Sigwx

escalation on a small metal tube from which there is no immediate escape is not sensible for anyone. There are methods out of the field of view here that would have been utilised to potentially eliminate a repeat occurrence by those concerned.

ppp909

I don't know why cabin crew can't just tell people who are breaking the rules that they will be escorted by police on arrival and may be refused entry. It infuriates me that this kind of behaviour is tolerated. If the law doesn't allow them to do this then those who make our laws, i.e. the politicians should be called out. Although they're too busy getting hot under the collar about whether some idiots can sing stupid nationalist songs or not.

JohnM5

If people refuse to do the right thing and follow, what are effectively, safety rules there does need to be the option of sanctions. Without this there will always be a small minority who will be inconsiderate. I get the point about not wanting to cause a massive scene on the flight and calling in law enforcement does seem a bit heavy handed (given there are plenty of people in my local supermarket who get away without wearing a mask). Being banned seems a reasonable option, but if they're not frequent flyers how about delivering their hold baggage to a far away place or maybe send them for the full customs search

fransknorge

Really simple: combine the best of Air France and Lufthansa:
- On Lufthansa exceptions are allowed with a medical certificate AND a negative PCR test swabbed in the last 48 hours
- On Air France non compliance is diversion and non compliant passengers given to the hand of the police
BA could and should put the same rules in place.

Bohinjska Bistrica

The fine for not wearing a mask in the UK is £100, assuming a first offence. No one is going to divert a plane for something treated as a minor offence given the costs of doing so and I honestly doubt the police are going to be interested either - they have better things to be getting on with than attending an aircraft to fine a passenger £100.

I feel the crew as well as there's realistically nothing they can do about it either. Invariably the only real option is to ensure that said passenger doesn't become irate, which given the behaviour on show may have been a likely outcome if forcefully challenged.

Ultimately this leaves banning the passenger from BA as the only realistic course of action. If the offence takes place on the outbound flight cancelling the return portion would send a message too.

James91

BA don't have constant government hand outs to rely on to fund endless diversions over something that is a £100 fine in the UK. The Lufthansa suggestion is more realistic.

chedington29

Two reports:

1. LHR-VLC on 9 August (London to Valencia)

We decided to drop our bags the night before which was simple and painless, though the check in person got confused and called after us to encourage us to go through to the First Wing and lounge (said we'd rather sleep at home). We arrived at 5.30am the next morning and it was pretty busy and security was slightly slow, but service in the lounge was very fast and friendly.
Boarding was well regulated and people seemed to listen and follow the rules, boarding when their rows were called. I would say the flight was about 70% full. The flight itself was pretty calm and uneventful and felt weirdly normal - pre-COVID I was flying 2-8 times a week, and being back in a familiar place for the first time since March relaxed me and I promptly fell asleep!
The passengers were also pretty well behaved on disembarking and waited for their rows to be called before standing.
The airport staff in Valencia were strict - made most people go to the manual passport desks, with a limited number of people allowed to go through the e-gates. There were people patrolling to see if people were wearing their masks properly; a man near me got told off for wearing a scarf/bandana over his mouth and nose and was handed a medical mask to put on instead. All passengers had to have a temperature check and have their health forms scanned in before being allowed to exit. All the people waiting to collect passengers had to remain outside of the terminal.

2. VLC-LHR on 28 August (return)

The departures area was much less chaotic than usual as airport staff were preventing family/friends from entering, and you had to show evidence of your flight to enter the terminal. Usually in Valencia there are friends or family saying goodbye getting entangled with the queue for security, but there was none of that today.
There was a long queue for economy check-in, none for business; online check-in worked but we couldn't generate a boarding pass - at the check-in desk they asked for evidence we'd completed the UK entry form so I suspect that was why. Security was pretty much the same as usual.
The Sala Joan Olivert was open; staff were checking we had sanitised our hands before entering and there was a one-way system in place with tensa barriers and arrows on the floor. Half the chairs were indicated as being out of use to encourage spacing. There was a man in the buffet area behind tensa barriers and plastic screens, and you had to request items from him, and he'd get them for you. It was very quiet so no issue with waiting for food and drink.
We ambled over to the gate and found there was no boarding by row numbers as people had decided to queue in the tensa barriers outside the gate, and staff just accepted it and started boarding once the plane was ready.
Business was very empty - 4 passengers only, and I heard the crew say 78 passengers in total (on an A319). Service was very enthusiastic and friendly and the flight calm - again on landing, passengers seemed happy to wait until their row was called.
T5 was reasonably ok - went through the e-gates with no checks of our contact forms, which did feel quite a lot different to the strict rules in Spain.

Now onto the 14 day quarantine...!

MatJarosz

We were on the same flight, and I agree, it was incredible. Cabin crew were fantastic - really friendly and attentive. Flight was super quick, didn’t even manage to eat the meal before we started descending. Wasn’t too confident about the new catering offering, but it wasn’t that bad actually. I got a vegetarian sandwich and it was fresh and tasty. It won’t be great for 2h+ flights but I don’t mind it as much as I thought I would.

Being quite local to the airport, I know at least a dozen members of staff in NQY. They’re very nice and service-focused people, but I didn’t see any of it while at the airport. Check-in was okay, but security and departure lounge were awful. Security staff were disorganised and were shouting at PAX for not following instructions, even though the airport provided no guidance on what needs to be taken out, what needs to be separated etc. Another guy scanning boarding passes was annoyed because I took my mask off for 2 seconds to unlock my phone and get the BP on the screen. When I tried to explain it, he moved me on. Boarding was disorganised, they started with rows 35-15 and 2 mins later they asked everyone else to join.

Arriving at LHR was okay. Disembarking process felt smooth and organised. CE left as soon as the air bridge was connected followed by all PAX shortly after. Everyone disembarked before the bags arrived on the belt.

Return journey on Thursday morning was very pleasant. Security was busy even at 5am and I don’t get why HAL don’t open one of the fast-track lanes. Surely they get paid by BA & co when it’s used by CE/CW and status holders so it would bring extra revenue. Galleries North was also busy, but very pleasant and well organised. Food arrived on the table within 2 minutes. Boarding felt like an artistic mess. This time they only announced 10 rows at the time, but did not allow them to board before announcing the next set of rows so we’ve had a rather long queue to the boarding gates. It would be much safer to keep PAX seated until everyone in the previous group has left the gate, but neither BA nor HAL seem to care.

Plane departed on time. CE catering was really good again, flight was very smooth and cabin crew was incredible. Weather in NQY was horrible so everyone got soaked on the way to the shed (aka NQY arrivals). NQY staff did not respect priority tags so CE and status holder bags were last to arrive.

I would love NQY to be better than this, but knowing the organisation that runs the airport, I don’t have much confidence. Either way, having this connection is very useful for transfers and saves me 4.5hrs I’d otherwise have to spend on the train so I can’t complain.

kdhurst380

You weren't in 1A by any chance were you? I was in 2C and recall chatting with you if you were.

Re HAL security - I don't think it helps with their insistence on everyone having to take their shoes off, but with no signage or indication to suggest this is the case. I knew it was in operation and did my usual autopilot routine of tray loading, only once I had placed all my belongings and the guy had distracted me by asking no less than three times if I had any "liquids, gels, pastes, electronics" and finally accepted my insistence that I had none, did he then ask me to remove my shoes. I always wear trainers when I travel that slip off quickly... but when people aren't expecting it and have laces and such like to faff with, it's going to slow things down!

Alas, they probably won't care much whilst the CAA have presumably suspended service quality monitoring.

sungod

ACE-LHR

Arrived about two hours before flight time, two check-in desks with queues, joined the much shorter one (no apparent reason it was shorter), they weren't operating the normal third desk for CE check-in.

Slow check in, eventually reached my turn which went smoothly so unclear why pax ahead were so slow. As I had outsized baggage, bike box and huge backpack, the agent at check-in then left it to walk me over to the outsize belt, probably earning me the glares of those behind me

Security bp check was backing up with one after another mobile bp holder failing to get their phone out and ready before reaching the scanners, then at x-ray plenty of lanes open but slowed by people who either never flew before or were simply inept, yes I’m getting grumpy now, actually I began grumpy.

Quieter than usual airside, adequate seating available, outdoor terrace was open for the smokers.

Most shops were open airside, but with reduced choices for fresh food and no International New York Times at Relay, the large bar/restaurant with the outdoor terrace was closed, the Aena Sala VIP lounge is closed, I think the Burger King was open.

Bought a chicken salad baguette for onboard.

The gate opened for boarding without any announcement, no one had queued, I sat and waited a bit then just walked up and went through as no one was there, mentioned to the gate agent that they needed to make an announcement as people didn't know it was open. Clearly we're not boarding from the back.

Departed about ten minutes early.

I chose row two as I don’t like the row one fixed arm rest/table on a long flight and had A-C to myself so that I could stretch out my legs sideways and watch video on my laptop, people in row four moved to row one as one lady was disabled and it was easier to seat her there, I counted six rows of CE with 12 pax, ET looked like 50% at most.

This flight was busier than my outbound, as BA cut the midweek flights I'd guess some pax had been moved from those. CC said the plane had far fewer pax coming over.

No “gold welcome”. Older plane than the outbound neo, no power points and broken WiFi.

Sandwich choice was coronation chicken or mozzarella with pesto, went for the latter. One bite was too much, perhaps it was nice many hours ago, now it was a cold claggy lump, the tub of bean salad had coriander in it which i despise, and the standard tub of chocolate glop I ignored, would much rather have some fresh fruit. Baguette and crisps to the rescue!

Bubbly cool rather than chilled and a bit lively.

Had four, then CC announced it has run out!

Some rummaging went on in the galley. But wait! There’s more! We were saved, I heard a cheer.

CC came around a couple of times with a basket of crisps and nuts.

Arrived about ten minutes early at the B gates. People waited to be called by row to exit.

Quite a few people were waiting for the transit, I just walked through the tunnel to A and passport control.

Some egates were open with a short queue back through the tensa barriers, I went that way. The queue for the staffed desks was dense and I could hear people complaining at the delay, that area had the highest density of people I've seen in months, no distancing.

In the baggage hall my bike box was already there at the side of the belt and my backpack was on the belt, there's a first time for everything!

Overall a decent flight, but food still unacceptably poor.

Jambon87

thanks for the quick TR, i am flying back through ACE on Wednesday, good to know what is/isn’t open.

ACE security is notoriously slow, so it’s not surprising in the absence of charter flights, they have kept it consistently bad 😁

I also saw MIDX coming into land and felt a pang of sorrow for those on board, and secretly hoping that it’s not scheduled for Wednesdays flight

kdhurst380

Maybe it's just the times I've flown through - but I've found ACE to be reasonably efficient in the several years of using it (largely due to their incredibly relaxed attitude - although I've found that to be the case for Spain in general). They don't have a babysitter at the tray loading area mumbling/shouting at people to take their liquids and electronics out, which for the bucket & spade crowd can be a challenge; but if you're familiar with the rules, it's rather easy going. It also remains the only place where I've witnessed an eye roll at a random metal detector activation for an ETD swab.

MIDX is loose loaded rather than containerised, like the other ex-BMI aircraft otherwise based at Gatwick. It could be an ulterior motive for quicker turnaround, given that ACE otherwise handles 99% low cost/charter airlines.

It also looks like the NEO's have had their legs stretched on the route too on a frequent basis, which makes sense given the fuel savings.

I could rant on about how the NEO's are much more suited to what was the LGW short haul operation, rather than hops to AMS and CDG because heaven forfend they send anything new to LGW, but I'll stop there!

Jambon87

I should have elaborated, ACE Security is quick, it’s the BP check that always seems to the pain point in the process. Each time I go through it seems to take an age to get through with the usual fumbling to get a BP showing.

I am one of those people, if you are slower than me, it’s an inconvenience to me personally

I did see a few NEOs on the route recently, I’ll await with curiosity as to what it will be, but owning to how light the load is for the flight, I would be surprised if it was a NEO.

krispy84

I had G-MIDY for LHR - Pisa on Saturday. Only spotted it as I was heading down the air-bridge. Seat 1D was very wobbly, reached back for the moveable headrest but alas there is none. I’m not that tall (6ft) but my head felt like it was a good few inches higher than it should have been. The bulkhead table for 1E was useful as an additional drink stowage and 4 champagnes helped make the flight go rather well. 7 rows of CE and 24 pax. Mark and Emily were great CC, I don’t think Emily stopped moving for the entire flight. 0715 departure, so a breakfast flight. The ham and cheese croissant was pleasant and the blue box looks quite smart, far better than the bag given out on band 1s. The bag needs to go and quickly. Despite the previous, I still think BA needs to revert to pre-Covid CE catering very soon. I find the H&S arguments advanced in its favour (and mentioned in an announcement onboard) utterly laughable.

alex67500

BSL-LHR this morning. The last BA flight at BSL for a while, since they pulled the route for September.

2 agents for bag drop, no queue at all. I was informed the lounge was closed, and that there'd be no priority boarding.

No queues at security, a lot of shops still closed - the only open stores I saw were dufry after security, a coffee shop, and the Monop'daily close to gates 82-83 (the smoking area in the absence of the lounge)

Boarding was back to front, with people really disciplined staying sat until their rows were called. CE was 3 rows, only 5 pax and I had row 1 to myself. I could smell something nice in the oven which got my hopes up, and then I remembered that BSL is band 1 anyway ; it was the flight deck lunches being warmed up . Full round of drinks first, and then the brown paper bag with coronation chicken sandwich and chocolate mousse (the other option was tomato and mozzarella).

Crew were really good, friendly and attentive. I was offered a few more rounds, and never felt like I had to ask for anything.

Arrived at C gates but for once I took the train since it was there. Again disciplined passengers waiting for calls to get up. We were joined by a QR flight at B gates, but I still managed to get to the border ahead of the crowd, and used the e-gates. No checks of the PLF.

Luggage took maybe 5-10 minutes to materialise, and the first 4 bags on the belt had a priority tag on them. A rare enough occurrence worth mentioning.

All in all it was a nice flight, that I'd become too accustomed to whilst they were a given. I felt bad leaving Heathrow because I don't know when the next one will be...

There were Zipcars aplenty in T5. It seems there was a bit of movement from the Avis desk on level 4, and a few non-Zipcar vehicles in that area so maybe they're reopening slowly.