British Airways is preparing to hold a not-so-secretive, secretive special event that it has billed as a ‘showcase’ for some of its highest spending and most important passengers, including a special tier of invite-only frequent flyers known as ‘Premium cardholders’.
The event is due to take place next Tuesday at an undisclosed location away from the prying eyes of the general public. In attendance will be a host of senior executives, including British Airways CEO Sean Doyle.
The subject of this ‘showcase’, however, remains under tightly guarded wraps, although it’s not believed to be a feedback session in which high-value customers get to sound off at BA’s management board.
Instead, it’s understood that British Airways is hoping to use the event to make an announcement that will entail positive improvements for the passenger experience, most likely for the kinds of passengers that have been lucky enough to receive an invitation.
While we’ll have to wait until next Tuesday to learn the exact reasons for the event, what we do already know is that British Airways has secured funding to the tune of £7 billion from parent company IAG to improve the passenger experience across nearly every touchpoint.
The bulk of that investment will be spent on buying new planes and installing the Club Suites Business Class seat across BA’s fleet, but whatever remains will have to go along way.
British Airways has already committed to radically improving its dilapidated IT infrastructure, improving on-time performance as a key driver of customer satisfaction, investing in making the airline more resilient, improving its loyalty programme and gently ‘refreshing’ its premium lounges.
What we may see at Tuesday’s Showcase is other tangible improvements that BA plans to make to the customer experience, and on that subject, there are plenty of opportunities to make meaningful investments.
Some of the top requests from frequent flyers include (but are certainly not limited to) an updated and vastly improved First Class suite that can properly compete with international rivals, free Wi-Fi for premium passengers, enhanced catering, and a functioning website and mobile app.
Given the fact that the event is being targeted at the most important members of BA’s Executive Club, it might also be the case that any announcement is about how the frequent flyer programme is being improved specifically for these members.
For now, all we can do is speculate and wait until Tuesday to see what BA has up its sleeves. What do you think British Airways is going to announce?
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