HIDDY

Did you pay your own fare to get home?

TropicalTripper

I had two RTOs in one night last year. Was flying KGL-BJM-NBO on KQ a KQ E-170 and we had an RTO out of BJM at about 2AM because of a bird strike. We taxied back to the ramp and the pilots checked out the A/C (I don't believe MX was present which is somewhat startling). Pilots came back on and made some announcement to the effect that there was some blood on the engine, but no apparent damage to the fan blades. Shortly thereafter we had RTO number two because engine vibrations were beyond tolerenace. Flt cxld.

I always feel like I am risking my life when flying in sub-Saharan Africa and this experience didn't help. I don't want to think what the emergency response would've been like if something worse would've happened.

alexee

It's not the technical fault that is making me reconsider - it is the fact that the aircraft was not repaired properly and was effectively tested with a full load of passengers! Makes me question BA's commitment to passenger safety. Secondly, the way we were treated on the ground left a lot to be desired...

henkybaby

I think my story illustrates that all that happens on other airlines too. You make a lot of assumptions (one of them that BA was testing an aircraft with pax) which are most likely wrong and frankly a little absurd. Sometimes you think you fixed the problem but it just wasn't the case as happened in my scenario.

Customer Service in South Africa is a different problem. More related to the location than the airline. If it had been KLM you would have been treated with equal disinterest. I can tell you some stories...

Just my $0,02. Not defending BA here.

jbalmuth

Are you suggesting that from an airport with lots and lots of daily commercial alternatives to Europe, that after a 48 hour delay that BA would refuse to take care of its delayed passengers by protecting them on other airlines? As JNB is hardly a remote location with limited alternatives, I would find it shocking to hear that BA refused to reaccommodate passengers on other airlines' services.

leaveamessage

BA categorically refused to rebook.

On the first nite, the KLM flight via AMS left at 23:30 and there were seats (in Y) - BA refused to rebook - even club and shiny card holders.
Ditto the second nite, when we were off the aircraft and back in the terminal much earlier so there were more options - total refusal, even via DXB or DOH, or even for the following day.
We were told that if we rebooked, it was at entirely our own expense and would not be reimbursed. On the first nite, a one way walk up in Y on KLM was just over 13000 rand.
The ground service was the absolute worst I have ever experienced at any airport, on any airline ever, for many, many reasons that I wont bore you with here.
The icing on the cake was heading to board the flight that eventually took off (G-CIVY), and our BPs and the screens in the lounge said the wrong gate at the opposite end of the terminal (A20 instead of A01), and the wrong time.

We finally landed @LHR on saturday morning- a not insignificant delay of 50.5 hrs in total.
BA will be getting an earful on the phone tomorrow from an entire 744s worth of very hacked off passengers.

I also believe the plane (G-BYGE) is still there and still hasn't been fixed.

henkybaby

South Africa is not the most customer centric culture in the world. Especially not if you deal with airlines or car rental companies. Some things you can't train...

thegoderic

That would worry me too.

On my only RTO (KLM at LUX), the crew took the plane out for a go-around before letting passengers on for the real thing.

Still some tightly cllenched buttocks at take-off though.

8420PR

You can't blame South African culture for the refusal to rebook. That kind of policy is set by HQ. I have never been to SA, but if the service really is so bad I assume they would just want to get rid of passengers ASAP - rebooking on other airlines is one of the easiest ways.

henkybaby

There are some companies who pay me handsomely to try and resolve the (sometimes impossible) problem of their service centres in certain countries not executing company policy but doing whatever leads to the least amount of trouble for them... South Africa is one of those countries.

IAMORGAN

After the second RTO, I think I might too have abandoned ship -certainly they wouldn't get me on the same aircraft until I had seen it fly

I would have probably taken Comair down to CPT and tried to get on a BA service there. If BA on the ground are refusing, I'd be amazed if BA EC would be unwilling to help. Either way, a delay of 50 hours is pathetic, and I would EXPECT the airline to at least try to secure seats on other carriers.

These things do sometimes happen -certainly very unlucky -and if ever there were a case for some compensation, I think this is it!

flyer16

G-BYGE is finally on her way home empty right now.

BicesterTerrier

Had one RTO and fortunately never an issue on landing. Leaving EDI late one January afternoon, I had been on a day trip from LHR on business. Leaving the clients site so late that I arrived at the car hire return with 30 minutes to departure.

Got to the gate as they closed it, they called the plane and said I could board, as we accelerated down the runway there was clearly a problem as we slowed and pulled off to a remote part of the airport and the pilot sat revving up and down the engines, eventually telling us in the calm voice of a true hero of aviation "sorry about that folks, had a few warning lights pop up here in the cockpit, seems everything is okay now, we'll go round and try again" - I was convinced I was going to end up in the papers, fate, I was meant to miss the flight but they let me on and then we all died in a horrible fireball. Turns out there was nothing to worry about!!

BicesterTerrier

Are they pushing it?

Seshman

No!!! Flapping their own wings silly!!