INB O X YOUR LE T T E R S
CR EDIT WHER E CR EDIT ’ S DUE As an NFP environmentalist and frequent traveller around Southeast Asia, I am continually amazed at the nitpicking and backstabbing from hard-done-by business travellers in the Inbox pages. Being a long-term sufferer of reading about other travellers’
discomfort and strife, I wish to lighten the tone of your normally combative offerings. So here goes. For the last five years, my first choice of airline, for a safe, reliable,
inexpensive and friendly service from Melbourne to Europe, has been the little-mentioned Royal Brunei Airlines out of Bandar Seri Begawan. I don’t know why more Australian business travellers don’t use this
service. The 787 Dreamliner provides adequate seating in economy class with great pitch, 3-3-3 configuration and very clean and accessible toilets. And if you book the back row (which I regularly do) the 2-3-2 configuration offers more than adequate space. The fact that I can take 30kg of checked baggage on top of the
cabin allowance is fantastic – I can transport plenty of samples, flyers and management giveaways, especially if I travel with a compliant partner willing to cut back on make-up and products! I also like the fact that, being a Muslim airline, flights start with a
reassuring and meaningful prayer for Allah to cherish and protect. Even as a Christian, this makes me feel relaxed and look forward to the long flight ahead. Cabin crew are the best ever, with genuine smiles and perfectly
spoken English. The staff are only too happy to cater to your every need with none of the sullen “You’re economy class, what do you expect” attitude that seems to occur elsewhere far too often. Lastly, no alcohol means that the rowdy and unpleasant yobbos
oſten encountered on long-haul flights are absent. Plus, arriving at your destination without a hangover leaves a clear head able to step into a hire car and conduct level-headed business! May the force be with you Royal Brunei Airlines.
Ian Morrison, Australia
A QUE STION OF LO Y AL T Y I no longer travel extensively on business, but I have been a British Airways Gold cardholder for many years. Although I have accumulated slightly more than 90 per cent of the tier points necessary to be awarded a lifetime Gold card, I was quite relaxed about the situation because British Airways quite clearly states on its website that all flights are taken into account from the date you joined the Executive Club. I joined the then Executive Club in 1980, nine years before BA
started allocating and recording points. The website makes no differentiation, therefore I assumed that I would be credited with the numerous flights, especially to the US and Far East, during those early nine years. I have spoken numerous times to the Executive Club and it
appears that they have unilaterally decided that there was no such thing as the Executive Club before 1989, but there was – as I’m sure many fellow readers will remember. I eventually received an email from the Executive Club stating:
“Flights taken under the previous scheme before it became the Executive Club did not earn any points”. What previous scheme? Changing the rules should not be a reason for BA to discriminate against its loyal customers, especially as its website clearly states:
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om SEP T E M B ER 2 0 18
“Lifetime tier points are the cumulative total tier points a member has earned since joining the Executive Club.” I joined in 1980, when we had to pay for membership.
There is no exclusion or qualification in BA’s rules that should prevent me being credited for travel during the early years of my membership. In fact, there was an article in Business Traveller in September 2013 stating that, “in addition to annual tier points, members will be rewarded for the points they have built up over their entire membership”. Loyalty should work both ways, and I would ask BA to do
the right thing. Charles M Hogarth, Scotland
B RIT ISH AIR WA YS REP L IE S : We’re delighted to provide our customers with a fantastic loyalty scheme which we know they love, and which offers frequent flyers some great complimentary perks, such as fast-track security, lounge access, priority boarding and free seat selection at the point of booking. The British Airways Executive Club has more than seven
million members worldwide, and the programme rewards customers when they fly with British Airways, Iberia and Oneworld partner airlines, enabling them to collect Avios for every mile they fly. To reward our most loyal customers, in 2013 we
introduced Lifetime recognition – and now members can enjoy Gold membership for life when they reach 35,000 tier points. Tier points were introduced – and could only be
collected – from 1991, and the terms and conditions of the scheme are on
ba.com. Mr Hogarth has been a Gold member for more than
20 years, so would be eligible for two years’ discretionary Gold, based on our loyalty flexibility crietera. So he should automatically be renewed as Gold once more this year.
P O OR DEF ENCE I am somewhat disturbed at Malaysia Airlines’ response to Mr Stone’s complaint – [“There in Spirit” published in the June issue of Business Traveller Asia-Pacific, where Mr Stone missed his flight due to confusing circumstances at the gate]. Usually there are calls for missing passengers – particularly
if luggage is to be removed. The fact that no calls were made indicates that no effort was made to locate the passenger and Mr Stone has every right to be aggrieved. It was a very poor response from Malaysia Airlines, shame on them. Jesse Malone, Australia
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