Five Bizarre British Airways Decisions That Had Everyone Asking… What Were They Thinking?

British Airways is never far from controversy, and it usually feels like it’s entirely self-inflicted. From see-through uniforms and serving pancakes for lunch, to alienating frequent flyers with a new loyalty program, here are five of the strangest business decisions from the ‘world’s favorite airline’ that left us scratching our heads in disbelief.

1. Told Flight Attendants To Wear White Underwear Because They Issued Them See-Through Blouses

In late 2023, British Airways rolled out a new uniform for customer-facing staff, and it made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Among the questionable design choices was a semi-sheer ivory blouse that led to the airline telling female cabin crew what color bra to wear.

The controversial guidance was quietly ditched after complaints from the cabin crew union, and the airline has now been forced to start making blouses that are 43% thicker to make them less see-through.

What’s so bizarre is that in 2019, British Airways faced similar complaints over its old female uniform shirt because it was see-through. You would have thought they would have learnt the lesson the first time around.

2. Served Business Class Passengers Pancakes For Lunch In An Ill-Fated Cost-Cutting Measure

Last autumn, British Airways started serving breakfast items like pancakes for lunch to Business Class passengers on long-haul flights. The airline’s insistence that the food was actually ‘brunch’ and that it had been introduced on the back of customer feedback did nothing to quiet dissent amongst frequent flyers.

The embarrassing debacle was quickly nicknamed ‘Brunchgate’, which also became synonymous with complaints about BA’s decision to only offer light bite menu options on late-night departures in Business Class.

Within months, British Airways ditched the controversial menu change that critics had labeled as nothing more than a cost-cutting measure.

3. Offered Steaming Entertainment On Planes With Seatback Screens, But Not On Aircraft Without Any Entertainment

This week, we learned that British Airways has started a new trial on certain long-haul aircraft, which will make streaming entertainment available to passengers for free. What’s strange, though, is that these planes have seatback screens at every seat, so why would passengers need a streaming option?

What’s even more strange, however, is that British Airways has absolutely no plans to introduce the streaming service on single-aisle aircraft that don’t have seatback screens or any other form of free entertainment. Just, why?

4. Paid Thousands Of Cabin Crew Less Than The Legal Minimum Wage While Executives Earned Million-Pound Bonuses

British Airways was named and shamed by the government last month after it was revealed that the airline had paid thousands of cabin crew less than the minimum wage.

Out of more than 500 companies accused of ‘undercutting’ their workers, British Airways was the country’s seventh-worst offender for failing to pay workers the minimum wage.

Official figures revealed that British Airways failed to pay 2,165 members of cabin crew more than £231,270 in wages that they were legally owed. The underpayments date back to a four-year period between 2014 and 2017.

The news came just a day after BA chief executive Sean Doyle earned a £2.1 million ($2.8 million) bonus after he sold 650,000 shares in the airline’s parent company, the Madrid-based IAG Group.

5. Alienated Its Most Loyal Customers With Bungled Rollout Of New Frequent Flyer Program

During the quiet Christmas holiday period last year, British Airways quietly revealed it was changing its loyalty program. This wasn’t just a name change but a complete revamp with a new way to earn elite status with the airline.

To say that frequent flyers were outraged by BA’s decision to change from a distance-based loyalty program to a revenue-based program would be a real disservice to the extent of their fury.

A move to a revenue-based scheme had been in the works for some time, but once loyal customers fear the new spend requirements will completely outprice them from achieving status with the airline.

British Airways has slightly rolled back some of the changes, but the damage may already have been done – In February, a survey of nearly 1,000 high-spending frequent flyers found that 62% of them said their feeling towards British Airways had declined in the last three months.