Introduction
I had written about my seat issues on my last BA flight, and I went out to the BA site to write to them about the issue. After about a week, I got a response back from them:
BA’s response
Dear Mr MPD
Thanks for contacting us about your flight BA0282 to Los Angeles on xx August. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to you. I understand how stressful it must have been when you had several issues with your seat in our Club World cabin. I’m sorry for any inconvenience caused for you and your wife.
We know how important it is to feel as comfortable and relaxed as possible during your flight. It’s concerning to hear about the stain on the side of your seat and the standing water inside the storage compartment. I’m so sorry the seating area wasn’t cleaned before you boarded, especially as the carpet was also damp, meaning you had to rely on the footrest and inconveniently move your feet to avoid getting your socks wet.
I completely understand why you didn’t inform our cabin crew about your seating issues as you wanted to be seated with your wife. However, please be assured when you land our Maintenance team operating on this flight do resolve any issues they find on board. I’ve also passed your comments directly to our Customer Experience team who handle your feedback with our internal departments to avoid these kind of issues from happening again.
To show you how much we appreciate your support, I’d like to offer you an eVoucher for £50.00 as an apology for what happened. I’ve included your eVoucher details below with a link to some helpful information about how you can use it:
- eVoucher number: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Name: Mr MPD
- Value: £50.00
- Expiry: 14/09/2017
If you have any questions about how to use this eVoucher, or for the Terms and Conditions, please go to:
www.britishairways.com/travel/evoucher/public/en_gb?gsLink=searchResults
Thanks again for getting in touch with us. I hope we can welcome you and your wife on board again soon. Please feel free to click the blue link below to contact me about anything else.
Warm regards
xxxxxxxxxxxx
British Airways Customer Relations
Your case reference is:xxxxxxxx
Conclusion
Seeing as how Hawaiian Airlines never responded to my complaint, I was happy that BA actually responded. It also seemed like they fully understood my issue, so that gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. As for the 50 GBP… I don’t know. I had no expectations so I’m indifferent about the amount. To be honest, I think it’s on the low side. I would have expected that amount if I was in coach, not in business class. Maybe 100GBP-200GBP perhaps since that’s 10% of the ‘cash’ cost. I didn’t really care about the stain and the standing water in the bin; my biggest issue was the wet spot where I put my feet; granted, it was only an issue on takeoff and landing and when I needed to use the restroom, but still. Either way, I’m not upset or angry. It is what it is. With that said, I have no use for the voucher and I’m not sure if it’s transferable, but if anyone wants it, let me know.
When AA screwed us a couple of months ago, I too requested compensation and got $100 vouchers per passenger (5 passengers total). I didn’t think it was enough so I pressed for more and got another $100 per passenger, for a total of 10 $100 vouchers. If you respond by asking for fairer compensation, they will probably acquiesce.
Also, I’m sure it’s not tied to your account but could be used by anyone — that’s typically how e-vouchers work from what I understand.
Thanks Mark. I’ll try that next time. I would do it this time, but I have zero plans on actually using the voucher so there’d be no point really in pushing harder.
It’s getting harder and harder to get airlines and hotels to adequately respond and compensate travelers now. I think it may have to do with the fact that everyone is complaining now >.< the days of the squeaking wheel getting the grease is waning.
Yeah, you’re probably right.