Programs: AC Tangerine/BA Silver/SPG Gold/Priority Club Platinum
Posts: 1,533
Quote:
Originally Posted by hsmall
I disagree. Certainly uk1's But I know only too well that when I see that tailfin, the one that BA so idiotically wanted to ditch, in some corner of a foreign airport it does give me a slight kick in the throat and leap in the heart.
Have to agree. Every time I'm stopped in traffic on the 401(every night) beside YYZ I see that tailfin sticking out from the terminal and wish I was flying out CW that night.
OMG, they were BOTH too funny. While it is not good form to laugh at others misfortune I must admit that those two links have me ROTFLMAO.
Cheers
PS Think maybe BA will offer some ridicuosly low TATL fares to coax us across the pond and to T5 on them???? I am sure my fave carrier (CO) is very happy about their new lift to LHR and NOT to T5
Programs: BA Gold status; BMI blue+; hhonors diamond; SPG gold; Amex Centurion; Mucci du Droit Informatique
Posts: 556
Quote:
Originally Posted by Crampedin13A
Have to agree. Every time I'm stopped in traffic on the 401(every night) beside YYZ I see that tailfin sticking out from the terminal and wish I was flying out CW that night.
Thank you. Though YYZ of course is Commonwealth, not foreign
Apologies if I'm going over old ground, but just got off 916 LHR/FRA as my original flight to FRA tomorrow in canceled. To BA's credit, I received an SMS Saturday night about this and at least giving me time to do something about it. My first experience of T5 and a few observations, in order of (my) priority:
- It took me forty minutes from joining the security queue to collecting the last item out of my tray. I went through security south at about 1800 and it was busy. The first boarding pass check took ages and the queue was snaking round the maze and moving very slowly. Only two of the desks were manned. I asked the chap scanning my boarding card what the problem was and he said "no problem, it's just a busy day." This is ridiculous - it's only going to get busier! To echo smirnoff's comments - the scanner tray setup does not work if the scanner is not fully manned. It seems that returning the empty trays to the front of the scanner relies on someone pressing a button once the last person has collected their belongings. My experience this evening was that plenty of security people were wandering around but not in any coordinated fashion. The scanner quickly backed up with empty trays and trying to manually help them along results in them getting stuck. BAA - you must get this organised and STAFFED.
Personally, I'd like to see a fast track lane from start the finish - a dedicated boarding pass check line and security line.
- The lounges are fantastic, light and airy. My only problem is the lack of communication - why are flights not being announced? My flight was showing 'closing' 20 minutes before scheduled departure - I asked the lounge staff who said it looked like they were boarding and that they had been told NOT to announce flights so I went to the gate ... where nothing was happening. I asked the gate staff and they said that they had pre-boarded some wheelchair passengers but that was it - no word from the dispatcher, and it seemed difficult for the lounge to call the gate to check what was happening. Please, announce the flights in the lounges - even if the screens are showing correct information I don't want to have to get up every five minutes to see what is happening unless you're going to give us all pagers / SMS us all.
Incidentally, there are no signs (that I could see) to Galleries North on the gate level.
- waited for tug for 15 minutes. While I was in the lounge, I saw two planes holding short of their gates, presumably waiting for stand guidance to be switched on, for about 20 minutes while I was in my seat.
- is it just me or is the departures area really rather hot? Is the A/C working properly? What's it going to be like in the summer?
I'll mail all this to BA, but I sincerely hope someone from the Company is reading this thread. As a regular passenger, and a shareholder, I was quite disappointed this afternoon. It didn't flow well and it was much more stressful than travelling to FRA via zone R and the F lounge. Let's hope all these niggles can be sorted out.
Last word for the BA staff in the terminal - they are doing an admirable job and deserve some regignition, once again in the face of adversity - virtually every staff member I spoke to was wearing a smile.
Programs: BAEC Gold, BD Gold, Lufthansa FTL plus lots of shiny hotel and rental car plastic
Posts: 17,131
Not sure if this is mentioned on the other 20 pages but a BBC News page about T5 suggests BA might be considering holding off on the T4 to T5 move for some time.
Arse.
__________________ 'There are only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror' - Orson Welles
I am currently sitting at B34 and have to say: Wow! What a change! Inbound flight was delayed, however, they put me on an earlier (delayed) one so it was not that bad at all. But shorts walks, effective immigration. And today? Quick early morning security, very nice lounge and a bright terminal with a view - and the first Monday morning flight in time I had ex LHR for months!
__________________
Do not feel offended by my posts - remember, I am a simple minded litigation lawyer.
Apologies if I'm going over old ground, but just got off 916 LHR/FRA as my original flight to FRA tomorrow in canceled. To BA's credit, I received an SMS Saturday night about this and at least giving me time to do something about it. My first experience of T5 and a few observations, in order of (my) priority:
- It took me forty minutes from joining the security queue to collecting the last item out of my tray. I went through security south at about 1800 and it was busy. The first boarding pass check took ages and the queue was snaking round the maze and moving very slowly. Only two of the desks were manned. I asked the chap scanning my boarding card what the problem was and he said "no problem, it's just a busy day." This is ridiculous - it's only going to get busier! To echo smirnoff's comments - the scanner tray setup does not work if the scanner is not fully manned. It seems that returning the empty trays to the front of the scanner relies on someone pressing a button once the last person has collected their belongings. My experience this evening was that plenty of security people were wandering around but not in any coordinated fashion. The scanner quickly backed up with empty trays and trying to manually help them along results in them getting stuck. BAA - you must get this organised and STAFFED.
Personally, I'd like to see a fast track lane from start the finish - a dedicated boarding pass check line and security line.
- The lounges are fantastic, light and airy. My only problem is the lack of communication - why are flights not being announced? My flight was showing 'closing' 20 minutes before scheduled departure - I asked the lounge staff who said it looked like they were boarding and that they had been told NOT to announce flights so I went to the gate ... where nothing was happening. I asked the gate staff and they said that they had pre-boarded some wheelchair passengers but that was it - no word from the dispatcher, and it seemed difficult for the lounge to call the gate to check what was happening. Please, announce the flights in the lounges - even if the screens are showing correct information I don't want to have to get up every five minutes to see what is happening unless you're going to give us all pagers / SMS us all.
Incidentally, there are no signs (that I could see) to Galleries North on the gate level.
- waited for tug for 15 minutes. While I was in the lounge, I saw two planes holding short of their gates, presumably waiting for stand guidance to be switched on, for about 20 minutes while I was in my seat.
- is it just me or is the departures area really rather hot? Is the A/C working properly? What's it going to be like in the summer?
I'll mail all this to BA, but I sincerely hope someone from the Company is reading this thread. As a regular passenger, and a shareholder, I was quite disappointed this afternoon. It didn't flow well and it was much more stressful than travelling to FRA via zone R and the F lounge. Let's hope all these niggles can be sorted out.
Last word for the BA staff in the terminal - they are doing an admirable job and deserve some regignition, once again in the face of adversity - virtually every staff member I spoke to was wearing a smile.
I imagine this is due to the BAA's 'no tannoy' policy. Pretty sure this applies to the lounges as it even applies to the new crew report centre (CRC)
There are actually 3 points at the start of the security scanner (They're labeled ) I queued for around 5 minutes today and in that time managed to get my coat off and put all my bits and pieces in my carry on. When I got to the front of the queue, I noticed a man was not using one of the two available points and told him to move forward. I then promptly put everything into a tray (no more than 3 secs) and went straight through. Waited at the other end for less than 40 secs.
The biggest problem is getting people ready for security and I believe that there should be people queue combing telling people to prepare. It seems like you were one of the people not quite ready when you got to the front of the queue.
Not at all. I was ready, although it is a bit of juggling act to have your bags, shoes, belts, phone all ready to plonk in the tray as you walk up.
However it is totally unrealistic to expect Joe Public to be taking shoes off, belts off, coats off, and piling everything up in their arms, at the same time shuffling forward, with no trays to put them in until the last moment.
It doesn't work like this in the real world.
In reality, those 3 tray positions are taken up by one, or may be two, persons to pile or their stuff in, who do so only as they reach the conveyor. Hence the queues. This was all rather obvious and predictable.
On the emotive front, I have a strong feeling that T5-gate will not be as destructive to the existing brand value as some have suggested.
Before this week, the BA brand had a certain value (albeit lower than in times past). If everything had gone smoothly with the T5 opening, that brand value would have increased considerably. As it is, it has taken a severe knock. But I believe it will recover once the immediate problems are overcome. And the net effect will be that, with T5 finally delivering on the promise, that brand value will still be higher than it was on Wednesday.
I think the 'loyalty' to the BA brand is only based on the fact that there are very few alternatives; (in the UK) Virgin only flies longhaul and BD is not big enough to attract regular customers who merely want the mileage to get their upgrade or to enhance their status. BA is, for most, the only option available and this is why the BA brand will survive the T5 mess, not because of loyalty or a sense of national pride, as implied on this forum.
Programs: Reine des Muccis de Pucci; BA Apologist par excellence, Preferred Pin-Up of HIDDY
Posts: 8,131
Quote:
Originally Posted by hsmall
I disagree. Certainly uk1's words struck a major chord with me. Emotion plays a major part in consumer choice (otherwise branding consuiltants would be out of job). I consider myself, in most things, a reasonably unemotional consumer. But I know only too well that when I see that tailfin, the one that BA so idiotically wanted to ditch, in some corner of a foreign airport it does give me a slight kick in the throat and leap in the heart. The Flag is not any flag. BA is not just another airline. This Kingdom is not just any country. And when BA diminishes itself, we are, by some means difficult to enunciate, all diminished.
And on a rather less elevated note may I remind you that regardless of the romance of steam the railways have gobbled up more subsidy since privatisation than before it
Well put. I thought of replying but I care too much about HIDDY to try and score points, and I was always tsught to be respectful to my elders ().
I'll tell you something that Smirns wrote that reminded me of something from long ago. When the new terminal at Stanstead opened, HI and I flew to NCE with Air UK when it was then an excellent carrier and not what it ended up as being.
I recall the problems even then in that great barn of a terminal with hadly any traffic as the smell of the MacDonalds whafted gently round the place. The Air UK/Servisair staff had a huge problem with the jetways and other euqipment. They had not been properly trained and they had not been shown where everything was. Does this have a familiar ring. That was 20 years ago.
For once BA cannot be blamed for that as they were not even there. However the airport operator was - I believe - the same so not much was learnt there.
I think that we are seeing a lot of this cost-cutting and staff reduction come home to roost. I remain fairly skeptical as to the original cause of this fracas but whatever - it is not uncontestable that until and unless BA sorts out its baggage handling and its dealing with the public nothing will have been learnt. I'm afraid that I prefer to learn from the past rather than dwell on the past. I am not senior management because I can promise you this would never have been allowed to happen. This was a disaster waiting to happen and they knew it. They thought that they could face anything down by legal action as they are with the pilots (that has not gone away it's just around the corner in the courts.). I felt so sorry for Gareth Kirkwood. He is a most decnet human being and I can only assume that the performance on TV and the refusal to answer questions was a direct order from WW's office.
So of course it is entirely possible that lots of BA customers may learn that things are much better with everyone else and not come back. I for one would not blame them at all. The Management have no one else but themselves to thank for this debacle.
Me? I'd have Walsh's letter of resignation on my desk before the day ended and I would go on bended knee to Barbara Cassani and beg her to come and run the carrier. She is imbued with the essence of Colin Marshall from her Avis days and she actually cares about the customer and has forgotten more about branding than most people will ever learn.
Anyone been through thismorning?? I just wonder what 6am was like as this was when T1 was usually a hive of activity. I suspect that there we huge queues for security but it would be good to get some real feedback.
British Midland is announcing near 100% punctuality since T5 opened. It appears that past delays at T1 for BD and EI were due to BA aircraft 'hogging' gates because of a lack of BA dispatchers (Willie's cuts?). BA has now left (apart from a few services) and BD are jumping up and down.
British Midland is announcing near 100% punctuality since T5 opened. It appears that past delays at T1 for BD and EI were due to BA aircraft 'hogging' gates because of a lack of BA dispatchers (Willie's cuts?). BA has now left (apart from a few services) and BD are jumping up and down.
Actually I have studied this extensively and all of BA's T1 delays in the past were down to BD and EI hogging so many gates at T1 !
) I queued for around 5 minutes today and in that time managed to get my coat off and put all my bits and pieces in my carry on. When I got to the front of the queue, I noticed a man was not using one of the two available points and told him to move forward. I then promptly put everything into a tray (no more than 3 secs) and went straight through. Waited at the other end for less than 40 secs.
). 
