enviroian

Flew 551 from FCO today. Not only wasn’t there a gate available we then had to wait 30 minutes for coaches (🙄 x 2). I hope everyone connecting today that doesn’t have a gate has enough time.

mikeyfly

That’s a quick wait. Count yourself lucky

tattikat2

Serious question.

Is using coaches at a remote stand cheaper for BA than using a gate?

I'm starting to wonder if it's an attempt to save money.

Any thoughts?

xxxxx

Following the flooding in T5B last week, about 6 of the T5B gates can’t be used as the power hasn’t yet been restored.

So any flights using these gates have to be coached, meaning a big increase in the demand for coaches and subsequent long waits.

The powers is meant to be restored in the next 5 days.

subject2load

Interesting question !

There can be several reasons why a remote stand might be used rather than a gate / airbridge but it’s not impossible that cost could play a part.

If the example figures in this piece relating to LHR are accepted as reliable, then yes there is a saving to be made :

”London's Heathrow Airport charges between £13.42 ($23.65) and £20.92 ($36.90) for every passenger departing for a European destination, but there is a discount of £4 ($7) per passenger for aircraft operating from a remote stand, i.e. not connected to the terminal via an airbridge”

https://www.traveller.com.au/why-som...-planes-h29bmw

(NB : dollar figures quoted are Australian dollars)

Also (and others with relevant technical knowledge will confirm or deny), it seems that another potential saving would come from the fact that aircraft departing from a remote stand will not require a tug to push back ; but perhaps any such saving would be negated by the need to have steps brought to the aircraft and a number of buses too.

xxxxx

Why would an aircraft at a remote stand not require a tug? it still needs to be pushed back. Certainly at Heathrow, BA will use an on pier stand whenever possible. There are occasions when to a lay person, it may seem nonsensical, for example using a hard stand when there are free gates available, however that aircraft may be departing from a T3 destination next and the only way to arrange that without a time consuming tow is to have both departures as coach departures.

Another reason could be the aircraft is spending an extended period on the ground and so wouldn't be a great use of resources to have it on pier, or the jetty served stand that you see free could have an aircraft planned to use it in 15mins.

Not sure why there is a theory that BA want to use off pier stands when they try to avoid them if they can at Heathrow.

DYKWIA

Not sure about LHR, but some airports don't require tugs at remote stands. HEL & MXP spring to mind. There are taxiways in front and behind, so the aircraft just moves forward straight onto the taxiway.

KARFA

There aren't any T5 stands which are drive through or not requiring a tug. I don't think there are any elsewhere around LHR of that type either.

BOH

FRA too I believe

Dave_C

I was on the BA826 to DUB yesterday and boarding was a complete shambles. Gate A4A with another from A4B. We were waiting 45 minutes for busses coupled with an argument between passengers and staff trying to take wheelie bags off them. A rubbish experience end to end.

itsmeitisss

Had a similar experience before Christmas from the same gate. Staff screamed at customers like they were cattle. Reported it on board and via Twitter. IFL said that it was a regular occurrence and that they had screamed at a mystery passenger (shopper) who had reported it to BA. Seems to have made no difference.

subject2load

Little short of incredible.

Shortage of / delays in arrival of buses is one thing (unsatisfactory though it is) ; but screaming at passengers is quite another.

Who are these individuals who take a job in what is fundamentally part of the service and hospitality sector and then deem it acceptable to behave in such a manner ?
And - more to the point - who exactly is it that has responsibility for them, and yet seemingly chooses to take no corrective action ……..

stifle

Ultimately, the main sanction that BA has up its sleeve for this behaviour, if proven, is dismissal. Given current staff shortages and extended lead times to get airside passes, they may have been forced to conclude that for now having bad staff is better than the alternative of having no staff.

Important of course to note that there are three sides to every story, the passenger's side, the airline's side, and what really happened. One person's "screaming" is another person's "projecting one's voice in order to be heard in a loud environment", etc.

corporate-wage-slave

And a fourth version: the way it gets reported in (social) media. I very much doubt it was a Munch scale vocalisation, the vocal chords give up very quickly when that happens, but the word "scream", usually applied to one particular gender, is shorter than "used a tone of voice slightly higher than was strictly necessary".

Dave_C

In the case that I witnessed yesterday, it was absolutely a case of raised voices, bordering on shouting, with the BA member of staff accusing the customer of disrespecting him, and then passenger being accused of being disrespected as well. This went back and forth for a good minute or so.

I have to say, I feel for the passenger. The member of staff, who incidentally was the supervisor, was making mumbled announcements, in an area where there were many people with multiple flights and people getting confused about what announcement was for what flight.

Plus the whole “gate check your bag” and get on first nonsense was in full swing. Everyone being confused as if it was group 1 being called (that was the other flight), why people were coming forwards etc etc. Shambles.