Difficulties accessing call centres or finding staff at airports means customers of all airlines are often forced to pay up front for food and accommodation during disruption, and later submit claims for reimbursement.
This leads many passengers to miss out on what they should receive under consumer laws because they are unaware of their rights or cannot afford the costs.
Consumer organisation Which? ranked BA fifth from bottom among short-haul airlines in a February survey, giving the airline two stars out of five for value-for-money in its long-haul category.
“Worse, 3.3 per cent of flights were cancelled less than 24 hours before departure. Given how big BA is, that means tens of thousands of people had their plans torn up at the last minute,” added Which?.
Steph McGovern, the television presenter, hosted an event for the airline in the City of London on Monday night, at which she told bosses: “I’ll be honest with you, I hate the app.”
Colm Lacy, the chief commercial officer, replied: “I wish I had a pound every time I heard that statement.”
He added: “Having a new technology platform allows us to do things that we just can’t do on our existing platform. It’s all about personalisation.”
Other areas included in the “transformation plan” are new short-haul and first class seats, using AI to boost flight punctuality and aircraft reliability, a new lounge at Dubai Airport, and the return of flights between Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur, and between Gatwick and Bangkok.
