Awuku Dela

Kokrokoo is a site designed for everyone looking for a bit of something.  It is geared towards to geek, traveller, events in Ghana, Photography and advice in general; to mention a few.

Filtering by Tag: British Airways

When A Sale Becomes Confusing - Return Tickets Accra, Ghana

In around December 19th last year I received an email from British Airways announcing a sale. I took the opportunity to buy 3 return tickets to Ghana in April this year. After all we all like sales, and when it comes to sales in tickets, who would not take up the chance to save some money. Buying something on sale is meant to save you a considerable amount of money. 

Now here is when it becomes interesting. I was speaking to my niece last week and she said how she wished she had £450 to afford a return ticket to Ghana. He comment got me asking her a series of questions. What airline was she referring to I asked. She said British Airways. That cannot be right I suddenly said. I told her that I had received an email from British Airways announcing their sale in December last year and I had to pay around £650 for a return ticket. How can this be possible I kept asking myself. Just to confirm what my niece had told me, I went ont British Airways website and checked out the fair. Using the same travel dates I had used to purchase my tickets in December last year, I requested a price for the same trip and loo and behold, the price was pegged at £470. Well I knew British Airways have a presence on Twitter so I posed the question to them.

This is how the conversation went down on Twitter

Moving on, I asked BA twitter team to check their DM inbox for detailed information.  The response I got shocked me. 

Well I suppose it is a lesson learnt. One should not just jump head first into a sale. Waiting a few days or even weeks and you might get a better sale price on what you are buying. Still though, I feel British Airways need to refine their advertising on the sale they have on tickets.

Flight BA0081 from Heathrow To Accra - An example of Excellent Customer Service

I always fly British Airways. Well, that is not actually accurate. When I started making regular trips to Ghana, my initial preferred airline was Virgin. Actually before Virgin started flying to Ghana, I took flew Ghana Airways once, then when they went bust, I flew with another airline that went to Ghana frequently - I cannot remember their name.  Anyway, after that, I flew BA once and then a few times with Virgin. For reasons best known to themselves, Virgin suddenly dropped the routes to Ghana and I found myself flying with British Airways [BA]. I had no problem flying BA. They were always punctual in departures and arrivals. The crew are always friendly and quick to step in when a passenger needs help. Everything slotted in just fine for a "World Traveller" like me. Many friends had issues, and some still do with the fares, but my way around that was to plan my trips when BA was either having a sale or to travel outside school holidays - tickets are always cheaper outside school holidays. I know a few people who would rather purchase a cheaper tickets with another airline that offered several hours stop-overs/transits elsewhere before arriving in Ghana. I cannot imagine myself engaging in such a trip. I would rather spend extra in having a direct flight than having to stop over at another airport for several hours only for the sake of saving money.

My trip to Ghana on the 14th of November started of with me driving to Heathrow in heavy rain. It rained non stop from Northampton to Heathrow. The driving conditions were absolutely horrendous. Tip 1 - always check in as early as you can. The check in staff are very nice when the queues are short and hence they are less stressed. The advantage is that even if you are 3 - 6 kilos over the your weight allowance, they are sympathetic and will make you language as HEAVY and check you in. Tip 2 - always engage in light conversation with the check in staff. They always appreciate this. After all, they are humans too. Ask them how their day has been so far and what time they knock off work. After checking in and buying a few things from the Duty free shops, I finally bordered my flight and airborne on time to Ghana. Then we hit a snag. The crew were having issues with the onboard entertainment. All attempts by them to resolve the issue proved futile. So we ended up not having any entertainment for the duration of the flight.

A couple of days into my stay in Accra, I tweeted BA informing them of my lack on entertainment and suggestion of a refund. After a couple of tweets between myself and @BritishAirways, my British Airways Executive Club account was credited with Avios Points. Well done BA. You have yet again proved that Customer Service is at the forefront of your airline operation and I look forward to flying with you anytime again in the not to distant future.