British Airways says that is improving its connection service at its hub at Heathrow.
The improvements include new technology combined with new vehicles and dedicated staff to make the process easier.
The airline says that of the 123,000 passengers which travel with it daily, “a large proportion” are transferring.
The airline is introducing a number of enhancements.
The new ideas include the airline saying it will identify flights with a large number of connecting customers and direct those aircraft to arrive at the most convenient aircraft stands for the next part of their journey.
In addition, when the airline identifies a number of customers are transferring to the same flight, it will now arrange for a vehicle to transfer them to their next flight.
The airline already has dedicated connections managers, who monitor all flight arrivals and organise for customers with tight connections to be contacted while they’re in the air and given Express Connect status, and information packs to fast-track them through flight connections and security checkpoints.
As previously reported, passengers travelling in First, Club World or Club Europe, plus British Airways Gold and Silver Executive Club members who are at risk of missing their onward connection will be provided with a chauffeur driven executive car, where possible, to transfer them to their next flight.
After the initial trial (reported below), more vehicles are now being added to the airline’s fleet.
Customers who miss or are likely to miss their connection are now being re-booked with British Airways or any of the airline’s oneworld partners while they’re still in the air.
This information is relayed to cabin crew who then help customers with their onward journey. They are then met at the aircraft door by connections staff who provide them with their new boarding pass, refreshment vouchers and, if overnight accommodation is necessary, their hotel booking.
On the self-help side, new self-service kiosks have been set up in the flight connections area at Terminal 5.
Tom Stevens, British Airways’ head of Customer, at Heathrow said: “We know how important it is for our customers to transfer through the airport quickly and smoothly, and all of these additional initiatives show them we’ll always go the extra mile to provide excellent customer service.”