Forbes magazine asks “Did British Airways make one cut too many?”
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The website of Forbes magazine published an interesting article yesterday on the current state of British Airways. It is surprisingly accurate – by the standards of mainstream publications when reporting on airline and frequent flyer issues – and worth a read.
Here are a couple of quotes:
British Airways since its turnaround in the late ’80s has been generally considered a top league airline, innovating seats that turn into beds in both first and business class, and laying on services such as arrivals lounges serving hot breakfast, providing weary travelers showers while having their suits pressed. It offers sit down dining in its lounges before flights, enabling passengers to have more time to sleep.
and
Implementing [buy on board] has not been smooth. A week after launching its version of “buy-on-board” service for its domestic and European flights that require its top-tier frequent fliers to pay for food and drinks and charges for even tea, coffee, soft drinks and bottled water, the airline is having challenges. BA’s Twitter account and internet forums …….. have passengers and crew telling of flight attendants not able to serve the entire cabin, only getting to a few rows, payment machines not working, and only a couple sandwiches loaded for the entire plane. In yet more cases, no food or drinks were loaded at all. Flight attendants from business class sometimes have to help sell food in the back, impacting service to its premium passengers. Teething pains maybe? Reportedly, cabin crew can’t give out food or drinks during delays for service recovery.
Amusingly, whilst Head for Points is not mentioned, a quote I posted on FlyerTalk is used:
One poster on internet forum FlyerTalk wrote of the cumulative impact of the cuts. “I know that no-one will flounce off purely on the back of BOB (buy-on-board), but everyone has a breaking point somewhere and the loss of free G’n’T may be it for many,” the member who goes by the name Raffles posted.
(A quick search shows that I have never used the word ‘flounce’ in almost 5000 HfP articles, which shows how I change my writing style when the end product is not for this site!)
There are some great extracts from the BA Twitter feed that are well worth a read.
You can read the full Forbes article here.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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