[Anonymous]

[PaulJennings]

The snow and ice have now been with us for weeks; today’s conditions are not objectively extreme and were predicted well in advance. So transport operators are going to struggle to convince anyone that the problems are really down to ‘exceptionally bad weather’ and not ‘routinely bad management’. What do other business travellers think, and can anyone give us the lowdown on operations inside the airports and airlines?

[SimonRowberry]

Did Helsinki to Vilnius and back at New Year on AY. It was snowing heavily in both places and the temperature varied between -17 and -24. Yet we were only delayed about a half hour in each direction.

I think the difference is between being geared-up for operational situations that occur every year, and those which occur “rarely.”

At HEL there was a continuous line of blowers and snow ploughs keeping the runways and taxiways clear – no airport could afford such investment unless the weather conditions were a regular occurence.

However, there is always the temptation for transport operators to use ‘adverse weather conditions’ as an excuse for other shortcomings, of course……

Simon

[VintageKrug]

Indeed – you only have to look at the striking communists who do Finnair’s Baggage Handling to see evidence of this:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/finnair-plus/1031817-finnair-lost-baggage.html

[MarcusUK]

As indeed schipol do very well also…

4 de-icing stations working through this weather normally…as they always manage to in the winter. Of course they don’t have the volume of traffic, or the restricted space as at LHR, but they also don’t have Any British management!

When i think of the tropical storms In Asian region, 2 ft of snow in Munich, violent electrical storms from Colombo, or heat of 45C in Muscat, even the “red dust” in Sydney…all keeps running. Countries know the parameters of their weather systems, & the Airports have no excuse not to have the proper equipment or be prepared, as indeed the Airlines themselves.

I have booked a flight to Sydney today in march, but i shall avoid LHR, & fly Swiss starting LCY, then onto Dubai (the new Business A333 service be interesting to try), then on with Singapore from DXB to SIN, then onto Sydney again SQ.

I make a point of choosing the more efficient Airports, pleasant professional security (unlike BAA), & avoid LHR at all costs now.

The short of it is, everyone else manages, but LHR & the UK is really bottom of the world list for proper planning or strategy. We do pay a VERY tidy sum to use LHR, & the most HEFTY Government tax out of the UK on premium travel now…we should be able to expect better services than this!

[SimonRowberry]

Krug – indeed, it did take us almost 2 hours to get our bags back at Helsinki off the LHR-HEL leg the night before. Everything to do with the baggage handlers and nothing to do with the weather. I have very little sympathy with them.

However, you should remember that not everyone who takes industrial action is a “communist.” I have no idea what the politics of their union(s) is or are. However, I would prefer to describe them as “suicidal idiots” because their actions are harming the reputation of an otherwise pretty good airline (which is still in financial trouble) and an otherwise excellent airport. So, for what must be the tenth time of asking, please can we keep cheap party political gibes away from the Forum?

Also, at least AY didn’t cancel more than one or two flights, despite the fact that it was snowing heavily and some 17 degrees below – unlike BA who, as evidenced by other parties’ posts elsewhere, seem to cancel their flights for whatever the reason they choose, and then blame the weather.

Simon

[VintageKrug]

I think you will find *most* workers’ union leaders are at heart communists, or at the very least socialists. That’s rather the point.

[SimonRowberry]

Heaven forfend that some may be social democrats as well! Let’s keep the politics out, eh, Krug?

[VintageKrug]

I will speak up on matters political when I wish to do so; there is no need for anyone to comment if they don’t like what is said.

[SimonRowberry]

Well that will devalue this Forum even further when we get into the serious run-up to the General Election, then won’t it? I would point out that I would consider it equally inappropriate if you or others made negative comments about the Conservatives or Lib Dems ( or the SNP or Plaid Cymru for that matter).

[SimonRowberry]

I note, Krug that you referred to the commie baggage handlers as if AY were using them as an excuse for operational delays. They were not. There were no real delays due to the weather. Equally they were totally open about the baggage dispute – it’s even posted on the AY website. I am not a BA critic by any means but I notice that you are highly conspicuous by your absence in the debate about BA’s operational shortcomings elsewhere on the Forum. Have you no pro-BA rhetoric to spout on this, or is it simply a case thatyou can’t defend them? I think we should be told………

[VintageKrug]

Thank you for removing your previous comment where you called me a “Puerile person”

[SimonRowberry]

Let it also be known that I only called you that in response to a fairly juvenile comment you made towards me, which you then yourself removed, leaving my response hanging in space without a context. Pretty underhand behaviour on a message board, isn’t it? This is NOT the first time that you’ve done that, Krug. Do you behave that way in business?

I also found it interesting that you turned a positive comment I made about a Nordic airline and airport, and the way they handled WEATHER conditions, into a needlessly negative piece by bringing in irrelevant comments about baggage handlers, which had nothing to so with what I was saying. Oh, and by the way, there was no delay at all in getting my bags back at HEL after the flight from VNO a few days later. Nor at LHR after the subsequent flight from HEL. Not even a very effective strike then…….still, you know how inefficient communists can be.

To try to get back on thread and to the point: no comments on BA then, I take it?

[VintageKrug]

I do indeed know that Communists can be inefficient.

[SimonRowberry]

I’ll take that as a “no” in terms of the BA defence, then, Krug. I also wonder how long before the post you made above at 19.28 disappears (or gets edited – another of your tactics)……….

[Author]

Posts