A couple of days ago, I wrote about how British Airways introduced a new policy banning flight attendants and pilots from consuming drinks like coffee in public, including while walking through the terminal, in the gate area, etc. This policy was super controversial, and just days later, the company is being forced to largely backtrack, as reported by PYOK.
British Airways budges on botched beverage ban
Okay, sorry for the heading… anyway. British Airways reportedly received significant backlash from employees about its new rules about consuming beverages, and unions representing employees got involved. They pointed out that in many cases, flight attendants and pilots might not see a crew break room for an entire day, so it’s ridiculous to basically ban them from eating or drinking between flights, since they’re almost always in public.
The company has now been forced to backtrack on this policy. British Airways is clearly trying to save face, acknowledging that the guidelines may have “given the impression” that eating and drinking were banned. While the company is still demanding that employees don’t eat or drink while walking through the terminal, it’s now fine for them to eat or drink while sitting down at an airport cafe or in a gate area.
Furthermore, British Airways attempted to ban employees from commuting on British Airways flights in uniform, but that policy change has also been reversed. The company claims that it’s now attempting to come up with a better solution.
British Airways really dug itself a hole with this snafu
Good employee morale is incredibly important at airlines, as it can greatly impact the level of service that customers get. You want employees at an airline to feel valued and aligned with the mission of the company. You’d think management would want to pick its battles carefully, and make sure that if a change is made that will negatively impact employee morale, it’s actually important and will make a material difference for customers.
With that in mind, this strikes me as a pretty major misstep. I can understand how it feels a little dehumanizing for crew not to be able to sip on a cup of coffee prior to working a flight where they may have to stay up overnight. The fact that the company backtracked so quickly makes this even more of a failure, and suggests the implications clearly weren’t thought through.
I don’t know who made this decision, but I can’t imagine that person has a great pulse on how frontline employees feel about things, because you’d think they would’ve anticipated this kind of reaction. Did they really think flight attendants and pilots would be like “yep, sounds perfectly fair, I didn’t want a cup of coffee anyway?”
It’s just odd how this was ever even a priority for the company. On the list of the top 100 complaints customers have about British Airways, I can’t imagine “crews having coffee cups in the terminal” ranks.
Bottom line
British Airways is backtracking on its plan to ban flight attendants and pilots from drinking beverages in public. The airline will now allow them to drink things like coffee while seated in gate areas or airport cafes, but they’re still told not to drink while walking through the terminal. This all seemed like a miscalculation on the company’s part, and I can’t imagine this is good for morale.
What do you make of British Airways’ reversal of its crew beverage policy?
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