Smelly Passengers

The Independent published this rather interesting item today:

"British Airways staff have criticised passengers as "smelly and annoying" and condemned the opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5 as a disaster.

According to comments on a Facebook page created by "London Gatwick Ground Staff", their biggest hate is travellers who put boarding passes in their mouths before handing them over at the departure gate.

One staff member criticises smelly passengers and celebrity fliers, while another vents his anger at Americans.

The postings on the social networking site, which is a closed group that only BA staff can join after being vetted by the organisers, include one by an apparent employee called "Deepa", who moans (complete with vernacular grammar and spellings): "They ask which gate with their stupid American accent – aaargggh!! Its soooo annoying!!!!" Another member of staff, named as "Suely", complains about "smelly passengers" and "snotty" celebrities.

The site also lampoons the chaotic opening of Terminal 5 (T5) in March.

It contains a link to a game in which Willie Walsh, BA's chief executive, is shown struggling with the baggage system at Terminal 5 and being hit by a succession of trolleys.

More than 36,000 passengers were hit by "multiple problems" on T5's day of opening. Flights were cancelled, massive queues built up and 23,000 bags had to be sorted by hand after the long-awaited opening of the £4.3bn terminal descended into chaos.

Disillusioned BA staff have also uploaded a video of a song containing the lyrics: "You can shove this terminal up your arse."

The revelations came two weeks after 13 Virgin Atlantic staff were sacked after describing their passengers as "Chavs" on their Facebook page. BA has launched an investigation into the postings. A spokesman refused to discuss whether disciplinary action would be taken. He said: "We will be talking to the individuals concerned about their disappointing and unwise comments, which are totally unrepresentative of the vast number of hard working ground staff we employ at Gatwick."

A scathing report by MPs today chimes with some of the BA employees' views, concluding that a catalogue of blunders turned T5's opening into a "national embarrassment".

The Commons transport select committee put the blame jointly on British Airways and on the airport operator BAA, which it said should be stripped of its monopoly over airports in the South of England.

It said: "What should have been an occasion of national pride was in fact an occasion of national embarrassment. When the baggage system failed, luggage piled up to such an extent that it was transported by road to be sorted off-site. According to BA, 23,205 bags required manual sorting before being returned to their owners."

The MPs blamed the shambles on inadequate communication between BA and BAA and poor staff training by BA. Louise Ellman, the committee's chairman, said: "We were struck by how much 'hoping for the best' BAA had engaged in prior to the opening of T5.

"We are glad BAA and BA have now taken measures to improve their communications but it is deeply regrettable these steps were not taken before the opening."

Given the credit crunch, the lousy first few weeks of T5 and BA's ongoing issues wrt late/cancelled flights and lost bags I doubt that the staff will have too many passengers ("smelly" or otherwise) to worry about/be annoyed by in the future.

You're Fired

My commiserations to the two senior managers of BA, Gareth Kirkwood, director of operations at BA, and David Noyes, head of customer relations, who were fired yesterday by BA.

Their crime?

Seemingly they are being blamed for the T5 fiasco.

This is somewhat ironic given that Willie Walsh publicly said that he took full responsibility for the worst corporate pr, customer relations and logistics disaster in living memory.

What is particularly disturbing is that both men had each spent over 20 years in BA. Long service does not in itself mean that someone is particularly skilled at their job. However, it indicates that they should at least be reasonably competent at the internal politics.

Given this, is it really the case that they could have been solely responsible for this cock up of gargantuan proportions?

Surely other members of the board had some "mild interest" in the plans for the opening of T5?

Wouldn't Walsh, and the other members of the board, have gone through the plans with them?

Does BA, by sacking these two men, mean to imply that they formulated the T5 plans alone, off their own bat without any form of discussion or scrutiny from the board?

What an unusual way to run a company!

The other interesting point to emerge from the sacking is that their two roles will be merged into one "Chief Operating Officer". Customer Relations and Operations are normally two entirely separate functions in large organisations, is this combining of roles entirely wise?

Whilst the new incumbent is head hunted, Willie Walsh will take on the role.

Does this mean that everything is now fine at T5?

The reaction from the insurance companies would indicate not, they are refusing to insure baggage passing through T5.

BA are staring into the abyss, one more foul up and others will go.

Live From Five Epilogue

I see my little journey is featured in The Times.

I am pleased to say that BA managed to get both myself and my baggage to my destination at the same time. I am thankful for small mercies.

However, the plane took off 70 minutes late.

The hapless passengers had to stand in the enclosed "gang plank" waiting to board the plane for around 7 minutes. Quite why we were checked through the gate, if the plane wasn't ready for boarding, is not clear.

On taking a walk around T5, and waiting at the gate to board, two thoughts occured to me about the design of T5:

1 The acoustics are lousy, the announcements made by our "gatekeepers" were inaudible, even though I was only a few feet away.

2 The lack of passengers in T5, that I commented on yesterday, is not just due to people taking their business elsewhere but the fact that long haul flights are currently not using T5. When they are phased in, I doubt that the T5 "shopping mall" (it isn't really an airport) will be a very pleasant place to use.

BA Compromised

Willie Walsh admitted to the Transport Committee on Wednesday that BA had compromised on testing the baggage system.

He is quoted in the Times as saying:

"We believed that, while there were known risks, the opening would be successful.

We didn't supply staff with sufficient training and familiarisation. If we did it again, we would do things differently."

BA chose to open T5 then, knowing the risks, because the cost of delay would have far exceeded any costs involved in compensating passengers for a screw up. The negative impact on the reputation of BA, and indeed of the country, was ignored by BA.

It seems to me that, at the very least, BA should remove the word "British" from its name/logo; so as to reduce the damaging impact that its poor reputation has on our country.

BAA, during the same hearing, managed to show the world that they are truly useless as well.

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews said:

"I have not yet made the time available to find out who knew what when."

With Walsh and Matthews left to run the show, as demonstrated by their attitude, it is hardly surprising that T5 is a shambles.

It should be noted that BA still do not have the confidence in T5 to move their long haul flights there yet.

Walsh To Go - Eventually

Reuters report that British Airways (BA) is seeking to fill a new role of chief operations officer to replace two executives who "quit" in the wake of the Heathrow Terminal 5 fiasco.

Reuters note that the BA spokeswoman "declined to confirm reports in the Observer and Independent newspaper that a headhunter instructed by BA had been told to find a recruit who could be groomed to take over from BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh.

'It would be premature to say that,' the spokeswoman said".

In other news, to cheer up the long suffering passengers waiting at departure gates for their delayed BA flights, asap reports that according to the Association of European Airlines, British Airways has accumulated a record 43% of all its short and medium haul flights as delayed.

In 2007, the percentage of delayed BA flights was 29%.

This year's results place BA bottom in comparison with the 29 European carriers which have submitted statistics. As you can see from this site, I have certainly experienced quite a number of delays myself with BA.

BA's long haul flights were also showing the same level of delay, a decrease in efficiency from the same period last year.

Allitalia, Air France and Iberia manage to maintain 80% efficiency.

Why such a lousy performance by BA?

Seemingly T5 Heathrow has had a lot to do with it!

Given that Mark Bullock (Managing Director of BAA Heathrow) is leaving, following the T5 shambles (last week, MPs said the T5 fiasco had "made a fool out of the country" and called for an explanation), why does Willie Walsh still remain in his post?

BA Postpones Full Roll Out To T5

BA's ongoing PR, customer relations and logistics catastrophe wrt Terminal 5 Heathrow continues apace.

British Airways has scrapped plans to move its long-haul operations to Terminal 5 at the end of this month.

BA say that they want to "iron out" the problems at T5, before completing the transfer of flights. They expect to move their long-haul flights in June 2008.

Given the shambles so far, this decision is probably very wise.

However, other airlines are fuming.

Nigel Turner, chief executive of bmi, said that bmi was given only 30 minutes' notice of the decision.

"It is an absolutely outrageous announcement and done with no thought, consideration or consultation of any other airline other than BA.

The sequence of moves affects over 50 airlines, including bmi, at Heathrow. The programme and timescale of changes was agreed in joint consultation with all airlines that are now geared up to undertake the moves as agreed."

BA may well face legal action over this last minute decision, which shows that they have no confidence in the new terminal.

A complete mess from start to finish.

How is it that the board of BA continues to remain in place?

The "Customer Experience"

BA wrote to myself and other executive club members on Friday to tell us that they they will be phasing the move of long haul flights to T5.

"The decision to move the remaining long haul flights into Terminal 5, in a phased approach, has been taken to ensure we can deliver the high standards of customer experience we promised our customers."

If only they had thought of the "customer experience" before they opened T5!

Free Airmiles

BA have launched a great new airmiles giveaway programme, where lucky travellers have the chance to win thousands of free airmiles.

Is there a catch?

Yes.

You have to have flown with BA via Terminal 5, not exactly a pleasant prospect in itself, and have suffered some form of inconvenience (eg loss of baggage).

The Daily Mail reports that some customers have been given an extra 10,000 BA Miles for relatively minor complaints, such as being denied an aisle seat.

The Daily Mail quotes an email from BA Customer Relations:

"We have had a high number of letters from our customers recently and we are concerned that we are keeping our customers waiting for a response."

It is reported that even Willie Walsh, who never responds personally to customer complaints, has set aside time to "personally review a significant number of customer letters and emails. Improvements happen as a result".

Needless to say, no matter how many millions of miles BA giveaway, if they can't sort out T5 they will have no customers left.

The good news for BA is that I will be testing out T5 next week, and look forward to blogging live from the terminal.

Live From Five

Here I am "live" at Heathrow T5.

Heathrow was today dubbed as the worst airport in Europe by American Airlines.

Surprisingly my check in was cock up free (touch wood my bag emerges at my destination airport), security was queue free and the BA lounge is an improvement on their old lounge in terminal 3.

There is one issue, that is great for me, but not so great for BA.

There are very few passengers here; none at check in, two at security and very few in the lounge.

It would seem that the recent problems with T5, and BA's handling of them, have driven BA's passengers away.

Update

My mistake for being too upbeat, I see that my flight has now been delayed by 50 minutes!

Some Are More Equal Than Others

Those of us who have to endure flying BA know that when things go wrong, BA tends to treat all of its customers in pretty much the same way:

Shabbily!

However, I am pleased to report that at least one person, who suffered baggage loss at T5 the other week was treated rather well.

Kate Moss received an instant compensation payment of £10K, after BA lost eight of her suitcases at T5.

Will BA be paying the same amount to all the other passengers whose baggage they have lost?

Answers on a postcard to Mr W Walsh!

Warnings Not Heeded

The Telegraph reports that MPs were told that British Airways and airport operators were warned by staff about the impending chaos at Terminal 5, but did nothing to avert the crisis.

The Guardian reports that 900 bags a day, belonging to passengers transferring between planes at T5, are still being lost.

Sahreholder Grilling

Shareholders finally have their chance today to quiz BA executives, including Willie Walsh, about the Heathrow Terminal 5 (T5) opening fiasco at BA's annual meeting in London.

Good luck to them (the shareholders)!

Ongoing Problems?

Virgin claim that there are still ongoing problems at BA's T5, BA claim there aren't.

What's the real story?

Feel free to contact me privately if you have a recent story about BA.

BA Isn't Working

BA may try to have us believe, in their new advertising campaign, that Terminal 5 is working. However, the same seemingly cannot be said for the airline itself.

The Times reports that British Airways loses more bags and operates more delayed planes than any other major airline in Europe, according to a confidential report seen by The Times.

BA customers were 80% more likely to lose their luggage than average in the first half of 2008. Nine passengers travelling on a typical BA jumbo jet flight between January and June found that their bags were missing when they arrived at their destination.

The research also found that one third of BA's short-haul and medium-haul flights and roughly one third of its long-haul arrivals and departures were at least 15 minutes late this year, well below the European average.

BA can't blame all of that on T5.

Traveller's Tale

My thanks to CH, who sent me this tale of woe relating to his experience of flying BA via Terminal 5.

Based on this, and the countless other tales in the media, my personal advice to Walsh:

"For all the good that you have done, it would have been better that you had done nothing at all.

In the name of God,

GO!"

CH's tale:

"Just another story about BA and lost luggage.

We were at a 5 day conference in Miami last week and many of the participants had their luggage mislaid by BA in the T5 disaster. Some people were on transfer flights from Africa so they had no chance of luggage.

Despite assurances that they could 'buy what they needed' some of the people on the conference have now been told that they can only claim £35 for essentials!

They had resorted to having their clothes, the only sets they had, cleaned by the hotel overnight, sometimes they were reduced to drying things with a hairdryer in the morning. I wonder if they will get the cost of the cleaning back?

They had telephone calls to say the luggage had arrived in Miami and two of the girls were so desperate that they even took a trip out to Miami airport, of course they didn't find any luggage. The tracking system was a joke, even with a tracking number they had no chance of finding where their luggage was. Having returned home they still don't know where, or when, they might see their luggage.

These were at least 30 business class customers, with a large multinational company which has BA as it's preferred supplier. I wonder how long this arrangement will last for.

PS I elected to fly with Virgin.... like you I think BA is shite!"

BA Loses 220,000 Passengers

The Times reports that on top of losing 20,000-28,000 bags, BA has now lost 220,000 passengers.

How very careless of BA!

Much of the blame for this is being laid at the door of the T5 fiasco.

Fair enough.

However, I would cite my own recent experience of flying BA as another reason for the decline in passenger numbers; namely, late takeoffs!

Until BA improve their time keeping, people are simply going to find other airlines that are more reliabe.

New York Times Advises "Avoid T5"

Wise words from The New York Times, in an article entitled "Heathrow's Terminal 5: How to Avoid It":

"It is hard to imagine that the airport experience, especially at London's dreaded Heathrow, could get any worse. But the opening of Terminal 5 on March 27 was a fiasco of epic proportions.

British Airways, sole occupiers of the "state-of-the-art" terminal, canceled hundreds of flights; some 20,000 bags were parted from their owners — many are still lost.

Despite reassurances from the airline that things will get better soon, travelers would be wise to avoid Terminal 5 over the next few weeks."

BA Truly is Shite

Welcome to customer care, BA style!

Here I am at Arlanda airport, Stockholm, allegedly waiting for my 18:40 flight to London Thiefrow T5.

I have arrived and checked in, at the correct time, yet there is one small fly in my oinkment...BA (the alleged "world's favourite airline") is not ready for me.

Seemingly, for reasons that I am not privileged to learn, the plane is not ready for the departure (to remind you, this departure is scheduled for 18:40).

What time will it depart?

A mere 1 hours 20 minutes later...at 20:00, or there abouts...so they say!

You will of course recall that my flight to Stockholm was late as well...by a mere 70 minutes!

Does this represent quality service?

Errrrm...

No, it does not!

Do I recommend that people fly BA?

Of course I don't!

As I have said before:

For all the good that Walsh and his failed sycophantic board have done for "customer care", it is better that they have done nothing at all.

My advice to Walsh, and the board, is simple:

In the name of God...go now!

The board is not fit to run a whore house, let alone an airline.