Highly critical YouGov report shows collapsing BA customer perceptions
Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.
One thing that was missing from the ‘Investor Day’ presentation given to the City recently was the ‘net promoter score’ for British Airways. It is an accepted statistical method of showing how well regarded a company is by its customers and is also a number which IAG is known to focus on closely.
Luckily, polling firm YouGov published its own report last month on the collapsing public perception of British Airways. For some reason this slipped through the PR gap when it was published but I have now got hold of a copy.
You can read the full document here (PDF).
Take a look at this chart (click to enlarge):
This chart is a net score of whether consumers believe a brand offers value for money. It is important to note:
“By ‘value for money’ we do not mean cheap or expensive, but that the brand offers customers a lot in return for the price paid.”
“Looking at value for money, the decline started earliest among those who fly with British Airways. The drop among BA customers’ perception in this area started in autumn 2016, shortly after the introduction of inflight food and drink charges for short-haul flights. But the general public’s view began to change notably in May 2017, at the time of the brand’s much-publicised IT problems.”
Here is another chart showing changes in perceived ‘value’ and ‘quality’ over the last year. Again, click to enlarge:
Again, you can see that BA registers sharp falls on both counts. None of the airlines covered by the survey comes out smelling of roses, but then again we are only talking about a one year period.
However, the chart above is based on ALL flyers questioned. Look at what happens when you only include the data from people who have flown British Airways in the past year:
Oh.
The report is not all doom and gloom:
Despite the fall in perception among several key groups, it should be remembered that British Airways is still the highest rated airline in the UK according to many metrics, and, despite falls in views of the carrier’s quality and value for money, the vast majority (87%) who flew with BA in the last 12 months were satisfied with their experience.
You can download the full PDF document here if you want to take a closer look. Note that you need to provide your personal details first.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2023)
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 £12,000 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive 30,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 30,000 Avios) with American Express Preferred Rewards Gold. You receive 25,000 points if you spend £3,000 in three months and a further 5,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive a huge 100,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 100,000 Avios) with The Platinum Card. You receive 75,000 points if you spend £10,000 in six months and a further 25,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points (TO 9th JANUARY), FREE for a year & four airport ….. Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express
Crazy 100,000 points (TO 9th JANUARY) 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.

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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 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.
Comments (36)