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Well the purpose of a flight isn’t to watch the IFE 😉 But if the OP really didn’t have any other means of relaxing during the flight (ahem) then it should be more significant. Compensation should be commensurate with the impact of the inconvenience – not a free for all.
You case might be delayed by a day…. If you’re going to the beach, claim for some shorts and T-shirts. If you’re attending a black tie dinner, claim for hiring a Tux.
Was there any raw dog available on the brunch menu?
I am flabbergasted at JDB’s comments about £50 being sufficient. Wow.
I also think £ 50 is adequate.
My flabber was not ghasted and nor was my ghast flabbered by his comment.
Left hand armrest broken. £25 should suffice as you got two elbows.
We got two here who would be an incredible fit in BAs cost analysis sector.
If I had to fly for 11 hrs to LAX and the IFE was not working I would find myself with little to do other than sleep (it is a day flight you are supposed to remain awake).
Of course today I could use wifi and my phone to catch some entertainment (if WIFI works) but the fact is an important feature of the seat is broken and £50 fells like a small compensation.
Some may say it is enough and compare it to the cost of Netflix at home but you are flying over the ocean and the cost of stuff is multiples of what people would usually pay. The promise of a functioning seat with a flat bed and entertainment is the whole selling point of BA. Surely if they didn’t deliver they should pay back.
@yonasi – yes, “if they didn’t deliver they should pay back” but the question is, how much? I suggested the £50 offered by BA to the OP was fairly reasonable, some others have concurred and those that have mocked have failed to come up with any objectively justifiable sum or argument therefor. Rob suggested that 10k Avios is reported on FT to be a standard offer, roughly equivalent to £50 for BA.
I attempted to bring something objective on which to hang the right sum of compensation and the offer of £50 is equivalent to three months of Netflix vs 12 hours of missing inflight IFE. It’s obviously not exactly comparable but there is some equivalence. Some of the higher numbers one has seen suggested really are numbers plucked out of someone’s posterior! IFE just isn’t such an integral part of the offer or part of the cost such as to merit some silly number, however desirable that might seem.
I don’t really buy the sob story of absolutely nothing to do other than sleep or use IFE as most people plan for a long trip and (or children have it done for them) and bring things to read, work and these days I would much rather watch things of my choice on the much better screen of my iPad. A lot of people, even here, say they don’t use IFE at all.
Left hand armrest broken. £25 should suffice as you got two elbows.
We got two here who would be an incredible fit in BAs cost analysis sector.
You’re being ridiculous now.
How much would you suggest for no IFE?
You might be surprised about what amounts I think people should be paid for issues like no IFE, broken seats, delayed luggage etc. In the round I’d probably cost BA more. But then again I’d be telling management to pull their fingers out and fix issues so people have nothing to complain about – leading to a longer term saving.
simple question How many of us would be happy to get a £50 cheaper fare if there was no IFE ?
Shame we cant do a poll on here – Norse might be interested in the answersI binge watch and plan to binge watch on long flights, since i get so little opportunity. A bit like shopping in airports as no other time. I’m fairly organised about both.
So I’d be quite miffed if no working IFE on a long flight. Not as bad as the seat not reclining, of course.
Flight has to be long enough to matter so min. 7hrs or so. Mine are much longer. I’d regard 5% of my fare back as mean. 15% would mean the airline was somewhat sorry. 10% I’d grumble but at least would feel they’re trying. Let’s face it £50 doesn’t buy too much more than a coffee these days.
Non-switching-to-bed seat in J on a long overnight flight and nowhere to swap to would have me absolutely incensed. My offer would be you can keep 25% of the difference between this and Economy but the rest I want back. I’d stretch to 50%.
Am I going to get it? No. but these figures feel right so long as we still expect decent IFE on planes( probably not too many years longer).
@LadyLondon – the idea that 10% of your fare is potentially attributable to IFE and would represent a level of compensation at which you would still be grumbling shows little understanding of business or airline economics, let alone the the concept of compensation.
I’m also very surprised that you think an economy passenger should receive so much less compensation than the richer fat cats up front; much tougher in eco without IFE, why not give them more! And should an Avios passenger get less than a high fare corporate traveller?
It’s quite amusing that in the context of advice given here to parents travelling for the first time with children to bring plenty of things to entertain the youngsters that the adults can’t manage to do that for themselves.
I might accept £50 discount for something which I had agreed not to have
However I expect more for something that was advertised and I had paid for – its a sort of breach of contract.
Maybe not legally but certainly morally I expect moreI’m flying to SFO next year. Flight is 11 hours
Fare is roughly £ 1,500 (BA Hols sale fare starting in Dub)
Allow roughly £ 300 for taxes and airport fees
So total fare due to BA is £ 1,200
It’s a return fare so one way is £ 600 ( so not allowing anything for the DUBs or the one night hotel)
Your 10% would mean compo of £ 60 so not so far off the “mean” £ 50
I’d like to know where you’re spending £ 50 on a coffee!
It’s a race to the bottom.
-No IFE, £50 is adequate.
-Seat does not recline, £75 is adequate. As you could still sit upright plus you can lay down at hotel upon arrival.
-No more food, £60 is adequate as you should have thought of Plan B like an adult and packed sarnies.It would actually be in BAs best interest if these “adequate” compo payouts became regular versus actually fixing things.
It’s a race to the bottom.
–No IFE, £50 is adequate.
-Seat does not recline, £75 is adequate. As you could still sit upright plus you can lay down at hotel upon arrival.
-No more food, £60 is adequate as you should have thought of Plan B like an adult and packed sarnies.It would actually be in BAs best interest if these “adequate” compo payouts became regular versus actually fixing things.
Make your mind up!
Up thread you wrote this in relation to IFE
I am flabbergasted at JDB’s comments about £50 being sufficient. Wow.
So now you are in agreement with JDB and myself (after insulting us) on what is adequate compensation for no IFE?
I believe compensation has to hurt a little, not be the exact cost of the service offered. If a restaurant makes a mistake on a dish they rightly tend to offer it for free or maybe give a bottle of bubbly at the end as apology. They don’t say “well, our cost of production for the dish is £10 so here is a voucher for next time you dine with us”.
Here I see a similar situation, BA could say “the IFE costs us £x per flight, here is your money”, but that’s not the point. On their website BA the advertise:
Our Club World cabin has all you need to sit back, relax and be entertained in style.
You’ll get
– A personal flat screen and noise-cancelling headphones
– High-speed Wi-Fi on most aircraft with free messaging on your personal device for Executive Club Members
– Access to personal charging points
– Paramount+ with hundreds of the latest films and shows, plus music, audio books and gamesSo if you then get there and the service is not provided you can rightly complain and expect a little more than just a token of little use on its own. I would expect at least 20,000 avios tbh (given other compensations I got for stuff not working or issues on the flight).
As I said above, compensation should be down to the inconvenience/discomfort experienced. e.g. A non-working flat-bed is probably less of an issue on an 8 hour day flight than night flight. I can see “no IFE” as a disappointment, but especially in F/J I would assume everyone has a laptop/tablet/ebook already filled with stuff.
I think where more compensation is due is if it was BA already knew the IFE was broken….
My one and only 1st class flight was from Denver to Heathrow using a 241 and managing to bag Row A in a 747.
IFE failed for the whole plane. As it was an overnighter it really wasn’t a problem but i sent in the comments form a week or so later. Got 20000 Avios each which was great for me.The lack of IFE really wouldn’t bother me as I always have a book or kindle with me and plenty of music and podcasts on my phone to keep me occupied.
It’s a race to the bottom.
–No IFE, £50 is adequate.
-Seat does not recline, £75 is adequate. As you could still sit upright plus you can lay down at hotel upon arrival.
-No more food, £60 is adequate as you should have thought of Plan B like an adult and packed sarnies.It would actually be in BAs best interest if these “adequate” compo payouts became regular versus actually fixing things.
Make your mind up!
Up thread you wrote this in relation to IFE
I am flabbergasted at JDB’s comments about £50 being sufficient. Wow.
So now you are in agreement with JDB and myself (after insulting us) on what is adequate compensation for no IFE?
Lol, I don’t know if you’re a bit dim or so convinced in the validity of your own thinking that you don’t feel the need to read other users’ posts, but you’ve completely missed that poster’s point.
As I said above, compensation should be down to the inconvenience/discomfort experienced. e.g. A non-working flat-bed is probably less of an issue on an 8 hour day flight than night flight. I can see “no IFE” as a disappointment, but especially in F/J I would assume everyone has a laptop/tablet/ebook already filled with stuff.
I think where more compensation is due is if it was BA already knew the IFE was broken….
I never travel with a laptop, tablet or ebook, so no IFE would be a pain in the … and a big treat for me.
And long gone are the days when we used to pack sarnies for the flight too.@yonasl’s restaurant analogy is spot on. If BA doesn’t want people to think a “personal flat screen and noise-cancelling headphones” and “hundreds of the latest films” are a big deal, they shouldn’t advertise them as such.
I like to have as many diversions as possible (so also always pack books and iPad with Kindle app and music), as one never knows when one might be stranded somewhere.
Might need to start packing sarnies again though!
exactly @yonasi and @northernlass. There needs to be an element of “we’re truly sorry” in what’s given. It’s not what is advertised, and which I do genuinely count on.
A cynic would say there also needs to be a punitive element in what’s paid. So that the airline has an incentive to fix it. A respectful amount would reassure, that the airline is not leaving seat faults and IFE faults and other things unfixed flight after flight… failing to provide what’s promised to multiple customers.
Sorry @lhar £75 is simply *not* going to cut it for a broken seat in J that won’t go flat, on a 14 hour flight to Singapore. That’s very close to being in Economy where no such promise was made. Hence my willingness to give them 25-50% of the extra cost for J in that case.
For now, we’re promised IFE and I rely on that and look forward to it as s treat. It’ll be a few years yet before either I’m carrying all my own equipment and content and/or longhaul airlines stop building it in to their offering.
I’d happily take my own food if the fare reflected it. But for that to work, airport machines will have to allow liquids. As so much food tests liquid due to its moisture content (ben there, done that, had food confiscated at machines becsusr of it). No @lhar I’m not flying to Sungspore on crispbread. So I won’t be allowed to bring my own food onto the plane although I’d be quite happy to do thst.
I believe compensation has to hurt a little, not be the exact cost of the service offered. If a restaurant makes a mistake on a dish they rightly tend to offer it for free or maybe give a bottle of bubbly at the end as apology. They don’t say “well, our cost of production for the dish is £10 so here is a voucher for next time you dine with us”.
Finally, a voice of reason in this chat
Sorry @lhar £75 is simply *not* going to cut it for a broken seat in J that won’t go flat, on a 14 hour flight to Singapore. That’s very close to being in Economy where no such promise was made. Hence my willingness to give them 25-50% of the extra cost for J in that case.
<snip>No @lhar I’m not flying to Sungspore on crispbread. So I won’t be allowed to bring my own food onto the plane although I’d be quite happy to do thst.
Apols, but I think another contributor might have said those thing – not me. My point that I’d happily take 10k Avios for a broken IFE in J, because it wouldn’t really bother me. Similarly, a broken flat-bed wouldn’t bother me on a day flight, but would be a game-changer on a night-flight (as you suggest, might as well be in PE).
The real issue is – compensation should be commensurate with the resulting problems encountered. Not just a fixed-fee scale. As always with travel – expect the best and plan for the worst 😉
I believe compensation has to hurt a little, not be the exact cost of the service offered. If a restaurant makes a mistake on a dish they rightly tend to offer it for free or maybe give a bottle of bubbly at the end as apology. They don’t say “well, our cost of production for the dish is £10 so here is a voucher for next time you dine with us”.
Finally, a voice of reason in this chat
As you say @yonasi wasn’t wrong, but in fact the £50 offered for non functioning IFE does already include a large element of goodwill or ‘pain’. He never came up with any alternative sum. The suffering or alleged contractual breach of absent IFE on its own would not attract as much as £50 compensation.
@yonasi cites the marketing of Paramount, wifi, charging points and personal screen/headphones but objectively what are those worth vs the real service offered. BA has to finance a large aircraft, fuel and crew it, pay substantial airport departure and landing fees, en route fees etc. pay for ground staff, call centres, website, plus a big complaints team to handle this nonsense etc.
IFE is a frippery and tiny speck, even in premium cabins so those quoted items are a complete red herring.
What are you suggesting is an appropriate recompense for non functioning IFE and how is such sum objectively justified?
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