Could British Airways lose its coveted Four Star rating from the UK-based aviation consultancy firm Skytrax because of its ‘low-cost’ short-haul product, poor service standards and an international First Class experience that doesn’t match many of its rivals?
Skytrax is best known for its annual World Airline Awards of the best 100 airlines, which was last announced in June. For 2024, Qatar Airways scooped the top spot for the eighth time, whereas British Airways came in 13th spot.
Despite the fact that BA jumped five positions on 2023 and that the airline has been considered a Four Star airline for many years, Skytrax says that its airline rating for British Airways is currently under review because some aspects of BA’s product and service are now at Three Star levels.
Skytrax has cited a number of issues with the airline, including the fact that its Club Suite Business Class rollout has suffered multiple delays meaning that many aircraft are still flying with much older and outdated Club World seats in a pretty tight configuration.
The consultancy firm has also flagged concerns with BA’s First Class experience – a product that is often described as ‘just about good enough’ given the airline’s transatlantic dominance from its London Heathrow hub.
Skytrax has also taken aim at BA’s short-haul experience, describing it as being at a ‘low-cost’ standard and complaining that service in its Club Europe Business Class cabin are “very haphazard”.
If that wasn’t damning enough, Skytrax also says BA’s service standards are “poor” and that its onboard product is “quite cheap”.
British Airways CEO Sean Doyle has attempted to rollback some of the Alex Cruz era cutbacks, introducing free water and snacks in its short-haul Economy cabin, as well as introducing a new look short-haul cabin with new seats, mood lighting, charging at every seat and free WiFi messaging.
Doyle has also promised a brand-new and exclusive First Class suite, although that isn’t expected to be introduced until 2026 at the earliest. BA’s much-needed refurbs of its Heathrow lounge network are also at an early stage, with no timeline yet announced.
British Airways is also investing millions of pounds to update its antiquated IT infrastructure, and a new website and mobile app is currently in the works. In the meantime, however, the website remains plagued with bugs, and customer complaints are frequent and numerous.
If British Airways were to have its airline rating knocked down to that of a Three Star carrier, it would join the likes of Russian flag carrier Aeroflot which has been hobbled by Western sanctions. Other Three Star rated carriers include Air China, Eurowings, Frontier Airlines and Jetstar.
In a short statement, a spokesperson for British Airways said that it wasn’t true that the airline might lose its Four Star rating.
