Heathrow and BA a disgrace to the country

[RailWonderer]

only used sixteen times

Lots to digest here.

T5 transfers are fine for me, and having to go through security is no different from an EU to non-EU transfer at airports in Europe. I would rather have T5 than have to take an unexpected 45 minutes to go from similarly numbered gates at Frankfurt with windy corridors, passport control and security lines.

There is night and day when things go wrong, I missed a transfer recently and BA rebooked before I landed and put me up at Heathrow. In the past colleagues of mine have had real hassle getting Easyjet to do anything like that to the extent they were left to do all the rebooking and finding hotels themselves to later claim back. Similarly KLM have rebooked me immediately on at least 3 times when flights were delayed (twice for weather).

Comparison with low-cost airlines: I suppose the low cost airlines are effectively what destroyed a lot of what I used to like about BA because BA had to compete (we will also give you no-baggage fares, no food or drink etc.).

Service. This is going to depend a lot on what class you travel and this affects the all-over experience. I just don't like the Belgian Airlines planes BA uses and those have terrible entertainment choices. I see a lot of people just using tablets on planes now.

BA is always my go-to for this reason - generous baggage allowance, and is why I use them and they know this is their pulling point over the budget airlines. Since I never travel light, I like to be prepared for everything e.g. in case of cancellations etc and always pack an extra change of clothes plus gifts. Then BA will book you overnight - you won't get that with the budget carriers.

BA is still unrivalled for no hidden charges and a good standard of service although it isn't what it used to be for having to compete with the cheapo carriers. However there are still many people who would not consider budget - especially if going hiking/skiing and needing to pack extra layers and equipment.

 

[Butts]

Sitting in the BA Lounge at EDI en-route to LHR and then onto Jersey life seems good.

Whizzed through FT Security .....

Just had a Bacon Roll for BF and will shortly be enjoying Lunch courtesy of BA.

A bottle of Talisker Surge has my name on it.

No disgrace here BA at it's best !!

 

[eoff]

There was mention of regional routes.
I found my BA timetable (printed) from 2001-2002. As an example of what we used to have.

Routes from EDI:

Belfast (City)
Birmingham
Bristol
Cardiff
Dublin
Inverness
London (18 flights per day on some days either LHR T1 or LGW N)
Manchester
Paris (CDG)
Shetland
Southampton
Stornoway (1 per wk)
Wick

From what I recall at one point the London Heathrow service was a "Shuttle" which had standby planes.

Today we have

LHR, LCY
Chambery
Palma
Southampton
Helsinki (that seems to have vanished)

 

[jon0844]

One thing I can recommend at BER airport which makes it much easier is Runway security. It's free of charge, it's a dedicated security area with allocated time slots. You can go on to the BER airport website, enter your departure details and book a slot, then simply show up at the allocated time (up to 10 minutes either side) and you're straight through security without queuing.

Why does that sound like something that sooner or later will be available for a 'nominal' fee... and then a bit more...

 

[Butts]

There was mention of regional routes.
I found my BA timetable (printed) from 2001-2002. As an example of what we used to have.

Routes from EDI:

Belfast (City)
Birmingham
Bristol
Cardiff
Dublin
Inverness
London (18 flights per day on some days either LHR T1 or LGW N)
Manchester
Paris (CDG)
Shetland
Southampton
Stornoway (1 per wk)
Wick

From what I recall at one point the London Heathrow service was a "Shuttle" which had standby planes.

Today we have

LHR, LCY
Chambery
Palma
Southampton
Helsinki (that seems to have vanished)

The price to be paid for the democratisation of travel unfortunately.

 

[cactustwirly]

There was mention of regional routes.
I found my BA timetable (printed) from 2001-2002. As an example of what we used to have.

Routes from EDI:

Belfast (City)
Birmingham
Bristol
Cardiff
Dublin
Inverness
London (18 flights per day on some days either LHR T1 or LGW N)
Manchester
Paris (CDG)
Shetland
Southampton
Stornoway (1 per wk)
Wick

From what I recall at one point the London Heathrow service was a "Shuttle" which had standby planes.

Today we have

LHR, LCY
Chambery
Palma
Southampton
Helsinki (that seems to have vanished)

A lot of those routes were passed onto Flybe which later went bankrupt.
Destinations such as Belfast and Dublin are served by Aer Lingus aren't they?

 

[Wolfie]

A lot of those routes were passed onto Flybe which later went bankrupt.
Destinations such as Belfast and Dublin are served by Aer Lingus aren't they?

Indeed many routes did end up with Flybe, sometimes via an intermediate stage. The lack of economic viability of that airline rather justifies BA's decision making.

 

[Butts]

Indeed many routes did end up with Flybe, sometimes via an intermediate stage. The lack of economic viability of that airline rather justifies BA's decision making.

Who remembers BA Connect ?

 

[Wolfie]

Who remembers BA Connect ?

Yup. They also had their very own low cost carrier Go.

 

[Butts]

Sitting in the BA Lounge at EDI en-route to LHR and then onto Jersey life seems good.

Whizzed through FT Security .....

Just had a Bacon Roll for BF and will shortly be enjoying Lunch courtesy of BA.

A bottle of Talisker Surge has my name on it.

No disgrace here BA at it's best !!

Delayed going to LHR by nearly an hour - Talisker took the edge off it.

Upgraded at the gate from 17C to 2A.

BA Britain at it's best

Through 1st Wing Security and into GF Lounge - can't beat it !!

If only there was a smoking area in T5 nirvana would have arrived

Yup. They also had their very own low cost carrier Go.

BA Connect was "el cheapo" BA without the frills BHX-EDI amongst others - Flybe bought it out.

 

[DanNCL]

Yup. They also had their very own low cost carrier Go.

Selling Go to easyJet was a huge mistake. BA (and now IAG) could have done very well out of it if they’d persevered.
Bmibaby was another missed opportunity by IAG. If they’d kept it as it was for just a little bit longer they’d then have had the opportunity to integrate it into Vueling, giving IAG and the Vueling brand an established network from Birmingham and East Midlands.

 

[edwin_m]

Who remembers BA Connect ?

I recall flying from Birmingham to Frankfurt, Duesseldorf and Stuttgart on various occasions in the late 1990s. Pretty sure at least one of these was badged as BA but operated by Maersk Air, but from what I can tell from Wikipedia it seems these became BA Connect later on. Maersk appears to have been sold to become Duo Airways, who seemed to think they could make the low cost model work with much smaller aircraft. I flew with them from Birmingham to Berlin in 2004 and was due to fly to Vienna a few weeks later but they went bust a few days before.

 

[Butts]

Selling Go to easyJet was a huge mistake. BA (and now IAG) could have done very well out of it if they’d persevered.
Bmibaby was another missed opportunity by IAG. If they’d kept it as it was for just a little bit longer they’d then have had the opportunity to integrate it into Vueling, giving IAG and the Vueling brand an established network from Birmingham and East Midlands.

The Maglev between Birmingham International and the Airport used to be emboldened with BMI Baby "propagandas"

 

[cactustwirly]

Selling Go to easyJet was a huge mistake. BA (and now IAG) could have done very well out of it if they’d persevered.
Bmibaby was another missed opportunity by IAG. If they’d kept it as it was for just a little bit longer they’d then have had the opportunity to integrate it into Vueling, giving IAG and the Vueling brand an established network from Birmingham and East Midlands.

I think the acquisition of GB Airways by easyJet was a bigger mistake allowing easyJet to expand into Gatwick becoming it's biggest airline. BA had the opportunity to buy them, I think in hindsight if they had gone with the proposal to merge it with their existing operations, they would be in a much stronger position at Gatwick and easyJet wouldn't have been so dominant.

I believe easyJet also bought Norwegians slots during Covid, so they now have a south Terminal presence. I do know they are also using some of IAG's slots too

 

[BayPaul]

I'm in the group who will go out of my way to avoid BA - Ryanair, Easyjet and virgin are so much better.
BA have a horrible tendency to trash their entire short haul service at the drop of a hat, their onboard and airport customer service is pompous and poor, and whenever I've had anything go wrong, they seem to make a point of making it get worse. About my least favourite company anywhere!

 

[DanNCL]

I think the acquisition of GB was a bigger mistake allowing easyJet to expand into Gatwick becoming it's biggest airline.

I'd forgotten about that one but yes that was an equally big mistake, especially as easyJet only bought it for the slots at Gatwick. easyJet had got rid of all the former GB Airways aircraft within three years despite the young age of the fleet. Two of them, G-TTOB and G-TTOE, went back to BA in 2009, still in base BA livery albeit with easyJet tailfins.

I believe easyJet bought Norwegians slots during Covid, so they now have a south Terminal presence. I do know they are also using some of IAG's slots too

Norwegian are back at Gatwick but I don't know if they bought the slots back from easyJet or if they've acquired slots another way.

 

[1D54]

I know we're going well off thread here so apologies but is there anything still on the table with Ryanair trying to take over Aer Lingus? All about slots at Heathrow and i seriously hope it is dead in the water.

 

[Butts]

I'm in the group who will go out of my way to avoid BA - Ryanair, Easyjet and virgin are so much better.
BA have a horrible tendency to trash their entire short haul service at the drop of a hat, their onboard and airport customer service is pompous and poor, and whenever I've had anything go wrong, they seem to make a point of making it get worse. About my least favourite company anywhere!

Have you read my account above of my trip from EDI -JER via LHR hardly aligns with your suppositions about BA ?

 

[DanNCL]

I know we're going well off thread here so apologies but is there anything still on the table with Ryanair trying to take over Aer Lingus? All about slots at Heathrow and i seriously hope it is dead in the water.

Aer Lingus is now part of IAG. Zero chance anymore of a Ryanair takeover.

 

[BayPaul]

Have you read my account above of my trip from EDI -JER via LHR hardly aligns with your suppositions about BA ?

I guess you have got a lot more lucky with them than I have! My experiences range from average to utterly diabolical. I very, very much prefer Ryanair.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I guess you have got a lot more lucky with them than I have! My experiences range from average to utterly diabolical. I very, very much prefer Ryanair.

Do you actually prefer Ryanair, or do you simply consider them better value for money? For example, though I consider Ryanair the best value for money of any airline, you may bet if I were to get British Airways flights on the same route A to B for the exact same fare, I'd be flying the flag.

 

[BayPaul]

Do you actually prefer Ryanair, or do you simply consider them better value for money? For example, though I consider Ryanair the best value for money of any airline, you may bet if I were to get British Airways flights on the same route A to B for the exact same fare, I'd be flying the flag.

I'd be happy to pay a bit more for easyjet or ryanair over BA tbh (including bag fees etc). My experience is that I'm far more likely to actually reach my destination, and I find the service better

 

[Butts]

I'd be happy to pay a bit more for easyjet or ryanair over BA tbh (including bag fees etc). My experience is that I'm far more likely to actually reach my destination, and I find the service better

I take it you don't have status with BA which affords FT Security, Free Seat Selection, Free Baggage and Lounge Access et al ?

I also use Easyjet between EDI and BHX as BA don't fly the route and am satisficed with their service. A £20 fare to BHX without all the above BA benefits can cost over a ton to replicate.

 

[CC 72100]

I take it you don't have status with BA which affords FT Security, Free Seat Selection, Free Baggage and Lounge Access et al ?

Realistically, 95% of people won't.

Only flown with them once (Europe short haul). My experience was probably clouded by being in the last row of an A320 with no window in the most crowded bit of the plane where it tapers in.

They were ok but quite frankly I wouldn't pay a premium to fly with BA over the LCCs and on European flight there is no real difference (and in reality, there is not much way a difference can be created anyway)

 

[1D54]

I guess you have got a lot more lucky with them than I have! My experiences range from average to utterly diabolical. I very, very much prefer Ryanair.

Really hope nothing goes wrong for you on your travels but in the event of it happening i look forward to reading of your experience with FR. They have ditched me in the past, they still owe me money that i haven't a hope in hell of ever getting. BA on the other hand have put me up in a hotel and compensated me with more money than i actually paid for the flight.

 

[BayPaul]

Really hope nothing goes wrong for you on your travels but in the event of it happening i look forward to reading of your experience with FR. They have ditched me in the past, they still owe me money that i haven't a hope in hell of ever getting. BA on the other hand have put me up in a hotel and compensated me with more money than i actually paid for the flight.

I'd hope the same for you! I've had nothing but problems, lies and broken promises whenever things go wrong with BA. Their staff are all too quick to fob you off with something that sounds promising, but then doing absolutely nothing to actually put it into practice.
When I've had disruption with easyjet and Ryanair it has been handled competently and professionally. I'm sure that doesn't happen every time with them, but it certainly doesn't with ba either!

I take it you don't have status with BA which affords FT Security, Free Seat Selection, Free Baggage and Lounge Access et al ?

I also use Easyjet between EDI and BHX as BA don't fly the route and am satisficed with their service. A £20 fare to BHX without all the above BA benefits can cost over a ton to replicate.

No, but I also don't need most of those benefits. I just want to get from A to B. I know that if I want to take more than a small backpack I need to assume a higher price than the headline figure, other than that, I'm good to go.

 

[eoff]

One thing I hate with Easyjet is the pretence of 'boarding' which translates as "we want you to the gate asap to sit until we corall you in s small cold corridor to wait until we can let you on the plane."
I once asked a gate agent if it was a bridge to the plane and instead of "no" the attitude was of incredulity at the question and the answer was "we don't pay for bridges to the aircraft".

Even though I have a preference for BA and KLM at the moment due to travel patterns there are downsides, I came across very long checkin queues for KLM last year and at some airports they don't staff the check-in all the time so you have to wait and BA have some pretty cramped seats in Economy flights to the USA.

I'm also never going to choose Easyjet if there is a connection.

 

[cactustwirly]

One thing I hate with Easyjet is the pretence of 'boarding' which translates as "we want you to the gate asap to sit until we corall you in s small cold corridor to wait until we can let you on the plane."
I once asked a gate agent if it was a bridge to the plane and instead of "no" the attitude was of incredulity at the question and the answer was "we don't pay for bridges to the aircraft".

Even though I have a preference for BA and KLM at the moment due to travel patterns there are downsides, I came across very long checkin queues for KLM last year and at some airports they don't staff the check-in all the time so you have to wait and BA have some pretty cramped seats in Economy flights to the USA.

I'm also never going to choose Easyjet if there is a connection.

This is the one thing that really annoys me with low cost carriers

 

[Butts]

This is the one thing that really annoys me with low cost carriers

To be fair they board an Aircraft far quicker than BA due to the difference in carry on luggage allowances.

 

[cactustwirly]

To be fair they board an Aircraft far quicker than BA due to the difference in carry on luggage allowances.

I've never noticed a significant difference, BA can be speedy too