T5 teething troubles

[Darren Wheeler]

Some of it does read like a failing of the 7 p's. Baggage handlers not knowing where to go is a classic example. Every single member of staff should have had a walk-thru of where to go etc. in the last few weeks.

How long before BAA start pulling staff from T1-4 to help out at the expense of everyone else?

Despite everything that's gone wrong, and what seems to be gaping holes in the preparation of the staff for the move to T5, I think Willie Walsh deserves some positive recognition for being honest in his statements rather than trying to gloss over what's become a serious issue, and openly admitting that responsibility for some of the chaos has to lie with BA management, which ultimately means him.

Sure, some of it is dressed up in optimism about how great T5 *should* be, but it's a clear admission that BA did not handle this as well as it could have done: 'British Airways has not delivered... the buck stops with me, and I'm determined to make this work.'

Kudos to WW for standing up, being honest, and taking the flak.

With the benefit of hindsight, I wonder if BA should have sought assistance or consultancy from Lufthansa (or the Munich Airport Company) to make the T5 move go smoothly. LH are one of the few European airlines of a similar scale to go through a similar terminal switch in MUC in 2003.

I remember LH moving their entire hub from T1 to T2 at Munich, this a very similar move BA are doing (into a brand new, dedicated terminal), and my recollection is that it went very smoothly.

Mike

Now let me get this right, fewer flights today are cancelled than a couple of weeks ago when it was foggy, the result according to The Times is a disgrace so scandalous it is affecting Britain's (yes Britain's not just BA or BAA's) reputation.

Geez. Some people need to get out more.

Sorry, to me it sounds like unions playing politics (we told BA ra ra ra ra ...), BA and BAA blaming each other, some geniune cock ups and poor planning ... but hardly a disaster on the scale of the Iraq war to damage out national reputation!