British Airways flies planes empty because it lacks flight attendants

Craig Welch wrote:

xyzzy said:



I believe British Airways feels it's more important to maintain the
exclusivity (and therefore perceived value) of those seats than to
fill them up the unsold ones with, say, the highest status frequent
fliers who are on the flight like most airlines would do.


Translation:

'Like most airlines would do'

=========

'As most American airlines would do'.


NO, they would not.
Most US airlines do not normally give away international upgrades
without some kind of payment, unless Y is oversold.

Don't any of you people fly?

"mrtravel" wrote in message
. ..
Craig Welch wrote:

xyzzy said:



I believe British Airways feels it's more important to maintain the
exclusivity (and therefore perceived value) of those seats than to
fill them up the unsold ones with, say, the highest status frequent
fliers who are on the flight like most airlines would do.


Translation:

'Like most airlines would do'

=========

'As most American airlines would do'.


NO, they would not.
Most US airlines do not normally give away international upgrades without
some kind of payment, unless Y is oversold.

Don't any of you people fly?

Commercial? Only if I have to. GA? Any time I possibly can.

--------------------------------------
DW

Craig Welch wrote:
mrtravel said:


Craig Welch wrote:


xyzzy said:




I believe British Airways feels it's more important to maintain the
exclusivity (and therefore perceived value) of those seats than to
fill them up the unsold ones with, say, the highest status frequent
fliers who are on the flight like most airlines would do.


Translation:

'Like most airlines would do'

=========

'As most American airlines would do'.


NO, they would not.
Most US airlines do not normally give away international upgrades
without some kind of payment, unless Y is oversold.


I must admit that I answered that last post on the basis that Y
would be oversold. Reading it again, I see that wasn't a stated
assumption, so I retract my words.


The prior poster was complaining that Y was full, and the "snooty"
section had plenty of room. He didn't mentioned Y was oversold.

On 16 Nov, 23:41, Craig Welch wrote:
said:



On Nov 14, 9:55 pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
British Airways has admitted flying dozens of "ghost flights" across the
Atlantic, with only pilots and cargo aboard (and no passengers), because it
doesn't have the crews to staff the flights with passengers:

http://www.emailthis.clickability.co...kMap=viewThis&...

Some of the ghost flights are apparently flown just to keep slots at major
airports active, even though every ghost flight burns tons of fuel.

Why don't they just hire more FAs? Or--like several other airlines--do they
make so much from hauling cargo across the Atlantic that they don't need
passengers to turn a profit?

My wife and I flew back last weekend from Johannesburg
and London on BA. The 747 from JoBurg to LHR was full, but from there
to YYC the cattle-car section of the 777 was jammed, yet the snooty-
chairs were mostly empty. I endured 9 hours of discomfort; good thing
I didn't know until I got off that those comfy lounges were
unoccupied. Might have made noise about getting a better seat.

To what avail? Do you think they would have moved you just because
you paid?

Then the 'snooty' passengers would have made noise about being
joined by a free-loader.

--
Craig http://www.wazu.jp/
1,239 Unicode fonts for 82 written language groups:
Price your own web plan:http://www.wazu.jp/hosting/

if you dont pay, then you dont get a lay....

Craig Welch wrote:

said:

On Nov 14, 9:55 pm, Mxsmanic wrote:
British Airways has admitted flying dozens of "ghost flights" across the
Atlantic, with only pilots and cargo aboard (and no passengers), because it
doesn't have the crews to staff the flights with passengers:

http://www.emailthis.clickability.co...kMap=viewThis&...

Some of the ghost flights are apparently flown just to keep slots at major
airports active, even though every ghost flight burns tons of fuel.

Why don't they just hire more FAs? Or--like several other airlines--do they
make so much from hauling cargo across the Atlantic that they don't need
passengers to turn a profit?

My wife and I flew back last weekend from Johannesburg
and London on BA. The 747 from JoBurg to LHR was full, but from there
to YYC the cattle-car section of the 777 was jammed, yet the snooty-
chairs were mostly empty. I endured 9 hours of discomfort; good thing
I didn't know until I got off that those comfy lounges were
unoccupied. Might have made noise about getting a better seat.

To what avail? Do you think they would have moved you just because
you paid?

Depends on which Airline you fly with. Some are more generous than others.



Then the 'snooty' passengers would have made noise about being
joined by a free-loader.

How would they know??? He could say that he paid to be upgraded because economy
was full.



--
Craig http://www.wazu.jp/
1,239 Unicode fonts for 82 written language groups:
Price your own web plan: http://www.wazu.jp/hosting/

On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 23:23:43 GMT, Craig Welch
wrote:

said:

On Nov 14, 9:55 pm, Mxsmanic wrote:

My wife and I flew back last weekend from Johannesburg
and London on BA. The 747 from JoBurg to LHR was full, but from there
to YYC the cattle-car section of the 777 was jammed, yet the snooty-
chairs were mostly empty. I endured 9 hours of discomfort; good thing
I didn't know until I got off that those comfy lounges were
unoccupied. Might have made noise about getting a better seat.

To what avail? Do you think they would have moved you just because
you complained?

Then the 'snooty' passengers would have made noise about being
joined by a free-loader.

This.

Like it or not, people will pay a logarithmically higher airfare in
the hope that they will have a greater likelihood of enjoying a
civilized flight. Any thinking airline would be foolish to allow the
riff raff to invade the rarified air of business and 1st class.

I just did a quickie glace at ba.com. A midweek fortnight RT in March,
JNB-LHR:

Steerage: £170
Business/Club: £1600
1st: £1817

So, let's say you paid £1600 for Business class: roughly 10x what the
commoners pay. You have an empty seat across the aisle from you.
Because some "drunken green grocer from Luton" decides he'd be more
comfortable up front, you get to spend 9 hours in abject horror as
this hideous, foul-smelling idiot drones on and on about how the Pakis
are making England a desert and coughing up phlegm, some of which
lands on your Simon Carter cufflink.

How long, do you suppose, those £1600 seats will retain their value?
The pricey seats pay for the flight. Everyone else just about covers
their share of the fuel costs.

No one likes steerage. I know I don't. I upgrade when I can, but I
understand why empty premium seats remain empty.

- TR
BTW: I find these BA airfares very affordable, all thing considered.

"VainGlorious" kirjoitti
viestissä

Like it or not, people will pay a logarithmically higher airfare in
the hope that they will have a greater likelihood of enjoying a
civilized flight. Any thinking airline would be foolish to allow the
riff raff to invade the rarified air of business and 1st class.

I just did a quickie glace at ba.com. A midweek fortnight RT in March,
JNB-LHR:

Steerage: £170
Business/Club: £1600
1st: £1817

That's not the reason at all. Those paying the full price (business and
first class tickets mostly but economy class tickets as well). The
furnishing and level of "service" is one thing and full price and
"promotional" price tickets another thing. Those in hurry buy the full price
tickets because they are fully transferable even between the recognized
airlines while the latter tickets gives you access to one dedicated flight
(well, in theory anyways).

Because the price difference between full price and economy tickets are so
substantial - as seen above - companies typically book their businessmen to
economy class with a low price tickets. It happens every now and then that
businessmen lose their connecting flights for one reason or another and yet
it becomes much cheaper this way by buying a new set of tickets for the rest
of the journey rather than buying full price tickets in the first place. In
this way flexibility and time efficiency is lost to some degree. Another
trick to save money for short time hops between two airports is to buy two
return tickets (one starting from the origin and the other starting from the
destination) rather than only one.

This is one reason why airlines have "profiliated" their business class
ticket pricing (they have come down......). Naturally the overall demand is
one decisive factor. And because it is supposed to be increasing
dramatically in near future, there is little hope that air tickets will
become cheaper. Actually most likely the tendency will be the opposite.

VainGlorious writes:

How long, do you suppose, those £1600 seats will retain their value?
The pricey seats pay for the flight. Everyone else just about covers
their share of the fuel costs.

Not true for transatlantic flights. Often the cargo alone covers the entire
cost of the flight, and the passengers are pure profit, even in economy class.
That's how BA can afford to fly empty aircraft (empty of passengers, that is).

Mxsmanic wrote in
:

VainGlorious writes:

How long, do you suppose, those £1600 seats will retain their value?
The pricey seats pay for the flight. Everyone else just about covers
their share of the fuel costs.

Not true for transatlantic flights. Often the cargo alone covers the
entire cost of the flight,


Nope. wrong agian.


Bertie

"Bertie the Bunyip" wrote in message
.. .
Mxsmanic wrote in
:

VainGlorious writes:

How long, do you suppose, those £1600 seats will retain their value?
The pricey seats pay for the flight. Everyone else just about covers
their share of the fuel costs.

Not true for transatlantic flights. Often the cargo alone covers the
entire cost of the flight,


Nope. wrong agian.


Bertie

Are you saying you know more than MX?? That is unpossible.

-------------------------------
DW