Degsy328

I read somewhere that Sean Doyle is driving actions and initiatives to improve On Time performance. Having just completed a return trip to LAS where 3 out of the 4 flights pushed back early (!), I wondered if anyone can share what initiatives are being looked at and if any are already implemented.

in recent years, none of my domestic or international flights had been on time (Vancouver consistently the worst by far for me), so was this trip just lucky or are things starting to make a real difference?

BA or bust

Well I hope it works, it seems to be sorely needed. I hope that some clever people have broken down the process and worked out where the issues are that affect On Time performance. One that has been debated a LOT on this Board of course is managing the Boarding process. Clearly, ensuring you have an aircraft, crew, fuel, bags, cargo etc. etc. etc. ready to go are very important. But if you cannot manage your Boarding process not only might it affect departure time, it also has the potential to massively annoy passengers if done poorly.
It would be interesting to know Degsy328 what it was that made the 1 out of 4 late.

HarryHolden68

It would not surprise me to learn that staff are being incentivised to improve on time departures and hence the behaviour displayed which at times seems blinkered to anything else. To make most efficient use of the runway in use, LHR requires a stack of aircraft of varying types to best manage separation and minimise wasted time between landings. The gate staff know that once boarding commences, the most efficient use of the gates is to have a queue of passengers waiting so that as one passes through the gate, someone takes their place.

The only problem for the gate staff is that, unlike ATC, they have to demonstrate favouritism to the boarding groups. The obsession with on time performance means this is being paid lip service in the name of efficiency.

DXB2745

There was some mention of this a while back either last summer or the one before with staff being entered into a prize draw for a single pair of club world return tickets. I think it was concluded it’s wasn’t much of an incentive to improve performance.

corporate-wage-slave

I will say that anecdotally and also via the HAL monitoring I do for cancelled flights, BA's performance for arrivals and departures seems to have improved a lot, and there are fewer late cancellations. A lot still depends on the weather, and today hasn't been good for that, but it's not been a hard winter overall.

LancashireFlyer

Better manage bus gates! Annoying on arrival, but holds the departure up.

The last one I had was a mid-afternoon MAN, when some stands of T5A were empty (as viewed from our delightful ramp tour in a Mercedes Citaro). Of course, the plane when it landed may have had nowhere to go, but it should be able to be scheduled.

MADPhil

One thing that puzzles me is the frequency with which people disappear between check-in and boarding so that the flight is delayed to remove their luggage. There may not be much that BA can do about it unless everyone who checks in can be persuaded to carry a tracking device,

DXB2745

they should leave the bag on the plane and the pax should have to wait until the plane is back at LHR in my opinion to collect it.

Degsy328

The 4th flight, LHR-EDI started boarding in good time, but as is almost routine in this route now, it took a while due to a 100% full flight and hand baggage space slowing things down. However, hold baggage count didn’t tally, so took longer to reconcile and close final cargo door. That’s what caused a late pushback this time.

lhrsfo

My flights this year have been on time but last year nearly all were late - more often than not one of the causes was a failure to coordinate all the different services needed for a departure from or arrival into LHR

guytp

I think Ingot throigh 50+ LHR/-EDI sectors last year with maybe two on time. This year I’ve already beat that and had an early pushback.

I’ve also had bus gate delays, lack of slots to land at LGR delaying take off, broke. PFD in cockpit requiring new components to be installed and just a half hour delay for no discernible reason at Dubai but yes I have noticed this too. Not bad for February!

Pigeon49

My take is that the boarding process is scuttled by allowing the maths challenged aboard who can't find their seats or hoist their gigantic rollaboards into the overheads.

surryson

Low load factor, reduced number of flights and benign weather. Please don’t think I’m being cynical - but let’s see how performance is after Q2. I hope for everyone - pax AND staff - that there are structural improvements. I remain to be convinced.

Finland Station

Do you mean to tell me that BA is now boarding aircraft before the due time for departure? Remarkable. It will take me some time to adjust to this new concept.

lost_in_translation

It’s viewed as a security issue for someone to check in a bag and not travel with it, no?