I need an update on Kahoosier’s bag!

Quote
SomeTorontoGirl
I need an update on Kahoosier’s bag!

British Airways lost every bag on our flight – ruining dozens of holidays
A reader's trip to Corsica was ruined when their bags were mislaid – and BA failed to offer compensation or assistance

This is the headline from an article in today's Daily Telegraph .... for those of you who have a subscription & can read it !!

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



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-07-11 15:41 by paulywaul.

[www.telegraph.co.uk]

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

April 22nd 2022 - Daily Telegraph

British Airways has become a national humiliation
Turning the airline from a laughing stock into a national champion feels like an impossible journey

At the beginning of the year, British Airways boss Sean Doyle made a bold, and many would say, long overdue pledge: 2022 would be the year that he restored the airline’s reputation for premium service.

In a video address to 30,000 employees, Doyle said he wanted customers to “come off a British Airways flight and talk about it as if it’s something different”.

Well, the former Aer Lingus chief has certainly got his wish, though sadly for all the wrong reasons. Thousands of customers haven’t been able to get on a BA flight at all recently, while many of those that have speak of a thoroughly miserable experience.

BA seems to have gone backwards this year, quite the achievement for an airline that tumbled down the rankings long ago. In the last few weeks alone, Britain’s flag carrier has lurched from crisis to crisis but it’s an all-too-familiar pattern.

The latest shocker came on Friday. Having already ruined Easter for many when it cancelled 300 flights over the bank holiday weekend, BA has axed a slew of summer flights including to Miami, one of the most popular destinations for British tourists.

Earlier in the week, it had shelved 112 flights to European and other Mediterranean destinations, wrecking the travel plans of 10,000 passengers, on top of 96 flights that were scrapped on Tuesday.

As of mid-April, BA had reportedly ditched more than 1,200 flights since the turn of the year, equivalent to roughly one in 20 scheduled. Its actions give the impression of a company beset by chaos, leaving Doyle’s plans looking like a pipedream.

Admittedly, some of the problems the airline is battling are outside of its control. Staffing is a major issue across the entire industry. Tens of thousands were sacked when airlines were grounded during the pandemic. Executives also blame confusing Covid paperwork for delays.

The pandemic was cruel to the airline industry, particularly in the UK. European and US airlines were propped up by generous state aid but BA and its domestic rivals were left to fend for themselves, cutting operations to the bone.

Yet, so many of BA’s problems are self-inflicted. Staff shortages should have been anticipated. Paperwork could be made more easy to understand. Airline executives had months to prepare for the rebound.

The pandemic doesn’t explain the litany of IT blowouts that have plagued the business seemingly forever. Time and again, computer systems have failed, the website has crashed, or its mobile app has not been up to the job. The damage to its reputation immeasurable.

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

So, to anyone from UK travelling to the remaining Stones shows in Europe/Scandinavia, do not fly with these a**holes !!

Other airlines, train, bus, cart n' f***ing horse, walk, swim .... just do not even think about these motherf***ers !!

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

[www.thesun.co.uk]

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

Daily Telegraph - Tuesday 12 July

Heathrow cancels 1,000 summer flights but says staff 'doing their very best'
Airport caps passenger numbers as it continues to experience chronic staff shortages

Heathrow is forcing airlines to cancel more than 1,000 flights this summer as it grapples with chronic staff shortages.

The airport has set a cap of 100,000 people per day allowed to fly from today until Sept 11.

It follows a similar move earlier this summer by Gatwick to cap the number of flights it can operate.

John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow chief executive said: “New colleagues are learning fast but are not yet up to full speed. However, there are some critical functions in the airport which are still significantly under-resourced, in particular ground handlers, who are contracted by airlines to provide check-in staff, load and unload bags and turnaround aircraft.

“They are doing the very best they can with the resources available and we are giving them as much support as possible, but this is a significant constraint to the airport's overall capacity.”

As revealed by The Telegraph earlier this month, airlines were encouraged to cancel flights over the summer after ministers suspended strict rules governing take-off and landing slots.

Despite a so-called “amnesty” on slots, Heathrow said airlines were currently forecast to run 104,000 seats a day over summer - 4,000 more than than the airport could manage.

Mr Holland-Kaye added: “Over the past few weeks, as departing passenger numbers have regularly exceeded 100,000 a day, we have started to see periods when service drops to a level that is not acceptable: long queue times, delays for passengers requiring assistance, bags not travelling with passengers or arriving late, low punctuality and last-minute cancellations.

"This is due to a combination of reduced arrivals punctuality (as a result of delays at other airports and in European airspace) and increased passenger numbers starting to exceed the combined capacity of airlines, airline ground handlers and the airport.

“Our colleagues are going above and beyond to get as many passengers away as possible, but we cannot put them at risk for their own safety and wellbeing.”

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

The Guardian - 14 July 2022

UK government issues ultimatum to Heathrow CEO over flight disruption

John Holland-Kaye has until midday on Friday to assure ministers the airport has sufficient security workers and to assist disabled passengers

Ministers have issued an ultimatum to the chief executive of Heathrow, calling on him to provide a plan to resolve the airport’s staffing problems, it has been reported.

John Holland-Kaye has until midday on Friday to assure ministers that the airport has sufficient workers for security screening and to assist disabled passengers, according to a letter from the Department for Transport’s (DfT) director general for aviation, maritime and security and the chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) seen by the Daily Telegraph.

The airport boss has also been asked to report back with a “credible and resilient capacity recovery plan for the next six months”.

Rannia Leontaridi, a civil servant in the DfT, and Richard Moriarty, the chief executive of the CAA, wrote: “Heathrow and the airlines that use your airport must be assured, and be able to assure us, that you have in place a plan that can deliver a positive passenger experience through allowing as many people as possible to travel, without too much disruption and queues, and in particular to avoid significant numbers of short-notice and on-the-day cancellations.

“The Government and the CAA are concerned that current resourcing plans are not delivering this outcome.”

The ultimatum comes as Emirates defied Heathrow’s demand that airlines cut summer flights, saying it would continue to operate its planned schedule and accusing the London airport of fomenting “airmageddon”.

The Gulf carrier said that the airport’s request, made in an attempt to ease travel disruption, was “entirely unreasonable and unacceptable”. In a blistering statement, the airline instead pointed the finger at Heathrow management’s “incompetence and non-action” in failing to prepare for the rebound in flying after coronavirus travel restrictions were lifted.

Heathrow announced on Tuesday that it was capping daily passenger numbers at 100,000 over the summer and telling airlines to stop selling tickets for the peak season. The move was designed to avoid repeats of the chaotic scenes at airports around country at Easter and half-term, caused by soaring demand for travel at a time of staff shortages.

Apologising to those affected, Heathrow said on Tuesday that the passenger cap would mean some summer flights would either be moved to another day or airport or cancelled altogether.

Airlines have already slashed thousands of flights from their summer schedules after UK aviation authorities offered a temporary “slot amnesty”, allowing airlines to escape forfeiting valuable takeoff and landing slots if they did not use them this year. The government said the move would benefit travellers by encouraging carriers to limit the number of last-minute cancellations.

Heathrow said the cuts did not go far enough, but Emirates – which operates six daily return flights between Britain’s busiest airport and Dubai, and flies fleets of A380 superjumbos that cannot be used at smaller airports – said it was “highly regrettable” that Heathrow gave it 36 hours on Wednesday to comply with capacity reductions “of a figure that appears to be plucked from thin air”.

The airline said: “Their communications not only dictated the specific flights on which we should throw out paying passengers, but also threatened legal action for non-compliance.”

Surging demand for summer travel after two years of Covid-19 restrictions has swamped airlines and airports in Europe, which are short-staffed after many pilots, cabin crew, check-in workers and baggage handlers were made redundant. That has left passengers facing last-minute cancellations, lengthy delays, lost luggage or long waits for bags.

Heathrow blames a shortage of ground staff, who are contracted by airlines to check in passengers, load and unload bags, and prepare aircraft for their next journeys.

Emirates, however, said its ground-handling and catering services are owned by the airline’s parent company and “are fully ready and capable of handling our flights”. The blame instead lies with the airport’s “central services and systems”, it said.

The airline accused Heathrow’s management of being “cavalier” about passengers and airlines, with signs of a rebound in travel having been apparent for months.

Emirates said that while it had prepared for the recovery, including by rehiring and training 1,000 pilots in the past year, Heathrow had failed to act, plan or invest.

“Now, faced with an ‘airmageddon’ situation due to their incompetence and non-action, they are pushing the entire burden of costs and the scramble to sort the mess to airlines and travellers,” the statement said.

Emirates urged London Heathrow’s shareholders – largely sovereign wealth funds, including Qatar – to “scrutinise the decisions of the management team”, piling the pressure on Holland-Kaye.

Heathrow said it had been asking airlines for months to help draw up a plan to solve their staffing challenges, “but no clear plans were forthcoming, and with each passing day the problem got worse”.

The airport said in response to the Emirates statement: “We had no choice but to take the difficult decision to impose a capacity cap designed to give passengers a better, more reliable journey and to keep everyone working at the airport safe.

“It would be disappointing if instead of working together, any airline would want to put profit ahead of a safe and reliable passenger journey.”

Rebooking so many potentially affected passengers is impossible because all flights for the next few weeks are full, including at other London airports and on alternative airlines, Emirates said. Moving some operations to other UK airports at short notice was also unrealistic, it added.

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

Not BA related but Heathrow in general. I was flying AMS->LHR->SFO. I was most worried about Schipol but it was a breeze. I have sky priority access through Delta and Delta/Virgin/KLM/Air France are aligned. Check in took 15 minutes because I picked the wrong line and the person in front had a ticket issue. Security took 10 minutes since we had a seperate line and passport control was 2 minutes. After walking I was in my assigned KLM lounge in under an hour. Only issue was our gate was a bus gate so we boarded a bus on time but were kept in the bus 15 minutes until some woman in a black burqa, her servant and security were driven in a private car to board first. People on the bus were ready to revolt.

We land at Heathrow after waiting almost as long as our flight for ground crews to allow us to disembark. Doors open and we walk to the transfers lane and first there is one person checking passports. Line takes 15 minutes. Then we have to go through bag inspection again. Luckily I had hours to connect but most did not. The line is very long (500 people) and 2 lanes are open out of 10. The security people were all in a foul mood yelling at people and barking orders that would be extreme even for US TSA staff. There was a couple right in front of me that had a tight connection and it was the last flight of the day. They wouldn't let them cut the line until it was obvious they would miss their flight and then they were allowed to move up. I had a bottle of water bought inside security at Schipol but that wasn't allowed so I chugged it since I was pouring sweat. Between computers, recording gear, backpack and carry on with souvenirs I needed 4 bins. The line took 45 minutes and the secondary screening bags were backing up into the scanner with one person checking. The woman 2 people in front was rushing to catch a flight and wanted to leave toiletries that were flagged behind to run to catch her flight but he wouldn't let her. After her the inspector went on break and got a cup of water. He then said someone else would take over. We watched the new guy spend 5 minutes putting his gloves on. By now our lane has come to a complete stop. This guy had some gifts for his wife from Victoria Secret including a small bottle of wrapped perfume and lingerie. It was all unwrapped and inspected. He was also lectured on not following rules. I was next. The electronics was barely looked at but all the food items were scrutinized. Each ball of gouda was checked for explosives. Each gift box of Belgian Chocolate was opened and a small jar of nut butter that I had with me and carried out of SFO and AMS caught his eye. It was right at the allowable size. I asked why he was taking it and he said because it was spreadable. All the other disallowed stuff was thrown away but this was put aside. I think the motherf^cker wanted to take it for himself. All in all it took 1 hr 45 mins from touchdown until I got past security. Luckily the staff at Virgin are amazing. I checked in and asked about an upgrade and was able to go from economy to business for $475. Considering I was on miles this was an easy call. Got to the Virgin lounge and talked with a woman who said the bag inspection was only done if there was a security threat or someone had an agenda. When it was time to board we were delayed another hour as there was a connecting flight that had 50 passengers. After 30 minutes they said because of security we were leaving them behind but needed to wait until ground crew could remove their bags. What a complete mess. If things don't improve next years trip is to Schipol and trains to UK.

Thanks. That's why I turned down an opportunity to fly into Heathrow, even though it was less expensive than going to Schiphol.

~"Love is Strong"~

Tonight our neighbours got an email from BA cancelling their flight to Sardinia 5 minutes before the cab arrived to take them to Heathrow...

Quote
johnnythunders
Tonight our neighbours got an email from BA cancelling their flight to Sardinia 5 minutes before the cab arrived to take them to Heathrow...

I think the airline should have to refund you double what you paid for your ticket, up to a week before, and triple, within 24 hours.

Quote
daspyknows
Not BA related but Heathrow in general. I was flying AMS->LHR->SFO. I was most worried about Schipol but it was a breeze. I have sky priority access through Delta and Delta/Virgin/KLM/Air France are aligned. Check in took 15 minutes because I picked the wrong line and the person in front had a ticket issue. Security took 10 minutes since we had a seperate line and passport control was 2 minutes. After walking I was in my assigned KLM lounge in under an hour. Only issue was our gate was a bus gate so we boarded a bus on time but were kept in the bus 15 minutes until some woman in a black burqa, her servant and security were driven in a private car to board first. People on the bus were ready to revolt.

We land at Heathrow after waiting almost as long as our flight for ground crews to allow us to disembark. Doors open and we walk to the transfers lane and first there is one person checking passports. Line takes 15 minutes. Then we have to go through bag inspection again. Luckily I had hours to connect but most did not. The line is very long (500 people) and 2 lanes are open out of 10. The security people were all in a foul mood yelling at people and barking orders that would be extreme even for US TSA staff. There was a couple right in front of me that had a tight connection and it was the last flight of the day. They wouldn't let them cut the line until it was obvious they would miss their flight and then they were allowed to move up. I had a bottle of water bought inside security at Schipol but that wasn't allowed so I chugged it since I was pouring sweat. Between computers, recording gear, backpack and carry on with souvenirs I needed 4 bins. The line took 45 minutes and the secondary screening bags were backing up into the scanner with one person checking. The woman 2 people in front was rushing to catch a flight and wanted to leave toiletries that were flagged behind to run to catch her flight but he wouldn't let her. After her the inspector went on break and got a cup of water. He then said someone else would take over. We watched the new guy spend 5 minutes putting his gloves on. By now our lane has come to a complete stop. This guy had some gifts for his wife from Victoria Secret including a small bottle of wrapped perfume and lingerie. It was all unwrapped and inspected. He was also lectured on not following rules. I was next. The electronics was barely looked at but all the food items were scrutinized. Each ball of gouda was checked for explosives. Each gift box of Belgian Chocolate was opened and a small jar of nut butter that I had with me and carried out of SFO and AMS caught his eye. It was right at the allowable size. I asked why he was taking it and he said because it was spreadable. All the other disallowed stuff was thrown away but this was put aside. I think the motherf^cker wanted to take it for himself. All in all it took 1 hr 45 mins from touchdown until I got past security. Luckily the staff at Virgin are amazing. I checked in and asked about an upgrade and was able to go from economy to business for $475. Considering I was on miles this was an easy call. Got to the Virgin lounge and talked with a woman who said the bag inspection was only done if there was a security threat or someone had an agenda. When it was time to board we were delayed another hour as there was a connecting flight that had 50 passengers. After 30 minutes they said because of security we were leaving them behind but needed to wait until ground crew could remove their bags. What a complete mess. If things don't improve next years trip is to Schipol and trains to UK.

I don't know what is more disgusting, your self pity or the bragging.

^ go suck it dude.

That's your speciality. Truth hurts sometimes, huh?

Your jealousy doesn't hurt.

From the Independent:

British Airways passengers get email mid-flight cancelling next leg

‘Please call to book new flight’ passengers told while over the Atlantic

British Airways passengers have complained that the airline cancelled the second leg of their journey while they were already on the first flight travelling to catch it.
Three customers say that they received a cancellation email while still in mid-air, but only received it when back online after landing - just two hours before they were due to take the cancelled flight.
To make matters worse, the airline then lost their luggage, leaving them to travel on to their destination without essential belongings.

Full story: BA

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Quote
johnnythunders
Tonight our neighbours got an email from BA cancelling their flight to Sardinia 5 minutes before the cab arrived to take them to Heathrow...

That's a very "BA" form of behaviour, regrettably. And yet they seem to think nothing of it ...

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

Quote
Hairball
From the Independent:

British Airways passengers get email mid-flight cancelling next leg

‘Please call to book new flight’ passengers told while over the Atlantic

British Airways passengers have complained that the airline cancelled the second leg of their journey while they were already on the first flight travelling to catch it.
Three customers say that they received a cancellation email while still in mid-air, but only received it when back online after landing - just two hours before they were due to take the cancelled flight.
To make matters worse, the airline then lost their luggage, leaving them to travel on to their destination without essential belongings.

Full story: BA

Extraordinary, utterly extraordinary. And there was lil' ole me thinking that in my time, I'd experienced about the worst in customer service that any airline could ever offer ? But some of these current stories of passenger experience make mine of old look like nothing by comparison !!

Jeez !!

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

[www.theguardian.com]

It gets better and better ..... (NOT) !!

British Airways axes 10,000 more flights to and from Heathrow

Airline’s winter short-haul schedule is cut by 8% as airport continues to struggle with staffing problems

British Airways has announced another round of cancellations, axing 10,000 flights to and from Heathrow until the end of March next year as it adapts to the persistent staff shortages that have hit aviation.

The carrier’s decision to shrink its short-haul timetable by 8% comes after the London airport extended the summer’s 100,000 daily cap on passenger numbers by another six weeks until the end of October and asked airlines to sell fewer flights.

Heathrow’s plea came against the backdrop of an arduous post-Covid recovery in which it has struggled to find the staff to meet returning demand from business travellers and tourists, leading to chaos and long queues over Easter, spring half-term and into early summer.

BA, the airport’s largest operator, has already cut tens of thousands of flights over the summer in an attempt to ease the pressure caused by the staffing problems faced by airports and the airline itself.

It also suspended ticket sales on short-haul flights from Heathrow earlier this month as it recalibrated its expectations for the number of planes needed in light of Heathrow’s capacity cap.
The carrier, which is owned by International Airlines Group, said on Monday that it needed to add more cancellations to its roster, continuing a trend that began in May and has been gathering pace as airlines and airports struggle with staff shortages, causing chaos at check-in and baggage services.

BA said that more than 600 return flights to and from Heathrow would be cancelled to 29 October, while the winter schedule, which runs until the end of March, would be cut by 8%.

It said the impact would be “minimal” because there would be alternative same-day flights available on most of the routes affected, but some cancellations would be unavoidable.

“While the vast majority of our customers will travel as planned and we’re protecting key holiday destinations over half-term, we will need to make some further cancellations up to the end of October,” a spokesperson for BA said.

“In addition, we’re giving customers travelling with us this winter notice of some adjustments to our schedule, which will include consolidating some of our short-haul flights to destinations with multiple services. We’ll be offering customers affected by any of these changes an alternative flight with British Airways or another airline or the option of a refund.”

The government has made it easier for airlines to cut their capacity via the introduction of a “slot amnesty”, announced last month. That has allowed BA and others to reduce their operations this year without forfeiting the right to valuable landing slots at Heathrow and other busy airports, which normally have a “use it or lose it” rule.

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

While I've had horrible experiences just like all of you (I've spent 6 nights in airports over my 45 travel years), just remember what it was like when everyone on BA **smoked**. Even a first class "non-smoking" seat was useless. That one thought alone gets me through most travel headaches. And yes I avoid BA.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022-08-29 03:14 by tommyturbo76.