My Recent BA World Traveller Plus Experience

[mikeyjames]

Hi all,
I thought I'd share my latest experience on BA 009 Bangkok to Sydney in so called "World Traveller Plus"

It was an old 747-400 and the experience was pathetic. I have complained to BA and the response was as equally pathetic.

See my website for a full description of my experience.

www worldtravellerplus info

obviously full stops where the spaces are.

Cheers

Mick

 

[straitman]

Hi all,
I thought I'd share my latest experience on BA 009 Bangkok to Sydney in so called "World Traveller Plus"

It was an old 747-400 and the experience was pathetic. I have complained to BA and the response was as equally pathetic.

See my website for a full description of my experience.

www worldtravellerplus info

obviously full stops where the spaces are.

Cheers

Mick

mikeyjames,

Welcome to AFF.

Quite an interesting read and certainly does not show BA up in a favourable light.

Personally I would post the whole report here rather than using the link.

 

[albatross710]

Sorry to hear of your problems.

Any chance you can just post your review into the thread to make it easier for us to reference?

I traveled BA WT+ a few years back and I didn't think it was worth the extra value for me.

As a gesture, I have arranged to send you and your wife a £50 Highlife Shop! voucher

At least some compensation but you would have preferred a better flight experience.

 

[mikeyjames]

mikeyjames,

Welcome to AFF.

Quite an interesting read and certainly does not show BA up in a favourable light.

Personally I would post the whole report here rather than using the link.

Thanks straitman, advice noted:

British Airways - World Traveller Plus​

Follow this link to see what British Airways describe the onboard "World Traveller Plus" (Premium Economy) experience as
Follow this link to see what QANTAS describe the onboard "Premium Economy" experience as
NOTE: Had to remove these links due to posting rules buit I'm sure you can find them:mrgreen:

A Real Life Experience of World Traveller Plus on a British Airwyas 747-400

This is my recent experience on a flight from Bangkok to Sydney on 20th July 2009 - Flight BA009

Booked Via QANTAS as a code share flight with British Airways
Seat Numbers: 11J (Me) / 11K (Wife)

To say the “Premium Economy” experience was a disappointment would be an understatement to say the least. I have listed the main reasons for this below:

Seat 11K
1. Dried vomit on the floor between seat and window.
2. Touch screen did not work properly.
3. When watching TV shows, movies, etc they would constantly reset to the beginning
4. Screen had large dirty area that occupied top left corner (on the inside so couldn't be cleaned)

Seat 11J
1. No sound at all through the entertainment system.
2. The flight attendant unsuccessfully tried to fix the headphone socket into place with gaffe tape. So basically, I had no entertainment available for the entire flight.
3. Laptop power adapter did not work. By this stage I had given up complaining. The power adapter for my laptop is perfectly functioning and was actually purchased on a BA flight so I would assume it would have been compatible with their system.

In General
1. The flush button on the premium economy toilet fell off and needed to be gaffe taped.
2. The whole back of the toilet (where the flush button attaches) then fell off and needed to be jammed back into place.
3. At one stage the waste receptacle in the premium economy toilet was so full the lid would not close and you had to forcefully jam waste paper into it.
4. About 3-4 hours into the flight I was informed the supply of bottled water had been expended. The idea of having a bottle is so you don’t have to keep asking / searching for small cups of water – it’s much less disturbing when you are trying to relax (what I would call a “Premium” experience). Anyway, this necessitated calling the flight attendant for a small cup of water (barely a mouth full) constantly. In mid flight when the flight attendants always seem to disappear somewhere (as I presume that they assume people are sleeping) it meant I had to keep getting up and searching for water myself as calls were never responded to.

Past Experiences with BA World Traveller Plus
I have travelled on British Airways 747-400 in “World Traveller Plus” class before. It wasn't bad in 2004 in comparison to other airlines' economy class and was only about 25% more expensive. It is rather obvious that in the preceding 5-6 years or so that BA has not done a thing to upgrade it’s systems in this class of travel other than it's pricing. I wouldn't be surprised if I was watching the same monitor I was in 2004, though without sound this time.

A 2009 Comparison
In comparison I travelled Sydney to Bangkok via Thai Airways normal economy class and found the experience much more satisfying – a working entertainment system, clean toilets without parts falling off, no dried vomit on the floor, no need for flight attendants to try and fix problems with gaffe tape, no lack of bottled water, and no disappearing flight attendants half way through the flight. Normal Thai economy class beat BA "World Traveller Plus" hands down. I'll admit I had exit row seats on the Thai flight so the extra leg room didn't hurt.

My complaint to BA
I explained all of the above and simply asked to have the difference between World Traveller and World Traveller Plus refunded (a 30% refund in my case).

BA's Response
"Any problems that are detected are recorded and passed straight to our maintenance team. This means it can be put right immediately"..........."We acknowledge that there is still work to do in this area. We have started the changes and we are getting a positive reaction from our customers. It is helpful to have your own comments to help us pinpoint where we need to focus our efforts".........."I appreciate that this has come too late for your particular flight. I am sorry.".....(re: water) It is also difficult to anticipate what the demand for each product will be. We monitor the amount we use on our flights, and usually get the balance right from that. Clearly something went wrong on the day you were travelling though"......."While I do understand the reasons you have for asking, I am unable to arrange a refund of your upgrade. I am sorry to disappoint you."....... "As a gesture, I have arranged to send you and your wife a £50 Highlife Shop! voucher. The full details of how to use this will be included with the vouchers. I hope this will go some way to show our apologies to you"

My Response to BA
I’m not too concerned about where you need to focus your efforts from now on. My concern is the sub standard experience I received; that I upgraded for a “premium economy” experience and received anything but. Do you consider it acceptable that your patrons pay for a 'premium' service and receive a sub-standard one? Are you trying to tell me your staff are not experienced enough to anticipate how much bottled water is needed for a packed 9 hour flight? Your response shows how little regard you have for your patrons.

My Advice to travellers
Be very very careful when considering paying for World Traveller Plus on British Airways. Especially when travelling on one of their older aeroplanes. You may very well have a lot of trouble justifying the extra expense (sometimes up to double the price depending on the discounts available)

My Advice to British Airways
Take your customer complaints more seriously! If you plan on providing a 'premium economy' service provide one that is more than in name only.

My Advice to QANTAS
If your partner airlines cannot live up to what you advertise (e.g. your "Premium Economy" service) there should be a warning - for example, "British Airways 'World Traveller Plus' may not be of the same standard as the "premium Economy" service advertised on this site”

 

[Travel Guru]

Having inspected BA aircraft as recently as 2007 and seeing what people are getting for the 5k, there's no way in hell i'd be forking out money for it, simply not worth it, and quite frankly, Qantas should be embarrassed to have their Y+ product common rates with BA's, they're miles apart from what I can see.

TG

 

[Evan]

Having inspected BA aircraft as recently as 2007 and seeing what people are getting for the 5k, there's no way in hell i'd be forking out money for it, simply not worth it, and quite frankly, Qantas should be embarrassed to have their Y+ product common rates with BA's, they're miles apart from what I can see.

TG

I was told W is now no longer part of the JSA, and for all these reasons.
BA WT+ is a great product a few years ago when it was both cheap (a small premium on normal whY) and there was not the better competition. No with the massive price increases, ageing BA WT+ product and better alternatives i would also give it a big miss.

Sounds like the OP also got an especially bad and unlucky trip.

Don't feel so bad about the IFE... you should see how bad it in the early 777's and 747's in First !!!!! Its so bad and screen so small, not on demand etc that it almost makes for a complaint in itsself. Atleast they have personal DVD players but really... very sad IFE on BA.

Having said that BA premium classes serve great food and have nice staff so i am still happy to fly them. No to mention the PJ's are good pulled a pair out for a friend staying unexpected the other night.

 

[N860CR]

That does sound like a pretty ordinary experience, and the response is pretty standard of airlines these days. At least they bothered to get back to you - one step above QF of late...

It's a shame WT+ has gone downhill so much. I've booked the SYD-BKK leg in BA J which I took as a preference over QF (I believe all the SYD flights have the New Club World?) so it will be interesting to see how it compares to the big Q

 

[anat0l]

Whoa. A whole new domain and site for one complaint. This is big.

And disheartening - I'm scheduled to fly BA10 SYD-BKK later this year (November) on a 744 in F. There isn't a lot to write home about that either...

Da**it, I should have just stuck to QF SYD-SIN-LHR on 744 F the whole way......


I will say, though, that I did fly BA15 SIN-SYD on their 772 in Club World (NGCW), which wasn't bad at all. I haven't flown an equivalent QF J to compare against, but apart from the colours looking a bit droll compared to QF's mostly clean cut look, I certainly didn't have a problem with it. Although, probably in line with the OP, everything compared to QF seemed a bit more "cut down".

Apart from that, I think QF have always had loose screws (but ultimately their hand was forced) when it comes to comparing like-with-like classes across their colleagues. For example, burning QFF points for classic awards on AA domestic F using F rates (a joke), JQ Star Class using J rates (not as big a joke but still unreasonable) and BA WT+ using Y+ rates (as we've seen from this report, probably a joke - notwithstanding that BA WT+ is probably just that - Y+; compared to QF Y+ which is more rated at J-).

I'm also reminded of a constant threaded line on the FlyerTalk BA EC forum about how to get the most out of your first BA X experience (replace X with your class of service, e.g. F, CW or WT+). Nicely said, it states that if you set low expectations you'll be pleased; more appropriately and bluntly, it's probably saying, "expect incompetence and you won't be disappointed". Perhaps you should post your experience there (link), although naturally bring your flame shield with you.

 

[JohnK]

I travelled BA World Traveller Plus on 3 return trips in 2007/2008 when it was priced $300-$400 more than QF/BA WHY airfares. I had 11J (2 flights) on a 747 BKK-SYD return and 21J (4 flights) on a 777 SIN-SYD return twice and thought it was quite a good product for the price but the service in the World Traveller Plus cabin was hit and miss but mainly poor. I find it hard to believe that it has deteriorated that much in a year.

Anyway I would not hesitate to go back to travelling in BA World Traveller Plus if BA returned to the same airfares available 12 months ago....

 

[mikeyjames]

Hi all,
Thanks to all those who have replied so far. An interesting read to say the least.

I'm now wiating for the legal threats from QANTAS and BA to pull my website down. As far as I know there is no law against telling the truth:mrgreen:.

One thing I will say is that the poor flight attendant who was assigned WTP did try his best with his gaffe tape and a smile. When we landed he also made a big effort to thank me for my patience throughout the flight.

A few years back WTP was worth it (at 20% premium Syd - BKK return)simply due to the larger seats. There was always the bad service (the usual BA stuff like the flight attendants disappaeaing half way through the flight and then suddenly reappearing with 45 mins to go) and things like running out of food etc but for $300 extra I could cop that.

But now with all the competition it just doesn't stack up. Especially with BA's huge price increases that haven't been matched by an improved service.

I'm not letting this one drop. I booked through QANTAS and they are trying to pass all blame on to BA. As far as I'm concerned they have some responsibility to check that partner airlines live up to certain standards. As far as BA's 50 pound voucher goes I've already told them what they can do with it

Cheers

Mick

 

[tuapekastar]

Reading the report, it seems to me that this was simply a very bad trip (vomit, toilet problems etc. not acceptable of course), not much in particular to do with WTP per se. That'd be a pretty ordinary set of circumstances in standard economy.

I used WTP about 4 years ago when it was better priced, prior to the price increases related to QF's introduction of a significantly better, from all accounts, premium economy product, and found it quite good value.

Obviously the OP's experience was significantly different but as stated, I think what he has reported would be rotten even in economy.

 

[mikeyjames]

Reading the report, it seems to me that this was simply a very bad trip (vomit, toilet problems etc. not acceptable of course), not much in particular to do with WTP per se. That'd be a pretty ordinary set of circumstances in standard economy.

Yep, that’s why I don’t see my request for the dare difference between Standard and Premium to be refunded. Seems fair to me!

I used WTP about 4 years ago when it was better priced, prior to the price increases related to QF's introduction of a significantly better, from all accounts, premium economy product, and found it quite good value.

I’ve flown BA WTP several times in the past when the fare was only around 20% above standard. Just figured this was simply to make up for loss of seats (10 v 8 in each row). I didn’t expect much more than a slightly larger seat and was happy with that. Basically, economy service with a larger seat.

Just checked ba dot com for a fare SYD-BKK return in Feb/Mar 2010. $1067 for standard and $1760 for WTP. That’s a 70% premium which more than makes up for the seat so I now expect a little extra such as working entertainment systems, laptop power, toilets held together with someting other thna gaffe tape (and cleaned aoccasioanlly) – not asking for too much.

Seems like BA is just using WTP as a cashcow now rather than a genuine attempt at a premium expereince for their passengers.:evil:

Out of interest I thought BA and QANTAS were fare matching when QANTAS introduced their premium service. The same fare for QANTAS Premium Economy on same dates was $2817. I really can’t see the value here even though it probably reflects the difference in the “premium” experience between the two airlines.

There’s no way I’ll travel BA WTP again and QANTAS is a bit too pricey.

Looks like Thai Airways exit row seats from now on. Or maybe even back to the old days of a few sleeping tablets, 2-3 beers, and see you when we get there.:mrgreen:

Cheers

Mick

 

[odysseus]

Having inspected BA aircraft as recently as 2007 and seeing what people are getting for the 5k,

It doesn't sound like it was quite that bad in this case. For example, it might be $2800 vs $2000 (given the 30% reduction). For a $5000 price, the equivalent economy would have had to have been $3500 which sounds substantially higher than typical pricing of late.

 

[straitman]

It doesn't sound like it was quite that bad in this case. For example, it might be $2800 vs $2000 (given the 30% reduction). For a $5000 price, the equivalent economy would have had to have been $3500 which sounds substantially higher than typical pricing of late.

This situation sounds to be unacceptable for any class of service at any price from what I can see :!:

 

[moa999]

Hi all,
I'm now wiating for the legal threats from QANTAS and BA to pull my website down. As far as I know there is no law against telling the truth

No law on the truth. You might struggle with the domain name however.

 

[Cyclogenesis]

Actually, the truth can fail as a defense against defamation... You have to prove that it is also in the public interest...

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

I flew syd sin return on world traveler + in 2006. It was twice the price of the standard Y fare and I had to say I wasn't impressed at all.

I was lucky enough they had a promo to upgrade 1 leg so was in business class on the way over, but even that wasn't what i expected of a business class service.

Anyhooo, I was lucky enough to experience true PE on VAust in May / June

For anyone contemplating the trip to LA I would seriously recomment VA and their PE product. The service, IFE, food, seats, toilets were all way above what I am used to in cattle class (or worse, AirAsia ).

I REALLY do think most airlines over charge for their PE. The 100% markup is seriously price gouging.

 

[sr81]

I had a BA WTP experience a few years back after I flew on a special deal with one way in J the other in WTP. Needless to say the WTP trip on the way home was vastly below the J trip.

That said I found the experience OK. Not good and not bad. I like BA J but would hesitate to fly them in Y if a QF product is available. The extra width is good but the seat isn't that comfortable.

IFE problems are not alone to any airline. CX, BA, QF, OZ, AA...... I have had systems fail on all. The dirty screen on the other hand is just slack. I would never imagine to find a dirty screen on CX (apart from the rubbish 777 regional aircraft).

I am interested to hear how you go with this. Maybe you should write a song about your guitar being broken as well as the vomit? YouTube - United Breaks Guitars

 

[Travel Guru]

Anyhooo, I was lucky enough to experience true PE on VAust in May / June

For anyone contemplating the trip to LA I would seriously recomment VA and their PE product. The service, IFE, food, seats, toilets were all way above what I am used to in cattle class (or worse, AirAsia ).

I'm glad to see feedback like that, i'm flying BNE-LAX next month in Y+ on VA, looking fwd to checking them out, i've heard only good things.

TG

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

TG

to put it in perspective, I was able to sleep on both flights to the point where I really didn't feel any jet lag effects.

The bar area in PE is fantastic. It was nice to be able to just get up, serve yaself a glass of wine / spirits / juice and get a snack then back to sleep

It was the 1st time I'd flown on a 777 and it's a very nice flying bus :mrgreen:

I'm not sure if it was the mood lighting that helped with the jet lag, but it was rather nice to have a gentle decrease / increase in cabin lighting than the standard dormitory style with most planes.

At least VAust give u a better meal than in Y (I want more of those pancakes on the way home), 2 dedicated cabin staff that were friendly and helpful, and a toilet with a bit more space so you don't feel claustrophobic :shock:

Still, they do charge double the Y fare which is a bit rich for the extras you get. At least you can now fly PE to the US for what a Y fare would have cost yo a yr ago.

BA should take a leave out of Mr Banson's book before their passengers realise they can get better service elsewhere.