One side for pain, the other for pleasure!
Dec 11, 2003, 1:21 pm
#1
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,210
One side for pain, the other for pleasure!
Just returned from Motown, flying BA in NCW. This is how I popped my (NCW) cherry and I think I am hooked.
What a bizarre trip that turned out to be. It started out so horrendously bad. Outbound EDI-LHR BA1439 flight on the 3rd got hopelessly delayed. Fog in London invariably causes delays to domestic flights into Heathrow but on this day it was worse than ever - a massive traffic backlog had formed and all domestic flights where put under severe restrictions by ATC.
I enquired at the Terraces desk of the likelyhood of me making my connection to the 12:30 Detroit flight. My tickets were taken and I was asked to take a seat. A few moments later I was called up and notified of a problem with my booking: the sales desk could not arrange any emergency changes to my itinerary as the EDI-LHR and LHR-DTW were on separate bookings. Not exactly the response I was hoping for. Anyway, since I had plenty of time I returned landside and paid the ticket office a visit.
The response at Ticket Sales was bewildering. I remained polite throughout, refrained from making demands, only asking what options were available to me should I miss my connection. Without going into boring details, the agents attention focused primarily on the issue of the separate bookings, that the delay was outside of BA’s control, ie weather and stating quite fundamentally that if I couldn’t make the Detroit flight before it closed then I would be treated as a no-show; BA would not assist with overnight accommodation (not that I asked – I had insurance) But how shoddy was that?
Frustrated at his unprovoked intransigence and resistance I decided to proceed into London and deal with the situation there if required. I tried to remain positive, being mindful that there was still a chance I’d make the connection.
Boarding for this 9:15am flight commenced at 9:45 and after 40 minutes or so the aircraft was moved off stand to a holding area at the auxiliary runway. The aircraft sat there until 1pm; in the meantime breakfast was served but this offered little distraction as time ticked by and my bloody pressure continued to climb. We finally arrived into LHR just after 2pm, approximately 3.5 hours late.
Thankfully at the flight connection centre my fortunes turned for the better. BA’s response was proactive, polite and reassuringly positive– the agent explained to me that he was going to try and get me on the last flight to ORD and onward travel to DTW but apologized in advance as to do this it was necessary to issue a new ticket and he wasn’t sure if this could be done in time. Bless him, it took almost twenty minutes to process the new ticket but as far as I was concerned he moved Heaven and Earth for me. Talk about chalk and cheese!
Seated in Club World, relaxed and finally I begun to enjoy traveling again. The service was impeccable from the moment I boarded. The FSD even put aside a vegetarian dish for me. The worries and woes of the morning’s calamities were put to rest and I finally in the holiday spirit.
Finally arrived into DTW the same day - at 11:35pm. In my book thats a result!
As for future excursions in Club, my soul is now for sale
[This message has been edited by GregM (edited Dec 11, 2003).]
What a bizarre trip that turned out to be. It started out so horrendously bad. Outbound EDI-LHR BA1439 flight on the 3rd got hopelessly delayed. Fog in London invariably causes delays to domestic flights into Heathrow but on this day it was worse than ever - a massive traffic backlog had formed and all domestic flights where put under severe restrictions by ATC.
I enquired at the Terraces desk of the likelyhood of me making my connection to the 12:30 Detroit flight. My tickets were taken and I was asked to take a seat. A few moments later I was called up and notified of a problem with my booking: the sales desk could not arrange any emergency changes to my itinerary as the EDI-LHR and LHR-DTW were on separate bookings. Not exactly the response I was hoping for. Anyway, since I had plenty of time I returned landside and paid the ticket office a visit.
The response at Ticket Sales was bewildering. I remained polite throughout, refrained from making demands, only asking what options were available to me should I miss my connection. Without going into boring details, the agents attention focused primarily on the issue of the separate bookings, that the delay was outside of BA’s control, ie weather and stating quite fundamentally that if I couldn’t make the Detroit flight before it closed then I would be treated as a no-show; BA would not assist with overnight accommodation (not that I asked – I had insurance) But how shoddy was that?
Frustrated at his unprovoked intransigence and resistance I decided to proceed into London and deal with the situation there if required. I tried to remain positive, being mindful that there was still a chance I’d make the connection.
Boarding for this 9:15am flight commenced at 9:45 and after 40 minutes or so the aircraft was moved off stand to a holding area at the auxiliary runway. The aircraft sat there until 1pm; in the meantime breakfast was served but this offered little distraction as time ticked by and my bloody pressure continued to climb. We finally arrived into LHR just after 2pm, approximately 3.5 hours late.
Thankfully at the flight connection centre my fortunes turned for the better. BA’s response was proactive, polite and reassuringly positive– the agent explained to me that he was going to try and get me on the last flight to ORD and onward travel to DTW but apologized in advance as to do this it was necessary to issue a new ticket and he wasn’t sure if this could be done in time. Bless him, it took almost twenty minutes to process the new ticket but as far as I was concerned he moved Heaven and Earth for me. Talk about chalk and cheese!
Seated in Club World, relaxed and finally I begun to enjoy traveling again. The service was impeccable from the moment I boarded. The FSD even put aside a vegetarian dish for me. The worries and woes of the morning’s calamities were put to rest and I finally in the holiday spirit.
Finally arrived into DTW the same day - at 11:35pm. In my book thats a result!
As for future excursions in Club, my soul is now for sale
[This message has been edited by GregM (edited Dec 11, 2003).]
Dec 11, 2003, 1:53 pm
#2
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: EDI
Programs: BA Silver / Bonyoy Platinum
Posts: 1,919
Now if I was sat in Club or F they could take all the time in the world before taking off but 3hrs in a short haul! Yuck!
I am surprised about the lack of support as you had 2 separate bookings? I would understand if you hadn't left much time to transfer but there are many reasons why we make 2 bookings. For example the other thread about WT+ ticket connections being put through as Business UK hence why I make 2 bookings.
Out of interest how many other folk originate journeys from EDI as there seem to be stack loads of us!
We need to have an EDI FT Meet!
I am surprised about the lack of support as you had 2 separate bookings? I would understand if you hadn't left much time to transfer but there are many reasons why we make 2 bookings. For example the other thread about WT+ ticket connections being put through as Business UK hence why I make 2 bookings.
Out of interest how many other folk originate journeys from EDI as there seem to be stack loads of us!
We need to have an EDI FT Meet!
Dec 11, 2003, 2:32 pm
#3
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Edinburgh UK
Programs: BA Silver, HHonours Gold, Mucci of Pucci, Oyster Card, Nectar Card, Father's Day Card
Posts: 9,372
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Aerotec:
Out of interest how many other folk originate journeys from EDI as there seem to be stack loads of us!
We need to have an EDI FT Meet!</font>
Out of interest how many other folk originate journeys from EDI as there seem to be stack loads of us!
We need to have an EDI FT Meet!</font>
Dec 11, 2003, 2:36 pm
#4
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,210
Despite my previous comments, I have really warmed to EDI's lounge, although you can usually find me sitting outside. At 5:30am, I am pretty easy to spot - the only gent without a pint in his hand!!
Greg
[This message has been edited by GregM (edited Dec 11, 2003).]
Greg
[This message has been edited by GregM (edited Dec 11, 2003).]
Dec 12, 2003, 6:10 am
#6
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: On the X26 bus to and from LHR
Programs: BA Blue. 19695 Lifetime TPs
Posts: 2,316
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Aerotec:
We need to have an EDI FT Meet!</font>
We need to have an EDI FT Meet!</font>
Dec 12, 2003, 9:45 am
#8
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: London. Edinburgh, Cornwall
Programs: BA GGL, British Midland Lifetime* Loser
Posts: 7,941
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">posted by Aerotec:We need to have an EDI FT Meet!</font>
Was thinking the other day it's about time I started thinking about a rematch of last year's event. Any thoughts from EDI regulars?
Dec 12, 2003, 1:21 pm
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,929
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Was thinking the other day it's about time I started thinking about a rematch of last year's event. Any thoughts from EDI regulars? </font>
Dec 12, 2003, 3:26 pm
#10
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Scotland
Programs: BA, BD, AF, LH, AA, EK, Hilton, ICHG, SPG
Posts: 1,500
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ajamieson:
Was thinking the other day it's about time I started thinking about a rematch of last year's event. Any thoughts from EDI regulars?</font>
Was thinking the other day it's about time I started thinking about a rematch of last year's event. Any thoughts from EDI regulars?</font>
I've just followed your link and read about the May 2003 EDI do. Sounds like an awesome weekend! Shame I had barely discovered FT at the time
If you're thinking of organising something along similar lines again, I would almost certainly be interested - always subject to being around at the time of course. (Lots of plans in place already
) I can't help thinking that something like a full weekend would be better done well into next year, though, from a weather / amount of daylight point of view. We want our visitors to be able to see the city!However I would also be up for a smaller-scale night out (i.e. drink and/or meal) with other EDI locals (or keen visitors!) on a much shorter timescale, if anyone's interested. Maybe something soon after the New Year, when all the Christmas do's are out of the way? Just an idea ...
[This message has been edited by Steady-EDI (edited Dec 12, 2003).]
Dec 14, 2003, 1:25 pm
#11
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Edinburgh UK
Programs: BA Silver, HHonours Gold, Mucci of Pucci, Oyster Card, Nectar Card, Father's Day Card
Posts: 9,372
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Steady-EDI:
However I would also be up for a smaller-scale night out (i.e. drink and/or meal) with other EDI locals (or keen visitors!) on a much shorter timescale, if anyone's interested. Maybe something soon after the New Year, when all the Christmas do's are out of the way? Just an idea ...
</font>
However I would also be up for a smaller-scale night out (i.e. drink and/or meal) with other EDI locals (or keen visitors!) on a much shorter timescale, if anyone's interested. Maybe something soon after the New Year, when all the Christmas do's are out of the way? Just an idea ...
</font>
I'm in the EC lounge at EDI now and have been on FT for the last 30 minutes so I guess no one else is on the delayed 20.15?
Dec 15, 2003, 2:34 am
#12
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Edinburgh
Programs: Still a lowly Blue with BA but inching towards Bronze. Managed to get to KLM Silver!
Posts: 4,308
The ranks of EDI based FT'ers continues to grow. With the exception of London we seem to have a highest membership in the UK. Even when I complete my move south at the end of January I'll still consider myself an EDI based FT'er!!!
Dec 15, 2003, 4:19 am
#13
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: back to my roots in Scotland!
Programs: Tamsin - what else is there to say?
Posts: 47,843
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Gaza:
The ranks of EDI based FT'ers continues to grow. With the exception of London we seem to have a highest membership in the UK. Even when I complete my move south at the end of January I'll still consider myself an EDI based FT'er!!!</font>
The ranks of EDI based FT'ers continues to grow. With the exception of London we seem to have a highest membership in the UK. Even when I complete my move south at the end of January I'll still consider myself an EDI based FT'er!!!</font>
Dec 15, 2003, 6:23 am
#14
Fontaine d'honneur du Flyertalk
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Morbihan, France
Programs: Reine des Muccis de Pucci; Foreign Elitist (according to others)
Posts: 19,164
As I'm sure you are bored with hearing me say, but does being an ex-Caledonian Girl give me any kind of entree into this highly exclusive Club.
I don't mind if you say "No", but my hairbrush has a mind of its own! Still no pain, no gain?
I don't mind if you say "No", but my hairbrush has a mind of its own! Still no pain, no gain?
Dec 15, 2003, 11:57 am
#15
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges and Environmentally Friendly Travel
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 22,210
Dearest Pucci,
You would be our most honoured guest. Your clever pun on entree has me thinking along the lines of a ceilidh event: a night of highland flings n hoorin' grand scran.
Burns night is just around the corner.
You would be our most honoured guest. Your clever pun on entree has me thinking along the lines of a ceilidh event: a night of highland flings n hoorin' grand scran.
Burns night is just around the corner.