PYOK has the scoop on how British Airways flight attendants have reportedly attended a mandatory training day over the past year at the carrier’s Global Learning Academy near Heathrow Airport (LHR), where they were “taught” some interesting things. Let’s cover two of the unusual aspects of this training.
In this post:
British Airways tells flight attendants to say “sorry” less
There are many aspects of the British Airways experience that leave a lot to be desired, especially for an airline that often charges sky-high fares. Just recently we saw the airline significantly scale back its premium cabin catering on long haul flights, including introducing a controversial new brunch and supper service.
If customers aren’t happy with the airline and express displeasure with flight attendants, how are they supposed to handle it? British Airways is instructing flight attendants to not apologize so liberally to customers, and to instead simply state that their feedback will be passed on to management. Of course for most situations, management probably doesn’t actually care what the feedback is.
In theory I can see where British Airways is coming from. I was recently on an American flight where the flight attendant was trashing everything about American whenever a passenger had anything to say. “Yeah, they suck.” “If you want good food you should probably fly a different airline.” Like, he wasn’t wrong, but either way, it’s not a great way to talk about the company you rely on to make a living.
Of course that’s on a totally different level than apologizing. In English we use “sorry” super frequently, even for the most minor thing. I’d argue that it’s overused, and I’m guilty of that as well. At the same time, specifically not saying “sorry” will almost come across as rude, as just saying “we’ll pass on your feedback” seems dismissive.
It’s one thing if British Airways were an airline that actually had extremely strict standards, and was very exact with how it instructed employees to act. But I can’t imagine much will actually change here, or that British Airways flight attendants will change their vocabulary.
British Airways asks flight attendants to practice meal budgeting
During this same training day, British Airways supposedly had an exercise to make employees understand why the carrier’s service may not be great. Flight attendants were asked to assemble mock economy class meal trays with a budget of £5 per passenger.
So flight attendants were given meal and service items with varying prices, and then had the choice of how to assemble the tray. The idea was apparently to prove that British Airways is doing as well as it can within its meal budget.
Of course this doesn’t fundamentally answer the question of why £5 is the budget, and how spending a little more would break the bank. I get that margins in the airline industry are razor thin, but there are also plenty of airlines that succeed by spending an extra dollar or two on passengers here and there.
I can’t help but feel like this activity borders on being condescending. Here’s another activity idea. How about British Airways CEO Sean Doyle do a mock budgeting exercise for how a junior British Airways cabin crew should make ends meet while being based in one of the world’s more expensive cities?
Bottom line
British Airways has reportedly instructed flight attendants to stop apologizing to customers so frequently for the company’s shortcomings, instead telling them that their feedback will be passed on. To get flight attendants in the cost cutting mindset, the airline also had them assemble meal trays within the £5 budge, to essentially demonstrate that food in economy has to be bad.
What do you make of this British Airways training day concept?
Maybe like teachers who pay for pens and pencils and food, airline staff should bring chocolates and something they cooked at home to help! ; )
My British Air flight attendants were patient, helpful and very nice from IAD to Heathrow. That counts alot for me, more than food quality which was fair. My flights were in Sept and October.
I so want to be patriotic yet every BA flight I take is sub standard with either lousy catering; cancellations and last minute changes; IT problems, etc. BA is like a family member you will always love but feel it is time to dis own and move on. I will always return if things improve yet in the meantime my business class money goes to Qatar and Emirates.
If they are told not to apologise in their training now, it's probably because:
1- there is a lot to apologise for, and that reinforces poor impressions with customers, which may impact their choice of airlines.
2- Employees themselves might internalise how bad it is, by constantly apologising: not good for morale, may impact service further.
3- What might really be at play here is that passengers may see these apologies as justified...
If they are told not to apologise in their training now, it's probably because:
1- there is a lot to apologise for, and that reinforces poor impressions with customers, which may impact their choice of airlines.
2- Employees themselves might internalise how bad it is, by constantly apologising: not good for morale, may impact service further.
3- What might really be at play here is that passengers may see these apologies as justified by the lack of expected service and see them as a green light for complaints and compensation requests.
BA does nothing for no good reason.
HCCMember... me too. It was a part of all chatter that came up but you'd have to remember all of the stuff of all of the day to see when and how it was presented.
It was couches in one of those moments we love to hate - what dont you like about BA... One thing I felt sure about was that the "live responses" to the QR exercises never went further than the place cyber things go to die.
To all of those who choose to criticise BA, you might like to follow the link below:
https://www.worldairlineawards.com/worlds-top-100-airlines-2024/
As a BA Cabin Crew Member who did this training called “We Are BA” Day. I was not instructed to not apologize to customers. So I am unsure where this information is coming from. Though we did do the mock economy meal tray budget exercise.
I understand that BA has come under scrutiny for their recent Brunch and Goodnight Services, though, I do not think this is that bad.
On many flights, BA...
As a BA Cabin Crew Member who did this training called “We Are BA” Day. I was not instructed to not apologize to customers. So I am unsure where this information is coming from. Though we did do the mock economy meal tray budget exercise.
I understand that BA has come under scrutiny for their recent Brunch and Goodnight Services, though, I do not think this is that bad.
On many flights, BA only cater aircraft with 90% catering, as they expect a certain amount of customer to not want to eat, and instead go straight to sleep.
So with the sky high fares, you’re not even guaranteed a meal nowadays. This is what I believe needs to be addressed. Not the brunch service.
British Airways' new ad slogan:
#sorrynotsorryhahahaha
Brits never knew how to apologize, from plundering Africa and India subcon to looting all their artifacts, have you heard their tax-bleeding royal family say the word "sorry"? Their citizens even praise their actions and are extremely proud of it, all the while acting like their country is still as relevant as it was 100 years ago.
Cry more noob.
All of this bitching about the British still won't keep you from getting diarrhea upon arrival in Delhi.
Yeah the British empire was pretty glorious, a shame they gave up their colonies.
It is over played and a silly blame game to say "...since IAG..." .."since Alex..." But the truth is that what BA is, is simply a reflection of the country's culture. In the 80s and 90s that people are so fond of remembering, the playing field was entirely different and to some extent masterful advertising created a myth. If you could afford it, you were a part of the myth and accepted all you found...
It is over played and a silly blame game to say "...since IAG..." .."since Alex..." But the truth is that what BA is, is simply a reflection of the country's culture. In the 80s and 90s that people are so fond of remembering, the playing field was entirely different and to some extent masterful advertising created a myth. If you could afford it, you were a part of the myth and accepted all you found when you got there as sublime. Anyone who actually experienced Swissair, for example or UTA to go back some, would never have chosen BA but might have because their network was more extensive.
BA is run now by an inept, ill educated mid level management. It needs to root them out and hire externally - poach if necessary - people who undertstand the game and know how to make it work, not cabin crew on cheap secondments (who might stay in the job) because it's cheaper and easier.
Quite a few things spring to my mind here.
Regarding BA, their service may not be earth-shattering, but they still have a long way to go (down that is) to reach the level of some of the North American airlines.
Regarding bad-mouthing one’s own airline, I noticed that too. The first time many years ago on Canadian Airlines (Remember them?), when the cabin crew was bad-mouthing their employer in the galley for all passenger seated...
Quite a few things spring to my mind here.
Regarding BA, their service may not be earth-shattering, but they still have a long way to go (down that is) to reach the level of some of the North American airlines.
Regarding bad-mouthing one’s own airline, I noticed that too. The first time many years ago on Canadian Airlines (Remember them?), when the cabin crew was bad-mouthing their employer in the galley for all passenger seated nearby to hear. As a then airline employee myself this shocking experience stayed with me.
Regarding food service budgets, passenger would be truly surprised to learn how little a typical economy meal does actually cost. Granted, caterers produce hundreds of them for a single flight and just have to truck them to the airplane, but a £5 budget does not sound unusual.
(Besides, I wonder whether BA rigged the game by giving their cabin crews a £5 budget at high street prices.) Such a low budget is in fact so common that I sometimes wonder why no airline has jacked up the fare by the equivalent of one or two quid (which would mean 20-40%) to noticeable improve food quality and exploit a difference that passengers would notice.
Maybe I am just naive, but airlines have tried so many cockamamie schemes, so why not this one?
200 pax in Y on a typical TATL BA widebody to JFK. £3 a meal-on-a-tray works out at just £600. A typical return flight in Y costs £600. So just one paying person in economy pays for the entire section's meals. Ridiculous that airlines (say they) are losing money on their catering!
I miss the old British Airways that I flew on in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. It breaks my heart to see what my beloved airline, which always comforted me on my long journeys away from home, has descended into. A cost cutting, shallow carrier with ultra basic, less than mediocre service.
If BA(aka Brunch Airways) is in such a dire need of more revenue….. why not ask first and business guests to bring their own food and have the flight attendants heat it up ?
Of course…. instead of saving a couple of pounds on a 4000 pound first class ticket and cause a shit storm .., why not raise the ticket price to 4010 pounds or do those CEOs really think a first class client would bother ?
Unspoken aviation world rule: if you wish to degrade your full service airline into an LCC, hire an Irishman, Spaniard, or German as your CEO.
Trifecta!!
Doug Parker was Irish at America West, Spanish at US Airways, then German at American Airlines.
Turn not one but three full service to LCC, that's a great achievement.
Lucky for Timmy he didn't have enough time to convert NW into another LCC.
Sad, a great airline from the UK is now owned by IAG and with the largest shareholders Qatar and various investment firms. They no longer care about a premium reputation, they just want bottom line profits and passengers be damned. They cancel flights at the drop of the hat, fly smaller crummier planes and offer poor service by over worked flight attendants. I've been an Executive Club member for over 30 years now and the...
Sad, a great airline from the UK is now owned by IAG and with the largest shareholders Qatar and various investment firms. They no longer care about a premium reputation, they just want bottom line profits and passengers be damned. They cancel flights at the drop of the hat, fly smaller crummier planes and offer poor service by over worked flight attendants. I've been an Executive Club member for over 30 years now and the decline of this great airline is palpable. So they want to put lipstick on this pig and call it something else. It's a pig and it's downright sad. The execs at IAG need to say sorry, forget the flight attendants
Really upset, was hoping that BA were starting to look upwards, and that Doyle was going to reverse some of the Cruz era madness, but no, it seems that the BA bean counters have won and the sinking continues. Quite how they thought reductions in the food was a good idea, brunch etc, in the premium cabins. Just shows how massively out of touch they are, you have a captive audience, don’t upset them.
As a BA Gold card holder for some years the service has now got to a level that I feel the need to self-harm when I need to use them. There has to be something drastically wrong when one after another of their staff drop their voices to a whisper and say that standards are appalling and they just cannot get management to listen. Meanwhile I am working out where best to take my business.
BA crew wouldn’t have to apologize if the top brass offered a World Class product. Knackered old ying-yang club seats, breakfast served at 1:30pm and champagne running out or totally absent, are all too frequent issues.
I agree the British are polite and sometimes overuse sorry, but similar to the Japanese I think it is charming and endearing. Funny enough BA staff are not typically British in terms of politeness they are often very arrogant, the last thing they need is to become any ruder and more uppity than they already are.
If airlines have "unbundled" every darn thing, why in the world does someone not just "unbundle" the meal service?
Think of this like a restaurant. You are ordering a meal. "Would you like to order a cold sandwich, chips, and a pickle for an extra $15?" Yep, it's going to be pricey, and yes, it's not going to be perfect. But, it will be something you paid for, and it will be delivered.
Answer:...
If airlines have "unbundled" every darn thing, why in the world does someone not just "unbundle" the meal service?
Think of this like a restaurant. You are ordering a meal. "Would you like to order a cold sandwich, chips, and a pickle for an extra $15?" Yep, it's going to be pricey, and yes, it's not going to be perfect. But, it will be something you paid for, and it will be delivered.
Answer: because the airlines do not want to deliver better service. Or, because, for $900 R/T across The Pond, British Airways has already spent all of that revenue on other things.
As a Brit I'am often told off by my US friends for apologising for things that on reflection I shouldn’t be, it’s cultural and very annoying so I probably think someone in Waterside @LHR probably from the US service industry has developed this training module.
The BA management need to apologise to both their crew and the public for that AWFUL new uniform. It looks terrible on the ladies especially. They should scrap it and bring back the Julien MacDonald uniform.
Few years back they got rid of "ladies and gentlemen" because some hypocrites got offended for not representing LGBTQWTF+. They stopped being formal just to pretend like they support some minorities.
And now they're telling their crew to not apologize because they need to justify their (this level of absurdity cannot be explained in human words) service. They stopped showing a basic level of respecting each other that elementary schoolers learn just to cut...
Few years back they got rid of "ladies and gentlemen" because some hypocrites got offended for not representing LGBTQWTF+. They stopped being formal just to pretend like they support some minorities.
And now they're telling their crew to not apologize because they need to justify their (this level of absurdity cannot be explained in human words) service. They stopped showing a basic level of respecting each other that elementary schoolers learn just to cut costs.
If you found this to be even slightly justifiable, I advise you to visit doctor ASAP.
BA is simply disrespecting everyone at this point.
Anyone who's offended by being called a lady or a gentleman needs psychiatric help. Your triggers are your problem. It's not up to the rest of us to tiptoe around reality so you feel "safe". Grow up.
@Pete
No one should tiptoe around reality.
What I'm saying is what sane people who keep distance from some delusional agenda would also say.
YOU should stop tiptoe around reality or distance yourself from those who do so so you feel safe.
Being inclusive is not the same as this bigot.
I love your idea to have the top brass figure how to live off a junior FA's pay in London. That's a magnificent idea so of course BA would never do such a thing.
They should license the food budget exercise to AA for BOS-based new hires I guess.
You can apologize but don't make the company look bad. "Sir, I am sorry that you did not see the menus posted in advance online and did not eat in the terminal, but I will pass on your feedback to my leadership."
"I am sorry you did not pay for your bag in advance and it's now $100...
They should license the food budget exercise to AA for BOS-based new hires I guess.
You can apologize but don't make the company look bad. "Sir, I am sorry that you did not see the menus posted in advance online and did not eat in the terminal, but I will pass on your feedback to my leadership."
"I am sorry you did not pay for your bag in advance and it's now $100 here at the gate but I can go ahead and charge you for your return flight bag now at the advance price so you don't have to worry about it for your return."
"I am sorry you did not know XYZ policy, but I can help you find the policy for your future reference."
Some comments are expressing valid concerns related to BA's training.
The true purpose of this training should be providing information to enable intelligent two way communication for the purpose of improving BA's products and services.
In general, allowing front line employees to learn what happens behind the scenes leads to a greater understanding of how and why decisions are made. This allows two things to happen:
(1) The front line employees are able...
Some comments are expressing valid concerns related to BA's training.
The true purpose of this training should be providing information to enable intelligent two way communication for the purpose of improving BA's products and services.
In general, allowing front line employees to learn what happens behind the scenes leads to a greater understanding of how and why decisions are made. This allows two things to happen:
(1) The front line employees are able to more intelligently communicate with your customers about their concerns.
(2) Better enables your front line employees to contribute positive, constructive, and targeted feedback to internal decision makers for improvements in policy, process, and product.
I could not agree more that canned statements, such as “we’ll pass on your feedback”, feel impersonal, dismissive, and may cause the customer to feel any resolution to their concern has died in the coffin labeled "Suggestion Box". Teach employees to respond with eye contact, paraphrasing, validation, and a statement of action. EX: "When you say that the salsa on your meal was too spicy, was it to hot or were some spices too strong? The garlic was too strong. Thank you and I will forward that to our team in charge of catering. I can check to see if we have other meals still available." This conversation may take an additional 45 to 60 seconds of time than “we’ll pass on your feedback”. A very small invest with a return of value felt by your customer and your employee.
This is what the entire ULCC mindset has brought to this industry and I get tired of people on travel sites/blogs swearing me must/should have Ryanair, Spirit or Frontier. The customer becomes something to nickel and dime to death because fares can't cover costs. You have to listen to flight attendants doing credit card pitches in flight. How about the industry charge fares that allow for a decent profit margin and airlines to treat customers...
This is what the entire ULCC mindset has brought to this industry and I get tired of people on travel sites/blogs swearing me must/should have Ryanair, Spirit or Frontier. The customer becomes something to nickel and dime to death because fares can't cover costs. You have to listen to flight attendants doing credit card pitches in flight. How about the industry charge fares that allow for a decent profit margin and airlines to treat customers as customers and not annoyances? If people can't afford to fly they can do what people did back in the 70s-drive. And no one complained.
Agree with what you said about ULCCs and their effect. But also think the likes of BA are terrible at managing their business and gaining efficiencies within the organisation - they're so bloated and heavy especially in management, but instead they try to cut where there really isn't any room for any more cuts. They also don't understand that many people who travel on them particularly short-haul - choose to fly with them precisely because...
Agree with what you said about ULCCs and their effect. But also think the likes of BA are terrible at managing their business and gaining efficiencies within the organisation - they're so bloated and heavy especially in management, but instead they try to cut where there really isn't any room for any more cuts. They also don't understand that many people who travel on them particularly short-haul - choose to fly with them precisely because they don't want the Ryanair or WizzAir treatment, so it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever making their product closer and closer to them. BA can't compete on price plain and simple as those airlines, not least because of its overheads at Heathrow, but also few people choose them on price alone.
Shut up Elon.
I don't often agree with your posts, but I think you are spot on with the comments. You make me think of the best business management book I read ("The Profit Zone"), in which it elaborates on how poorly businesses have targeted customers based on market share/quantity more than profitability. Actually the book is about the fundamental 3 C's, Cost/Customer/Competition; the book is an easy and fascinating read.
They had case studies across several industries,...
I don't often agree with your posts, but I think you are spot on with the comments. You make me think of the best business management book I read ("The Profit Zone"), in which it elaborates on how poorly businesses have targeted customers based on market share/quantity more than profitability. Actually the book is about the fundamental 3 C's, Cost/Customer/Competition; the book is an easy and fascinating read.
They had case studies across several industries, and if I recall correctly they used United as the airline case study (though the case study was before this generation).
I think the next swing in the biz will be a rethink in Commercial Planning and underlying Revenue Management strategy.
Spot on George Romey.
Do like in the 70s, drive.
Otherwise, to go from NY to London would cost around $5300 today.
We don't want ULCC to take us to London for $199.
We want to be treated decently and in exchange we'll pay 26x more so airlines can have a good margin and no more credit card pitch.
Now that's win-win.
I don't think you can have noticed BA's eye-watering fares recently...if their fares cannot cover costs then they should get into another business.
"If people can't afford to fly they can do what people did back in the 70s-drive."
That drive across the Atlantic is not yet manageable, despite the Holland Tunnel (apologies to those unfamiliar with NYC's bridges and tunnels system). Until then BA and other intercontinental carriers are the only option, so pricing and consequent treatment of passengers is a concern.
INteresting to hear. I flew BA a few weeks ago from London to washington in Economy - work trip so I had no choice and no ability to upgrade. I was pleasantly surprised and thought the service and food I received were both excellent. Friendly service, happy to be there and overall good food. I had low expectations and they were significantly surpassed. Maybe I was lucky.
So, How did you say you can cancel your Future Flight reservations with BA? They were BAD to begin with. Food made me sick on the last Flight to LHR.
…. and your sickness had nothing to do with the amount of free alcohol you consumed prior to or during your flight?
It's not free when you pay thousands of dollars for the flight.
Do not Drink at all!
It’s better to do some rather than keep apologising. It should be sufficient to say I’m sorry once and then follow it up with let’s see what we can do. Or be honest and say why you can’t. I’d rather a solution than repeated apologies.
Firstly good luck to anyone getting the British to stop apologising - especially the English. I even apologise to inanimate objects if I walk into them and am not alone!
As for the cost of catering, having been involved in catering procurement I am surprised that an economy meal for any airline costs as much as £5 and would have expected it to be half or two thirds of this considering scale economies, the lack of property costs and staff costs in the price
At least it’s not fake like the Americans.
I believe the standard cost of a longhaul economy meal is around £2-3
Precisely how Trump was taught by his mentor Cohen. What a stupid recommendation.
The line from this story that caught my attention was this: "I was recently on an American flight where the flight attendant was trashing everything about American whenever a passenger had anything to say. “Yeah, they suck.” “If you want good food you should probably fly a different airline.”
I, too, have experienced multiple negative comments about AA from AA employees this year. Though it was more subtle, my favorite example was an AA...
The line from this story that caught my attention was this: "I was recently on an American flight where the flight attendant was trashing everything about American whenever a passenger had anything to say. “Yeah, they suck.” “If you want good food you should probably fly a different airline.”
I, too, have experienced multiple negative comments about AA from AA employees this year. Though it was more subtle, my favorite example was an AA gate agent ernestly announcing an implausable reason for yet another delay of our flight. After a momentary pause and in a flat voice she then said, "Really....that's what they told me". It was great for my spirits.
I absolutely love your suggestion for Sean Doyle! I doubt many of the crew can afford to live in London, many will travel in from further afield. I remember one telling me she lived in Norfolk, a good 2.5 hour drive from LHR. I’m starting to get very depressed about BA and its strategy.
He's too busy doing a mock budget of how many multiples his £670,000 salary is compared to junior cabin crews.
Or how much more expensive to live in Hammersmith.
"Here’s another activity idea. How about British Airways CEO Sean Doyle do a mock budgeting exercise for how a junior British Airways cabin crew should make ends meet while being based in one of the world’s more expensive cities?"
OUCH - but when he's right, he's right lol
Pretty sure £5 is the Club World budget. No way an Economy tray is costing £5 and if it is they desperately need a new supplier.
£5 happens to be the premium "meal deal" lunch offer in UK supermarkets like Sainsbury's. A slightly fancy sandwich, a small snack and a 500ml bottle of water or soft drink. The standard £3.50 - £3.75 offer replaces the sandwich with a even cheaper one. Coincidence? I don't think so. :-)
Only brainwashed people like AeroB13a is defending BA by claiming others are just BA bashing with little or no knowledge.
So tell me, which customer feedback would ever say they don't want apologies and £5 worth of meal?
But maybe that worked, it did drive me away as a customer. I explicitly avoid BA flights on TATL flights until recently. Club Suites are making progress. If only their entire fleet gets converted. Until then I'm...
Only brainwashed people like AeroB13a is defending BA by claiming others are just BA bashing with little or no knowledge.
So tell me, which customer feedback would ever say they don't want apologies and £5 worth of meal?
But maybe that worked, it did drive me away as a customer. I explicitly avoid BA flights on TATL flights until recently. Club Suites are making progress. If only their entire fleet gets converted. Until then I'm sticking with those We Are Ready folks.
Hang on. You left BA because of the poor service or because of the old seats? Because the new hard product has nothing to do with this recent training session.
Well Eskimo, it is clear to anyone reading your post above that I have apparently rattled your cage.
Thank you Eskimo, for proving beyond any shadow of a doubt that “Assumption is the mother of all ****ups”.
You have the audacity to accuse me of being brainwashed by BA, yet, you have absolutely no idea who I am, what my profession is or know even less about my annual flight history.
Just to assist...
Well Eskimo, it is clear to anyone reading your post above that I have apparently rattled your cage.
Thank you Eskimo, for proving beyond any shadow of a doubt that “Assumption is the mother of all ****ups”.
You have the audacity to accuse me of being brainwashed by BA, yet, you have absolutely no idea who I am, what my profession is or know even less about my annual flight history.
Just to assist you with one aspect, I will ask you a very simple question which even a schoolboy could answer:
Which airline would you choose if you had to fly between LHR and DEN once per month?
And we found the BA Tim Dunn. ;)
Well depending on which schoolboy you ask.
Tim Dunn would fly Delta
Eric Adams would fly Turkish.
Elon Musk would fly Gulfstream.
And someone is probably dumb enough to believe there is only 2 airline choices to fly, you have absolutely no idea who they are, what their profession is or know even less about their annual flight history.
Simple huh, schoolboy?
Nor...
And we found the BA Tim Dunn. ;)
Well depending on which schoolboy you ask.
Tim Dunn would fly Delta
Eric Adams would fly Turkish.
Elon Musk would fly Gulfstream.
And someone is probably dumb enough to believe there is only 2 airline choices to fly, you have absolutely no idea who they are, what their profession is or know even less about their annual flight history.
Simple huh, schoolboy?
Nor do I need to know who Tim is, his profession, or his flight history to have the audacity to say he loves DL, A350-1000, earnings call, profitability, and SEA dominance.
“Assumption is the mother of all ****ups”. Indeed. You seem to be so good at it.
Maybe hypocrisy is father of all pushups?
This is what being brainwashed does to you.
@UncleRonnie
You don't see the connection?
Isn't hard product or training simply part of the "product"
Clearly management doesn't care about the "product".
It reflects on their falling apart seats and their employee trainings.
They're still making money from brainwashed fans, good for them.
…. and that is your evasive answer to a very simple question?
If Eskimo, you are incapable of understanding and then answering such a basic question, why would anyone ever take you seriously after reading your posts herein?
LOL.
Then don't.
And welcome to the internet.
The place where everything you read must be true.
No wonder you get brainwashed so easily.
Don't forget to help that Nigerian prince.
Eskimo, one can see that at least one “Nigerian prince” has been brainwashed by you to become your fanboy.
However, the thinking people who follow Ben on his site are not to be so fooled.
Correct!!!
Most of the comments seem to bashing BA, even the last post shares this trend.
They are not to be so fooled indeed.
Only the fool seems to be defending BA here.
And I appreciate you wanting to become my fanboy. But you are no Nigerian prince, you're suppose to help him do something not be one.
Gosh even the everything must be true internet is still too hard for you?
However, do keep it up and Tim might meet his match.
Bitchish Airways really does go the extra mile to teach its employees why bad is the new good. Instead of spending a ton on such brainwash classes, they could have just caught up with inflation and increased their budgets for things and focus on how to actually prevent having disgruntled customers in the first place. I'm also pretty sure that zero feedback actually makes it to any member of whatever management there. It's a polite...
Bitchish Airways really does go the extra mile to teach its employees why bad is the new good. Instead of spending a ton on such brainwash classes, they could have just caught up with inflation and increased their budgets for things and focus on how to actually prevent having disgruntled customers in the first place. I'm also pretty sure that zero feedback actually makes it to any member of whatever management there. It's a polite way to just tell people to shut up as they don't care.
I've worked at such a company once, where basically everyone was supposed to just cheer for the company, cheer for management, regard every policy as a stroke of genius and everyone who started asking legit questions was promoted out of the door within weeks. They also invested more in employee propaganda than in actually improving their products. Long story short, I quit as I don't like being into a cult and the company got into bad financial weather.
This is truly a disturbing post. I am really disappointed with BA, and no wonder its first class matches other airlines' business class.
I wonder how this training will affect the morale of the cabin crews! I wonder if the F/A will be more hesitant to serve food in the premium cabin, especially those in between meals snack items. I often asked for both appetizer and soup in first class, will a BA F/A...
This is truly a disturbing post. I am really disappointed with BA, and no wonder its first class matches other airlines' business class.
I wonder how this training will affect the morale of the cabin crews! I wonder if the F/A will be more hesitant to serve food in the premium cabin, especially those in between meals snack items. I often asked for both appetizer and soup in first class, will a BA F/A less inclined to allow that from happening now?
I really think the UK government needs to stop giving BA Heathrow slots. If they refuse to step up, take the slots away from them and give it to Virgin or some new UK premium start-ups!
There's a Labour Government in power now You really think they'll break up BA and kill jobs just so you can get two appetisers? #loon
The UK had a Conservative government in power for many years until a few weeks ago. BA's service decline occurred on their watch. I'm not saying that the Conservative's are responsible but it's not appropriate to disparage the Labour party about this.
Where did I disparage the Labour Party? I just said they aren’t in the business of screwing over the workers who vote for them. Nothing controversial in saying a party called “labour” actually caring about workers.
Cat2, I find that I must correct you on a very important of order.
In truth there has not been a real Conservative Party or Government since the Margaret Thatcher era.
I actually think what they've done is unusually switched on by BA standards. I cannot comment on AA, but BA crew are effectively on minimum wage (they get more per hour of work, but the annual salary is very close to the full time equivalent for a job paid at the National Living Wage hourly rate) and needing them to apologise for things that are outside of their control cannot be a great way to...
I actually think what they've done is unusually switched on by BA standards. I cannot comment on AA, but BA crew are effectively on minimum wage (they get more per hour of work, but the annual salary is very close to the full time equivalent for a job paid at the National Living Wage hourly rate) and needing them to apologise for things that are outside of their control cannot be a great way to motivate them.
From my perspective, a perfunctory faux apology is definitely not preferable to the 'we appreciate that our product isn't very good, but we can't do much about that' attitude that soft product complaints are met with by LH crew.
BA might behave differently if it actually had to compete. It needs to lose its antitrust immunity for its trans-Atlantic joint venture and its monopoly position with Heathrow slots.
Extortion airlines keep on increasing fees and devaluing avios redemption. Good bye greedy BA.
i am really shocked to read the bad and derogatory comments about BA services from several readers and travelers. back in 80s and 90sw when i was in airline industry the services were very "good" with BA from ticketing to airport check in, baggage handling and inflight services and FA's quick responses, courteous services etc were all good. after privatization the whole thing changed. i am yet to travel now. they looked after me and...
i am really shocked to read the bad and derogatory comments about BA services from several readers and travelers. back in 80s and 90sw when i was in airline industry the services were very "good" with BA from ticketing to airport check in, baggage handling and inflight services and FA's quick responses, courteous services etc were all good. after privatization the whole thing changed. i am yet to travel now. they looked after me and my family well. they even upgraded from ey class to business in the upper deck in 747 jumbo from HKG. and they also re-packed my baggages with their own packing materials in order to comply with IATA regulations for baggage weights, since one baggage was weighing more than the other. they helped me. it was great. i cannot forget those days
Agreed on the product in those days. But sadly, they have cut costs dramatically recently. The sparks started with Willie Walsh as head in 2010, and turned into a fire with Alex Cruz in 2016 that hasn't been put out.