27 May BA IT outage miscellaneous discussions thread
#106
Join Date: May 2006
Location: 5 miles from EMA
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Posts: 5,871
The Daily Fail is quoting Ł150m in compensation. I hope that every last passenger affected by yesterday's events takes them to the cleaners.
BA is an airline that cares neither about its staff nor its passengers. They only care about the money.
They will no doubt try to weasel their way out of the first raft of claims by claiming force majeure. I would like to see them defend a position that their IT infrastructure was up to scratch when a) a power failure could have been avoided with sufficient redundancy or b) if it was DNS/AD related there should have been a change freeze on over such a critical period of time. Both of those would seem to be well within their control.
BA is an airline that cares neither about its staff nor its passengers. They only care about the money.
They will no doubt try to weasel their way out of the first raft of claims by claiming force majeure. I would like to see them defend a position that their IT infrastructure was up to scratch when a) a power failure could have been avoided with sufficient redundancy or b) if it was DNS/AD related there should have been a change freeze on over such a critical period of time. Both of those would seem to be well within their control.
#107
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 14
No matter what country or nationality the new company are they can never pick up the reins and have the same level of knowledge and experience people with 20+ years of service will have.
#108
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 18,556
I am not sure what foreigners you are referring to but a lot of the outsourcing went to U.K. based people and companies as will the contact centre outsourcing.
No matter what country or nationality the new company are they can never pick up the reins and have the same level of knowledge and experience people with 20+ years of service will have.
No matter what country or nationality the new company are they can never pick up the reins and have the same level of knowledge and experience people with 20+ years of service will have.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...rediction.html
TCS are an Indian company.
#109
Join Date: May 2016
Location: HK
Programs: IHG Spire Elite Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Aegan Gold, British Airways Bronze
Posts: 182
From the accounts I've seen, I'm surprised that BA didn't take a page out of Delta's playbook and ordered food like Pizza and so on to the airport. They could have generated some good will to compensate the incident at relatively minimal cost. At least, customers would have felt cared by BA.
IT is complex and censored stuff happens. They probably didn't spend enough on Disaster Recovery but, it's incredibly complex and there could be unforeseen issues. But it's how disasters are handled that shows the managements savviness and competence. They should have prepared for such a disaster happening after seeing it happen with Delta, they should have had a gameplan already in place for how to deal with customers, they should have a plan about how to mitigate PR issues by sending a clear message that BA is taking care of its customers (see the Delta Pizzas). They should have a way to make sure that all support staff are on the same page. That this was done so badly truly is mind boggling.
It shows that Alex Cruz is incompetent at his job and should be removed (but then we already knew that didn't we?)
IT is complex and censored stuff happens. They probably didn't spend enough on Disaster Recovery but, it's incredibly complex and there could be unforeseen issues. But it's how disasters are handled that shows the managements savviness and competence. They should have prepared for such a disaster happening after seeing it happen with Delta, they should have had a gameplan already in place for how to deal with customers, they should have a plan about how to mitigate PR issues by sending a clear message that BA is taking care of its customers (see the Delta Pizzas). They should have a way to make sure that all support staff are on the same page. That this was done so badly truly is mind boggling.
It shows that Alex Cruz is incompetent at his job and should be removed (but then we already knew that didn't we?)
#110
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: LIS
Programs: BA Gold, Bonvoy Lifetime Gold , HH Diamond , IHG Diamond Elite, Accor Gold
Posts: 173
Could not agree more,personally i have had enough of BA on recent experiences,i have already burnt 200K of Avios this year,550K to go,and then its "Good Riddance BA"
Sick and tired of the absolute greedy bottom line nature that BA has now come under,especially since Cruz got involved,
Great reputations are hard to gain but easy to lose
Sick and tired of the absolute greedy bottom line nature that BA has now come under,especially since Cruz got involved,
Great reputations are hard to gain but easy to lose
#111
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL (for now) and Lifetime Gold, Marriott fan thanks to Bonvoy Moments
Posts: 5,112
- we're working on fixing it: fine
- now's not the time to get into details / inquest later: fine
- help or leave us to it: crass, could have praised the people who were helping and asked for others to help, e.g. "We know that many of you are spending time with family this weekend and enjoying a well earned break, but we would ask that you come to the airport to help out if you can. We have X passengers at Heathrow and Gatwick that are understandably frustrated and any assistance will help"
it's like the concept of judging people on how they treat waiters etc., get a real insight into their personalities...
#112
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: BAEC Silver, IHG Diamond
Posts: 7,699
I didn't see any single bit of food, water or vouchers given out yesterday.
Few letters telling people about claiming Ł25 for food etc. from the desks near the lifts / escalators for the trains and that was it.
Didn't see any of the white boards unless they were landside only.
Originally joined a queue for the first check in desks that was nearly outside on the road. Only knew I didn't have to queue as I flagged an employee walking the line.
The queue T5 airside that stretched nearly twice around the terminal from the low to the high gates would have taken hours to clear.
The only reason I knew about Gate 18 being used as an exit was that I went to the aforementioned desks and listened in on a staff member chatting to other people. Gate 19 was also mentioned here but I don't think they used it.
Even then it was 6pm or so, a good 2hours plus later, before 2 staff started to open the door to flight connections / passport control.
Announcement wise, a couple in the CCR saying all flights up to 6pm had been cancelled and then "all flights today have been cancelled. Please leave the terminal".
After that announcement between 2-3pm, nothing else.
I only got out because I was in the queue near the restaurant on the corner by gates 18/19 and saw people rushing down the gate 18 escalators to get out and went for it. Otherwise I could have been there all night not knowing if I should have been there or not.
Other than possibly 3 staff at the desks neat the train lifts and 3-4 blocking the lifts, never saw anyone to help until 6pm.
Few letters telling people about claiming Ł25 for food etc. from the desks near the lifts / escalators for the trains and that was it.
Didn't see any of the white boards unless they were landside only.
Originally joined a queue for the first check in desks that was nearly outside on the road. Only knew I didn't have to queue as I flagged an employee walking the line.
The queue T5 airside that stretched nearly twice around the terminal from the low to the high gates would have taken hours to clear.
The only reason I knew about Gate 18 being used as an exit was that I went to the aforementioned desks and listened in on a staff member chatting to other people. Gate 19 was also mentioned here but I don't think they used it.
Even then it was 6pm or so, a good 2hours plus later, before 2 staff started to open the door to flight connections / passport control.
Announcement wise, a couple in the CCR saying all flights up to 6pm had been cancelled and then "all flights today have been cancelled. Please leave the terminal".
After that announcement between 2-3pm, nothing else.
I only got out because I was in the queue near the restaurant on the corner by gates 18/19 and saw people rushing down the gate 18 escalators to get out and went for it. Otherwise I could have been there all night not knowing if I should have been there or not.
Other than possibly 3 staff at the desks neat the train lifts and 3-4 blocking the lifts, never saw anyone to help until 6pm.
#113
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold, LH Sen, MUCCI, Junior Jet Club.
Posts: 8,091
#114
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Brighton. UK
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not strictly to do with the issue but look at this ignorant oaf taking up 2 extra seats!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40074751
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40074751
#115
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Hertfordshire, UK
Programs: SQ,CX,LX
Posts: 343
I hope that the major shareholders demand an independant inquiry, chaired by somebody with no connections to BA/IAG, into what's happened and how it's been handled and not leave it to the internal channels within BA where things can be hidden, lied about or glossed over to avoid compensation claims.
#116
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Bombay
Programs: EC Blue, EB Silver, FB Gold
Posts: 551
What has surprised me the most is that a B2C mega brand household name has done such a shabby job in the PR department. I used to work in a different part of the transportation business, however this was cargo. None of these were household names, however my first employer had a very public incident off Australia and my third another near another which also became a headline story in the U.K. Media. At all three companies I worked we had an emergency response team which included a named list of participants. Drills were held several times a year, and part of the drill was to send out regular press releases and make a spokesperson available to external parties (media, customers, families etc). For major incidents like this there would be press conferences. All employees were discouraged from speculating when contacted by third parties and refer everybody to the press contact, however the official communiques would contain a brief explanation of the incident and that we would come back with more information as it became available. I'd be surprised if BA have not held similar drills, but even if they haven't this is a massive fail on management's part.
#117
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,167
I hope that the major shareholders demand an independant inquiry, chaired by somebody with no connections to BA/IAG, into what's happened and how it's been handled and not leave it to the internal channels within BA where things can be hidden, lied about or glossed over to avoid compensation claims.
#119
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Customer Care, 19 May 1974. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List...ents_in_London
I had entered LHR T1 about 5 minutes before the bomb went off*. A loud explosion, the glass walls facing the car park came crashing down. Everyone was evactuated to an apron corner to the left of the building. It was a hot day. Within 30 minutes or so there were staff going around with paper bags (remember those?) of luscious red cherries ... I can only assume someone went to a greengrocer to buy them. This was, of course, before 500ml plastic bottles of water were invented!
IIRC we were stuck, standing, out there for a couple of hours before the environment had been cleared and we were relased back into the wild. I recall being impressed by the tactical thinking, and the attempt to care for a couple of hundred people being gently roasted on the ramp in hot sunshine
* My car was parked on the deck above the bomb vehicle, directly above it! It had clearly got airborne, as the suspension was 'tucked in' and thee was a perfect silhouette of my Saab 96 drawn in dirt/rust on the garage floor
I had entered LHR T1 about 5 minutes before the bomb went off*. A loud explosion, the glass walls facing the car park came crashing down. Everyone was evactuated to an apron corner to the left of the building. It was a hot day. Within 30 minutes or so there were staff going around with paper bags (remember those?) of luscious red cherries ... I can only assume someone went to a greengrocer to buy them. This was, of course, before 500ml plastic bottles of water were invented!
IIRC we were stuck, standing, out there for a couple of hours before the environment had been cleared and we were relased back into the wild. I recall being impressed by the tactical thinking, and the attempt to care for a couple of hundred people being gently roasted on the ramp in hot sunshine
* My car was parked on the deck above the bomb vehicle, directly above it! It had clearly got airborne, as the suspension was 'tucked in' and thee was a perfect silhouette of my Saab 96 drawn in dirt/rust on the garage floor
#120
Join Date: May 2014
Location: DMV
Posts: 2,092
What has surprised me the most is that a B2C mega brand household name has done such a shabby job in the PR department. I used to work in a different part of the transportation business, however this was cargo. None of these were household names, however my first employer had a very public incident off Australia and my third another near another which also became a headline story in the U.K. Media. At all three companies I worked we had an emergency response team which included a named list of participants. Drills were held several times a year, and part of the drill was to send out regular press releases and make a spokesperson available to external parties (media, customers, families etc). For major incidents like this there would be press conferences. All employees were discouraged from speculating when contacted by third parties and refer everybody to the press contact, however the official communiques would contain a brief explanation of the incident and that we would come back with more information as it became available. I'd be surprised if BA have not held similar drills, but even if they haven't this is a massive fail on management's part.
The entire BA response appears to be shaped by "how do we save the fiscal metrics here?" rather than "how do we get the company to look fairly good here?".
Aside from the lack of a PR response yesterday, we've already seen refusal of reimbursement for alternative transport as well as signs pointing to blanket EU261 refusals.
I'm not saying they don't care at all about public perception, but it clearly takes a backseat to other considerations.