When Kate and William flew back to London on British Airways last week, it seems their inflight entertainment system failed and they were forced to actually read books and talk. I know, I know, this is a hardship that is just too much to bear so they were given $300 in vouchers from the airline and an apology. Yeah, what did the rest of the passengers get? I bet they did not get $300 each for their entertainment systems going down and if they did, it is only because Will & Kate got them too. If this had been an ordinary BA flight, they probably would have told everyone sorry and go to sleep. If they were very, very, very lucky, someone might have given them, well no, airlines don't give anything anymore. Well, at least they got to fly with Kate & William and talk about it the entire 10 hours.
Maybe everyone in first class?
ReplyDeleteI wasn't paying attention I thought they flew private planes...
ReplyDeleteJust because their unit failed doesn't necessarily mean all the units failed.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I've flown with BA, their service has been fantastic. It wouldn't surprise me if everyone got SOMETHING, maybe not 300 bucks though.
ReplyDeletePeople flying first class get all the perks. If that happened in coach/economy you'd be lucky didn't charge you extra for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm with MISCH, with all the Queen's money they flew COMMERCIAL?!?! No private flight on Windsor 1???
ReplyDeleteThey just don't make royals like they used to. Flying commercial. I am appalled. Appalled, I say!
ReplyDeleteI expect wherever the units may have failed in the first class and/or business class sections, those passengers were given vouchers. Those tickets are ridiculously expensive and if I'd paid that much and not even had the basic entertainment that coach class had, I would expect some remuneration of some sort. (I've flown overseas in coach where there was a screen in the back of the seat in front of me and I several channels--movies and tv shows--to choose from for the entire flight.)
ReplyDeleteThey fly commercial for the environment, but also because it is much cheaper, even in first or business class, than flying private jets.
Seriously? The last few times I've flown the in-flight system hasn't worked at all and I got diddly-squat. You gotta love one system for famous rich people that makes them richer, and another system of nothing for the little guy.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, even in coach, British Airways rocks: inflight entertainment, complimentary drinks, and pretty decent meals.
ReplyDeleteIt says they got $300, but is that for both of them...and possible a few people on their staff? I highly doubt they were given more than the rest of the passengers. Maybe First Class received more than those in coach...but I don't think this is a case of special treatment. Just a stupid, careless with details story.
ReplyDeleteUnless things have changed drastically, BA has very good service, so not surprising about the vouchers. And I am going to guess depending on how much each ticket cost, everyone probably got something.
ReplyDeleteI heard they flew commercial to represent that they support the environment-that is why to private plane.
ReplyDeleteThe Royals used to use Royal Air Force planes and helicopters, but when the last royal plane was retired, they started to fly first class because it is cheaper. The Queen also sold off the Royal Train and the ocean liner. These guys know how to economise!
ReplyDeleteAll long haul flights have in seat entertainment, about 20 channels. Virgin brought round ice-creams to go with the movie last time I flew to LA.
More poorly-researched snark.
ReplyDeleteThese two seem pretty down to earth. And I have always heard British Airways was a fantastic airline. None of this surprises me.
ReplyDeleteI once flew from London to the US on BA, and they asked for someone in coach class to trade places with someone in first class, with the caveat that the movie system wasn't working in first class. I jumped at it - the ice cream sundae tasted extra sweet that day. I guess a passenger wanted to watch movies *THAT BADLY* that he would give up a first class seat!
ReplyDeleteA tip for traveling. Always, always, always look for a non-US based airline to fly, especially if you're flying internationally. Service is much better, and you get more perks. The US based airlines are the last to improve and the first to cut back/charge for things.
And even domestic US airlines treat their international passengers better. I recently flew Delta to Bangkok via Tokyo, and they stunned me by giving me a meal voucher because the flight was delayed 2 hours. Granted, it bought me some rice and a drink at Narita airport,but it was something! A 2 hour delay would get laughed at in the US.
FWIW, I've always found that Virgin Atlantic is better than BA, but BA is better than Delta or American, on the transatlantic route.
My father was an executive and he traveled a ton for work. One of his retirement presents was two anytime first class tickets on BA to India. He put them in his safe and forgot about them for few years. I got married about 7 years ago, and when my husband and I were looking at honeymoon options, he remembered them and gave them to us to see if we could use them (they had been expired for about a year or two).
ReplyDeleteBA was wonderful! They gave me the fair market value of that time (not even when they were issued) and re-issued the tickets. We got to fly business class from NYC to Delhi (with a nice stopover in London) and their service is phenomenal. I absolutely believe that BA would have done that for anyone. I have experienced their great customer service first hand!
I love BA. I have always flown them when I've gone to the UK, even though Continental's Houston-London schedule is more convenient. You can't beat the service, the food is actually edible, and they don't treat you like cattle. It wouldn't shock me if they gave a $300 voucher to everyone whose entertainment system wasn't working -- that's how they roll.
ReplyDeleteI think a letter to Branson is due over this.
ReplyDeleteThe royal family still cares about not looking douchey. Anyone who flies a private plane these days needs a punch in the nose. It's conspicuous consumption at its worst. And if they can fly commercial, anyone can. Well, maybe not real heads of state like the Prez - they have a good excuse.
ReplyDeleteDAMN Enty! You could have somehow could have turned this into a DEAR Richard letter. I know it isn't his airline but you could have done it about "guess what your competition got to fly with a royal and ...".
ReplyDeleteLOVE your DEAR RICHARD posts.
I flew on Virgin Blue from Sydney to Melbourne a few months ago, and the inflight entertainment systems all failed. So they turned on the satelite tv system and gave us pay tv for free. Which was brilliant because I got to watch the Canucks playoff game on Foxsports which is a channel not generally available in Australia unless you pay for digital tv.
ReplyDeleteAnd Virgin blue is more of a low-cost airline, (not quite budget but not a regular airline either) and they still gave us that for free so, I'd be surprised if regular airlines didn't provide some compensation for the inflight system not working. Especially on a long haul flight.
I'm glad to see other positive BA experiences. They oversold a flight of mine once, asked for volunteers for an EARLIER flight , and gave the volunteers a business class upgrade and $250 each. I got back home a few hours earlier , $250 richer and arrived in style and I wasn't even a ROYAL. Love BA!
ReplyDeleteI flew ba all the time and once the entertainment system was out in business class and yes I got about $200 in vouchers. They are vouchers not cash.
ReplyDeleteBA is one of the best business class airlines with Cathay Pacific and Singapore Air.
Most european airlines give compensation when something goes wrong, even in economy class. KLM are really good at handing out stuff.
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