nimeta

To give an idea of how some people see the BA world, a London based colleague of mine this week is flying LHR to GRU. He is allowed cheapest business route, which likely would have meant KLM or TAP. He elected to downgrade to Premium Economy to stick with a direct flight on BA.

I guess outside London people are less loyal as it doesn't matter to many if you transit at LHR vs AMS vs FRA. Anyway BA will always have this advantage within the UK which will impact the lounges

TTmex

Same advantage that Lufthansa, KLM, Air France have in their respective markets. The reality is that status on BA is MUCH easier than on other carriers. They've resisted the urge to go the credit card entry route, which has wreaked havoc in Japan where ANA lounges are overflowing and J check-in queues round the corner. It's a delicate balancing act

Flythe96flag

Call me jaded, but lately I've been trying to get to the airport late enough to not have time for the lounge.

Time spent anywhere more comfortable than the airport seems increasingly valuable, even if there is a nice lounge to enjoy.

brunos

Like many of my friends based in Asia, I just dropped from Gold to Silver because of the extended travel constraints in Asia compared to Europe.
As we mostly fly J, I am starting to wonder whether to drop BA completely. That lounge situation at LHR is a disgrace when you have a few hours transit. On top of everything else with BA.
It is sad that an airline which was a quality leader two decades ago is now down to being only the "best" or "unavoidable" option to those based in UK.

brunos

Like many of my friends based in Asia, I just dropped from Gold to Silver because of the extended travel constraints in Asia compared to Europe.
As we mostly fly J, I am starting to wonder whether to drop BA completely. That lounge situation at LHR is a disgrace when you have a few hours transit. On top of everything else with BA.
It is sad that an airline which was a quality leader two decades ago is now down to being only the "best" or "unavoidable" option to those based in UK.

SonicStar817

I guess it depends on how much you value seat selection and meal priority in CW.

Joshm300

Do we not feel that one of the biggest issues is also people's changing taste in travel since Covid? I feel that one of the main issues in the club lounges is that people who've maybe paid as little as £60 more to travel their outbound leg in Club Europe as a treat, (knowing lounge and fast track are garanteed at Heathrow, unlike at a some outstations) is a big part of BA's lounge issue at Heathrow. I feel that a lot of new people tried Club Europe during/coming out of Covid, due to getting more personal space, or becasue it was cheaper/they had more cash than before and they've kept the habit up. I've always thought that it's a bit mad someone who's paid £5k to fly to Singapore in Club, with no status qualifies to sit in the same lounge as your £79 POUG or silver sitting in Economy to Alicante. If I was in charge at BA, I think I would be looking to split the club lounges into Club World and Club Europe pretty quickly.

TTmex

Lounge overcrowding is a problem in no way unique to BA. They haven't got the capability to extend the lounges due to there being no space at LHR. United responded to demand by building one of the biggest lounges in the world in their hub. It shows a massive change in dynamics of the market. ANA lounges are bursting at seams in Japan, Delta lounges are overflowing which they have responded to by hiking status requirements twice in two years and by a huge amount in terms of cash. People have reported finding no seats in Air France and KLM lounges too.

Modo

Isn't this is a BEA V BOAC issue?

Other than North America- far more BA flights as percentage of total are to Europe where CE is a farcically poor product on a value basis for in the know status holders????

I await to be forcibly corrected

Historically I understood I got lounge access on my European leisure flights through using BA in premium cabins long haul.

Sounds like this deal no longer exists at Heathrow.

But nobody has yet offered any explanation of how this has happened other than status extensions or double TP on BA Holidays!!!

BA or bust

Events, my dear boy, events….

Lefly

I think at least a couple of other theories have been posted in the Offered £30 to not go into GF T5 LHR thread.
One of them was that cancellations, delays and reduction in flight frequencies bring people to spend more time in the lounges, especially during layovers.
As an example, last week I had to wait 1h more in the lounge since my flight was delayed. Also, my ticket price was lower if I opted for a 4h layover instead of a 2h one...

Telecasterman

good point in my view…been exec status holder for more than I now care to remember..im now more in your camp esp if and when I have fly BA from my home airport MAN via LHR to anywhere..
MAN T3 was designed around the then wide BA operation now sadly down to overcrowded runs to LHR../ Ryanair et al….and now the removal of the long standing lounge with its space and team of nice employees…..a sad reflection of what was and to me the current buzz “BA a Better BA”…doesn’t resonate..ymmv.. so yeah it’s a quick Costa coffee these days and onboard when i really must use this …..

dcmike

To be honest, long haul BA C has not been that appealing lately. Given all the issues connecting in LHR and just the low quality product compared to C on other carriers, I've been either picking other OneWorld carriers or *A carriers (I am lucky enough to have Gold status there, so no issues with status). I will likely drop to silver at the end of my tier point collection year.

Cw novice

What is certainly not helping is the number of shorthaul delays today in the afternoon. A quick skim of the departure board showed about 60% in the 2-4pm period. As this coincides with peak longhaul departures I would imagine it would get quite messy.

​​​​​​I'm very firmly in the Y for shorthaul, J for longhaul camp as I think this is the best value. Free exit row, group 1, fast track makes Y the best in Europe.

As has always been said do BA need to push the B lounges more for longhaul.

As I said in another thread F lounge around dusk last Tuesday was bliss and serene.

Does anyone have an idea of how long the peak lasts on a Monday and whether this is reflected for other days.

Geordie405

It's not just airline operated lounges that have challenges with overcrowding. If you look at Amex they have not only raised the rate for their Platinum card but they are now charging per additional authorized user - $195 per card instead of $175 total for up to three. This is in addition to removing the two complimentary guests per card, unless you spend $75k per year. In terms of Delta, Amex Platinum card holders now only get 6 lounge visits per year unless they too spend $75k or more. That said, my lounge visits on Saturday were actually pretty good: Centurion in LAS wasn't too busy with plenty of seats although the breakfast food offerings have gone downhill recently; the AS lounge in SFO was an oasis of calm; QF First at TBIT in LAX was quiet with attentive service (and the stir fry pork is excellent); the Flagship Lounge in T4 was quiet too (but the hot buffet looked pitiful); the AS lounge at T6 was probably the busiest of them all but still somewhere relaxing for the final 30 minutes before my flight back to LAS.