Woh. Is Labour really about to split? Watson not messing around now.
Could he be about to lead his team out of the cesspit?
My reading is that Watson is going to stay. He is in a fantastic position because as the elected deputy leader JC simply does not have the authority to sack him
He can't sack him as deputy leader - but he can remove him from the shadow cabinet and exclude him from many parts of the party apparatus.
Which may well provoke a big walk out - but that remains to be seen.
I have long said that Watson could (and possibly should) lead a walk out of sufficient size to establish a new Official Opposition - stripping Corbyn of that status and a lot of union and institutional support would follow with him.
The latter is the key. Watson is an old union man iirc. If he gets some backing from the non-Red Len unions behind the scenes then maybe he will.
Plus, what does his old mentor Gordon reckon is the thing to do? Probably stay and fight would be his advise.
I don't think you can fight back against the sheer numbers of the Momentum cabal. And that is the problem. Entryism has corrupted the membership to such an extent that it is almost impossible to fight them.
Are these really showdowns with the Speaker? Bottom line seems to be that he can make any ruling he wants (without thinking about longer term precedents as he himself has admitted) but it doesn't matter if his heart is in the right place or not, the government does not have the numbers to see him removed and definitely won't this side of Brexit. So Bercow's already won and the only thing the government can do is hope that he will, at least sometimes, still consider the issues carefully even though they hate each other.
Indeed. The Speaker is an absolute Monarch wrt procedure. Don't like the Speaker? Remove him. Don't like his unfettered power? Campaign for reform. They've tried the first and failed. God forbid they try the second, as a whole bunch of other related issues concerning the inadequacies of the Constitution may hove into view. Best not to scare the horses and just whinge about it instead.
I think the problem is that if nothing else the Speaker has to be consistent. It is fine for him to set a precedent and even better if that is giving power to the MPs over the Executive but if that is the case it has to be on every occasion that the same situation arises. What he cannot do is pick and choose which time she does it. Otherwise it just brings the whole position into disrepute.
Even worse is if some precedent is followed and a successor is a hyper-partisan like Bercow has become on this issue, but this time on the government's side. Bear in mind much of the time the government has a controlling majority in the Commons.
In the USA the Speaker is a purely partisan position. Nobody pretends Nancy Pelosi is neutral. Bercow's actions are pushing us in that direction.
Imagine if May had won a majority and made someone like Grayling a partisan speaker with the powers and willingness to tear up precedent that Bercow has ...
Fortunately, if it were Grayling, he'd find a way to inadvertently make all his rulings benefit the opposition... Joking aside, your point is spot on. It is easy to imagine a hyper partisan Labour speaker too.
Indeed - which was why it proved to be of great benefit to her. It was far from inevitable though - had a few more of the Argentinian shells actually exploded the military outcome might have been rather different.
Or if the Argentinians had waited a few months. Weren't they due a load of new exocerts? And the HMS Hermes would have been out of action by then?
There would have been no new Exocets for the forseeable future. MI6 and the Direction générale de la sécurité extérieure made sure of that.
And if the US had slow timed the requested Sidewinders ?
We would have probably used the R550 Magic which had already been integrated on to the Harrier for the Indian Navy and used the same rail as the AIM-9.
Was that the MkI - and would it have sufficed (didn’t the Argentines have it) ?
Woh. Is Labour really about to split? Watson not messing around now.
Could he be about to lead his team out of the cesspit?
My reading is that Watson is going to stay. He is in a fantastic position because as the elected deputy leader JC simply does not have the authority to sack him
What's the next step? They cannot have such open infighting for long now there's somewhere for the discontented to go (although in a way the very fact of a fight provides some incentive to stay) so what does Corbyn do? Has Watson cornered him?
Corbyn will continue doing what he's done before I imagine: Ignore Watson.
Pretty much this, he isn't one for the fight generally and he isn't going to listen to him where he doesn't want to or need to.
Labour were in pretty much open warfare for a couple of years before the 2017 election, by this point you'd think Corbyn was used to it.
Whether one is frustrated or inspired by it, there's no disputing he is a very resilient chap. And buoyed by the membership he can take hits that would fell most leaders. Sure it eventually did lead to the tiggers and his numbers have been better, but I wont count him out. Watson has the ultimate threat of a walkout but he can only do it once and it concedes the party to Corbyn, so even if Corbyn is limited in what he can do theres even less Watson can do.
Woh. Is Labour really about to split? Watson not messing around now.
Could he be about to lead his team out of the cesspit?
My reading is that Watson is going to stay. He is in a fantastic position because as the elected deputy leader JC simply does not have the authority to sack him
What's the next step? They cannot have such open infighting for long now there's somewhere for the discontented to go (although in a way the very fact of a fight provides some incentive to stay) so what does Corbyn do? Has Watson cornered him?
Corbyn will continue doing what he's done before I imagine: Ignore Watson.
Pretty much this, he isn't one for the fight generally and he isn't going to listen to him where he doesn't want to or need to.
Labour were in pretty much open warfare for a couple of years before the 2017 election, by this point you'd think Corbyn was used to it.
Woh. Is Labour really about to split? Watson not messing around now.
Could he be about to lead his team out of the cesspit?
My reading is that Watson is going to stay. He is in a fantastic position because as the elected deputy leader JC simply does not have the authority to sack him
Looks like total open war now within Labour.
May maybe be tempted to run for the ballot boxes in early May?
It'd be a total waste if she does. Nothing would re-unite Labour quicker than the start of an election campaign.
Far better to get a couple of years of them pulverising each other and then go to the polls.
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Woh. Is Labour really about to split? Watson not messing around now.
Could he be about to lead his team out of the cesspit?
My reading is that Watson is going to stay. He is in a fantastic position because as the elected deputy leader JC simply does not have the authority to sack him
What's the next step? They cannot have such open infighting for long now there's somewhere for the discontented to go (although in a way the very fact of a fight provides some incentive to stay) so what does Corbyn do? Has Watson cornered him?
Corbyn will continue doing what he's done before I imagine: Ignore Watson.
Pretty much this, he isn't one for the fight generally and he isn't going to listen to him where he doesn't want to or need to.
Labour were in pretty much open warfare for a couple of years before the 2017 election, by this point you'd think Corbyn was used to it.
Whether one is frustrated or inspired by it, there's no disputing he is a very resilient chap. And buoyed by the membership he can take hits that would fell most leaders. Sure it eventually did lead to the tiggers and his numbers have been better, but I wont count him out. Watson has the ultimate threat of a walkout but he can only do it once and it concedes the party to Corbyn, so even if Corbyn is limited in what he can do theres even less Watson can do.
I'm at the point where I can see the advantages either way, Corbyn and those around him will be much less up for it but you'd assume they could still appreciate the silver lining. He can offer him things that fit in with his own agenda somewhat or don't require huge compromise so he can justify staying.
On Corbyn I think the @williamglenn video hints at why, my impression is he sees his political cause as bigger than himself (which can be true of good or bad people)
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Ah, but there's no reason to use the AA lounges. In London, you use the BA one in Terminal 3, and in the US, you can almost always find a better BA/Qantas one. (I use the Qantas one in LA, and it's excellent.)
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Ah, but there's no reason to use the AA lounges. In London, you use the BA one in Terminal 3, and in the US, you can almost always find a better BA/Qantas one. (I use the Qantas one in LA, and it's excellent.)
I’m sitting in the BA lounge in [East coast city]. Coincidentally the people near me are just saying “I’ll never fly American if there’s a choice”.*
*The granny fancier point remains although a colleague tells me they are largely legacy America West. The original hires....
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Ah, but there's no reason to use the AA lounges. In London, you use the BA one in Terminal 3, and in the US, you can almost always find a better BA/Qantas one. (I use the Qantas one in LA, and it's excellent.)
I’m sitting in the BA lounge in [East coast city]. Coincidentally the people near me are just saying “I’ll never fly American if there’s a choice”.
Really? AA business class has much better seats, all with aisle access. Worse food, mind.
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Ah, but there's no reason to use the AA lounges. In London, you use the BA one in Terminal 3, and in the US, you can almost always find a better BA/Qantas one. (I use the Qantas one in LA, and it's excellent.)
I’m sitting in the BA lounge in [East coast city]. Coincidentally the people near me are just saying “I’ll never fly American if there’s a choice”.
Really? AA business class has much better seats, all with aisle access. Worse food, mind.
Window seats have aisle access? How does that work?
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Ah, but there's no reason to use the AA lounges. In London, you use the BA one in Terminal 3, and in the US, you can almost always find a better BA/Qantas one. (I use the Qantas one in LA, and it's excellent.)
I’m sitting in the BA lounge in [East coast city]. Coincidentally the people near me are just saying “I’ll never fly American if there’s a choice”.
Really? AA business class has much better seats, all with aisle access. Worse food, mind.
Indeed. Whenever I flew with a former colleague, I ended up on a BA flight. Because she didn't want to let her gold exec club membership lapse. All I knew it meant was I wasn't getting any sleep on that flight. BA seats are the worst.
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Ah, but there's no reason to use the AA lounges. In London, you use the BA one in Terminal 3, and in the US, you can almost always find a better BA/Qantas one. (I use the Qantas one in LA, and it's excellent.)
I’m sitting in the BA lounge in [East coast city]. Coincidentally the people near me are just saying “I’ll never fly American if there’s a choice”.
Really? AA business class has much better seats, all with aisle access. Worse food, mind.
Window seats have aisle access? How does that work?
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Ah, but there's no reason to use the AA lounges. In London, you use the BA one in Terminal 3, and in the US, you can almost always find a better BA/Qantas one. (I use the Qantas one in LA, and it's excellent.)
I’m sitting in the BA lounge in [East coast city]. Coincidentally the people near me are just saying “I’ll never fly American if there’s a choice”.
Really? AA business class has much better seats, all with aisle access. Worse food, mind.
Window seats have aisle access? How does that work?
For LA - London, I tend to find myself on AirNZ - they have a good business class product (with the Virgin seats), and I can usually get return for sub $3,000, compared to around $2,000 for a BA Premium economy seat (and $8-10,000 for BA business).
I tell myself that spending about $800 more is a valid business expense.
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Ah, but there's no reason to use the AA lounges. In London, you use the BA one in Terminal 3, and in the US, you can almost always find a better BA/Qantas one. (I use the Qantas one in LA, and it's excellent.)
I’m sitting in the BA lounge in [East coast city]. Coincidentally the people near me are just saying “I’ll never fly American if there’s a choice”.
Really? AA business class has much better seats, all with aisle access. Worse food, mind.
Indeed. Whenever I flew with a former colleague, I ended up on a BA flight. Because she didn't want to let her gold exec club membership lapse. All I knew it meant was I wasn't getting any sleep on that flight. BA seats are the worst.
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Ah, but there's no reason to use the AA lounges. In London, you use the BA one in Terminal 3, and in the US, you can almost always find a better BA/Qantas one. (I use the Qantas one in LA, and it's excellent.)
I’m sitting in the BA lounge in [East coast city]. Coincidentally the people near me are just saying “I’ll never fly American if there’s a choice”.
Really? AA business class has much better seats, all with aisle access. Worse food, mind.
Window seats have aisle access? How does that work?
Four across “reverse herringbone” so every seat is at about 45% to the direction of travel, but has direct aisle access. BA’s “yin-yang” style squeezes more seats in but most window and middle pax have to step over other’s feet if they’re fully reclined.
BA’s new business class seat set to debut on their first A350 this year is going to have direct aisle access for all apparently.
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
AA gains you Tier Points with the added advantages for granny fanciers given their cabin crew (my experience of a flight on Tuesday was an extreme example of the genre). Downside is that their service is US airline standard and their lounges are extraordinarily stingy on booze.
Ah, but there's no reason to use the AA lounges. In London, you use the BA one in Terminal 3, and in the US, you can almost always find a better BA/Qantas one. (I use the Qantas one in LA, and it's excellent.)
I’m sitting in the BA lounge in [East coast city]. Coincidentally the people near me are just saying “I’ll never fly American if there’s a choice”.
Really? AA business class has much better seats, all with aisle access. Worse food, mind.
Indeed. Whenever I flew with a former colleague, I ended up on a BA flight. Because she didn't want to let her gold exec club membership lapse. All I knew it meant was I wasn't getting any sleep on that flight. BA seats are the worst.
Sadly, the curse of "status" gets many people.
The perks of status can help make the whole experience a bit less miserable.
For an otherwise excellent airline (in Economy & IFE) Emirates has a shocking Business product - 2-3-2 on a 777. Qatar (herringbone, or the new Business First with your own cubicle, which I don't like) or Oman (individual forward facing seats) are excellent. But when it's my money, Economy is fine......
For LA - London, I tend to find myself on AirNZ - they have a good business class product (with the Virgin seats), and I can usually get return for sub $3,000, compared to around $2,000 for a BA Premium economy seat (and $8-10,000 for BA business).
I tell myself that spending about $800 more is a valid business expense.
It's a good business class product, made great by the staff. Nicest people in the sky.
For LA - London, I tend to find myself on AirNZ - they have a good business class product (with the Virgin seats), and I can usually get return for sub $3,000, compared to around $2,000 for a BA Premium economy seat (and $8-10,000 for BA business).
I tell myself that spending about $800 more is a valid business expense.
Never been to LA but when I went to New Zealand I used them and economy class was probably the best I've been in so far, (along with Qatar Airways).
For LA - London, I tend to find myself on AirNZ - they have a good business class product (with the Virgin seats), and I can usually get return for sub $3,000, compared to around $2,000 for a BA Premium economy seat (and $8-10,000 for BA business).
I tell myself that spending about $800 more is a valid business expense.
That’s an amazing price from Air NZ. Not one to pay myself for biz class but could be tempted by that one.
BA longhaul product is way out of date now, except for the new 787 and A380. The shorthaul only looks good because it’s mostly up against Ryanair.
For LA - London, I tend to find myself on AirNZ - they have a good business class product (with the Virgin seats), and I can usually get return for sub $3,000, compared to around $2,000 for a BA Premium economy seat (and $8-10,000 for BA business).
I tell myself that spending about $800 more is a valid business expense.
That’s an amazing price from Air NZ. Not one to pay myself for biz class but could be tempted by that one.
BA longhaul product is way out of date now, except for the new 787 and A380. The shorthaul only looks good because it’s mostly up against Ryanair.
As Robert said, the curse of status is what keeps me flying BA, that and direct flights to Haneda. They keep promising to update the 777 to something newer on that flight but we're still waiting.
Honestly, BA is due a huge market share drop and the stupidity of the management to dole out cash instead of investing in their awful planes has been disappointing. They are writing their own failure right now.
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
Yes, I'm heading to LA in June. Decided on BA, worked out to just around £3.5k on business. Curse of status.
For LA - London, I tend to find myself on AirNZ - they have a good business class product (with the Virgin seats), and I can usually get return for sub $3,000, compared to around $2,000 for a BA Premium economy seat (and $8-10,000 for BA business).
I tell myself that spending about $800 more is a valid business expense.
That’s an amazing price from Air NZ. Not one to pay myself for biz class but could be tempted by that one.
BA longhaul product is way out of date now, except for the new 787 and A380. The shorthaul only looks good because it’s mostly up against Ryanair.
As Robert said, the curse of status is what keeps me flying BA, that and direct flights to Haneda. They keep promising to update the 777 to something newer on that flight but we're still waiting.
Honestly, BA is due a huge market share drop and the stupidity of the management to dole out cash instead of investing in their awful planes has been disappointing. They are writing their own failure right now.
Sounds like you think the company is a sell why are you still a holder, waiting for a bid?
In non-Brexit related stuff. Was very disappointed at the IAG board and their special dividend. I say that as a holder of many, many IAG shares. The board are completely lacking in any vision and BA has gone from being best in class to being worst in class. It would have been much better for the board to earmark the special dividend to investment in the fleet so they can upgrade Club seating on a much faster schedule and replace the older planes a few years earlier.
Instead of investing in the future of the company and potentially higher returns in the next 2-4 years, we've got a bribe to mollify the institutional shareholders. Truly, British management is awful.
Yes.
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
Yes, I'm heading to LA in June. Decided on BA, worked out to just around £3.5k on business. Curse of status.
Very interested in this conversation, as BA is about to re-open flights to Pakistan, which on the face of it, might be far more convenient for me (DC-London-Islamabad) than current available options - Qatar/Ittihad/Emirates for DC-Doha/Dubai-Islamabad.
Would you guys recommend I don't switch from Qatar Airways to BA?
Comments
Joking aside, your point is spot on. It is easy to imagine a hyper partisan Labour speaker too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPfUd6g4fIw
The only reason so many business people still use BA for long haul is because they're tied in to the Executive Club. Especially given how expensive they are, there's simply no reason to chose them over Virgin*, American or Air New Zealand.
* And I abhor Richard Branson
On Corbyn I think the @williamglenn video hints at why, my impression is he sees his political cause as bigger than himself (which can be true of good or bad people)
*The granny fancier point remains although a colleague tells me they are largely legacy America West. The original hires....
I tell myself that spending about $800 more is a valid business expense.
BA’s new business class seat set to debut on their first A350 this year is going to have direct aisle access for all apparently.
BA longhaul product is way out of date now, except for the new 787 and A380. The shorthaul only looks good because it’s mostly up against Ryanair.
Honestly, BA is due a huge market share drop and the stupidity of the management to dole out cash instead of investing in their awful planes has been disappointing. They are writing their own failure right now.
Thanks for this, Mr. Hayfield.
Would you guys recommend I don't switch from Qatar Airways to BA?