British Airways to finally revamp IT
British Airways have had a few IT meltdowns but as well as that; there are so many things that don’t work day to day on the app and website, it has become a running joke. It took about a year for me to actually be able to go into my app and see my bookings without being told I did not have any and having to refresh it multiple times. Currently, there is an issue with their reward flights finder that is not showing correct return availability, and OnBusiness has not been working for a considerable amount of time either online.
Finally, it looks like good news may be on the horizon. Cabin crew blog, Paddle Your Own Kanoo is reporting that British Airways have secured funding to fix the IT issues from parent company IAG. To be fair to be BA, a lot of the issue is that they have is caused by legacy systems and their interaction with newer systems. However, outsourcing the IT that they did a number of years ago probably didn’t help either.
Apparently, a team of 200 people are working on fixing the current issues and the plan is to offer a “seamless and personalised experience”. I just hope they take a look at the latest version of Manage My Booking, which while it looks nice, has lost a lot of functionality that was there previously and makes it impossible to find some simple functions. The newly revamped website is due to be launched later this year.
There is one alarming piece of news, however, in the story, which is not clear what it refers to. The article mentions “dynamic live pricing” but does not say whether this is referring to cash or Avios. Since I would regard the cash pricing as dynamic already, I wonder if this is referring to Avios. Previous CEO Alex Cruz had already announced that the airline would like to introduce dynamic Avios pricing, which for many people would mean bad news with higher prices on more popular dates rather than a fixed pricing system like they have now. The main barrier to this was the IT system, so it sounds like the revamp may come with a sting in the tail.
Qatar Airways Louis Vuitton lounge and Dior spa
I noticed a comment on a forum the other day about a Louis Vuitton lounge in the new Qatar Garden business class lounge at Doha that I wrote about here. On further digging, the lounge staff have been telling customers that there is due to be a Louis Vuitton branded cafe/lounge within the Qatar that can be accessed from the lounge and leads into the store itself and vice versa. This is not open yet, but there is now a sign-up for the Louis Vuitton lounge.
There is also expected to be a Dior-branded spa which is also not open yet.
I would expect that you would have to pay for both of these experiences.
You can now see the a la carte menu for the Qatar Al Mourjan Garden lounge here.
15 comments
Exciting! I’m going to be there in November and really looking forward to it!
Hi Michelle and Team. How can one get around the return legs not showing for reward flights ? I’m looking to travel in June to use a reward voucher (currently stacking a few); but I gave up after seeing the bugs and zero return availability. Is the genuinely no return 241 to the US?
No it’s the issue with their IT. Either use Reward Flight Finder or Seat spy or search by specific date, not the BA Reward flight finder.
Thank you so much !
I’ve just spent two days trying to make a simple booking, using a discount with Avios, and got to pay but the system won’t accept my registered cards, even if I enter the details manually. When I rang they said they could make the booking but it was more expensive and they couldn’t get the system to accept the price on my screen. Add to that the random cancellation of a recent flight so we had to fly at their convenience, not ours, and I think our days with BA are numbered.
Re BA IT – Am due to fly out to Tenerife this week (BA Holiday booked in March). Club Europe seats auto-booked for outward leg and first leg of return flight (Tenerife to MAD). Haven’t been able to get seats for MAD-LHR connecting flight despite trying ‘Manage my booking’ and calls to BA and IB. Looks like either a glitch in the IB system or an issue with the BA system in transferring data to the IB system (although it beggars belief how the first IB sector didn’t have any issues but the second sector did!) Will probably have to settle for seats allocated at online check-in and accept seats at the back of the cabin! As long as my wife and I get seated together, should be okay with a glass of wine or two!
It’s worth trying looking at the booking on another oneworld website such ad Royal Jordanian or Malaysian. Sometimes that can allow you to pick seats.
Thanks for the advice, Michelle. Managed to get a pair of seats via Royal Jordanian inputting the BA (not IB) original reference number. Interestingly, the seat configuration is the long-haul flat bed one on an A-350! On a 2.5 hour flight!
I think you’ve been using the wrong website if the screenshot is anything to go by. That version hasn’t been in action for about 2 years. And interesting that you bash the app which is 4.6 stars in the App Store. So clearly liked by majority of users.
Will be interesting to see new site though later in the year. And dynamic Avios pricing….maybe we’ll get cheaper options too!
That’s a stock photo of the website. And I suspect the vast majority of people that review the app don’t have more than one booking ant use it once a year. Nothing wrong with the design. When it works it’s great. If you think have constant IT failures and bugs is acceptable I find that very strange. Even BA think it’s not acceptable which is why they are fixing it, so it’s not just me!
I think you may be the only person I have ever heard defend BA IT. Do you work on their web design?
I don’t think he’s defending. Just saying that with 500k reviews and a rating of 4.6 stars, it is clearly meeting many users needs. You have to get something like ten x 5 star reviews for every 1 star. Not bad when dealing with all the differing needs of users.
The media love to bash BA and many other decent businesses without actually looking at the data. Easier to write something based on hearsay than to actually find out the details.
I fly with British Airways about twice a month. I’m not a tabloid journalist who writes about all different subjects, just a frequent flyer who writes their own website. And I write from my own frequent flying experience. So I’m pretty sure given that I probably use the BA website almost every day and the app nearly as frequently that I know from experience the issues that they have and that nothing is based on hearsay! That is not “bashing” based on hearsay. Which is exactly what you are doing saying when you say that I am not bothering to find out details!
Will be flying Qatar Bus class from Doha at 02.00 approx, having checked out of hotel at 5pm.
Does anyone know how early we can check in with luggage at Doha?
Would prefer to spend evg in the lounges .
Thanks
4.6 Really?
About two months ago the view/select seat tab disappeared from all my bookings on the new mmb. (Still ok on the old design). Don’t know if it’s specific to my account or generic. If the latter, a potential revenue loser.
Flying FAO LGW tomorrow. My account page says I’m on 2693 at 11:55, mmb puts me on the 2847 at 12:55! Time will tell..
Bravo Michelle. Many of your subscribers have long experience of BA (though well behind you) and are jaundiced by recent lack of quality/service and higher prices for often dreadful long haul bus class seats. And now a tech issue which sounds serious.
My recent Turkish A experience is a useful comparator.
Don’t worry Sarah, there is lots of data from personal experience from many people, in contrast to years ago when it was a good airline.
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