rather less gusto the further towards the front of the plane you are sitting...

 

[Butts]

Just flown BA Edinburgh to Heathrow, unbelievable nearly every seat taken , no social distancing, centre seats occupied,at least expected centre seats to empty. This from a premium operator shows complete disregard for customer

Or perhaps it demonstrates that they are confident the risk of transmission is minimal or they could be facing big money lawsuits ?

Perhaps you should be asking why Trains are not "packing them in" in the same manner?

Even if the middle seat is free you are not going to be 2 metres away by any stretch of the imagination ?

It's sheer hypocrisy as you have to socially distance in the departure area but not on the plane. Also unless it's changed they control embarkation and disembarkation to afford social distancing.

Elephant in the room (but not mentioned) you have just been sat next to a stranger for a couple of hours so what's the point.

On Easyjet it's a free for all getting off as a comparison.

 

[Aictos]

I flew BA to Dusseldorf in Oct and got complimentary refreshments in economy however on the BA flight from Berlin nothing.

Now I know they don't do complimentary refreshments as they used to do but what I don't understand is why was it available on one flight for all passengers yet on the same airline but from a different route wasn't as that doesn't make sense.

Needless to say I preferred the Dusseldorf flight, wasn't impressed with the Berlin flight simply because Germany last minute decided to enforce luggage restrictions and BA decided to downsize the aircraft type from a Airbus A321 to A320 which was annoying when I booked specifically to get the larger aircraft.

As to social distancing not being practised, I also flew KLM CityHopper as the aircraft diagrammed for the flights were Embraer E190s which have pretty good leg room and every seat was taken but on all flights I took that month, face masks were compulsory except when eating or drinking.

As to KLM, will use them again as they were pretty good.

 

[FQTV]

British Airways shorthaul flights are all return-catered, that is to say that all catering for both the outbound and inbound sector is loaded in London.

It’s therefore possible that, if there’s greater demand than expected outbound, some of the carts loaded for the inbound will be opened during the outbound flight, to permit completion of service.

Or, if there are a number of last minute reservations for the inbound, or any kind of initial under-delivery to the aircraft in London, then in all scenarios the inbound food and beverage service could be deleted.

Generally-speaking, it won’t be because there’s absolutely no catering available, but the in-charge cabin crew member may have to take a view on whether there’s enough available to at least offer something to everyone - given that getting so far up the aisle and then saying ‘sorry, no more left’ would inevitably go down badly.

For what it’s worth, on my last KLM trip, they unilaterally decided that I couldn’t make a connection at Amsterdam, offloaded me from the onward flight and rebooked me for the following day.

I arrived at the gate for the planned onward flight twenty minutes before boarding was due to start, and a thirty minute delay was then announced.

I had to ask to be onloaded back to the flight, but the gate staff insisted that I would have to be downgraded to Economy from my booked Business Class seat.

On board, with the doors closed, there were two passengers in Business with eight empty seats, and after a conversation with the Cabin Manager, I was allowed to re-take the seat for which I’d originally had a boarding pass in Business. He realised that not doing so would open the airline to EU261/2004 downgrade compensation liability.

I mention all this mostly to confirm that all airlines have bad days.

 

[Butts]

Disappointing that BA are "pulling up the drawbridge" when it comes to free entry to a lot of affiliate Lounges and a lot of their own remain closed.

Anecdotally Jersey and Gibraltar are amongst the latest casualties and Edinburgh and Glasgow remain shuttered up.

Gibraltar is particularly annoying for me personally as I have a CE trip from EDI-GIB via LHR in early January.

They don't even give you a voucher to spend at one of the other refreshment outlets. Not all the fares are rock bottom either.

 

[FQTV]

Disappointing that BA are "pulling up the drawbridge" when it comes to free entry to a lot of affiliate Lounges and a lot of their own remain closed.

Anecdotally Jersey and Gibraltar are amongst the latest casualties and Edinburgh and Glasgow remain shuttered up.

Gibraltar is particularly annoying for me personally as I have a CE trip from EDI-GIB via LHR in early January.

They don't even give you a voucher to spend at one of the other refreshment outlets. Not all the fares are rock bottom either.

British Airways' owner, IAG, reported an EUR1.3bn operating loss for the third quarter.

British Airways passenger numbers are down 85.2% year on year, and load factors are down by 43.4%.

9,800 British Airways employees will have left the company by the end of this month.

 

[Butts]

British Airways' owner, IAG, reported an EUR1.3bn operating loss for the third quarter.

British Airways passenger numbers are down 85.2% year on year, and load factors are down by 43.4%.

9,800 British Airways employees will have left the company by the end of this month.

What happened to the operating profit in excess of £2 Billion they made last year ?

With all the cost saving measures listed do they really want to alienate their "Elite Clientele" (not me) by penny pinching in areas that are blatantly obvious and tarnish the brand ?

 

[najaB]

What happened to the operating profit in excess of £2 Billion they made last year ?

You might have heard of this thing called Covid 19?