[FDOS_UK]

Checking in online tonight, for a flight from an EU country to the UK, I am pompously informed by the BA website that ‘The travel document details you have entered are not valid for this flight’

That is my UK passport (British Citizen) that has over 5 years left on it and is the one I used on the outbound flight.

What a stinking dung heap of inefficiency.

One would think the CEO was more suited to running a small kebab shop.

[openfly]

@FDOS You have just insulted all small kebab shop owners…disgraceful. Tom please ban this fellow! ?

[capetonianm]

I was reported for ‘inappropriate content’ for saying that Cruz wasn’t fit to run a churros stand.

I was insulting churros stand employees, and apologise for that.

[TominScotland]

Clearly an IT glitch – very frustrating. It happens……

Pompous – not sure how an automated response like that can be pompous….. Can you ascribe behavioural mannerisms to an electronic response?

[seasonedtraveller]

I checked in on my phone app last night for today’s flight to MAN via LHR and have been denied a boarding card for the very same reason as FDOS mentioned.
Our passport numbers are contained in the booking and outbound was fine.
This morning, Iv’e looked in the booking and checked both numbers and, as you would guess, both are correct.

Still no boarding card.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=824276]Clearly an IT glitch – very frustrating. It happens……

Pompous – not sure how an automated response like that can be pompous….. Can you ascribe behavioural mannerisms to an electronic response?

[/quote]

Oh dear, where to start with this post?

Let’s try the Concise Oxford Dictionary definition of pompous

pompous
· adj.
1 affectedly grand, solemn, or self-important.

The message seems to hit 2/3 of those descriptors.

Now, as to

“Can you ascribe behavioural mannerisms to an electronic response?”

Without getting into a detailed conversation about cybernetics or state machine behaviour, I don’t see why not – it has been programmed to behave in a certain way; automated characters in role playing clearly respond with mannerisms.

Finally, there is some dodgy logic to resolve.

If BA’s system issues a pompous message (solemn and self important), it could be interpreted as having a behavioural mannerism.

However, if it is found that the interpretation of a behavioural mannerism is false, that does not render invalid the proposition that the message is pompous.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=824284]I checked in on my phone app last night for today’s flight to MAN via LHR and have been denied a boarding card for the very same reason as FDOS mentioned.
Our passport numbers are contained in the booking and outbound was fine.
This morning, Iv’e looked in the booking and checked both numbers and, as you would guess, both are correct.

Still no boarding card.

[/quote]

Yep, same here. Passports fine.

As it happens, we’re checking baggage in, so it won’t materially affect us, but if I was HBO, I’d be mightily annoyed.

[K1ngston]

Cant wait for my flights to London in a couple of weeks …. confidence at an all time high!!!

Hope it sorts itself out for you both

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=824292]Cant wait for my flights to London in a couple of weeks …. confidence at an all time high!!!

Hope it sorts itself out for you both

[/quote]

Thanks, Kingston1 – I’m sure there will be no problem at all.

[capetonianm]

The pomposity can be ascribed to the wording of the message and the situation in which it appeared, given that the both the wording and the circumstance that trigger the message were created by (what passes for) a human being.

In fairness, I’ve just flown two sectors on BA from Europe to CPT, and apart from the ancient and poorly designed business class cabin on the 23 year old 747, I could not find fault with any other aspect of the way the airline or its employees or agents treated me.

[MartynSinclair]

The frustrating part is that when they get it tight, it works perfectly. The end result of my missing avios (see “Not Earth Shattering…) was that after printing.. applying online… printing a form… posting… then after a week, scanning & emailing the receipt… the credit appeared. Why did BA need to use both an online system and hard copy + post system…

I more or less take it as accepted that each time I check in online, I am asked to update either my email address, mobile or passport details…. As for checking in for a US flight, passport details are required to be input again most of the time. When checking in for Asia though, the passport details come through…

Last night, I was able to make a London to Frankfurt booking on line, but was not able to make a Frankfurt – London booking via the website (single tickets)…

But there again, this is BA and it what I have accepted as being the frustrating side of the service.

I could easily start a thread though with a few positives :))

[FDOS_UK]

Well, today was not BA’s finest hour.

Check in was okay, but I then had the ridiculous parallel situation of being in possession of a paper boarding card and the App telling me I couldn’t travel due to lacking the right documents – simply ludicrous.

The check in agent said they knew there was a problem, ‘look at all these people queuing for check in, it seems they cannot do it online. She then went on to say that BA’s systems are unreliable and a pain to use.

Once on board, their handling agent managed to load some of our flight baggage, but also some bags from a flight to Malaga ????? That caused a delay, whilst they sorted it out, but heroic efforts from the flight deck won some shortcuts and we arrived at Manchester on time, only to find no-one ready at the jetty, meaning another quarter of an hour delay. Yep, I know that BA weren’t handling directly, but they chose both agents, so totally their responsibility.

We were through the UK Border in 3-4 minutes and then we waited for our luggage…. and waited…. and waited…. No-one made any announcement and there was a total lack of anyone on the ground to sort things out.

After an hour, the UK Border Force staff called the handling agent and asked them to get on with things (two agents then came to talk to the waiting pax – letting them know, which I respected, when BA and their agents were nowhere to be seen.

Eventually, we got the bags 1 hour and five minutes after docking (and 35 minutes after the ‘last bag due by’ display on the screen – we made our train with 3 minutes to spare, not comfortable, as the next one was in 2 hours time. The bags were delivered to a different carousel to the one on the boards – simply incompetent, especially as no announcement was made. If my wife had not noticed one of our bags, we’d have probably missed the train.

I had called the Gold Line after 45 minutes and they got onto the their duty manager (who I think works for an agent).

The most notable aspect, to me, was the number of conversations around us about ‘this wouldn’t happen with Ryanair’ – now we FFs on here no that any airline is capable of blowing it, but BA does seem to have passed the tipping point on public opinion and rather than being seen as a premium brand, is now being regarded as a poor brand.

[capetonianm]

It’s what happens when you hand your IT over to a bunch of 20 year olds in Bangalore and Sophia Antipolis because it’s cheaper.

[openfly]

Cruz and Walsh couldn’t give a damn….as long as it’s cheap! But if you were going into MAN wasn’t it a Cityflyer operation?? In which case, it’s a Cityflyer problem.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=824322]Cruz and Walsh couldn’t give a damn….as long as it’s cheap! But if you were going into MAN wasn’t it a Cityflyer operation?? In which case, it’s a Cityflyer problem.

[/quote]

BA Cityflyer = wholly owned subsidiary = BA.

From Companies House

BA CITYFLYER LIMITED

Matching previous names:
CITYFLYER EXPRESS

02571224 – Incorporated on 2 January 1991

Waterside PO BOX 365, Harmondsworth West Drayton, Middlesex, UB7 0GB

[Author]

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