British Airways

[eoff]

No - No representatives at the airport. Have submitted the claim via their website but they are still processing it (8 weeks later)

This is an issue nowadays, so many airports don't have airline staff. I do normally get text messages and emails from the airline which include pointers to phone numbers, rebooking options, rights etc.
What I have noticed however is that if the cancellation is due to some large disruption (current Finnair pilot work to rule or fog at an airport) then it can be impossible to get through by chat or phone channels,

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Feb 2025 ==

So genuine question to those who say they'd never fly from X airport: What makes an airport bad, to the extent that some people may refuse to use it?

Years ago I stopped flying from LCY to Edinburgh in the evenings after too many experiences of an overcrowded terminal and knock-on flight delays.
Happy to use it from EDI to LCY.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Don't think I've ever queued for more than 15 minutes at any UK airport.

45 minutes’ queuing is fairly regular at T3 Manchester in the summer months. I’m counting down the days until Loganair and BA move to T2.

If you want to be "the world's favourite airline" you need to not annoy your regulars !

It’s onlyy really annoyed the Flyertalk and blogger sorts who quite liked being able to get Silver for £3.75 under the old system and are rather grumpy now they can’t.

Back to BA they are still really lacking on customer service. After 4 cancelled flights back in December still heard nothing

That’s where EasyJet are better. Both times I’ve had to claim reimbursement for expenses they’ve paid me within a week. But EasyJet often won’t book things for you so it’s just as well they don’t dawdle.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Feb 2025 ==

Years ago I stopped flying from LCY to Edinburgh in the evenings after too many experiences of an overcrowded terminal

LCY can get very very busy but IME there’s always plenty of space if you find an empty gate down the far end of the low numbered gates. A Caffè Nero and plane spotting isn’t such a bad way to spend a delay.

 

[eoff]

LCY can get very very busy but IME there’s always plenty of space if you find an empty gate down the far end of the low numbered gates. A Caffè Nero and plane spotting isn’t such a bad way to spend a delay.

I had multiple colleagues who were caught out by issues leaving Edinburgh a couple of years ago, those on Easyjet had variable experiences from agents who would book hotels and arrange flights to those who just said go and sort it out yourself and put in a claim later, and these were peole wiith a head start who knew what EJ's responsibility was.

 

[Tetchytyke]

those on Easyjet had variable experiences

My experience isn’t variable: EasyJet just leaves you to it. You won’t see any ground staff who will help you.

I don’t mind as I have a credit card with a good limit and easyJet don’t tend to quibble about expenses unless you were taking the pee. But every few weeks our local press have a story about how it’s a DISGRACE that VULNERABLE PEOPLE are ABANDONED after the evening Gatwick gets cancelled. Which it does a lot, given EasyJet seem to think a timetable is purely rhetorical.

 

[najaB]

KLM give you a thick sandwich for free.

That's apparently ending in the near future.

 

[CC 72100]

My experience isn’t variable: EasyJet just leaves you to it. You won’t see any ground staff who will help you.

I don’t mind as I have a credit card with a good limit and easyJet don’t tend to quibble about expenses unless you were taking the pee. But every few weeks our local press have a story about how it’s a DISGRACE that VULNERABLE PEOPLE are ABANDONED after the evening Gatwick gets cancelled. Which it does a lot, given EasyJet seem to think a timetable is purely rhetorical.

Given what you (and others have described), I'd almost wonder whether it's a business decision - cheaper not have staff there to do rebooking in disruption than let people sort themselves out with the onus on them to remember to claim afterwards.

 

[TravelDream]

At the risk of going off topic, I'm not sure what all the Luton and Stansted hate is caused by.

Any airport can be busy at the wrong time. Duty free shops - I don't use them anyway.

Security wise the worst has been US airports: JFK, SJU and RDU

I think a lot of people say x is 'terrible' due to one bad experience.
I rarely use Luton, but the last time I was there I needed to use the toilet. Not to oversell it, but the place was in a total state with cubicles blocked to the point of overflowing. Not exactly a pleasant sight.
But I also know that could be a one off and that they are investing a lot into the terminal. So I found another bathroom nearby which was just renovated and it was in a much better condition.
Was my view on Luton tarnished by that? Not particularly.

Though the main issue people seem to have with Stansted and Luton is that they are totally packed at times as their terminals weren't designed for the volume of passengers they receive. Especially at peak times.

On the latter point, there are much worse than the UK.
Try being in the Miami immigration queue just after several Latin Amercan flights have arrived. But, as you say, it's wrong place wrong time.

My experience isn’t variable: EasyJet just leaves you to it. You won’t see any ground staff who will help you.

I don’t mind as I have a credit card with a good limit and easyJet don’t tend to quibble about expenses unless you were taking the pee. But every few weeks our local press have a story about how it’s a DISGRACE that VULNERABLE PEOPLE are ABANDONED after the evening Gatwick gets cancelled. Which it does a lot, given EasyJet seem to think a timetable is purely rhetorical.

Unlike on the railway, when there's an issue in aviation that causes a big delay, the airline is responsible and has to pay out.

Airlines are also required to tell you your rights and they all do. Ryanair sends an EU261 message to people if EU261 applies.

I had a Ryanair flight cancelled on me once in Berlin. It was because of fog so EU261 compo didn't apply.
What did I do? Went on my favourite booking site and booked a nearby hotel for the night.
How did I get there? Taxi.
Where did I eat? Nice three-course meal at the hotel restaurant.
How much did I pay? Nothing. I submitted the receipts and Ryanair paid the whole amount.

Now what would have happened if the last train from London to Edinburgh had been cancelled due to leaves on the tracks of whatever?

 

[Failed Unit]

I think a lot of people say x is 'terrible' due to one bad experience.
I rarely use Luton, but the last time I was there I needed to use the toilet. Not to oversell it, but the place was in a total state with cubicles blocked to the point of overflowing. Not exactly a pleasant sight.
But I also know that could be a one off and that they are investing a lot into the terminal. So I found another bathroom nearby which was just renovated and it was in a much better condition.
Was my view on Luton tarnished by that? Not particularly.

Though the main issue people seem to have with Stansted and Luton is that they are totally packed at times as their terminals weren't designed for the volume of passengers they receive. Especially at peak times.

On the latter point, there are much worse than the UK.
Try being in the Miami immigration queue just after several Latin Amercan flights have arrived. But, as you say, it's wrong place wrong time.



Unlike on the railway, when there's an issue in aviation that causes a big delay, the airline is responsible and has to pay out.

Airlines are also required to tell you your rights and they all do. Ryanair sends an EU261 message to people if EU261 applies.

I had a Ryanair flight cancelled on me once in Berlin. It was because of fog so EU261 compo didn't apply.
What did I do? Went on my favourite booking site and booked a nearby hotel for the night.
How did I get there? Taxi.
Where did I eat? Nice three-course meal at the hotel restaurant.
How much did I pay? Nothing. I submitted the receipts and Ryanair paid the whole amount.

Now what would have happened if the last train from London to Edinburgh had been cancelled due to leaves on the tracks of whatever?

My little adventure with BA, the didn’t mention EU261 at all,

5th Dec. Outbound, they cancelled my flight because of air traffic control restrictions in France. No real issue switched to the morning flight. Early start wasn’t welcome but I got there.
Return Flight 7th December was cancelled about 8 hours before take off, pushed back until 8th December. I was notified by text and email but no mention of EU261. I phoned them to try and find other options, 1 hour on hold no joy, so booked a hotel to fly the following day. About 4 hours later I got a text saying that this flight was cancelled, with the option of returning Monday. Again tried to phone but not enough staff to speak with people. Went to the airport but only agents. So booked onto Ryanair to get home. (That flight was diverted to Prestwick and Ryanair have agreed to to pay for the hotel in Glasgow and the train back to London without issue).

It is one of those annoying things which BA say is “act of god”. I am arguing the storm was forecast so they could have given me the option to fly back early. If I knew on Saturday morning both flight were cancelled I would have used the TGV / Eurostar combo to get home.

The fight with BA goes on, but they pitch themselves as a quality airline, I out all the airlines when things go wrong they are one of the worse to deal with. Not as bad as easyjet but much worse then Ryanair.

 

[Watershed]

It’s onlyy really annoyed the Flyertalk and blogger sorts who quite liked being able to get Silver for £3.75 under the old system and are rather grumpy now they can’t.

I think you're rather wide of the mark there. You might be one of the few beneficiaries, but when you're firing or demoting 80-90% of your status holders, whilst pretending you're doing them a favour, it's going to go down like a lead balloon.

 

[TravelDream]

The fight with BA goes on, but they pitch themselves as a quality airline, I out all the airlines when things go wrong they are one of the worse to deal with. Not as bad as easyjet but much worse then Ryanair.

they are all sides of the same coin. BA is no different from EasyJet or Ryanair. In fact, I'd probably rather disruption with the latter two than BA. As your experience shows, Ryanair generally pay out without too much issue.

My suggestion is to send a notice before action to BA's legal address by recorded delivery. State in the letter you have repeatedly made contact with them and give them 14 days to respond, or you will be taking legal action. Send copies of your bills (taxis, hotels, meals and other related costs) and ask to be reimbursed. Also include the postage cost of the letter and the cost of printing the letter.

I'd have no issue then filing a claim.

Make a court claim for money

How to take legal action if someone owes you money (small claims court), how much it costs, what happens next. Includes information from withdrawn guidance EX303, EX304, EX306, EX321, EX325 and EX350.

www.gov.uk

BA would also be liable for all the costs for this.

BA are 100% liable from those costs. There is no equivocation. The law is very clear.
No matter if it was ATC, a storm or God himself, BA are responsible.
The CAA website is also very clear:
''This means they must provide:

• A reasonable amount of food and drink (often provided in the form of vouchers)
• A means for you to communicate (often by refunding the cost of your calls)
• Accommodation, if you are re-routed the next day (usually in a nearby hotel)
• Transport to and from the accommodation (or your home, if you are able to return there

The airline must provide you with these items until it is able to fly you to your destination, no matter how long the delay lasts or what has caused it.''

Delays | UK Civil Aviation Authority

UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) guidance on your rights when a flight is delayed under UK Reg (EU) No. 261/2004 (UK261). Learn what care airlines must provide, when you may be entitled to compensation, how to claim expenses, and your refund options for long delays or missed connections.

www.caa.co.uk

What you are probably not entitled to is the EU261 compensation.

 

[Failed Unit]

Lol, they are all sides of the same coin. BA is no different than easyjet or Ryanair. In fact, I'd probably rather disruption with the latter two than BA. As your experience shows, Ryanair generally pay out without too much issue.

My suggestion is to send a notice before action to BA's legal address by recorded delivery. State in the letter you have repeatedly made contact with them and give them 14 days to respond or you will be taking legal action. Send copies of your bills (taxis, hotels, meals any other related costs) and ask to be reimbursed. Also include the postage cost of the letter and the cost of printing the letter.

I'd have no issue then filing a claim.

Make a court claim for money

How to take legal action if someone owes you money (small claims court), how much it costs, what happens next. Includes information from withdrawn guidance EX303, EX304, EX306, EX321, EX325 and EX350.

www.gov.uk

BA would also be liable for all of the costs for this.

BA are 100% liable from those costs. There is no equivocation. The law is very clear.
No matter if it was ATC, a storm or God himself, BA are responsible.
The CAA website is also very clear:
''This means they must provide:

• A reasonable amount of food and drink (often provided in the form of vouchers)
• A means for you to communicate (often by refunding the cost of your calls)
• Accommodation, if you are re-routed the next day (usually in a nearby hotel)
• Transport to and from the accommodation (or your home, if you are able to return there

The airline must provide you with these items until it is able to fly you to your destination, no matter how long the delay lasts or what has caused it.''

Delays | UK Civil Aviation Authority

UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) guidance on your rights when a flight is delayed under UK Reg (EU) No. 261/2004 (UK261). Learn what care airlines must provide, when you may be entitled to compensation, how to claim expenses, and your refund options for long delays or missed connections.

www.caa.co.uk

What you are probably not entitled to is the EU261 compensation.

Thank you - that is all I am wanting my out of pocket expenses paid back.Or at least to know for sure if I should be claiming of the travel insurance.

 

[Watershed]

Thank you - that is all I am wanting my out of pocket expenses paid back.Or at least to know for sure if I should be claiming of the travel insurance.

The airline will be liable for virtually all out of pocket expenses incurred during the delay, regardless of the delay's cause. Because the airline is liable (at least for journeys within the scope of UK/EU261) your travel insurance generally won't pay you anything, as there is another party you are entitled to claim your costs back from.

However, the airline won't be liable for consequential losses (e.g. lost car hire/train/hotel bookings at the other end) unless the delay is within their control, and even then the scope of liability can sometimes be limited. That is what your travel insurance may cover.

 

[Tetchytyke]

How much did I pay? Nothing. I submitted the receipts and Ryanair paid the whole amount.

I’ve not (touch wood) had issues with Ryanair, but my mate had a similar situation but the next Ryanair flight was in four days. So he was forced to book Lufthansa and it took Ryanair ten months to reimburse him. That was last year.

I’ve heard too many issues about Ryanair, Wizz, and Vueling to really trust any of them. But, as I say, I really can’t fault EasyJet or Loganair.

I think you're rather wide of the mark there. You might be one of the few beneficiaries, but when you're firing or demoting 80-90% of your status holders, whilst pretending you're doing them a favour, it's going to go down like a lead balloon.

I’m not really a beneficiary. Some of the changes will push me closer to bronze because of BA Holidays and the fact the Loganair code shares are expensive, but no more.

I’m obviously being slightly flippant but the people who are complaining most loudly are the ones who were gaming the system (and I attach no blame to them for doing so) and now the party has ended.

 

[Watershed]

I’m not really a beneficiary. Some of the changes will push me closer to bronze because of BA Holidays and the fact the Loganair code shares are expensive, but no more.

So you are a beneficiary, then, aren't you? Bronze status would previously have been out of reach but is now feasible, for what little it offers.

I’m obviously being slightly flippant but the people who are complaining most loudly are the ones who were gaming the system (and I attach no blame to them for doing so) and now the party has ended.

That's no doubt true, but there will be many others who will also be voting with their wallet.

Given the razor sharp margins airlines operate on, one can only hope that financial motivations, if nothing else, convince them to return to sanity. At the moment it is literally easier to qualify for status under almost any other OneWorld scheme - which really isn't a sustainable position.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Given the razor sharp margins airlines operate on, one can only hope that financial motivations, if nothing else, convince them to return to sanity.

I think the thresholds- especially for gold- are insane. But I think the core principle makes perfect sense, giving loyalty rewards to the people who give you the most money.

People being able to get Gold on a spend of less than £3000 was even more insane.

So you are a beneficiary, then, aren't you?

Perhaps. Though the thresholds move silver and gold even further beyond my reach.

But equally I should be: paying £150+ for a ticket on the Loganair codeshare and getting 5 (old) TPs is for my money is pretty ridiculous.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 8 Feb 2025 ==

At the moment it is literally easier to qualify for status under almost any other OneWorld scheme - which really isn't a sustainable position.

That depends on how the rebilling works for the status benefits.

I can imagine BA would be very very content at rebilling their OW partners for access to the Club Galleries.

 

[eoff]

My little adventure with BA, the didn’t mention EU261 at all,

5th Dec. Outbound, they cancelled my flight because of air traffic control restrictions in France. No real issue switched to the morning flight. Early start wasn’t welcome but I got there.
Return Flight 7th December was cancelled about 8 hours before take off, pushed back until 8th December. I was notified by text and email but no mention of EU261. I phoned them to try and find other options, 1 hour on hold no joy, so booked a hotel to fly the following day. About 4 hours later I got a text saying that this flight was cancelled, with the option of returning Monday. Again tried to phone but not enough staff to speak with people. Went to the airport but only agents. So booked onto Ryanair to get home. (That flight was diverted to Prestwick and Ryanair have agreed to to pay for the hotel in Glasgow and the train back to London without issue).

It is one of those annoying things which BA say is “act of god”. I am arguing the storm was forecast so they could have given me the option to fly back early. If I knew on Saturday morning both flight were cancelled I would have used the TGV / Eurostar combo to get home.

The fight with BA goes on, but they pitch themselves as a quality airline, I out all the airlines when things go wrong they are one of the worse to deal with. Not as bad as easyjet but much worse then Ryanair.

So what was it? ATC restrictions due to strike or a storm resulting in ATC restrictions?
There were ATC strikes in France on Dec5 and airlines were asked to reduce flights. Based on reporting I read this was expected to afffect multiple airports in France,

 

[Failed Unit]

So what was it? ATC restrictions due to strike or a storm resulting in ATC restrictions?
There were ATC strikes in France on Dec5 and airlines were asked to reduce flights. Based on reporting I read this was expected to afffect multiple airports in France,

Both the cancellations heading out the UK were French ATC
returning were was that big storm that hit the UK - Eowyn.

heading to France the cancellations just resulted in an early arrival and needing to drive to Heathrow / pay for parking as it was a pre-tube flight.

 

[TheHSRailFan]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for the reply to my query from yesterday. I will admit it was 2:30 in the morning when I wrote that post and looking at it now... it's not the greatest to understand so I'm sorry if I confused you all... especially on the last one. For me, this is my first time on a flag carrier and an airline like BA and I've asked people things that I should know before flying (I'm only taking a small suitcase and a backpack).

(Also I prefer Stansted to Luton haha)

Can you clarify exactly what you are asking here? There are plenty of differences between the BA long-haul and short-haul experience.

to be fair, I might as well cross that one out as looking at it now, I don't know what I was asking here

 

[AlterEgo]

I think the thresholds- especially for gold- are insane. But I think the core principle makes perfect sense, giving loyalty rewards to the people who give you the most money.

People being able to get Gold on a spend of less than £3000 was even more insane.

You could get Gold by spending less than £200 with British Airways, because stacking tier points with partners (AA, RJ, QR etc) was often more efficient.

 

[route101]

Only flown BA domestically and there is not much difference vs easyjet in terms of experience if you have no luggage or status. BA doe have a later flight from London up to Scotland on Saturday evening compared to easyjet non existent domestic times on a Saturday. BA fares can be really expensive at more short notice than easyjet.

I noticed BA fly to Tirana which is interesting. What market are they capturing? Weekend breaks is one. Possible connections to N. America perhaps. I see the average Albanian flying Wizz or Ryanair. This also applies to other countries in Balkans/Eastern Europe.

 

[TravelDream]

easyjet non existent domestic times on a Saturday

That's a simple one. You follow the money.

easyjet at Random City will have, say, five planes based. On weekdays, they can make good money flying domestically. On the weekend, domestic demand is lower (especially the less price conscious business consumer) whilst leisure demand to places like Barcelona, Palma, Alicante is through the roof. So they fly more to those destinations.

BA's business demand will be a bit less soft (though still very soft) and they'll also have connecting traffic to consider with early/ late flights especially.

I noticed BA fly to Tirana which is interesting. What market are they capturing? Weekend breaks is one. Possible connections to N. America perhaps. I see the average Albanian flying Wizz or Ryanair. This also applies to other countries in Balkans/Eastern Europe.

The Albanian government gives pretty hefty subsidies to airlines to fly there.

Plus you'll have connections to the Americas. The diaspora is about 250k in the US and Canada according to Google which is a small, but decent market.

 

[Bald Rick]

I noticed BA fly to Tirana which is interesting. What market are they capturing? Weekend breaks is one. Possible connections to N. America perhaps. I see the average Albanian flying Wizz or Ryanair. This also applies to other countries in Balkans/Eastern Europe.

Just a theory based on those people I know are keen on tier point runs etc…. but I gather the flight was very popular for those seeking to gain or retain Gold status. Weekend in Albania by BA Holidays was a rather efficient way of getting the points, esp if you went business class.

That particular avenue of (p)leisure has been closed off now of course.

 

[Watershed]

I think the thresholds- especially for gold- are insane. But I think the core principle makes perfect sense, giving loyalty rewards to the people who give you the most money.

People being able to get Gold on a spend of less than £3000 was even more insane.

Rewarding spend makes sense, but airline spend shouldn't be the only way to earn status - especially since a large proportion of the highest spenders are corporate travellers who are obliged to fly BA (when possible) under their employer's contract with BA, so they aren't really 'loyal' in the same way a small business owner or leisure traveller can decide to be. And they get most of the status perks anyway by virtue of their class of travel.

As a minimum, there should be alternative viable pathways to status, for example through credit card spend, the shopping.ba.com portal, standalone hotels/car hire and so forth. That's the model most of the US airlines, and in particular American Airlines, have gone for. It's nakedly commercial but it at least gives leisure passengers reasonable options for 'catching up' with high spending corporate travellers.

Lots of airlines also have alternative paths for earning/retaining status, typically flight segments. IMHO there should be a segment-based option for qualifying for Gold status, say 75 or 100 flights a year. That would reward those who are very frequent travellers, but who might otherwise 'fall through the cracks'.

Perhaps. Though the thresholds move silver and gold even further beyond my reach.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush...

But equally I should be: paying £150+ for a ticket on the Loganair codeshare and getting 5 (old) TPs is for my money is pretty ridiculous.

Agreed. But they have taken it from one extreme to the other, and that's not quite right either.

That depends on how the rebilling works for the status benefits.

I can imagine BA would be very very content at rebilling their OW partners for access to the Club Galleries.

Based on what I've read, fast track security is always charged to the airline, whilst lounge access is charged to the airline if you're accessing a First class lounge (e.g. by virtue of BA Gold/Oneworld Emerald status) but to the frequent flier scheme if you're accessing any other lounge.

 

[Tetchytyke]

As a minimum, there should be alternative viable pathways to status, for example through credit card spend, the shopping.ba.com portal, standalone hotels/car hire and so forth

That doesn’t really work in the UK and EU because the credit card interchange fees- which generate the revenue for the credit card issuer which, in turn, funds the freebies- are capped at 0.3% here. BA will be offering tier points through Amex but BA still can’t agree with Amex how it will work.

Lots of airlines also have alternative paths for earning/retaining status, typically flight segments. IMHO there should be a segment-based option for qualifying for Gold status, say 75 or 100 flights a year

They’ve now back-pedalled and reinstated that for bronze and silver, at least.

airline spend shouldn't be the only way to earn status - especially since a large proportion of the highest spenders are corporate travellers who are obliged to fly BA (when possible) under their employer's contract with BA, so they aren't really 'loyal' in the same way a small business owner or leisure traveller can decide to be

I don’t know, I think people who are buying last minute flexible business class returns to New York are at the level where they have quite a lot of influence over their company’s executive travel policy.

Agreed. But they have taken it from one extreme to the other, and that's not quite right either.

I think the thresholds are too high, and I think that’s where BA will have to revise their thinking. Expect to see plenty more “bonus tier point” offers. But the underlying principle makes perfect sense.

 

[Mojo]

My experience is the same at Heathrow but the terminal surroundings are much nicer.
The terminal at Luton is very basic and not very nice

I agree with you. Terminal 5 is far superior in every way to Luton. I was there on Friday and just like on my last visits there were no seats whatsoever in the main departures area; you have to go either to a random gate or sit in some draughty corridor if you want to sit down.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Feb 2025 ==

There won't be any nasty surprises at the airport. You have to pay to choose a seat in advance, but it is free from 24 hours if you check in online.

Note that this doesn’t apply if you have a Basic Economy fare; with those you have to pay for seat selection if you’re not happy with the seat you are given.
Unless you are on the same booking as a customer with status, or a gold card holder that has linked the bookings, but in those cases I’d have expected you’d have already selected seats in advance of checkin opening.

 

[Watershed]

That doesn’t really work in the UK and EU because the credit card interchange fees- which generate the revenue for the credit card issuer which, in turn, funds the freebies- are capped at 0.3% here. BA will be offering tier points through Amex but BA still can’t agree with Amex how it will work.

Amex cards aren't subject to that cap, and indeed there's currently no cap at all in the UK for Visa & MasterCard - although one is reasonably likely to be reintroduced.

Clearly the introduction of the policy has been rushed, because earning at least part of your status through credit card spending is a pretty key way they could have made it seem more accessible. But so far, with no details and a paltry maximum of 2500 nTP (i.e. only 1/3 of Silver qualification, and 8% of Gold) it is effectively a waste of time even mentioning it.

I don’t know, I think people who are buying last minute flexible business class returns to New York are at the level where they have quite a lot of influence over their company’s executive travel policy.

In a small business, sure - but for large financial/tech conglomerates you would be surprised. If they really had influence over millions of spend there is a good chance they would be in receipt of Prem status...

 

[Tetchytyke]

Amex cards aren't subject to that cap, and indeed there's currently no cap at all in the UK for Visa & MasterCard - although one is reasonably likely to be reintroduced.

They are. In the UK consumer credit card interchange fees are capped at 0.3%; it’s 0.2% for debit cards.

It’s why more places accept Amex these days, because Amex can’t rinse retailers any more.

It’s also why the best Amex perks are now only attached to the Amex cards which have very high annual fees.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Feb 2025 ==

In a small business, sure - but for large financial/tech conglomerates you would be surprised. If they really had influence over millions of spend there is a good chance they would be in receipt of Prem status...

I wouldn’t. C-suite people get to choose their corporate spend.

And that’s possibly where it will backfire, as a Gold threshold at £20,000+ is really the territory of the c-suite execs so who will already get “invitation only” perks.

 

[nlogax]

This one surprised me; BA are replacing their A320s from Glasgow to Gatwick with ATR72s to be operated by Emerald (same as Aer Lingus regional services).. so expect a two hour+ journey time and no biz up front.

https://www.headforpoints.com/2025/02/14/british-airways-propeller-flights-glasgow

For the summer timetable, running from the end of March, British Airways flights between Glasgow and London Gatwick will be operated by Emerald Airlines. Emerald is the franchise operator which runs Aer Lingus Regional flights.

The aircraft used will be a 72 seat ATR72.

The trip will be a leisurely experience. It is blocked at a whopping 130 to 140 minutes depending on day.

I'll probably do it once just for the novelty but overall this feels like a bit of a win for Easyjet on the same route.

 

[najaB]

This one surprised me; BA are replacing their A320s from Glasgow to Gatwick with ATR72s to be operated by Emerald (same as Aer Lingus regional services).. so expect a two hour+ journey time and no biz up front.

Replacing a ~160 seat aircraft with a 72 seater - the loads on that route must be pretty dire.

 

[camflyer]

Replacing a ~160 seat aircraft with a 72 seater - the loads on that route must be pretty dire.

I suspect that they are only used for passengers connecting to/from the long haul leisure destinations served by BA from Gatwick such as Las Vegas, Orlando and a number of Caribbean destinations.