#912634 by deep_south
05 Nov 2015, 18:07
Or rather a trip that didn't happen. I work for a German company who's HQ is south of Frankfurt and I was booked to spend a week with work colleagues there in our main support office, so booked on to BA916 on Sunday due to leave at 19:20.

You may remember Sunday had nasty fog, and apparently there was a BA computer glitch earlier that caused some delays, and it only got worse.

Arrived at T5 around 17:45 to see lots of people queing at the customer service desk, and some cancellations showing. BA916 was showing as "on time" so dropped the bag and through security. Fortunately I have lounge access (Gold on BA after my Saudi trips earlier in the year) so guested a colleague in with me to the First lounge which wasn't too full.

The BA app started to show some delays on my phone, and then the lounge screens showed them about 15 minutes later. The delay went from one hour to 1:20, and we eventually made our way over to the B gates around 20:15 the app was then showing a 2 hour delay to 21:20.

The plane was already parked at the jetway, and the crew arrived at about 20:35 and went down. Around 21:05 the gate screen suddenly switched from "take a seat" to "gate closed" - which confused everyone. The BA phone app showed "cancelled"... A few minutes later there was an announcement the flight was cancelled; the BA app then showed me as rebooked to BA904 at 11:35 Monday.

The announcement basically said "come to the gate and we will give you a business card with a phone number you can call to be rebooked" - but they didn't have any, and they had to wait while someone brought a box. No information given about duty of care, etc.

They did tell us to go back into arrivals, through immigration and collect our bags at carousel 8. I used my phone app to book a London hotel (absolutely nothing available near LHR by this time) and we trooped off.

Our bags didn't appear on 8 so I joined the queue at the baggage help desk to be told they were actually on 5! we trooped there and sure enough our bags were going round - it seems all the cancelled flights were there. I asked a BA guy there why they didn't update the screens or make an announcement and was told "they are automatic, we can't change them" - so very poor customer care there.

The queues at all the service desks were horrendous, so I jumped on the tube to my hotel (Kensington Forum) and got there just as 2 coaches of AA passengers off a cancelled Delhi flight had arrived - fortunately the hotel handled that well.

Woke up the next morning to see the BA app telling me BA904 was cancelled, and searching for options showed nothing on Tuesday or Wednesday so I decided to cancel this week and go home.

Considering this was the main BA hub, and the fog was forecast, and the situation developed over many hours, BA were less useful than a chocolate teapot. Some desks were closed; The queues were very long and slow moving, and the fact the gate staff were giving out the wrong information about the bags and no information about duty of care is unforgiveable in my opinion.

Fortunately there didn't seem to be any families with young children on my flight but I was appalled by their lack of care.

Main learning for me: the BA app on my phone was a lot faster at getting information than the screens in the lounge or the gate; and the hotel apps on my phone helped me book a hotel very quickly before all supply had gone!
#912637 by pjh
05 Nov 2015, 19:31
Possibly the first non TR TR.

Good observations about the issues, too. Luckily to date I have had only one (non volcano related) cancellation which was down to snow and sorted by a mad dash to Edinburgh Waverley Station after the rude awakening that it would be at least two days before I could be accommodated on another flight. We tend to forget that the overall capacity of the flight system is finite, and the loss of a full flight can only be re accommodated in "spare" seats going forward (a nightmare on a busy route).

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