Former British Airways CEO Álex Cruz declared that cost-cutting was in the airline’s DNA. He skimped on basic IT services and charged passengers for water (and $6 if you wanted your tea extra strong).
London Heathrow terminal 5 remains a suboptimal place to connect, transit security can be miserable and getting packed into a train to head to and from remote gates suboptimal.
Connecting flights in what passes for British Airways business class in Europe (Club Europe) are sad, offering less legroom than Ryanair.
Current CEO Sean Doyle has tried to claim that British Airways ‘is still premium’ but when you’re explaining you’re losing. Under his leadership the U.K. flag carrier recently started serving breakfast for lunch in business class, with passengers receiving pancakes or reheated egg mix at 2 p.m. because it’s cheaper. Late long haul departures, too, receive cutbacks with “main meal options reduced to paninis, soup, and salads. Appetizers have been eliminated altogether and customers will will no longer have a choice of dessert.”
BA saves money by boarding fewer meals than they used to, too, since more passengers just skip the meal.
With more and more disgruntled customers complaining, we learn that British Airways recurrent flight attendant training now includes two new elements:
- Cabin crew are taught to no longer apologize to customers.
Thousands of British Airways have attended a mandatory training day at the airline’s Global Learning Academy near Heathrow Airport over the past 12 months, where they were instructed to stop apologizing for the carrier’s service failures.
Cabin crew have been encouraged to stop using the word ‘sorry’ so liberally and instead thank disgruntled customers for telling them about their woes and that they will pass on their feedback.
- And they’re run through an exercise to help them understand why economy meals are miserable, while remaining with a budget of £5 (US$6.50) per person.
Cabin crew were given various versions of different meal and service items, ranging from cheap budget options to more premium items that would take a bigger chunk out of the budget.
The idea of the exercise was to prove to cabin crew that while they would like to see passengers enjoy a more premium experience, doing so would break the airline’s limited budget and that compromises are required.
British Airways, then, is the perfect partner across the Pond for American Airlines, whose CEO tells employees never to spend a dollar more than they need to.
No airline has fallen further than BA.
I don’t know how BA expects their crew to stop saying “sorry”. In the British vernacular, “sorry” is commonplace and used in the same way Americans use “you know” and “like” and “uh.” Brits use the word “sorry” to apologize, even when the offending party is at fault!
I remain a fan of BA because British are Literate and Well-Spoken , with well-written and thoughtful magazines and newspapers .
In contrast to the sub-literate Camel-a and Brandon , who would have difficulty with their coloring books .
@Alert Do your doctor and parole officer know you’ve gone off your meds?
I think BA has forgotten that they can compete by offering better onboard service to help counter the emotions brought out by the bad airport experience. They need to make it worthwhile for the customer to press on through the airport, not make it worse.
But these days, it’s all about the investors and the next quarter’s bottom line.
Simpler message : “Embrace Our Myopia And Mismanagement Of This Business Or No Job For You”
Good lord why the hell do you guys fly for pleasure anymore?
I mean seriously just wtaf?
Remember the movie “Romancing the Stone” and the bus ride scene with all the locals and their goats and chickens? IT WAS A PROPHECY OF AIR TRAVEL.
The meal pictured looks like a typical Engish breakfast which is sometimes served later in the day. And, the other poster is correct, the Engish use the word, sorry, often, and for any reason. Is the CEO, not British? BA should take a look at Virgin Atlantic. Best over the pond airline, in my opinion.
@Alert —> Thank you for contributing such relevant commentary to the discussion…NOT.
I have lived in Austin for the last 3 years. I was very happy to learn that BA had nonstop flights to Heathrow. Have taken them 3 times ( 2 in Biz class and 1 in P. Economy. I never take a flight for the food served on board. However, the food served on all 3 trips were so bad that I will gladly take a connection not take BA anymore.
I know things are not great at AA but at least the food they are serving in Biz Class is edible, at least so far.
It’s an interesting development when one gets “trapped“ into an airline alliance. For me, virgin America was acquired by Alaska, and then Alaska joined oneworld. That means I am “stuck“ with American, British Airways, etc. Fortunately, most of the time I can avoid BA by flying Iberia. Even when flying BA, I’m in Business which, while certainly not the best, is definitely “doable.”
Same with AA internationally, though I prefer other carriers. Domestically I try to only fly AA if it’s a codeshare with AS; otherwise, I get ripped off when it comes to getting credited for mileage.
I guess I don’t understand why people keep talking trash about BA but at the same time keep buying BA tickets when they are being treated this way.
The only way to teach BA a lesson is by voting with one’s wallet.
We were given a choice in Club Europe the other night “leave on time, or have a meal, you can’t have both”. Fortunately, because us Club Europe passengers are so dumb, the Captain took the decision for us. No meal, or drinks. But we pushed back only 10 minutes behind schedule.
We just flew BA from Munich to Heathrow on 10/26/24. A short flight and we had our choice of English Breakfast or omelette. I had the English breakfast, and it was quite good. My wife had the other and didn’t care for it all that much. The service was good. I prefer BA over AA any day, even though I am Executive Platinum with AA.
As a Brit I agree with kimmiea sorry is v usual and polite. Doyle is not a Brit and his McKinsey kid MBA advisors don’t know the difference between Ryanair and BA but are leading BA to the same sad cattle market. LHR is the worst transfer point, Europe business class is horrible, and even I prefer AA across the pond, heaven help us all !
Why people fly BA is beyond me. Especially with Virgin in the same skies, it’s like night and day in quality and service. Air France is my go to across the pond connecting. Great product and excellent food! And on AF and VX you get the added benefit of being connected onto Delta over American! Win win.
I say Heathrow should open up that third runway and let Virgin compete!
Via Viking Air for a Nile river cruise, I have a business class flight to Cairo next spring – BA via AA 737 first class to JFK, then a BA 777 to Heathrow, and then an A321 to Cairo. Coming back from Jordan to Heathrow on an A320 and then a BA 777 straight back to Austin. I was shocked that I can’t select our business class seats for the transatlantic flights (website says available at “checkin”) and that the “Club Europe” for the final legs consists of 3-across seating with the middle seat somehow blocked off with 30″ legroom. I did get to pick those seats though, and managed to get bulkhead on one of the legs, which SeatMaps.com says is acceptable.
I wonder if Lufthansa is any better — seen negative comments about that as well. The trip is still months away, and they’ve changed routing before, so one can hope.
I was on BA in economy a few weeks ago flying from London to Washington. I actually thought the food was pretty good – very pleased with the meal I was served. I was extremely surprised, but happily so.
I’ll say what I said on another travel blog. This is what the ULCC mindset has brought to the industry. The nickel and diming of passengers and treating them like annoyances. And the people on blogs that swear we must have Ryanair, Spirt, Frontier. Maybe if airlines shrunk capacity and had fares that covered their costs and provided for a decent profit margin customers would not be treated like cattle and flight attendants wouldn’t have to go on food stamps. Yes fares would be more than 1970s levels adjusted for inflation and many people would drive or take the train instead of flying. And like back in the 1970s they wouldn’t perish.
I am sorry I will never fly BA, I am sorry you have such an idiot for a CEO, I am sorry passengers have to suffer so you can make millions in bonuses. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I am sorry etc etc
Maybe Austin has different catering, but most of the east coast TATL BA flights I am on have had DO&CO catering which I think is very good. I think some people used to flying the US 3 are a little surprised that you have to pay for seat selection on BA flights before check-in even in business class unless you are a OneWorld elite, and also unaware that intra-EU business class means only a blocked middle seat at the front of the plane and a meal (often quite good, much better than US first class domestic flight food). Also carries with it lounge access, where EU flyers are sometimes surprised to find that flying F domestic in the US does not include lounge access, and requires a club card.
Overall, I think BA is not the most luxurious airline in the world, but is usually very good in comparison to any of the US airlines. Sorry.
@George You’re right. However, the vast majority of the flying public only care about how much it costs. Therefore, the airlines are only going to provide as little as possible to try to gain an advantage. Let’s face it, most people don’t care.
@ George — I’ll take my Spirit fares, thanks.