British Airways

[WestCoast]

You are correct but why do you think BA put their first class passengers on buses?
The answer is that their revenue management are no doubt very good at their jobs and have done their job for years and they clearly do not think that paying for an extra bus is worthwhile for what is usually 8 people
Do bear in mind that BA have just made 617million profit in Q3 2023 and they did not achieve that by making stupid revenue management decisions regarding first class passengers

British Airways summer profits surge 50% despite air traffic control outage

Strong leisure demand drives record performance for owner IAG

travelweekly.co.uk

While I don’t doubt that at all, I would argue that BA gets away with a lot of their cost optimisation because of such strong premium demand to fly directly from London especially to the US and Canada. The competition there is from Virgin or the US carriers, where there is hardly any or a poor First class offered. They funnel a lot of eastbound traffic onto their partner/stakeholder Qatar now which of course has its unlimited Government money to splash out on passengers and compete with Emirates, Singapore etc.

 

[hassaanhc]

BA are on many occasions the same price as or sometimes even cheaper than easyJet and Ryanair. The low cost carriers don't sell all their seats for £20!

easyJet and Ryanair are only cheaper if you're taking a tiny bag to put under the seats. Once you add extra baggage your fare is more expensive than BA, easyJet often charge more for baggage than the actual flight.

The fares aren't much different if you're flexible, usually £35 - 60 each way, especially from Gatwick. Some of the peak fares are a lot more, but if you're willing to travel on morning or evening flights then it's very reasonable.
Large cabin bags are included in the basic fare, and the upgrade to checked baggage is only £10 or 20, lccs will often charge a lot more for bags

Also, don't forget that some people live much closer to Heathrow compared to the others. I live in Southall (and I remember you're out towards Twyford so not far away). With a good connection between bus and train at Southall station, I can be at Heathrow Terminals 2,3 in less than half an hour. There's also the Piccadilly line from Hounslow Central (same bus from mine also goes there), and we have the various bus options with one change onto any of the 105, 111, 423, 482. Therefore, once the cost of getting to the other airports is taken into account, the various "low cost" options no longer add up a lot of the time. Ok, Gatwick is reasonable if I go from Hounslow and change at Clapham Junction, but Stansted and Luton cost £40-50 return by train.

I've just done a weekend trip on BA Heathrow to Prague for £75 return, out on Friday evening and return Sunday afternoon (shame we were almost 2 hours late due to assistance issues at Heathrow). Similarly, I've got Munich coming up early next month for £95 return, again out Friday evening and return Sunday evening. And it's not just BA. On boxing day, I booked a last minute trip (28-31 December) to Madrid for £88 return with Iberia, and they happened to be the cheapest option from the London area!

 

[Butts]

BA wins hands down if you have Silver Status or above from Scotland to London and beyond.

Free Seat Selection, Fast Track Security and Lounge Access both ends. Generous baggage allowance as well.

Without it a different ball game.

 

[WestCoast]

BA wins hands down if you have Silver Status or above from Scotland to London and beyond.

Free Seat Selection, Fast Track Security and Lounge Access both ends. Generous baggage allowance as well.

Without it a different ball game.

For sure. I was BA Silver up until last year and it’s a game changer. I think the unpublished benefit of them holding the seats next to you free as long as possible is also great. However, I still think you have to crunch the numbers to see if it’s worth it overall though. If you are flying BA many times a month then absolutely yes but otherwise not sure.

There is also easyJet Plus which is around £200 per year and gives you all that flying from Edinburgh minus the lounge access. BA also have hand luggage only fares and Silver doesn’t get you any hold luggage on those. Combining the easy Plus with an unlimited Priority Pass for lounges would still be under £650 or so which I think it well under the costs I had to spend to acquire BA Silver.

 

[najaB]

BA also have hand luggage only fares and Silver doesn’t get you any hold luggage on those. Combining the easy Plus with an unlimited Priority Pass for lounges would still be under £650 or so which I think it well under the costs I had to spend to acquire BA Silver.

But can't you still also earn BA status through everyday spending with certain bank accounts/credit cards?

 

[WestCoast]

But can't you still also earn BA status through everyday spending with certain bank accounts/credit cards?

Historically, no not with BA. You would earn Avios but not tier points for status as they were earned only by flying BA or their partner airlines. However, there is now some sort of deal to earn tier points on the BA Amex but it’s a very recent thing. It still wouldn’t be enough to earn Silver without flying though.

 

[Jamiescott1]

Historically, no not with BA. You would earn Avios but not tier points for status as they were earned only by flying BA or their partner airlines. However, there is now some sort of deal to earn tier points on the BA Amex but it’s a very recent thing. It still wouldn’t be enough to earn Silver without flying though.

I earn avios through my credit cards and through the executive club app but can't accumulate enough tier points in a year to move up statuses.
My most recent year was transatlantic return in premium economy and 3 x Europe return in economy. No where near enough to move up tier points

 

[najaB]

However, there is now some sort of deal to earn tier points on the BA Amex but it’s a very recent thing. It still wouldn’t be enough to earn Silver without flying though.

It would likely be enough to push the balance back in BA's favour though, compared to easyJet Plus - given that you would be getting points for "free".

 

[WestCoast]

I've just done a weekend trip on BA Heathrow to Prague for £75 return, out on Friday evening and return Sunday afternoon (shame we were almost 2 hours late due to assistance issues at Heathrow). Similarly, I've got Munich coming up early next month for £95 return, again out Friday evening and return Sunday evening. And it's not just BA. On boxing day, I booked a last minute trip (28-31 December) to Madrid for £88 return with Iberia, and they happened to be the cheapest option from the London area!

BA have some very good fares, I regularly see them more or less the same as easyJet on Scotland – London when you consider the cabin bag. I also prefer Heathrow or City to Gatwick, Luton or Stansted if I’m heading to my usual places I go in the London area. BA is my most flown actually, followed by Ryanair then easyJet then Flybe (RIP).

However, the low cost carriers can still be exceptional value for money if you are local to their airports and especially if you’re prepared to take an underseat bag. I read a lot of stuff in the press about BA being cheaper but it’s meaningless if you are not in South East England. I am doing a long weekend on easyJet in Geneva next month flying directly from Glasgow which takes me 15 minutes on the bus to reach for £56 return. Ryanair the month after to the Canaries from Edinburgh for £78 return. I imagine if you’re local to Stansted or Luton you will want to fly from there, it will all come down to circumstance of course

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Jan 2024 ==

I earn avios through my credit cards and through the executive club app but can't accumulate enough tier points in a year to move up statuses.
My most recent year was transatlantic return in premium economy and 3 x Europe return in economy. No where near enough to move up tier points

You get the most tier points in business class and above. Also booking a BA Holiday in their current promotion. I earned most of mine flying Qatar in their Business Class to China on a very good value fare before the pandemic which got me most of the way to BA Silver. Not sure about the best deals nowadays.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Jan 2024 ==

It would likely be enough to push the balance back in BA's favour though, compared to easyJet Plus - given that you would be getting points for "free".

It likely would not for most people as the BA Amex has a £250 fee, plus you can only earn 200 tier points and you need 600 in total to attain Silver so will still need 400 from flying, which is 10 business class flights between London and Edinburgh. I can’t see that total cost beating £650 for easy Plus and a lounge access card. It will come down to circumstance again, if you are needing to travel long-haul or a company is paying or something else then BA still may make more sense.

 

[najaB]

More likely than not BA-related, just read an article listing the most popular routes (1M plus passengers last year) ex-Heathrow and while the usual suspects show up (New York, Los Angeles, etc.) I was surprised to see Edinburgh in the list.

Fairly sure BA is the only operator on this route, no? It must be a nice earner for them.

What are the 24 routes from Heathrow with over 1 million passengers?

Heathrow Airport has revealed the 24 routes which have over 1 million annual passengers. New York is obviously the busiest but the rest are interesting.

www.headforpoints.com

 

[Butts]

BA have a promotion on for Double Tier Points that has been running for a couple of years now if you book flights and five nights hotel or car hire.

Talking Edinburgh to Turkey or any other 80 points destination from LHR you can rack up 480 points in one trip within touching distance of Silver at 600 Points

Personally that's a bit to long for me.

I have just come back from a weekend in Pisa which racks up 160 points - 4 of those type trips in a year and you are over the line.

 

[RailWonderer]

It likely would not for most people as the BA Amex has a £250 fee, plus you can only earn 200 tier points and you need 600 in total to attain Silver so will still need 400 from flying, which is 10 business class flights between London and Edinburgh. I can’t see that total cost beating £650 for easy Plus and a lounge access card. It will come down to circumstance again, if you are needing to travel long-haul or a company is paying or something else then BA still may make more sense.

Unless you fly for work (in that case the work pays for it and airmiles go to them) or you are really rich, who is going to do this? Who is flying every month somewhere, unless you don't work.

 

[Mojo]

Unless you fly for work (in that case the work pays for it and airmiles go to them) or you are really rich, who is going to do this? Who is flying every month somewhere, unless you don't work.

That’s kind of the point, it’s not supposed to be really easy to get, otherwise everyone would be doing it.

Having said that, obtaining Silver status with BA is relatively easy and you neither need to be “really rich” or travelling for work.

10 sectors between London and Edinburgh is 5 return trips which would get you 400 Tier points in business. You could almost get it in one straightforward trip if you change planes. For example a business class return from London to Los Angeles changing in New York would only leave you 40 tier points short.

Also, your point about companies collecting air miles is wrong. Avios are credited to a named individual travelling, the company does not, and can not, collect them. A separate scheme exists for companies to collect points on flights they have booked, but that is distinct from, and does not take away, the individual’s Avios points.

 

[cactustwirly]

I'm knowhere near enough tier points for Bronze let alone Silver.

But I have got enough avios for a couple of flights. I normally book package holidays via BA holidays as you get good deals on hotels, plus you also get a lot of Avios points. It's done on the old more lucrative system

 

[RailWonderer]

A separate scheme exists for companies to collect points on flights they have booked, but that is distinct from, and does not take away, the individual’s Avios points.

Yes, that's what I was thinking of.

 

[Watershed]

It likely would not for most people as the BA Amex has a £250 fee, plus you can only earn 200 tier points and you need 600 in total to attain Silver so will still need 400 from flying, which is 10 business class flights between London and Edinburgh. I can’t see that total cost beating £650 for easy Plus and a lounge access card. It will come down to circumstance again, if you are needing to travel long-haul or a company is paying or something else then BA still may make more sense.

You'd have to be putting £25k through the BA Amex to earn 200 tier points - for most people this is only remotely feasible if they charge a lot of business expenses to their personal card, which is a breach of the T&Cs.

Achieving the required tier points for Silver is doable if you make use of the double tier points offer on a couple of short-haul holidays originating in one of the regional UK airports, or one long-haul holiday with a connection (e.g. via Doha to the east or via the eastern US to the western US).

 

[AndrewP]

I really like BA - in my experience reliable, relatively comfortable (no worse than others and often cleaner), generally good staff and T5 works.

Compared with the disgrace that is KLM and Schiphol (my other realistic option) they are leagues ahead

 

[md2016]

The problem is that British Airways make huge profits and so are not really interested in competing much.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 12 Jan 2024 ==


You are correct but why do you think BA put their first class passengers on buses?
The answer is that their revenue management are no doubt very good at their jobs and have done their job for years and they clearly do not think that paying for an extra bus is worthwhile for what is usually 8 people
Do bear in mind that BA have just made 617million profit in Q3 2023 and they did not achieve that by making stupid revenue management decisions regarding first class passengers

British Airways summer profits surge 50% despite air traffic control outage

Strong leisure demand drives record performance for owner IAG

travelweekly.co.uk

Wasn't a key issue that BA have a monopoly of airport slots at T5, which blocks like-for-like competition so they don't need to be anywhere near as responsive to customer need as other providers?

Although I'm biased. I still haven't forgiven them for cancelling my business class BA flight to Pisa, offering me a take it or lose money on the holiday economy flights on Vuelling via Barcelona, and then stuck me at the back of the plane and filled the premium seats next to my wife with non-paying Vuelling staff. Then refused to apologise or compensate me in any way.

 

[Bald Rick]

Mrs BR has now officially joined my BA boycott after a recent bad experience. Next trip is Virgin.

 

[AlterEgo]

Mrs BR has now officially joined my BA boycott after a recent bad experience. Next trip is Virgin.

What happened, out of interest?

I flew Virgin yesterday, Dubai to London. Their Upper Class seats are very weak, but the service was great and food was a notch above BA. I think I'd choose them over BA on that route, all else being equal.

 

[najaB]

I think I'd choose them over BA on that route, all else being equal.

Living in Scotland, I probably would too: if Virgin Little Red still existed.

 

[AlastairFraser]

But I have got enough avios for a couple of flights. I normally book package holidays via BA holidays as you get good deals on hotels, plus you also get a lot of Avios points. It's done on the old more lucrative system

Also prudent to mention you can convert Nectar to Avios, and vice versa. So you can get reasonable deals on BA short haul flights if you have a decent amount of Nectar points to exchange.

Edit: Oneworld partner Aer Lingus is even better if you're planning flights through or to the Republic - 4,000 Avios for a one way off peak economy flight, so 8,000 Nectar would cover it and then some more. (Nectar to Avios is 400 Nectar - 250 Avios)

 

[Butts]

Unless you fly for work (in that case the work pays for it and airmiles go to them) or you are really rich, who is going to do this? Who is flying every month somewhere, unless you don't work.

You don't have to be really rich.

I go somewhere every month on BA from Edinburgh (or occasionally GLA ) via LHR with 2 or three nights in a Hotel for around £300 odd.

The saving on my cigarettes makes it largely self-funding.

I have just dropped from Gold to Silver and my next few trips are in CE ( a bit more than £300) to retain my Silver Status for next year.

So far I am on schedule to complete in excess of 50 flights for leisure purposes this year.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Jan 2024 ==

Living in Scotland, I probably would too: if Virgin Little Red still existed.

Didn't last two minutes !!

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Fairly sure BA is the only operator on this route, no? It must be a nice earner for them.

EasyJet fly 4-5 times a day to Edinburgh from each of Gatwick, Luton and Stansted.
So BA has competition.

Same applies on several other domestic routes (Glasgow, Belfast etc).

 

[najaB]

So BA has competition.

But not to Heathrow, which was the point of the article I referenced.

 

[Bald Rick]

What happened, out of interest?

Plane cancelled, less than 24h notice (trans atlantic). Alternative offered rather inconvenient to a different airport. Second time this has happened out of her last three flights on that route. BA customer service response unimpressive. Cheerio!

 

[brad465]

As someone who almost always flies for cycling holidays and takes my bike, BA have been the only short and medium haul airline I know where the bike bag counts as normal luggage, which is a huge cost saving compared to budget airlines where they charge it as an extra (usually about £70+ for a return trip), making BA the first choice for me where this is available. I believe Virgin Atlantic also do this, but I've never done a cycling holiday far away enough for their long haul to be an option (when I flew VA them to/from India this was a Uni fieldtrip and I remember their luggage allowance being very generous).

If/when BA stop doing this, and/or a better alternative comes along who offers the same for bike passengers, then I'll probably look elsewhere more often.

 

[nlogax]

Today's public service announcement; the BA lounge at GLA is closed until Sunday. Couple of folks outside giving £30 food and drink vouchers which I have just discovered are only valid at Starbucks, BK and the Bird & Signet

 

[AlterEgo]

Today's public service announcement; the BA lounge at GLA is closed until Sunday. Couple of folks outside giving £30 food and drink vouchers which I have just discovered are only valid at Starbucks, BK and the Bird & Signet

£30 in Burger King would feed a family. Such a weird choice of outlet to have the voucher for!

 

[najaB]

£30 in Burger King would feed a family. Such a weird choice of outlet to have the voucher for!

Not in an airport branch though!