Stranded in Vegas - BA274
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 22
50 Hour Delay? - BA274
Ouch!
BA274 LAS-LHR due to depart Vegas at 21:30 on Wednesday 10th delayed..... a lot! Now showing expected departure Friday 12th at 23:00.
That hardly seems possible but lots of talk on Twitter of passengers stranded at Vegas airport with little info from BA so seems to be true.
I know there's a lot of passengers on a 747 but seems amazing that with that length of delay they haven't been able to re-book passengers e.g. on one of the many flights between Vegas and LA then onwards to LHR.
Perhaps someone in the know can confirm this is a true delay or rubbish it - and if it's a true delay perhaps provide insight into how long BA would leave passengers before finding them alternative flights.
BA274 LAS-LHR due to depart Vegas at 21:30 on Wednesday 10th delayed..... a lot! Now showing expected departure Friday 12th at 23:00.
That hardly seems possible but lots of talk on Twitter of passengers stranded at Vegas airport with little info from BA so seems to be true.
I know there's a lot of passengers on a 747 but seems amazing that with that length of delay they haven't been able to re-book passengers e.g. on one of the many flights between Vegas and LA then onwards to LHR.
Perhaps someone in the know can confirm this is a true delay or rubbish it - and if it's a true delay perhaps provide insight into how long BA would leave passengers before finding them alternative flights.

Last edited by Brigadier Big Moustache; Apr 11, 19 at 4:45 pm
#2
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,086
Certainly looking at EF yesterday's BA275 made it to Las Vegas and it's showing an arrival at 7.12 pm and, sure enough, the corresponding BA 274 to LHR is just showing as "Scheduled" with no actual departure time. So it would appear to be delayed. No idea why.
#3
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,623
Yes, the aircraft appears to have gone tech at LAS. LAS-LAX is a popular sector for me and flights are often full so not much scope there, usually Vegas is good at accommodating disrupted passengers (either in hotels or on alternative flights).
#4
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 77
I have a colleague on this flight so I can shed some light. All the passengers were boarded but then during the pre-flight fumes were discovered in the cabin. Everyone was off-loaded and the crew had to be taken to hospital as a precaution. Then there were some minimum rest requirements which meant that the earliest they can take off is 2300 local on Friday. There's a major trade show in Las Vegas this week that means that all alternative routing is pretty much booked up. Eventually after several calls to the Gold line he managed to join the rest of us on tomorrow's BA2276 to Gatwick.
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 22
I have a colleague on this flight so I can shed some light. All the passengers were boarded but then during the pre-flight fumes were discovered in the cabin. Everyone was off-loaded and the crew had to be taken to hospital as a precaution. Then there were some minimum rest requirements which meant that the earliest they can take off is 2300 local on Friday. There's a major trade show in Las Vegas this week that means that all alternative routing is pretty much booked up. Eventually after several calls to the Gold line he managed to join the rest of us on tomorrow's BA2276 to Gatwick.
Great insight Billy - thanks.
Nice to see that the crew were taken to hospital as a precaution, and the passengers taken to the terminal as a precaution ;-)
#7
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: London Stratford, E7
Programs: BAEC Gold! Thanks to FT
Posts: 3,231
Interesting Mixed fleet crews have so long to rest. I do know that if LGW staff fly to Vegas on Sunday they work Monday nights flight home just like a Boston, New York, Washington, Miami etc and are in dispute with BA which is fully expected to turn into industrial action. I’m guessing it’s contractually different for LGW staff but would have thought minimum rest period would be a legal thing.
#8
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
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Posts: 50,265
Reroutes don't have to be via LAX. There are AA flights to pretty much every AA/BA gateway to LON and my guess is that the people who persisted and who have status got themselves onto one of the many connecting services unless they wanted the extra night in LAS.
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
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Interesting Mixed fleet crews have so long to rest. I do know that if LGW staff fly to Vegas on Sunday they work Monday nights flight home just like a Boston, New York, Washington, Miami etc and are in dispute with BA which is fully expected to turn into industrial action. Im guessing its contractually different for LGW staff but would have thought minimum rest period would be a legal thing.
#10
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: London Stratford, E7
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Posts: 3,231
#11
Join Date: Dec 2014
Programs: BA Silver, Le Club Accor Hotels Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 61
I understand a number of Crew have been declared unfit to operate due to the fume event so a new crew had to be sent to Las Vegas. You cant just fly out to Vegas and operate back, the new crew need sufficient rest before operating back.
#12
Join Date: Apr 2018
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 117
When the ash cloud hit Iceland and all flights were disrupted i got stuck in Vegas with my wife for 8 day's. And you know what? There are definetly worst places to get stuck. We enjoyed the extra week and made the best out of it.
#13
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: QF, TK, VA, SQ
Posts: 613
Also consider if the flight crew were also tied up, they have much more generous rest times, so this could have been a simpler resolution than flying out a standby flight crew.
Would you want to be on a flight operated by someone who'd had little sleep, and was then expected to work a 14-15hr shift back overnight? I know I wouldn't.
As others have said, at it's busiest there are boatloads of flights out of LAS into all major airports in the US with plenty of daily flights back across the pond.
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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#15
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Flatland
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Posts: 6,036
There are also other airlines than BA and AA. Overall there are about 60000 enplanements[1] at McCarran airport every day. It seems implausible that 337 passengers (747 max pax load) could not be accommodated out of there to another hub (not necessarily of OneWorld) and then onto the UK within 24 hours. Or to their ultimate destination if they are only in transit at LHR.
[1] Don't blame me for the word, that's from https://www.mccarran.com/pubfile/b08...0190326-114151
[1] Don't blame me for the word, that's from https://www.mccarran.com/pubfile/b08...0190326-114151