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British Airways call centres to remain in-house following staffing changes

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British Airways has announced that its five main contact centres, in Manchester, Newcastle, Delhi, Bremen and Hong Kong, will remain in-house.

Detailed discussions were believed to have been held with Capita but the shock profit warning issued in late January probably scuppered the deal.  The collapse of Carillion also meant that any announcement of outsourcing was likely to result in more negative PR for the airline.

Final agreement on the call centres remaining in-house will depend on employees voting to accept more flexible working agreements.

A cheerful email from Alex Cruz, announcing the news, told the staff that “[they have] fallen significantly behind” compared to their competitors.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 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 card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

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Barclaycard Avios card

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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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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

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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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.

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There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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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.

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American Express Business Gold

Get up to 40,000 points as a sign-up offer 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 (112)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Simon says:

    Alex if you are reading this (which of course you are not) the reason your call centres are so bad is down to one reason. Delhi. As a BA Gold you expect better. It is like talking to someone who speaks the same language but just has no a clue what you are saying. Whenever I have called and got put through to Delhi the call has never ended well. They either give out the wrong information or I just end up putting the phone down in frustration. Without doubt it is one of the many reasons why I am about to become Silver from Gold (tomorrow the 31st!) and why I will no longer try to maintain any status with BA in the future. The BA Delhi call centre is probably the biggest single asset that your competitors have. They must be delighted that it is staying!

    • Lady London says:

      +100001. Encounters with British Airways teams in Delhi are exactly why I let my Gold status go down to Silver. If I had to deal with them again I’d probably avoid British Airways for all future flights. On one long call they actually had me in tears. They were being obdurate about something they had completely missed the point on and were wrong about.

      So @Simon I loved your comment about British Airways’ Delhi team being their competitors biggest asset.

  • Bonoglobetrotter says:

    OT – when using GUF2:
    1) can I use Avios on the outbound sector and cash on the inbound sector, and get them both upgraded using GUF2?
    2) if so, will I have to pay disproportionately high taxes and cash fare based on a one way inbound price, or will BA charge half the cash cost of the return cash ticket?
    3) and can BAEC CS book in the lowest revenue class for the GUF2 ticket eg R or A?

    Thanks.

  • Rob says:

    I’ve been to the Singapore Conrad and it is indeed a very busy executive lounge. Its very nice, so this isn’t surprising!
    However, a big reason why I do my best to retain diamond membership is these excellent lounges. And I’m sure that other diamond members save up their points to stay at these more luxurious resorts rather than pay with cash. If they restrict lounge access to cash payment bookings, this would be hugely disappointing for I’m sure 75% of diamond members.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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