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[Entwood]

sat in a hotel in wembly not enjoying the delights of singapore
flight cancelled last night 30 minutes before takeoff. next 6 hours spent trying to find out what was happening then 2 hours queueing to get OUT of the airport. BA staff useless, help in finding accomodation was aleaflet. eventually got in to the hilton at wembley ... 40 bloody miles away. no food, no bar when we got here as gone midnight. bags still somewhere in the bowels of heathrow.

now find we "might!" be on a flight to melbourne via hong kong on wednesday, so go direct but still get there 24 hours late, but no-one knows for sure, or what we do between now and then.

mobile phone is useless so having to sit in hotel room waiting for phone calls from travel agents.

pissed off is not the word

[Mister Rog]

I frequently make known my hatred of flying, this often gets misunderstod as being aerophobia. It's not. It's all the crap such as this that goes with flying.   

Good luck, anyway

[YZ250]

Oh dear.

Would it help if I said that you are still alive and still have a lovely holiday to look forward to....... no, I thought not. 

Hope you are soon on your way, as even though they are doing it for the right reasons it is still frustrating for you as it eats into your plans.

[Lizzie Zoom]

Well at least you can enjoy the OOF whilst you are waiting Entwood!

Seriously though, hope things get better for you soon

[Doctor Gollum]

Norwegian fly from Gatwick to Singapore if that helps, but don't expect to enjoy the experience

Presumably the delay is snow related, in which case nothing much to do but wait... unfortunately, the logistics of arranging accommodation for 3-400 people is fraught enough, but if one of several cancelled flights it all becomes a bit of a nightmare. Trouble is, everyone expects an instant solution, and that simply won't happen... if T5 was chaotic, it wouldn't be unreasonable for a similar number of cancellations to have been made in the other Terminals... so it isn't just your flight or even BA.

Appreciate the scale of the problem and be greatful that a) your in a reasonable hotel at someone elses expense, and b) that you're in a position to be jetting off for two months

[aaronjb]

Apparently BA (or BAA, who knows) directed everyone out of the same exit in T5, resulting in carnage..

[tunnie]

BA really have gone down the crapper recently it appears, always used to better for service both before and during the flights.

Now they appear no better, even charging for meals on short-haul. I'd look to avoid BA if I was booking any flight now, only if price was right use them.

Entwood - If you have time (sounds like you do) have a read of Richard Brandson's first autobiography, will really bring home what BA are really like.

[STEMO]

I think your last words on a previous post were ‘Should be nice and warm while you lot freeze’.

[Varche]

sat in a hotel in wembly not enjoying the delights of singapore
flight cancelled last night 30 minutes before takeoff. next 6 hours spent trying to find out what was happening then 2 hours queueing to get OUT of the airport. BA staff useless, help in finding accomodation was aleaflet. eventually got in to the hilton at wembley ... 40 bloody miles away. no food, no bar when we got here as gone midnight. bags still somewhere in the bowels of heathrow.

now find we "might!" be on a flight to melbourne via hong kong on wednesday, so go direct but still get there 24 hours late, but no-one knows for sure, or what we do between now and then.

mobile phone is useless so having to sit in hotel room waiting for phone calls from travel agents.

pissed off is not the word

Crikey. I was only wondering this morning if your taxi shuttle got you there in time. Hope you get sorted soon.

[Entwood]

Thanks for the. Thoughts, now waiting for a transfer car to take us back home for 48hours.car cost equals hotel bill but home equals clean clothes. Bags still buried somewhere in Heathrow.

Having done flying for 38  years as a professional I understand the problem and the logistics... But... BA said nothing for hours then wanted everyone.. 70 flights, 200 average?  14000 people? to leave at the same time, via immigration so 2 exits. That is just piss poor organisation. Then they tell you to call a number that closes at 5pm....

[tunnie]

Thanks for the. Thoughts, now waiting for a transfer car to take us back home for 48hours.car cost equals hotel bill but home equals clean clothes. Bags still buried somewhere in Heathrow.

Wow, so they don't expect you to get a flight for 48 hours!?

[Varche]

In a case like this presumably the airlines stump up for Reasonable expenses during the delay? We were just talking about this and concluded the hotels must make a killing with high room rates.

[Doctor Gollum]

Oh look... Another have a pop at BA thread

Of a daily average of 1,293 flights... 333 flights were cancelled at LHR yesterday, and a further 578 flights were delayed.

That's near enough 25% of flights cancelled and a further 45% delayed.

Snow causes two problems, aircraft movements are severely restricted and aircraft stranded elsewhere causes significant operational disruption, not only to passengers, but also to crew and aircraft schedules.

BA is acutely affected due to the shear number of flights it operates. Overall yesterday they cancelled 29% (253 flights) of their operation and delayed 34% (291 flights) of their flights globally.

So, even if all the BA cancellations were at Heathrow, (which they weren't), it's still only 2/3rds of the cancelled flights there...

The 50,000 displaced passengers were across the network, not just at T5, but don't let the facts get in the way of a good headline

[Doctor Gollum]

Once in the departure lounge, every cancelled passenger has to legally return through immigration.

This isn't to be difficult but because you technically leave the UK as you pass through security. 

Anyhoo sounds like you've been sorted out one way or tother

[TD]

sat in a hotel in wembly not enjoying the delights of singapore
flight cancelled last night 30 minutes before takeoff. next 6 hours spent trying to find out what was happening then 2 hours queueing to get OUT of the airport. BA staff useless, help in finding accomodation was aleaflet. eventually got in to the hilton at wembley ... 40 bloody miles away. no food, no bar when we got here as gone midnight. bags still somewhere in the bowels of heathrow.

now find we "might!" be on a flight to melbourne via hong kong on wednesday, so go direct but still get there 24 hours late, but no-one knows for sure, or what we do between now and then.

mobile phone is useless so having to sit in hotel room waiting for phone calls from travel agents.

pissed off is not the word

When i used to fly around the world, i often arrived late at night at hotels....I used to ask the person who checked me in, if there was any chance of some sandwiches.....and seeing as you stayed in a Hilton, the chance of sandwiches would be probably good 
And then raid the minibar 

[biggriffin]

Could this be the karma police, after your, passing remarke about "hope you lot frezzee."  just saying.

[STEMO]

Could this be the karma police, after your, passing remarke about "hope you lot frezzee."  just saying.

I already just said. 

[Entwood]

Latest part of the saga ... just had a phone call from a lady in Singapore, she has accidentally picked up Chris's suitcase instead of her own and wanted to arrange to give it back ... but I am still in UK and not going to singapore at all now.. she was VERY surprised as she thought I would be in the baggage hall searching for my bags ....so .. Chris's bag on a carousel in singapore, no idea where mine is, and we are going to melbourne .....

Can't register a "lost" bag as the BA system says I haven't flown anywhere yet so can't have lost a bag .... customer services can't help as baggage team is separate, baggage team won't talk to me as I don't have a lost baggage file reference and I can't get a file reference as I haven't flown and ... and .... and .....

Just hope the travel agent can actually get somewhere on our behalf ....

Question .. how come my bags can fly to Singapore but I can't .. 

[Varche]

That is really scary. How can a bag fly without a person?

Over the years we have had varied results with lost/damged luggage. The very best being easyjet who lost the charger for the mobility scooter and had it couriered to our house.

[Marks DTM Calib]

If it was me I would shit a pile big enough to cushion my landing 

[Mister Rog]

Ooooops. Not good

I was flying from T5 on their opening morning. Anyone remember that ? I was on telly 

Utter chaos. Almost 48 hours to get to Milan, sans luggage. Ever tried to buy normal cheap XXL underpants in Milan, fashion capital ? Quite amusing. But, all part of the reason I avoid flying whenever possible.

[STEMO]

Ooooops. Not good

I was flying from T5 on their opening morning. Anyone remember that ? I was on telly 

Utter chaos. Almost 48 hours to get to Milan, sans luggage. Ever tried to buy normal cheap XXL underpants in Milan, fashion capital ? Quite amusing. But, all part of the reason I avoid flying whenever possible.

Fat arse 

[Varche]

Ooooops. Not good

I was flying from T5 on their opening morning. Anyone remember that ? I was on telly 

Utter chaos. Almost 48 hours to get to Milan, sans luggage. Ever tried to buy normal cheap XXL underpants in Milan, fashion capital ? Quite amusing. But, all part of the reason I avoid flying whenever possible.

Was that part on Italian TV?

[Kevin Wood]

Ooooops. Not good

I was flying from T5 on their opening morning. Anyone remember that ? I was on telly 

Utter chaos. Almost 48 hours to get to Milan, sans luggage. Ever tried to buy normal cheap XXL underpants in Milan, fashion capital ? Quite amusing. But, all part of the reason I avoid flying whenever possible.

I have had the opposite experience. Finding XXL underpants in Toronto was no problem whatsoever.  Finding somewhere to stuff the acres of excess material without spoiling the fit of my suit, however... 

[TheBoy]

I've always thought T5 was a shambles. To the point I refuse to fly from there.  Whatever moron designed that terminal needs their balls chopped off.

I'd rather fly from Birmingham or Luton, and we all know how bad they are.

[Entwood]

Have you got away yet Nige?

Nope, due to go at 20:50 tomorrow (wednesday), so leave home at 15:30, LHR - Hongkong, 1:20 on the ground - HK to Melbourne. Get in 24 hours later than originally planned having not had any time off, to pick up hire car and drive 3 hours to brother in laws. Just hope I'm not too knackered...

Still don't know where our bags are, after over 3 hours on the phone,  I now have a lost baggage reference number, computer says "we are searching for your bags" ... so telling them they were in Singapore, and the lady who had Chris's  has phoned again to say that she had delivered it to Changi AND explained that we would not be going through there at all, was a total waste of time apparently.

I accept that the folk who work for BA are probably nice, conscientious, hard working folks doing their best, but the system stinks, nah .. worse than that .. it's crap, everything done "on the cheap" and to suit the company not the customer .. why else only have an automated message system that will NOT allow contact to a human operator ??

When I "forced" them to put me through by a different route I got a "new" recorded message for a while which actually said "if you have a missing baggage reference number, log on to ba.com/baggage and enter the number. If you don't have one please hold for an agent. Please have your missing baggage reference number available for the agent" .... now .. I know I'm thick .. but where is the sense in that and guess what the first question from the agent (eventually) was .....

Not happy, and it's NOT "knocking BA" .. its describing what has actually happened to me over the last 48 hours...

1) flight cancelled at 30 minutes notice (they must have known well before that point)
2) Message: "Contact Airline" .. so queues at information desk
3) Instruction: "leave the terminal by gate 24" .. to go where ?? to do what ??
3 hours later - 21:30
4) Information from BA girl, You must contact by phone we are not rebooking, leave the terminal - phone number given has a message "office hours at 9:30 to 5:00pm"
5) I ask her what I'm supposed to do when I "leave the terminal" - "go home and phone in tomorrow" - how do I get home - 80 miles and no car ? - "Oh.". thinks .. "go to section f in departures" - First piece of actual info in 3 hours.
6) leave terminal , but have to go via immigration, alog with thousands of others, 1 1/2 hours, to leave .. no sign of bags in baggage claim, no information, and no staff to ask.
7) Get to "section" F ... the idea of "help to arrange accommodation was to be given a leaflet if 6 languages that said .. make your own arrangements, we will only pay you the following amounts ...
8 ) Ask about bags .. "they are in secure storage and will be put on your rebooked flight"
9) Eventually get to hotel at gone midnight, no food and no beer...
10) Flight rebooked for late wednesday, hotel bill will be paid if we stay there, and eat on £25 a day, (breakfast £18, cheapest burger at the bar for lunch £13, so what about dinner ??) but if we go home the transport is not covered. So it seems we are expected to spend 5 days in the same clothes and hardly eat.

Add to that the message on the paperwork, and web site .. "we will keep you informed by email and SMS text" ... and just guess how many emails and texts I've had ?? Thats right .. NONE .. and yes, they DO have all my details, and I've checked them several times.

I also had a wife in tears who could see her plans for visiting family places in Singapore going out the window, (and she was right), and possibly not seeing her brother and the rest of her family as planned.

I won't start to try and list todays stupidity, but we still don't know if we will have clothes in Australia

If that is "knocking" BA .. well so be it .. your opinion will differ from mine ... I obviously have a different interpretation of what "Customer Service" means than you do.

[tunnie]

Sounds like a real crappy experience, sorry it’s inpacted what sounded like a mega trip.

Hope you get there as per the new plan 

[Sir Tigger KC]

opps it Nige knock BA as it sounds like a complete and utter oppsing shambles! 

[Varche]

So anyone know how a bag can fly to , in this case Singapore, with no person ?

[Kevin Wood]

I must admit, my last flight on BA had me thinking I might just as well have used Ryanair, as exactly the same "budget" level of service was on offer for rather more money.

The only way to get a seat reservation next to your partner appears to be to fly with suffer them enough to get an executive club card as they get to scarf all the seat reservations before I even got to pay for one.

This from and ex-silver card holder who flew with them at least every 2 weeks throughout the 90's and 00's. There's no doubt they've gone down the shitter since.

But.. my woes were nothing like what you're experiencing, Nigel. I do hope your troubles are soon over and you can get on with enjoying your holiday.

[Doctor Gollum]

That whole experience is a complete abortion, and I can only hope that it gets sorted sharpish. The frustration of not having any real control over any of it is probably the worst part.

I still maintain that the scale of disruption, not to mention the logistics of sorting it all out, is often under appreciated. Not that that is either any help nor consolation. 

[aaronjb]

So anyone know how a bag can fly to , in this case Singapore, with no person ?

Easy. An urangutangA baggage handler loaded it onto a plane.

(Well, you did ask..)

[Mister Rog]

So anyone know how a bag can fly to , in this case Singapore, with no person ?

Easy. An urangutangA baggage handler loaded it onto a plane.

(Well, you did ask..)

Some years ago I bought a spanking new Fender Stratocaster in the USA, I also bought a rigid flight case ! Just as well. Waiting to take of I watched it being thrown (yes, I mean thrown) into the baggage hold of the plane despite "fragile" stickers. I would have preferred an urangutang to have been the baggage handler.

   

[Entwood]

Todays saga ....  text message at 3.00 am to say they has found one bag in singapore (strange when I had told them it was there), it was being put on a flight to return it to me .. trouble being .. .. a singapore to heathrow flight arriving at 0430 tomorrow 14th .. when we fly out at 2050 today for melbourne. 4 hours on the phone, including 3 calls to singapore and I get nowhere....

Use internet and find personal email of BA CEO, one Alex Cruz.  Send a short, succinct, but VERY pointed email expressing total disgust and a few salient points. And stating that I WILL be going to small claims court if my expenses are rejected when I submit them when we get back.

Out of the blue an hour later, phone call from a "Senior Operations Officer" who wants to know ALL the gory details. Complaint case raised, additional costs will "certainly be considered", he'll "see what he can do from his end" and he then says that on his data both bags have been found in singapore and will be on the next flight to melbourne arriving there 30 minutes before our flight is due in ...

So progress SEEMS to have been made, but it taken the threat of court action to get anywhere .

Not holding my breath .. but now preparing for todays flight ... only 26 hours in tin cans ...

If I don't speak before ... Wishing all OOFers a happy xmas and a good new year .. whatever you get up to .. enjoy .. 

[Varche]

Well that seems to be a result. It will be a chairmans case. I used to work for a Blue chip company that had same. Everyone involved "jumps". Shame people have to resort to such action to get a result. I dare say in this case Entwoods complaint is just one of many and the poor sods tasked with sorting out will be totally overwhelmed.

As an aside, you would have thought in this day and age that more effective comms could exist. Especially if it is one way.i.e. from the company to punters. It wouldn't be too hard to have an electronic noticeboard with info on it that could be updated. Years ago, I was on a bird strike on take off Ryanair flight. Aside from being exciting as we landed err after the runway, the lack of info was manifest.

[TheBoy]

I still maintain that the scale of disruption, not to mention the logistics of sorting it all out, is often under appreciated. Not that that is either any help nor consolation. 

I think we all understand that, but the airlines should be better prepared, and have better processes available for it.  But, no, it would appear they proved again that piss ups in breweries are too difficult for them.

Disruptions do happen, though fortunately not too regularly, but often enough that procedures should be in place to implement at a moments notice, rather than leaving their (paying) customers out on a limb with no help, no guidance and no info.


Complete, utter disgrace.

[Doctor Gollum]

Unfortunately the system is set up to deal with the occasional weather or technical cancellation/diversion rather than wholesale shutdowns.

After the previous debacle, BA should have much more rigorous systems in place. For that matter so should BAA...

Any, hopefully on their way and be in a warm, sunny Melbourne, with luggage in no time

[Shackeng]

 I have the greatest sympathy Nige, and I think BA nowadays are rubbish, and have gone downhill since I retired 20 years ago, after flying for them for 20 years. Under Lord King it was a great airline, but gradually declined after that. When they joined in the shafting of Virgin, I wrote to our then Chairman, Colin Marshall, expressing my disgust at BA's behaviour, and got the usual bulls**t answer.
I hope that you eventually get the trip back on schedule and that you and Chris have a great time, and a very Happy Christmas.