230 BA cancellations 2nd/3rd April and Concorde Pricing
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at 18:07 by nevereconomy.
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FormerBAParticipantHeathrow 2nd/3rd April further operational carnage for BA and their long suffering passengers.
For many this weekend marked the start of the Easter school holidays and BA would have been well aware of load factors.
Despite this, and in the clearest sign ye ,that they have no operational knowledge within the management team; there was no proactive work done to prevent the chaos that ensued in the early hours of Saturday. By 11am over 100 flights had been cancelled or diverted according to Simon Calder.
In a mark of absolute desperation fares on short haul flights were closed to all fare classes other than full fare Y and J. This sad the absurd pricing of LHR to EDI jump to £682 one was in CE and £575 in ET for which you do not get a bag, seat selection, entry to the lounge or a meal. From Aberdeen to Paphos fares soared to levels that would make people like me, who actually flew Concorde wince.
Thousands were abandoned to their own devices as their long planned family holidays and other trips were ruined, as there were neither the systems, skill or people to issue hotels and transport vouchers.
Sunday was even worse with 130 cancellations planned and more occurred as their operations simply crumbled given the lack of staff and operational understanding.
This forum has separate threads on immigration chaos, IT failures and now this! How long will passengers tolerate this and how long can BA survive such events
1 user thanked author for this post.
3 Apr 2022
at 19:43
Tom OtleyKeymasterHere’s the piece from The Independent
and another from The Guardian
and another from The Times (needs a sub)
British Airways will never live up to the public’s champagne fantasy
3 Apr 2022
at 20:23
ASK1945ParticipantSo, 130 cancellations in one day at (say) an average of 130 passengers per flight (these are short-haul, I believe) means about 17,000 people a day are having their work/businesses/holidays messed up.
This has to be a mega disaster.
5 users thanked author for this post.
3 Apr 2022
at 22:05
DavidSmith2Participant[postquote quote=1208483]
I think you can at least double that. For every passenger, there is at least one person at the other end who has had their plans destroyed as well. Whether family, friends, hoteliers, restaurants, taxi drivers, tour guides etc etc. We all accept that mechanical failures can happen, that the weather can sometimes intervene and that even humans make the odd mistake. But this is gross failure of management on an industrial scale – all entirely predictable and largely avoidable with minimal foresight and reasonable planning.
3 Apr 2022
at 22:25
Tom OtleyKeymasterSome figures for last week from Cirium
Several airlines and airports suffering from #Covid staffing shortages. According to @cirium data, @British_Airways cancelled 386 flights between last Wednesday and Friday, due to #Covid and #IT issues. 713 flights were delayed over 60mins over the three days. @ThePCAgency
— Paul Charles (@PPaulCharles) April 3, 2022
4 Apr 2022
at 05:53
esselleParticipant[postquote quote=1208485]
Any business in crisis will be judged by its leadership. Think of Sir Michael Bishop after the BMI tragedy at EMA, or Perrier’s response to finding taint in some of its bottles.
Where is Doyle?
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4 Apr 2022
at 07:08
Tom OtleyKeymasterWell it’s all over the news this morning and Radio 5 Live has has various interviews with people affected but also working behind the scenes including someone working for the handling agents – listen from 9:16 to someone they call Derek…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_five_live
He says they are working with half the staff at Heathrow that they should have.
He works on the loading and unloading. Some flights have been waiting for 3 hours before anyone can come to collect the bags which causes chaos.
Where bags are loaded on to a truck there is no one to drive them out to the aircraft.
He says that the airport will be brought to a standstill because of the bags, and there is a lack of stands at Heathrow anyway.
Those still working want to leave and since it takes at least 2 weeks for basic training and then different equipment that needs training on (for baggage, presumably) there isn’t a quick fix.
4 Apr 2022
at 10:10
AlanOrton1ParticipantGiven Tom’s post above – the issue looks to be far more than just BA issues.
No exonerating BA from their utterly inept ‘performance’ of late, however, should not more pointed questions be asked of HAL, Swissport management etc as to how shambolic their current offering is.
As someone highlighted on another post, there was continuous pressure / whingeing for Covid restrictions to be dropped. They have been in the UK, yet airport operators etc are woefully underprepared for the obvious surge in activity, especially as we’re now in the Easter hols.
Yes, Covid absence plays a part, but not wholly.5 users thanked author for this post.
4 Apr 2022
at 10:22
SimonS1ParticipantTotally chaotic.
So gobshites like John Holland-Kaye have been banging the drum for months about the need to return to normality, the minute we return to normality the whole operation falls over. Much of it due to penny pinching, staff laid off etc. And Heathrow charges go up and up…..
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4 Apr 2022
at 10:40
nevereconomyParticipantIf COVID levels are anything like they are in my area – just about everyone I meet had it, has it, family has it, so not too surprising any of this is happening. The thing that amazes me most is that people booking flights are surprised by it. Even in the US, people are still wearing masks – our lot just abandoned it all and said “get on with it” and this is the unsurprising result.
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4 Apr 2022
at 12:33
AMcWhirterParticipantCirium provides a list of cancellations for the week up to April 3.
BREAKING: New data shows a staggering level of cancellations – 1,143 flights cancelled from/to UK in the week up to Sun 3rd April, compared with just 197 flights cancelled the same week in 2019 according to @cirium data. @British_Airways cancelled 662; @easyjet 357. @ThePCAgency
— Paul Charles (@PPaulCharles) April 4, 2022
4 Apr 2022
at 18:36
Shamsh1ParticipantCancellations at BA are going on. Last week MAN-LHR with only 2 days notice and now end of May VIE-LHR. Both without any alternatives or rerouting, just take it or leave it.
This is not what I expect from a quality carrier, that‘s the style of low costs, like Ryan or Wizz.
For my upcoming trip to Australia I rebooked now to QR and QF. I cannot afford an unreliable airline for a business trip to the other side of the globe.29 Apr 2022
at 08:13
MartynSinclairParticipant[quote quote=1211029]I cannot afford an unreliable airline for a business trip[/quote]
Pre Pandemic, 80% of my flights were with BA – post pandemic, that has now reduced to 10% (my business travel schedule is more or less back to normal). Even my trip to Malta in a few weeks is now with Air Malta… with BA pricing going through the roof.
My last long-haul with BA was December 2019, since then, my long-haul travel has been split between Finnair and Qatar
Long-haul was exclusively BA, short-haul, well the route network into Europe was extensive, T5 – 30 minutes or so from me, so BA/T5 made sense. Apart from the First Wing and T5 lounges, I accepted the BA product has never been overwhelming, but it got me from A to B in a reliable and economic fashion. Added to which AVIOS for short haul travel as a travel incentive – worked very well for me.
Post Pandemic, similarly to Shamsh1, I have insufficient confidence that any booked BA flight will actually go and I am not prepared to schedule overseas meetings, based on a real ‘wing and a prayer’. … and yes, I know cancelled flights are not exclusive to BA, but they do appear to be suffering very badly at the moment.
My next booked BA flight is to Malta in June. This flight was booked prior to all the price increases, but I believe, despite a BA flight number the flight is operated by Iberia Express.
Added to flight cancelations is the appalling communication from BA, even receiving emails encouraging me to book my summer holiday flights with BA ….
Until BA management can provide confidence they have sufficient staff to operate their aircraft and provide an semblance of normality in terms of service, my choice is to (sadly) avoid them.
As for Sean Doyle…. he appears to be wearing a new high viz jacket with secret powers of turning himself into the invisible man!
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29 Apr 2022
at 09:07
AlanOrton1ParticipantMartyn, couldn’t agree with you more.
Am trying to ensure I pick AA for transatlantic trips given the last 4 legs to and from the US with BA have been, to be polite, shambolic.
I have to go with BA for one upcoming leg, as they offer the last flight of the day from MIA and even then I’ll be pushing it to get to the airport in good time. Fortunately I’m quite relaxed as doubtless, as it’s BA, there will be a delay of at least an hour.
On this occasion every cloud has a silver lining!29 Apr 2022
at 10:03 -
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