Originally Posted by
trolleymusic
I was on a PMI-LHR flight yesterday:
- There were 11 rows of CE -- how many rows before it becomes stressful to do the meal service?
- When we arrived at LHR, there was a delay as someone had to be sent out to "turn on the automatic guidance at the gate" - is this the modern substitute for someone waving their arms with the paddles/lights?
- There was a further delay as the bridge broke down and we had to exit via stairs at the rear door (I was excited to be walking on the apron at LHR 😅!) -- it seemed to take ages for the flight deck + the ground crew to get in sync, how often does this kind of thing happen and why wasn't the ground crew ready / why was it like they didn't know there was a flight coming in? (the baggage handlers were there within a couple of minutes)
1) not sufficiently qualified to answer
2) (plus3) where to begin…..oh where oh where…..oh yes, this is a constant bane of our working existence. Quite simply, no staff. Lost them, can’t get them back on a reduction of terms and conditions and can’t be bothered to train up existing staff to perform a simple function that even an teenage Air Cadet could master in seconds. There is a ridiculous notion within certain ‘management’ roles that only certain ‘bands’ or job titles could ever possibly identify an aircraft, ensure the stand is clear of FOD and obstacles and press a few buttons on a board that controls the stand guidance. Meanwhile we can see several individuals who can clearly see this A321/319/380/350/787/777 and are happily waiting with chock ropes in hand and FEGP trolley but alas, are prohibited from selecting the relevant aircraft type Ona panel at the head of stand.
And when the HAL equipment (air bridge) fails we need to call the ARC (the operators of the bridge also do this)…..but rarely can we get them on the radio by either upper or lower antennae, so we try to call by phone. Think the GGL line has a long waiting time? Alas they do answer and they then need to co-ordinate with other ramp teams who (again) are stretched to the limit of resourcing and thus it all takes an absolute age. It seems the cost of missed connections is no driver for improved resourcing. So I’d kindly request you direct the last two at Ben Sehovic, Director of Operations for a more nuanced retort.
But rest assured, those of us on the aircraft are just as cheesed off with it all as you and want nothing more than to wave you all on your way after landing.