I don’t normally « do » rants, but in this case I believe it’s warranted. Here goes.

Comair’s entire fleet of 11 737-300s and 737-400s (all of their planes operating under the BA franchise) was grounded by the South African aviation authorities from August 2 through 5 due to non-compliance with safety regulations. Media coverage here:
http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Trave...anger-20130804
and
http://www.businessdaytv.co.za/shows...ights-grounded

My mom and I were booked on BA 6258 MPM-JNB on August 3rd. We did not do OLCI, as just as I was starting that process the evening before, the WiFi died at the remote hotel on the Mozambican coast we were staying at and remained out of order until we departed. However I had mobile voice/data connectivity at all times, so would have received any communication from BA concerning the cancellation. I did not receive any information from BA that our flight had been cancelled, nor was this indicated on the FIDS at MPM airport.

We finally found out about the cancellation after a fellow pax asked an agent checking in a SAA flight why there were no open counters for BA… That news started a mass migration and impressive show of ineptitude starring the local handling agent, with a guest appearance by Comair’s call center in South Africa (unable to touch the booking as under the handling agent’s control, then office closed at 15:30 with no answer at the “emergency” nr.).

We spent 2 “entertaining” hours being shunted from BA ticket counter to SAA check-in (no dice, flight full), then back to BA and finally to LAM check-in. This was the last flight to JNB of the day so quite some suspense - thankfully, there were enough free seats on LAM to accommodate everyone. Thankfully as well, I had booked the late BA departure from JNB to LHR, so we still had a comfortable layover at JNB.

Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed by BA’s and Comair’s total lack of support or even information. This was not an unexpected mechanical or weather-related issue - the cancellation was due to a regulatory breach and known approx. 24 hours in advance, so there was ample time to inform and rebook in advance, thus sparing everyone lots of aggravation. Yet believe it or not, the first time I found out about the actual reason for the cancellation was after posting here on Flyertalk! So, things happen – that’s what customer service is there for, right?

Well, in this case no. My polite request for compensation – I used the EUR 250 I would be entitled to if BA had actually been the operating carrier as guidance of what I felt was appropriate – this was completely denied in a 3 act play:

BA’s 1st response: you are not entitled to EU compensation.

My feedback: please read my message, that’s not what I claimed.

BA’s 2nd response: this is a complaint about Comair, we’re forwarding it to them.

My feedback after 1 week of silence: I haven’t heard anything from Comair and besides, BA screwed up by not informing or rebooking me.

BA’s 3rd response: sod off (sir).

To put things further into context, this flight was combined with a return I-class CW fare between GVA to JNB, so hardly a cheap ticket.

There, rant over.

My take-aways:

1) With Comair IRROPS, you’re on your own – forget about any support by BA. This was really brought home by a BAEC gold card holder standing next to me at the ticket counter in MPM, who called his super-secret hotline number and got told: it’s a Comair flight, nothing we can do (sir, I assume).

2) Going forward, BA is only of interest to me if they’re materially cheaper than LX, with whom I had an exemplary customer service interaction just over a year ago – see here. When something goes wrong, BA will fob you off rather than make an appropriate commercial gesture. Too bad, because I actually find the CW seat more comfy for sleeping than the LX ironing board / foot coffin combo. 1st world problems, I know.

P.S.
For anyone wondering about LAM, which after all is banned from flying to the EU: they were absolutely fine on this short flight. Clean E190 in apparently good repair, small edible snack and perfectly punctual. The crew even found a notebook PC that a pax had forgotten onboard and got it back to him on the bus from the plane to JNB terminal - exemplary service, really. The only surprise was that the cabin crew did NOT request electronic devices to be turned off for take-off and landing; my neighbor across the aisle, clearly a regular, used her Kindle the entire time and amazingly, the plane didn’t explode. The worst bit from a FT perspective: besides their own FFP, it looks like there’s nowhere else for me to credit the flight…