MarthaT - as Nate says, I wouldn't worry too much about the BA strike, over 99% of their flights are operating normally. Naughty Paulywaul likes to rant against BA!

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Manofwealthandtaste
MarthaT - as Nate says, I wouldn't worry too much about the BA strike, over 99% of their flights are operating normally. Naughty Paulywaul likes to rant against BA!

And for good reason Mr Chris, because the extent to which they've buggered me about over the years beggars belief !!!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

I actually enjoy a good rant - especially someone else's (as long as it's not directed at me...). Good to vent.

I'm most likely going to just go for it with BA - might as well use up those avios points - but I'll be flying at least a day or 2 before the show so should be fine if there's any problems.

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MarthaTuesday
I actually enjoy a good rant - especially someone else's (as long as it's not directed at me...). Good to vent.

I'm most likely going to just go for it with BA - might as well use up those avios points - but I'll be flying at least a day or 2 before the show so should be fine if there's any problems.

This is the perfect thread for you then !!! ><

The trouble with BA is that in general, everything is fine as long as you're on the actual aeroplane. The problems start when for whatever reason, things don't go according to plan, and you have to defer to the dreaded 'customer services'. That's when they show their true colours ... a string of adjectives spring to mind. Belligerent, unfriendly, uncompromising, useless, unhelpful .... just think of others in the same vein and you'll have as good an understanding of what you'll have to deal with if ever you have the misfortune of having to refer to British (assh**e) Airways Customer Services !!!

I sincerely wish you never to have to deal with them, you wouldn't enjoy the experience !!!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

Yes folks, it's rant time ....but this time it's about British (they've gotten a lot worse by the way) f***ing Airways, and not scalpers (for a change).

Some of you poor b***ards out there will no doubt be considering flying with these cretins across the Atlantic for the RS 2019 shows. I strongly suggest you re-consider, avoid this airline like the plague. I flew them from London to Tirana/Albania on Tuesday, came back yesterday. S**t, absolute s**t ! The most disgusting and overpriced cup off tea and 'cheese n' mushroom' toastie ever from the onboard Marks n' Spencer food trolley, and on the return flight - all they had left was a handful of packets of shortbread biscuits and some potato chips !! Some f***ing 'food trolley' !!

How the once mighty have fallen !!

One despairs. They make motormouth Michael O Leary's Ryanair look like a 5 star luxury experience by comparison ...

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-02-09 14:00 by paulywaul.

Lennon and Yoko raise their fists in front of British Overseas Airways Corp. offices in New York on Fifth Avenue in Feb. 5, 1972.

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Toru A


Lennon and Yoko raise their fists in front of British Overseas Airways Corp. offices in New York on Fifth Avenue in Feb. 5, 1972.

Not the same airline. British Airways was formed 2 years later. A merger between BOAC & BEA.

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grzegorz67

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Toru A


Lennon and Yoko raise their fists in front of British Overseas Airways Corp. offices in New York on Fifth Avenue in Feb. 5, 1972.

Not the same airline. British Airways was formed 2 years later. A merger between BOAC & BEA.

OMG ... I remember them !!

BEA (British European Airlines) - and BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) !!

F**k, best not dwell on it, it reminds me of how bloody old I am !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

But anyway, back to the point of the thread ... stay SANE people, and AVOID British Airways. Sooner or later, they will reduce you to tears ...

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

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paulywaul

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grzegorz67

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Toru A


Lennon and Yoko raise their fists in front of British Overseas Airways Corp. offices in New York on Fifth Avenue in Feb. 5, 1972.

Not the same airline. British Airways was formed 2 years later. A merger between BOAC & BEA.

OMG ... I remember them !!

BEA (British European Airlines) - and BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) !!

F**k, best not dwell on it, it reminds me of how bloody old I am !!

And me, I flew on a BOAC 707 to Hong Kong as a six year old in 1966.................

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EddieByword

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paulywaul

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grzegorz67

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Toru A


Lennon and Yoko raise their fists in front of British Overseas Airways Corp. offices in New York on Fifth Avenue in Feb. 5, 1972.

Not the same airline. British Airways was formed 2 years later. A merger between BOAC & BEA.

OMG ... I remember them !!

BEA (British European Airlines) - and BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) !!

F**k, best not dwell on it, it reminds me of how bloody old I am !!

And me, I flew on a BOAC 707 to Hong Kong as a six year old in 1966.................

And I flew BEA (cannot remember what type of plane it would have been - something with propellers anyway) to the Canary Islands when I was 8 or 9 years old, so in 1964 !! Yikes - too long ago !

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

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paulywaul

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EddieByword

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paulywaul

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grzegorz67

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Toru A


Lennon and Yoko raise their fists in front of British Overseas Airways Corp. offices in New York on Fifth Avenue in Feb. 5, 1972.

Not the same airline. British Airways was formed 2 years later. A merger between BOAC & BEA.

OMG ... I remember them !!

BEA (British European Airlines) - and BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) !!

F**k, best not dwell on it, it reminds me of how bloody old I am !!

And me, I flew on a BOAC 707 to Hong Kong as a six year old in 1966.................

And I flew BEA (cannot remember what type of plane it would have been - something with propellers anyway) to the Canary Islands when I was 8 or 9 years old, so in 1964 !! Yikes - too long ago !

That would have been a Vickers Viscount or Vanguard. I grew up right underneath the landing flightpath for Glasgow Airport (a BEA Hub) in the 70s with the noise of them and their Trident jets. Back in the days when we actually built our own aeroplanes here. All bloody noisy aeroplanes they were too!

[www.google.pl]

They're at it again ....

Once upon a time "the world's favourite airline", but these days .... a sad joke of an airline !

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

[www.google.pl]

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

This will be resolved soon they won’t want to have too many more days losing money at the rate they are today.

Nate

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paulywaul
[www.google.pl]

It's all over the news here PaulyWaul. Unsurprisingly . I actually flew BA for the 1st time in 16 years last December, on my way back from Paul McCartney in Krakow the night before. They'd gone downhill massively since previously. Planes much more spartan inside and on board food for the price long since dropped. It was okay in as much as I was primed for what to expect and we were actually on time. But they've very clearly reduced their offering in an attempt to compete with the low cost airlines.

Unionized workers are a good thing and deserve support. It's annoying though that it's always pilot or railroad unions who make use of their potential for disruption. Imagine nurses or caretakers doing an all-out strike like that.

[www.google.co.uk]

Yes indeed folks, the UK's busiest airport once again goes to s**t, and the world's least favourite airline (headquartered at LHR Terminal #5) is as usual in the thick of it, and exhibiting its customary "zero customer service" !!

Utterly pathetic, and a national embarrassment !!

To anyone travelling in/out of UK for Hyde Park 2 on Sunday 3rd July: avoid London Heathrow if you can, and unless you absolutely adore (a) chaos (b) flight cancellations (c) lost luggage (d) s**t customer service - then also avoid British (motherf***ing) Airways !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

On 26 June, I wrote this letter. Today, as off 3 July , I still have no luggage, no reply to any email , and I have written 3 more since I wrote this. Since 26 June, I have attempted to calll daily, and been disconnected. I realise 6he travel industry is on chaos around thr wolrd , and I am sympathetic in many ways to those emmployees left to deal with the public. BUT YOU SHOULD NT BE SEELING TICKETS TO FOOLS LIKE ME IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE STAFF TO BACK IT UP! And the total reliance on APPS etc had dehumanzied the whole thing.I have had to spend over $2000 nz on a new CPAP machine, and and another $1000 to replace missing clothes.

Good Day,

Could you please forward this and bring it to the attention of Sean Doyle, Chairman at the office of the CEO ? I am sure he is too busY to be bothered with one person's problem , but maybe he should be aware of how the service of his company is failing. I am a 65 year old semi-retired physician born and bred a Yankee, living life now after decades in the Pacific as a Kiwi. Having spent so many years out on islands no one has heard of while maintaining friendships with people around the world, I am a fairly seasoned traveler. I have never had an experience like this last trip. I have a reference number,"XXXXXXXXXXXXX", that can provide al the details and numbers, I just want him to hear the human story, if there is any humanity left to the company.

I left Auckland on Cathay Pacific 20 June, business class to Hong Kong, Then flew Hong Kong to Amsterdam. There is where problems started, as incredibly hundreds of us cued into a T2-9 transfer gate that only had two gates working. After nearly 3 hours, I passed through, but my connection had long since left, a flight to London Heathrow . No problem I was assured, just go to the T6 desk. But of course that was not the correct desk according to people working there and I assume they were right because there was no record of me in their kiosk. Off to T5 where a woman from Air Canada informed me that yes the location was right, but no one from BA had been there all day. It went down hill from there

At one point information suggested I go get my bags , leave the airport , re enter the departure terminal and just buy a new ticket. Thank goodness, I didn't, I would have sacrificed all my return flights. After nearly 8 hours I am talking long distance to someone in NZ with Cathay Pacific who keeps insisting I talk to the non existent BA agent at the transfer desk. No one at the airport was of any help at all. Finally long distance Cathay Pacific says they will fix it all if I pay a $500 fine, and place me on your flight later that evening, but only if I can answer an email and pay via a link which I can't because of some weird Internet glitch. I am sent to the BA lounge to straighten it out, which is closed. I follow signs to another lounge that says there are no BA personal there, am walked by a kind security gaurd to an elevator that when I exit leaves me in a prohibited area and now I have border guards on my back. All the stress triggers an asthma attack I end up in the infirmary, where the nurse is compassionate thank goodness. A while later the Internet glitch is over I now have a flight. I am back out in arrival halls, still no BA personal, and no way to get a boarding pass because al the self help kiosks for BA are TURNED OFF, LEAVING NO WAY TO CONTACCT YOUR AIRLINE VIA EMPLOYEEE OR ELECTRONICS IN THE TRASNFER HALL.

I head to the gate, finally catch site of someone from BA, she has nothing to do with my flight, but at least she helps. She prints me a boarding pass. I ask about my luggage, she is honest and says all that she can do is send a request for Cathay Pacific to send things over. Though she repeats what is said earlier that if I was not on my scheduled flights, the bags would have been removed , they would not fly without me. I arrive in Heathrow, and I am directed to baggage claim area 6. After a while , I ask someone when no bags come through, they says , despite the signs, its area 4. I go there, nothing. I ask an information desk, she runs a check on my bags, says one is n the airport, and arrived 6 hours prior to me !! I asked her how, and she has no explanations, but suggests I walk to the end of the hall past area 11 and look to see if it is in ll the stacks of unclaimed luggage,. I find nothing, ask an agent, who says the computer must be wrong, nothing that started on Cathay Pacific has arrived all day. With nothing to loose i keep searching, at the end of a stack of luggage along the far wall under other bags I find one bag on my own,

Back at the only place to do it, I fill out all the forms and wait in line behind a lot of tired angry people for the one poor lady currently at a keyboard. I hear polite encouragement, leave the place assured Ill probably have my bag in 72 hours. I go to my freind's house, and since then over the last 6 days nothing has improved. In the luggage that is missing is my CPAP machine, without which I cannot sleep well secondary to Obstructive Sleep Apnea unless I am heavily medicated , all of which increases my risk of a cardiac arrhythmia at night. I dutifully check the website daily I was provided which gives me no information other than my bag is missing. Following all the links, I finally get to a telephone number to call, I have called multiple times per day, only to get disconnected multiple times never speaking to anyone. Finally early one morning I got through to someone who was so disdainful I asked to speak to their manager, only to have that request rebuffed because the manager would be of no more help. I was even questioned about why I had called, and when I said because I followed the links, was basically told it was a waste of my time and your agents, they could tell me nothing more than the computer! It was the first time I have ever asked for an employee name.

A second call a few days later did get me through to a more polite employee. But he too was powerless, explaining that BA was looking for 34 pieces of lost luggage from the same flight. THIRTY FOUR PIECES OF LOST LUGGAGE! I asked for advice, especially with my health concerns, and the missing CPAP machine. At least he was honest, and I do not want yo cause him a problem. But his best advise, buy a new machine, and if I have travel insurance make the claim there , I will have better luck and less hassles than going through your company.!! I am in Europe for 60 days, for comfort I wore sandals over, but now have no shoes. It's summer, all of my short pants are in the missing luggage. ON and on and on, and 6 days later, I have only been able to speak to one employee of your airline that seemed to give a fig and his advice was to use my travelers insurance rather than depend on you.

And while the problem no doubt started with the airport at Amsterdam, I cannot help but think that if one person had bothered to even turn on a self help kiosk , so much could have been avoided. More over, I am horrified by the idea of if I had listened to the employee that informed me no bag had arrived, the bag I eventually found might have been destroyed as abandoned, and seriously wonder if somehow that was not the fate of the the missing luggage. The implications are just staggering, no one from your airline at work, bags flying internationally without a passenger on board, no one knowing anything, and finally the inability to talk to anyone live as your company has carried this mobile app policy to an extreme. I can only imagine being a 67 year sheep shearer from Shannon New Zealand traveling with his burner phone on your airline.

IN my whole life I have not had an experience like this.

Sincerely,
Stephan Lebamoff


AND OH, I KNOW IT IS CHILDISH AND WRONG, AND HAT IS PROBABLY WHY I SMILE SO UCH WHEN I THINK OF IT, BUT THE AIRPORT IN AMSTERDAM HAS BEEN RENAMED FOREVER IN MY MIND AS SHIT HOLE INTERNATIONAL!!

British Airways took me safely to London from Oslo yesterday afternoon, leaving Oslo right on time at 5:05pm. 505 - 505 - 505 !!! My previous flight home from London to Oslo last Sunday with SAS was FIVE hours late, all messed up. Friends on a Norwegian flight from Oslo to London yesterday morning were canceled.

Air travel is a challenge these days. Heathrow was smooth incoming yesterday evening. Flying into London Saturday afternoon is just great, and Heathrow Express was not crowded at all.

It is great to be anywhere, but especially great to wake up in the right city on show day!

Bjornulf



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-07-03 11:32 by bv.

Landed on London City Airport on Thursday with BA. Best decision so far on this tour. No lines or ques. 5 minutes after landing I was on the DLR/Underground.
Travelling with hand luggage only sure makes life easier.

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The Worst.
Landed on London City Airport on Thursday with BA. Best decision so far on this tour. No lines or ques. 5 minutes after landing I was on the DLR/Underground.
Travelling with hand luggage only sure makes life easier.

That is the key, hand luggage only !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

In the end, I seem to have missed most (if not all) of the chaos and disruption about which I'd been reading and hearing so much ! I don't live in UK any longer, so for HP1 I flew in on EASYJET the day before the show, and left the day after. Had no problems, and also missed out on the effect of the train strike, because 24th June wasn't a strike day. My hotel was walking distance from HP. Then for HP2, flew in on 1st July, and left today 5th July. Also with EASYJET. No problems, either coming in or going out. A bit of a queue in security, but hey - when isn't there !!??

So all in all, pretty stress-free travel, given all the s**t I'd been reading in the papers in the days leading up to HP1.

Next one for me is Vienna 15th July, driving there and back. And finally, Berlin on 3rd August. Train there snd back. No more concerns about air travel .... thank heavens !!

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

[www.google.co.uk]

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

British Airways is to cancel more than 1,000 additional flights this summer from Heathrow and Gatwick as staff shortages continue to affect its operations, while refuelling staff at Heathrow have announced they will down tools later this month.

More than 100,000 travellers, including those planning to visit popular holiday destinations such as Málaga, Palma and Faro will be affected, although BA will primarily cut back routes with multiple daily departures.

And in the latest threat to the summer getaway, workers at Heathrow who refuel planes for 70 airlines including Virgin, KLM, Air France and Emirates have announced a 72-hour walkout on 21 July in protest at a three-year pay freeze.

And so on and so on .....

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]

The only times I have used British Airways, apart from emigrating to Australia as a 17 year old in 1969.
Got there via New York, San Francisco,Hawaii, Suva and Sydney for free and took 36 hours back then.
Back in the 80's and 90's there was a little known secret known as a courier ticket on BA and American Airlines back in the days before the internet when original documents were required by whoever, in North America and Hong Kong.
Small sealed pouch and just gave it in at an office at the arrival airport.

Had to be a specific day out and return, usually no longer than about 10 days.
£100 return to New York, Toronto and Miami I did on the East Coast, and Vancouver, San Francisco and Seattle £130 return, and Hong Kong about £150 return.
Had to report at the airport on the way home, and not one single time had to take anything back.
Had the offer of £200 return ticket to New York on Concorde, but dates weren't right for me.
Thought I would do it at a later date but courier tickets finished once the Internet took over with just about everything in life............ and that was it.

Must admit that British Airways were great back then on about twenty flights I did and superb service on the flights.

Has anyone else got really cheap flights like this, as I've never met anyone else who has?

I had BA both from Oslo to London, then further London to Amsterdam. For sure BA is in the same boat as all other airliners this post-pandemic days. My flight to A.dam was 1h late and it just got more and more late without any announcement except they said it took LOOOONG to clean the plane. So my total travel from London to Amsterdam was time non to 10pm on a flight that took 45 min wheels up to wheels down. Travel is not pleasant these days.

And this is from the news yesterday:

British Airways cancels 1,500 more flights (BBC)

British Airways has cancelled a further 1,500 flights, mostly for July.

The wave of cancellations made over the past weeks will affect tens of thousands hoping to jet off this summer from Heathrow and Gatwick.

The industry has been struggling with staff shortages as demand for air travel rebounds.

British Airways had already removed 10% of scheduled flights between April and October, but said that "regrettably" more reductions were needed.

A spokesperson from the airline, which is the UK's largest, said: "We took pre-emptive action earlier this year to reduce our summer schedule to provide customers with as much notice as possible about any changes to their travel plans.

"As the entire aviation industry continues to face into the most challenging period in its history, regrettably it has become necessary to make some further reductions."

Bjornulf

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paulywaul
British Airways is to cancel more than 1,000 additional flights this summer from Heathrow and Gatwick as staff shortages continue to affect its operations, while refuelling staff at Heathrow have announced they will down tools later this month.

More than 100,000 travellers, including those planning to visit popular holiday destinations such as Málaga, Palma and Faro will be affected, although BA will primarily cut back routes with multiple daily departures.

And in the latest threat to the summer getaway, workers at Heathrow who refuel planes for 70 airlines including Virgin, KLM, Air France and Emirates have announced a 72-hour walkout on 21 July in protest at a three-year pay freeze.

And so on and so on .....

In fairness, if I was given a 3 year pay freeze I think I'd be striking. My current employer's increases have lagged inflation for years and if they do the same then I'll be telling them to ram it.

The airline industry has particular problems. They didn't look after their staff well at all in the pandemic downturn, getting rid of them in their droves. Those chickens have come home to roost. Many have found work in other industries and don't want to return. The issue is likely to drag on for years until they can attract enough staff. In the meantime, flying looks likely to be a ball-ache so I plan not to do any for a long time. I have 2 more Stones shows lined up for this tour - Lyon and Paris and I'm getting the train to both.

BA have been awaful for years, especially for European flights. I do a lot of work-related travel and I am avoiding BA and Heathrow as much as I can.

Given BA (and other airlines) behaviour towards their staff during covid, I have sympathy for the staff going to strike. I would do the same.

British Airways cancels another 10,300 flights over summer

Cuts come on top of 16,000 cancellations announced in May

By
Helen Cahill
6 July 2022 @ 6:13pm

British Airways has cancelled another 10,300 flights in a blow for summer holidaymakers.

The airline said it had pushed forward with the cancellation of thousands of short-haul flights that were scheduled to run from the start of August until the end of October as it battles against low staffing levels.

The announcement is in addition to 16,000 flight cancellations revealed by the company in May.

British Airways and other airlines have all been forced to cut the number of flights they are running over the peak travel season after struggling to restaff their operations to keep up with a surge in demand when pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary has declared that British people don't want to be baggage handlers, while other executives have warned about delays getting staff through the proper approvals processes.

A British Airways spokesman said: "The whole aviation industry continues to face into significant challenges and we're completely focussed on building resilience into our operation to give customers the certainty they deserve.

"While most of our flights are unaffected and the majority of customers will get away as planned, we don't underestimate the impact this will have and we're doing everything we can to get their travel plans back on track."

British Airways will contact affected customers to ask them to rebook their flights or accept a refund.

Travellers are also facing a huge uptick in prices this year after a low level of demand saw prices fall substantially in the pandemic.

Airlines analysts have said Ryanair is one of the few operators able to avoid the summer cancellations because it had a substantial cash pile leading into the pandemic.

Meanwhile, EasyJet's chief operating officer stepped down this week as the company was rocked by strikes in Spain and was forced to cancel around 10,000 flights over the summer period.

[ I want to shout, but I can hardly speak ]