Great Captain on LGW-VIE 2nd November
Nov 3, 2015, 1:40 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: UK
Programs: IC Hotels Spire, BA Gold
Posts: 8,668
Great Captain on LGW-VIE 2nd November
I took the BA2658 to VIE yesterday from LGW and due to the fog it was delayed nearly 3 hours.
On boarding and the doors closing the Captain came out of the cockpit and stood in the cabin by row 1 and made his "welcoming" PA announcement in full view of the whole plane. He basically apologised profusely for the delay, explained why, (obviously the fog) but also explained in some detail how despite now being brilliant sunshine, the knock-on effect of planes and crew out of position had built up during the day etc. He then went on to fully explain what was now happening (doors are closed, awaiting ATC clearance, LGW still very busy, might be a few more minutes, quite a queue once we got to the runway etc etc). I think he was stood up and in full flow with the apologies and explanations for a good 2-3 minutes.
I posted this because I thougnt it unusual for a Captain of any airline to actually engage with the pax in this way as these sort of "welcome from the cockpit" announcements are usually done from behind the door. But this captain really took the time to engage with all pax and make eye contact and take time to actually explain what had happened and the apology (not his fault of course) was hugely sincere. So a big ^ for him and BA.
My one gripe is the CE catering and this lack of a hot meal....so it was the afternoon tea serving enhancement for us all. The flight was originally scheduled for 14:05 departure and we actually pushed back about 16:50 in the end and we landed at 20:00 CET in VIE. So this was way too early to eat an evening meal at LGW (gate was called at 16:00) and a bit too late to eat at VIE as it was 21:00 by the time I got into central Vienna. So 3 measly sandwiches and a single scone was all that was on offer in CE......yes I know there were major service disruptions yesterday but in the not too distant past, a CE ticket pretty much always got you a hot meal regardless of the time of day! Oh well...times change and "enhancements" are a fact of life with BA
On boarding and the doors closing the Captain came out of the cockpit and stood in the cabin by row 1 and made his "welcoming" PA announcement in full view of the whole plane. He basically apologised profusely for the delay, explained why, (obviously the fog) but also explained in some detail how despite now being brilliant sunshine, the knock-on effect of planes and crew out of position had built up during the day etc. He then went on to fully explain what was now happening (doors are closed, awaiting ATC clearance, LGW still very busy, might be a few more minutes, quite a queue once we got to the runway etc etc). I think he was stood up and in full flow with the apologies and explanations for a good 2-3 minutes.
I posted this because I thougnt it unusual for a Captain of any airline to actually engage with the pax in this way as these sort of "welcome from the cockpit" announcements are usually done from behind the door. But this captain really took the time to engage with all pax and make eye contact and take time to actually explain what had happened and the apology (not his fault of course) was hugely sincere. So a big ^ for him and BA.
My one gripe is the CE catering and this lack of a hot meal....so it was the afternoon tea serving enhancement for us all. The flight was originally scheduled for 14:05 departure and we actually pushed back about 16:50 in the end and we landed at 20:00 CET in VIE. So this was way too early to eat an evening meal at LGW (gate was called at 16:00) and a bit too late to eat at VIE as it was 21:00 by the time I got into central Vienna. So 3 measly sandwiches and a single scone was all that was on offer in CE......yes I know there were major service disruptions yesterday but in the not too distant past, a CE ticket pretty much always got you a hot meal regardless of the time of day! Oh well...times change and "enhancements" are a fact of life with BA
Nov 3, 2015, 2:02 am
#2
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: West Sussex Flying Club
Programs: Hilton Silver VIP, Overworked Cabin Crew
Posts: 75
I think we are really lucky at Gatwick to have some pro active Captains that will do this at times of disruption. Delays for whatever reason can be unsettling and passengers can start to get nervous and personally I have found that the open and honest approach is always the way forward
With regard to the afternoon tea.....that is what would be served normally on a flight at that time and to change to a hot meal would have been time consuming and risky given that the nod to close doors and go could have come at any time
With regard to the afternoon tea.....that is what would be served normally on a flight at that time and to change to a hot meal would have been time consuming and risky given that the nod to close doors and go could have come at any time
Nov 3, 2015, 2:06 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: UK
Programs: IC Hotels Spire, BA Gold
Posts: 8,668
Appreciate the logistics and all that....but as I posted, my point was more that in the not too distant past, a hot meal was served in CE regardless of the time of day....so the service disruption would not have mattered..