[WillieWelsh]

SimonRowberry – 28/11/2014 21:58 GMT +1

I had hoped the toxic days of this forum were over.

[rferguson]

I think airlines like celebs for the same reason that they like anyone that spends lots of money in premium cabins with a them. However, any passenger that became more trouble than they are worth – for example by incurring massive costs by constantly delaying planes etc – then the desire to carry them obviously lessens.

Of course Ba will chase opportunities to carry famous people where there is a PR benefit – carrying the X Factor contestants is an example of this. Plenty of nice little promo shots of them on BA aircraft. But on the whole celebs do not want to be noticed when they travel (there are exceptions) and most would go bananas and fly someone else if BA told every tom dick and Harry that would listen ‘oh the beckhams use us to shuttle between LA and London’.

As for the famous model – her ‘people’ approached BA to have her lifetime ban ‘reviewed’ just as anyone else with a lifetime ban is entitled to after a period of time. After evidence that she had completed an anger management course and on the condition that she is not served alcohol during the flight and on the understanding that she is on a ‘one strike and you are out’ probation her ban was overturned.

I certainly have no internalised negative feelings to celebs. On the whole they tend to be very nice. Like most of my passengers. But yes, just like the ocassional business man or woman you so wish you could say ‘errrm perhaps you should have considered a private jet’ on rare ocassiona.

[SimonRowberry]

WillieWelsh – sadly not. Until they are then myself and at least 3 other long-standing and regular posters (with many thousands of posts between us) won’t participate.

But then, as “Mr Marx” suggests, that’s probably a good thing for the Forum ;-). It’s doubtless much better off as a personal vehicle for one or two more recent members, who could start an argument in an empty room and become antagonistic and confrontational should anyone else have the timerity to post a view contrary to their own.

A final observation. This is supposed to be a business travel forum. I shudder to think what the management style is of these people and what it must be like to do business with them or to work for them…..

Safe travels,
Simon

[PhilipHart]

I tend to agree with this guy …

No, you are not ‘running late’, you are rude and selfish

[MrMichael]

SimonRowberry, I hope you will continue to take part on this forum. I value your views, as I am sure I would of the other three to which you refer. The forum would be pretty dull if everybody agreed, and like you am happy for people to disagree provided it is done with politeness, humour or both. It is the behaviour of the many that can influence the few, so the more on here disagreeing in a positive and respectful manner , the more the un-educated yobs will feel isolated and choose to spout their vitriol elsewhere. Or perhaps even learn and change.

[MartynSinclair]

@Mr Michael +1

Simon and I have met a couple of times and he is a very interesting, sociable and nice guy… ESPECIALLY as he has now stopped smoking!

[KarlMarx]

rferguson – 29/11/2014 10:21 GMT

I understand why BA relaxed the ban and why they like carrying celebrities, for the revenue and good PR. Makes commercial sense.

That is why I find the offloading story hard to believe.

[KarlMarx]

Simon Rowberry

I don’t see too many people using intemperate language, apart from you. Neither do see many being confrontational, there are different opinions and disagreements; I do not believe that the offloading story happened as described, but I accept that others may have a different opinion.

As a Christian, I found your blasphemy unpleasant and surely you can express an opinion without resorting the language of the saloon bar?

[SimonRowberry]

Mr Marx

You need some serious help. Hypocrisy beyond belief. A self-proclaimed Christian and yet one who chooses a nom-de-plume of a political pholisopher who proclaimed religion to be “the opiate of the people”…..

Keep on like this, mate, and you’ll be posting to a Forum consisting of about two poeple.

As far as bad language is concerned, for Heaven’s sake….oops… Slap myself on the wrist again.

Who ever you are, Mr Marx, grow up and act your age. Cut the hypocrisy and the pomposity.

And that IS my last post as this Forum will never, ever change whilst it remains occupied by a small number of cowards who hide behind handles and use as their own little ego-trip and anger-venting mechanism against society.

Bye bye,

Simon

[PatJordan]

MrMichael +1

SimonRowberry,

I have not had the pleasure of meeting you, but over the years have enjoyed several exchanges with you here, and read many of your posts.

That you (and others) rarely post nowadays is a loss to the forum.

Simon, I hope you reconsider your position: there is always a need for sensible, well balanced comments from people such as you.

Pat

[rferguson]

KM you could be right to a degree. Stories do tend to grow legs although they are usually rooted in fact.

Checking in a bag to be able to arrive late at the aircraft these days is a bad idea. Reason being, an airline will do two things at -10 to departure (BA will anyway). If the passenger hasn’t presented themself at the gate an announcement will be made for the passenger, at the same time efforts would be made to locate the bag. Which ever happens first – passenger arrives or bag found – deems the outcome. If the bag is offloaded first, the door to the aircraft will be closed. If the passenger rocks up first, the ramp guys will cease looking for the bag. There is also the scenario that the bag will be offloaded more or less the same time the late passenger rocks up. In that case, passenger will find their bag does not arrive at the other end.

I’ve not known it to take longer than 15mins to locate a bag of a non boarded passenger nowadays that all BA aircraft use containerised baggage holds so the ramp guys can norrow the offending bag down to one container. But if this story hails from years gone by (737 and 757 days) the bags were just loaded loosely in the hold. So sometimes every bag would have to be unloaded to locate the late passenger’s which obviously took a lot more time.

If an airline had become aware that a regular commuter passenger – be it an A list or a C list celebrity or a top tier frequent flyer – was checking in a bag to deliberately and consistently delay a flight in order to arrive late of COURSE they would take measure to not accommodate the passengers lateness but to ensure the aircraft departs on time. The potential loss to the business is tiny – because the airline (and no doubt the passenger) knows that NO airline will tolerate this kind of behaviour and over time any airline she/he defects to will take the same action. Far more likely the passenger would huff and puff but learn it’s not a good idea to try again.

[KarlMarx]

RF, your post sounds realistic. The story was from about 20 years ago (1994), so it would have been old aircraft. Also agree that an airline would not delay an aircraft for a passenger (well, might there be some exceptions, e.g. royalty, prime minister?)

But an airline likes celebs,as you have said (and me, too), so I am sure that there are ways and means of avoiding an incident at the gate (proactively get them to the gate on time, e.g.)

In this world of Twitter, who wants someone with 250,000 followers slagging their company off, as the ‘court of public opinion’ will probably side with the celeb, even though their behaviour was poor. It seems wrong, but that is the way it is.

I seem to recall an airline having to issue a Twitter apology to a celeb who arrived at a foreign airport over 3 hours before a flight and complained the check in desks were unattended – 6 million followers gets attention 🙁

[rferguson]

Of course with technology today the airline knows more about where we are – they know once we have passed security. They know if we have entered the lounge. So I guess pro-active measure could be easier these days.

I think most people have the intelligence to weed out the DYKWIA rants of twitter these days. I remember a few months ago there was a child celeb who had featured in some teen movies that took to twitter to complain she wasn’t able to use the lounge at T5 as you have to be over 18 to enter unaccompanied. WillIam complained loudly on Twitter when United wouldn’t allow them access to their First Class lounge at a US Airport – with the response from the airline being simply because his ticket didn’t entitle him to. I think most people would accept that maybe a celeb should do what the rest of us do – check in advance what time check in opens at an airport. Or have someone do it for them. If you aren’t able to access a particular lounge and are explained the reasons why – accept is gracefully instead of complaining to the world. I think a lot of people have a pretty low threshold for so called ‘first world problems’ these days.

Slightly OT but I had heard from a staff member for ‘special services’ that Air NZ had carved out a nice little niche carrying celebs between LHR and LAX as apparently they are very good at keeping it very low key.

[MrMichael]

I was delayed once on an SAS flight from CPH to LHR in about 1995 I think. Things seemed strange when I boarded as the business cabin seemed especially attractive and more spruce than usual and being one of the last to board was more than a little surprised to see the first three rows on the MD80 empty. I got to my seat, around 5c as I recall and was then informed by a cabin attendant that we would have a delay of around 15 minutes as a VIP was boarding, it seemed rude to ask who so I didnt. I was further informed that an on time arrival at LHR was still guaranteed. Ten minutes later with all other passengers onboard and settled on got Queen Margheritte of Denmark who settled in to 1E to a round of applause, not slow clapping of people annoyed at the delay, but people pleased and honoured to have her onboard. We did arrive at LHR a tad early, no holding pattern for us today, we got to the gate bang on the second where I was informed by the very chuffed Dane in the window seat that he could see on the tarmac Prince Charles there to welcome her to the UK.

[LuganoPirate]

I remember when at several airports the bags would be bought to the plane where as you boarded you’d identify your bags and then they’d be put into the container. This avoids any passenger from delaying the flight.

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