Dear British Airways

I seem to be on some kind of British Airways target list, because frequent travellers, their best customers after all, are perhaps the most appropriate to ask what’s good and not-so-good about the airline, its service and staff. So I get asked after every flight, often before and sometimes in between about whether I am satisfied with the check-in, security, the lounge plus of course the boarding, the flight and so on. I answer most of the surveys, mainly because I don’t like to be reminded that I haven’t done something, so of course the best way to make sure that does not happen is to complete the survey.

I was slightly taken aback by one question in the latest survey, which asked me whether I “love” British Airways (for a sense of balance, no doubt, they also asked me whether I hate them). It’s an odd question, isn’t it? You can love another person, for sure, or a dog for example. You miss them when you’re apart, perhaps even yearn for them. Love might include desire but, before you worry, I have no plans to settle down and spend the rest of my days with a Boeing 747 or Airbus A320.

The survey didn’t allow me to answer the question in the way I wanted, “listen, you may have noticed I’ve had a Gold Card since 1991, and have accumulated over 40 thousand air-point-thingies in that time and, as for most flights I only get 10 air-point-thingies, you must realise that I don’t exactly despise the company.” (I heard a speaker on brand management a few years back use Harley Davidson as an example of a brand that users could get passionate about. Bikers even have tattoos with the company’s logo. But I just can’t see myself, or to be honest anyone including Willy Walsh, have “To fly. To serve.” in a tasteful tattoo on my arm or bum. Dear, oh dear.)

It’s been a tough time for the airlines recently, with high fuel prices, competition from budget airlines, the global financial crisis and ailing airlines like Alitalia refusing to die. So understandably there’s been a lot of cost cutting, restructuring and cutbacks. Cost cutting is, after all, one of the great successes of the capitalist system. Every year, you need to find a way of making the product or service better, cheaper, or ideally both. I saw my first colour TV in the late 1960s. It cost £200 and couldn’t display colour because all the transmissions were still in black and white. Today, a similar size TV costs about the same. When we moved to France 20 years ago, a flight from London to Geneva cost about £200 in economy and £400 in business. It’s actually a bit cheaper than that today.

So like its competitors, BA has made cuts, some visible, some less so, and some welcome and some not. I like to be able to check myself in on line, for example, and as this means the airline does not need to provide staff to help, we both gain. I regret the reduction in quality in the wine selection in Heathrow lounges, but it was frankly bonkers to offer such great wine free when you have to compete with Ryanair or EasyJet, who charge for everything. I could do without being asked how well the eggs should be cooked for the boiled egg and soldiers breakfast I like to order in the lounge when I have an early flight (you try using soldiers on a hard-boiled egg) and I got quite cross when the Gold Card customer service hotline was no longer manned 24/7, but overall I cannot grumble about the service level. Until now, that is. The latest BA cost-cutting is an outrage and has to be reversed. I’m talking, of course, about the tea provided in the First Class lounge at T5.

Twinings, that global purveyor of our national drink, makes different grades of tea and their best, in my opinion, is the silky pyramid range. The mint is to die for and the English Breakfast has a freshness and depth that really gets me ready to tackle my day. But it’s expensive at about 25p a bag, compared with the standard breakfast tea at about 5 pence, which is probably why some BA bean-counter switched to the standard bag.

I did a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation, after watching some travellers in the BA lounge. I estimate 10% drink tea, so the 20p per bag cost saving to BA works out at about two pence per passenger per flight, or tuppence in good ol’ English.

This is serious stuff and, if knew how to use Twitter better, I would start a #tuppencemore @BA campaign to force BA to increase ticket prices by the said tuppence to cover the cost of going back to the real tea. The UK government has been trying to reduce the balance of payments deficit for some time, mostly through increased exports. But we exporters cannot be expected to close deals, win business, penetrate new markets and generally save the country and its balance of payments without a decent cup of tea. Unless BA reverses the decision, there will be questions at PMQ, or there should be. It’s that important.

So BA, I’m sorry to say, I don’t love you. Admire and respect, for sure. And you are likely to have my business for several years to come. But I would love a decent cup of tea.

With kind regards,

David Frodsham

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Dear Mr Frodsham

Thank you for your email dated 21 October. Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying. While I appreciate your distress at the brand of tea being changed in the lounge, I enjoyed reading your email regarding this.

While you are correct, there are no To Fly. To Serve. tattoo images available on the internet, your continuing loyalty as a Gold member of our Executive Club since joining on 15 November 1991 is highly appreciated. Using your feedback from the completed surveys allows us to retain this loyalty by recognising the parts you like, and improving the parts that need addressing.

Please be assured that all of your comments have been logged and passed on to an applicable line manager. I understand it is imperative to start your day in the best possible frame of mind and British Airways would like to assist with this wherever possible. Although I am unable to guarantee any future changes, I have forwarded a copy of your email directly to a Catering Manager to ensure they are aware of the impacts made by the change.

Thank you again for contacting me. We look forward to welcoming you on board your flight to Barcelona.

Hayley Purves
British Airways Customer Relations

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Dear Hayley,

Sometimes in life, the only thing you can say is “Thank You”. Imagine my reaction on Monday in the T3 lounge to discover the Twinings silky pyramid teabags have been brought back. I can only imagine the efforts you have put into reversing the decision of some anonymous grey-suited bean-counter deep in the bowels of the BA organisation; the battles you fought with the bureaucracy and the business case you presented to management. But whatever it was you did, it worked. So thank you, Hayley, for being my advocate within the organisation and thank you, British Airways for listening to your customers. I flew to Vienna this Monday a happy man and had a most successful week. I think the two are connected. To mix metaphors, an army may march on its stomach, but BA passengers don’t want to start the week with a storm in a teacup.

Thank you.

With kind regards,

David Frodsham

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Dear Mr Frodsham

Thanks for your email about the change you have experienced in our Terminal 3 lounge.

I’m very happy to hear about the successful week you had, and the contribution we hopefully made. We take the views of our passengers very seriously and try to implement change wherever possible to improve our service. While I can’t take credit for the change itself, I’m glad I was given the opportunity to pass your comments on. I hope the change you have experience within our Terminal 3 lounge on Monday continues on your flight to Barcelona.

Once again I thank you for contacting me and I hope you have an equally successful week.

Best regards

Hayley Purves
British Airways Customer Relations