British Airways is enhancing its customer experience in 2022

It was not only its route network that British Airways pared back during the pandemic but also its customer service with, for instance, the cabin meal simplified to reduce contact between passengers and crew.

Now, the airline is bringing back some pre-existing elements and adding others, so your Avios reward flights will be that bit smoother once more.

New tweaks include a greater variety on its menus and apps to track your baggage. Most attractively, it’s forging ahead with installing its new business class seats.

So, if you’re planning an upgrade as part of your Avios flight redemption, now’s the time to start looking at where the improved seats have been added and trying for a spot on those routes.

Here’s a look at some of the changes we can expect.

New menus

From March, BA has promised ‘a service more akin to one that customers would have experienced pre-pandemic.’ Club Europe passengers should, it says, expect ‘more premium service,’ including revamped menus. A catering overhaul will next be extended to long-haul flights.

With more people turning vegetarian and vegan or opting to cut down on meat for environmental reasons, British Airways has expanded its plant-based options.

New veggie menus, which will include a burger, will first appear in BA’s Heathrow lounges in the US. There will also be a greater emphasis on the food coming from local producers and businesses.

Continuing a measure that was first introduced for the pandemic, to reduce crowding around the food and drink stations, lounge customers will still be able to order food from their tables via BA’s smartphone app.

Reducing plastics

British Airways has committed to reducing single-use plastic across the airline. Its latest initiative is to replace all plastic water bottles with glass versions across its UK lounges, starting with Heathrow. There will also be new water stations where you can refill your own bottles.

These small steps are part of a long-term plan by British Airways to make the airline carbon neutral by 2050. With aircraft emissions being the largest hurdle, it plans to fund carbon offset and removal projects in the short term while progressively introducing sustainable aviation fuels made from plant waste.

For the medium- to longer-term, it says it will help accelerate the growth of new technologies such as zero-emissions hydrogen-powered aircraft and carbon capture technology.

New baggage tracking app

Other introductions are intended to reduce customer stress. A new baggage-tracing app is being launched so that you’ll be able to track your bags via your phone throughout your journey, reassuring you that they made the same flight.

Other technology boosts will include automated lounge entry and new digital signage across Heathrow.

New premium economy check-in

At check-in, there will now be dedicated desks for World Traveller Plus (premium economy) so if you’re travelling this class and you don’t have an Executive Club tier status that gives you queue jump perks, you won’t have to join the long lines for Economy.

Among other potential stress-savers, the Skyflyers programme for children, which includes an onboard activity pack and a dedicated kids’ zone in the entertainment system, is being revamped.

Coming soon

BA also says it is ‘moving ahead at speed,’ with more significant product developments, like rolling out the Club Suite business class seat. Club Suite features a door for extra privacy and direct aisle access from every seat, a larger 79” fully-flat bed with The White Company bedding and extra storage, and 17” high-resolution entertainment screens.

Launched in July 2019 on the first Airbus A350s, the seat is currently being retrofitted to all BA’s Heathrow-based Boeing 777s, with the rollout due for completion by the end of the year.

If you’re hoping to bag one of the most popular Avios reward flights, to New York, you’ll be pleased to know the Club Suite is already available on all flights to New York’s JFK airport and will be on the new daytime flight from Heathrow to Newark launching this June.

Naturally, you will want to get the most from your Avios flight redemption

so, when using the BA website or speaking to your travel agent to book flights with Avios, it’s always worth checking which type of aircraft you’ll be travelling on. For instance, if you’re on an A380 you won’t be getting the Club Suite until next year but if you’re taking a 777 this year on one of British Airways’ most popular or most lucrative routes you’ll already have a good chance of enjoying the new seat.

As ever, you can look for the best value Avios flight redemption by using Reward Flight Finder.

How many frills?

‘No-frills’ airlines rose to prominence in the ’90s. Now many of us are used to trading a more stripped back service for a cheaper ticket. Paying separately for meals, drinks, reserved seats and even hold baggage is commonplace on a host of airlines. Ryanair is now the largest airline in Europe and EasyJet has overtaken BA’s dominance at Gatwick.

Such functional flying was for a long time mainly the preserve of short-haul. But (though it has been reduced to short-haul since covid), the expansion of no-frills Norwegian Air on long-haul routes over the last decade caused further ructions, forcing several so-called ‘legacy’ carriers, including BA, to rethink.

For years British Airways has flirted with the no-frills concept, paring back what’s included in your ticket, then adding it back. Meals, luggage allowance and other inclusions are what, historically, differentiates ‘full-service’ airlines like BA from the likes of EasyJet.

With the latest announcements, it seems that, despite being much more cash-strapped in this post-covid era, British Airways is set to embrace the full-service concept once more. Even on BA’s new budget offshoot, BA EuroFlyer — launching this summer from Gatwick — passengers will get a cup of tea, a bottle of water and a snack.

This will all hopefully prove good news for Avios collectors. You should get a better product and service in future when you book flights with Avios. Also, BA is more likely to want to demonstrate its value, not by slashing what it includes on its flights to cut ticket prices, but by incentivising loyal customers through its Avios scheme.

Original Source — https://rewardflightfinder.com/news-and-advice/british-airways-is-enhancing-its-customer-experience-in-2022