PR Disasters, chapter 13

[AtIusvue]

Meg and Harry and all their PR shenanigans

Trigger Warning: this thread may contain talk about sleeves.

BA is usually a pretty cheap first class, probably as it's not very good. On the A380 there are no doors on the seats, they no longer offer caviar, the champagne's pretty meh, the pyjamas are now really hard and uncomfortable... New seats are supposed to be coming, but it'll be a slow roll out. Air France La Premiere offer by far the best European first class seats, plus it would make much more sense to fly into Paris for Geneva as presumably she didn't fly commercial; all European short haul flights are really basic, and just have economy seats with the middle seat kept empty. So I assume she went private for the short hop to Switzerland, as I can't imagine her enjoying Club Europe much.

The first class BA lounge (the Concorde Lounge) is ok, though again it can't compare to the Parisian version. But you can't buy your way into it, or into the BA business lounge actually. The paid for lounges are different. I believe there is a private room service she could have bought for LHR - LAX first class, where she would have been driven to the runway rather than be made to queue at the gate. But if she went LHR to GVA she would have only been eligible for the club lounge which is always rammed, which I can't see her tolerating. Unless BA/LHR made special arrangements to keep her well away from us peasants, which is entirely plausible. I can't see any other reason she would have chosen BA over AF.

"I went to a roundabout in Switzerland and all I got was this lousy field vest"

This is definitely his ‘sex face’ - poor Meghan.

Meanwhile, annoyingly, I've seen no headlines about the Duchess of Edinburgh in Geneva (she was there in her role as Global Ambassador for IAPB, talking about avoiding preventable blindness).

Here’s a picture of the badge.

Yes - I was wondering about this and whether the huge dump of photos from 8 years ago is a signal that they have not been invited to Peter P's wedding and Meghan is desperate to remind everyone that she had a "real" royal wedding.

Just a little heads up to an article in today’s Mail. It amused me but It’s behind a paywall and I don't know how to post it.

www.dailymail.com/news/royals/article-15832217/JAN-MOIR-harry-meghan-royal-velvet-rope-unseen-images.html

Your last two sentences, so much yes. So odd and therefore so fascinating. And not just about Meghan but those who seem to be around her. I had no idea that anyone remembers wedding dates for celebrities, let alone flight crew who must see famous people a lot. Do they keep a calendar in the gallery so they can write little cards? Does the airline give them a heads up? Are there BA branded cards?

It is no longer behind the pay wall, and it is quite cuttingly funny and straight to the point.

Perhaps it is because all the Sussexes have left to sell is themselves

Do they keep a calendar in the gallery so they can write little cards? Does the airline give them a heads up? Are there BA branded cards?

Or is it like hotels, a cheap PR win for the carrier. Lots of hotels I've stayed in do a anniversary/birthday/engagement package, for anyone that requests one, and normally there is no charge.

This hasn’t happened to me on an airline, but often when booking or checking in to hotels and restaurants I’ve been asked if it’s a special occasion, and subsequently had a card/bottle of wine/cake/glass of champagne if it was a special occasion (50th birthday, for example). I think if I was travelling alone and it was just my 8th anniversary and I’d just been online telling the world how awful the last 7 years have been, I’d’ve said, ‘No’ in this instance…surely only really worth mentioning if you’re both there together? Anything for attention, eh?

On cruise ships the waiters gather round your table and sing a birthday song, complete with guitars and tambourines. It’s excruciatingly naff but no avoiding it as the company has your date of birth. Wedding anniversaries are also celebrated with flowers if you tell them. It’s a bit like that I would guess. Part of the service but entirely without any genuine feeling.

I don’t if someone has already pointed this out, but it is striking how they shared so many photos but only one wasn’t of them and that was one of the most famous men in the world. When dh and I ever look through our wedding photos, we are more interested in the people who shared the day with us - how they have changed or who is no longer with us. What M shared on her instagram not only shows how isolated they are, but how little she intrinsically values friends and family.

BA certainly didn't used to be into those types of packages...and to address a comment by a PP, no, the crew wouldn't do anything along the lines of gathering around to sing a song 😱

As for cards, there may well have been the odd spare blank card or cards tucked away in one of the galley carts because they used to do the rounds very occasionally but you'd need someone who is current BA cabin crew be sure.

Yes, to be clear I wasn’t suggesting the crew serenaded anybody! Just that there’s often a protocol for acknowledging a Special Event. A bit like the leaving card that goes round at work.

I think there's a danger of over analysing this TBH.

We don't know who funded the travel...if it was the WHO they'll possibly have favoured carriers...if it was funded by H&M then their budget comes into play.

We know H and M have flown One World Alliance carriers in the past so they may well have high tier status/stacks of points...AFAIK those are as much use as a chocolate fireguard with the likes of Air France (and using AF also means connecting at CDG..).

To me the bigger question is why not non-stop GVA-LAX with AA or Swiss (if they operate on the route) but the answer to that might be timing of flights or just perhaps availability of premium seats if the booking was short notice.

In short I'm far from convinced GVA-LHR-LAX with BA was chosen because the company, their crew or ground staff would be especially welcoming to M and comply with her every wish.

IMO the choice is much more likely to have been down to more mundane factors such as availability, timings and cost.

BA is almost half the price of Swiss (via Zurich) in first class.

i think you are probably right about her flying private to London.

I've been watching The Duchess of Sus for years now and she never misses.

Her latest video is an intimate convo with Princess Lilibet in the walk in closet.

• You can have jam.
• I don't want jam!
• Then you can have privacy. Now stay still while Mummy takes a shot of you for Instagram.
• What's "privacy"?
• It's what Mummy talks about when she's not taking pictures of you

😂

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNRtbrfcU/

So who takes the pictures, like in the closet, H or staff or are they on a timer?

IMO (fwiw) this has all been a desperate cry for attention.

They haven't done this ott spectacle for any previous anniversary, and an 8th is a weird one to do - could see the point of it was 10/15/20 etc (I think the Waleses was 15, so can see the reason for a photo). This is a dual purpose - we're Royal, see we had a Royal wedding with special posh people. And WE ARE SO IN LOVE, NO ONE'S EVER BEEN AS IN LOVE, NO MARITAL ISSUES HERE, MOVE ALONG.

The BA flight crew card I imagine was provided by Meghan and given to the flight crew to sign by her PA or whoever was travelling with her. It's like a works card passed to whoever is on that day to sign. Just a bit pathetic and desperate to share it. Nothing from close friends??? Oprah?? Beyonce??? Serena?? George or Amal?? Gwyneth??? <shrug, says it all really>

I'm just too cynical for this shit

Meghan talks a lot about hosting, making all the friends feel welcomed, etc - it's 'surprising' that none of the photos show friends or any of the little touches that make the day feel special. Largely photos of herself and her prize catch.

I remember seeing Megan on a programme before they left the UK talking about her wedding dress and how the veil had loads of intricate stitching that represented each of the countries of the Commonwealth - that would be an interesting photo to see now but that wouldn't suit her narrative of 'its all about meeeeee'.

Why private to London?

BA have a frequent GVA-LHR service, and the fare for shorthaul sectors are often as cheap as chips if it's tied to a LongHaul booking...and the connection at LHR would be within T5.

OTOH Business jets are expensive and last time I looked can't land at LHR (slots) so using one would mean entering the the UK at somewhere like Biggin, Northolt or Farnborough, and an overland transfer to LHR.

Frankly people are going off at complete tangents over this itinary....Europe-LHR-US is a very well worn path.

The only thing that I think is an issue with her travel on Monday is her Instawhatevering the card from the crew....

Just to add to the narrative, BA crew do give out cards and a glass of champagne for special celebrations if you let the crew know early on. My parents got an anniversary card and the bubbly treatment for a big anniversary.

It’s like going to TGI Fridays and getting that slice of free cake and song. Loads of companies do it. It’s what makes you stand out against your cheaper competitors.

She did share one that looks like Harry is having words with the Wales's nanny. I'm sure there's a message being sent there.