orbitmic

While I agree that the resolution worked in favour of the OP and that he has, ultimately, no ground to complain in his specific case, I nevertheless support his general point that it is very annoying of BA to start offloading passengers when they still (obviously in this case) have a chance to make the connection.

As mentioned in other threads, I have been the victim of that tendency at LHR (cleared connection security well before conformance deadline yet told I had already been offloaded), and as I said then, some other airlines do protect you by booking you on the next flight without offloading you from your current flight until it is clear that you have failed to make it (e.g. conformance of boarding closed).

It seems that in his case, the BA agent were actually much better than what I experienced in that experienced: the feeling of being at the boarding gate before boarding even started (having already had the greatest difficulty negotiating with security people to let me through) only to be blankly refused boarding on any help (including calling flight management people) was definitely not a good feeling!

Jordan D

Indeed - happened from SFO ... one of my mother's few travel regrets: they offered her the reroute SFO-JFK and then onto 001, but that would have been an extra day away from home, so another flight that evening was found for her, and she got back a couple hours late. A great shame.

ski

What do you call this when it happens and how does something like this even happen? ( 1 2 3)
fried.food.is.good started Mar 30, 15

Under USAir forum, sorry not good at posting link, but American Airlines computer system is offloading pax predicting misconnects and giving their seats to other pax. The original pax make their connection and are denied boarding. This case they didn't allow them to go to gate. Measly 5000 miles comp.

Swanhunter

A customer focussed airline would work to ensure passengers made the connection. One interested only in its operational KPI's and consequent bonus/avoidance of penalties for poor performance would be more interested in offloading to avoid any delay attribution.

Enigma368

You would almost definitely be eligible for EU261 denied boarding compensation in these circumstances. To me, this sounds as clearcut as it gets. Don't forget you can claim for 6 years...

Global321

Please don't flame me, but let me play devil's advocate...

I don't think they could get their without the bus... their boarding passes were invalidated. It is a little scary to think they would still work.

1. First, they had to get to the gate. If they get to the gate during boarding, they are clearly owed denied boarding compensation. In this case, I would think EU261 applies, BA flight going to EU. Simple.

2. For those that did not get to the gate... The OW agreement makes AA responsible for getting passengers to their final destination in this case because AA caused the misconnect. AA flights from USA to Europe are not eligable for EU261. What about a codeshare... AA flight operated by BA... EU261 eligible? (I don't know the answer.)

orbitmic

I think Enigma368 was referring to my case (above) - the denied boarding was from LHR on a BA-BA connection (single ticket obviously) so indeed I warned the boarding agent (who could not care less) that if he denied my boarding (which he did) I would seek EU261 compensation. This is what I did. BA first weren't happy but when I told them that they could check that I had passed security before conformance and that they also could check with their boarding agent that I had reached the gate before boarding even started (nearly 40 minutes before departure time in fact!) and that I would not drop the case, they (apparently reluctantly) accepted.

Global321

Got it. Thanks. Yes, of course you were 100% correct.

dylanks

My understanding is that BA doesn't pay for the bus, only Qantas, and the reason they do is that their ticket counter is at TBIT, but some of their flights leave from T4. So the only way to use the transfer bus between T4 and TBIT is if you are on a Qantas flight.

As c-w-s and others have noted, by the end of next year this won't matter as the airside transfer corridor will be finished. The cost for the corridor? $115 million, http://www.lawa.org/uploadedFiles/LA...0FactSheet.pdf (though I assume a good part of this cost is a new baggage transfer facility underneath it).

dylanks

Agreed, and this was kind of my point in that BA is very aggressive at offloading, rather than doing everything they can to get people on their original flight.

PITBULL1K

Really? Finding a way for 30 people to be escorted to the BA flight, keeping track of them all, getting them through screening, and the baggage....and what of the other 350 people and the scenario worked out differently, ie the flight arrived late, with the knock on effect of those people who got to LAX on time but now face a delay getting home from LHR. But don't worry because you were all right.

I am sure they took the phone call, looked at the timings, saw it was perfectly feasible then decided no, let's screw their day because that one flight was the key to achieving the KPI target.

HMPS

One would think that someone at HQ would be comparing cost of delay vs. cost of missed connection /IDB/ EU261.

itsmeitisss

The unknown property is how many customers would be affected by an airline waiting for some passengers and then the plane missing its slot and having to sit on the ground for a further 30 mins or so, and then getting a creeping delay as busy air corridors around LHR then impact further. I missed a connection for a JFK flight recently when this happened, and instead of spending the evening in the city that never sleeps, I spent the night at the 'T5' Hilton with the worst buffet I have ever had in a hotel. I only had 3 nights in NYC as it was, and I lost a night in a hotel that had decent food that cost me more than BA would have had to pay Hilton.

BA is damned if it does and damned if it doesn't. It could increase the MCT but then there would be people moaning because they think they would make it in less than the new MCT.

At the end of the day some customers are always going to be disappointed, and BA has to consider the solution that impacts the least number of people.

Enigma368

I don't think it would unfeasible to have buses available for these situations to meet connecting pax at gate and bus them directly to connecting gate. Obviously this is not in place at LAX and maybe the cost would be too high or maybe LAX just won't allow it but if the will was there I'm sure it could be done. In this instance, they could have easily transferred the 30 or so passengers in less than 10mins to the connecting gate, without coming close to delaying the outbound flight.

I'm not saying whether they should do this or if it makes sense financially. I'm just saying that you are making a solution sound a whole lot more difficult than it is.. One bus, 10 minutes max*

*That said I know nothing of how baggage systems work, at LAX or otherwise so I do not know how much time the baggage transfer would be.

Global321

I think the math on this is simple for BA... according to OW agreement, AA is now responsible to get them to London as the AA delayed flight caused the misconnect. If BA delays the plane, BA may need to pay EU payment for all passengers. If BA offloads the passengers, they become AA's problem.