Don't be tardy if you're flying with British Airways. In a bid to boost punctuality, the airline is cracking down on latecomers and will now turn away passengers arriving late for check-in, no matter the reason. Says a spokesperson, "We will now strive to shut our check-in when we say we will."
In the UK, no passenger will now be accepted later than 30 mins before a domestic or short-haul flight and no later than 45 mins for a long-haul service.
Says BA's CEO Willie Walsh, "Ensuring that aircraft depart and arrive on time should be a fundamental concern for everyone, right up there with safety and security. It's something our customers expect BA to get right. Our current performance is unacceptable."
BA is worried because its punctuality now trails that of the budget airlines. This is something which passengers will not accept because they are paying more for what they perceive is a premium product.
The latest Civil Aviation figures for flights at major UK airports in 2005 indicate that 67% of BA flights departed punctually (classified as within 15 mins of schedule) whereas the comparable figures for its low-cost rivals were 72% for Easyjet, 73% Flybe, 76% Monarch and 81% Ryanair.
One reason why these budget carriers have better punctuality is that they rigorously apply check-in deadlines. BA is now taking a leaf out of their book.
Other measures which BA is adopting include making sure that staff reach the plane on time, boarding passengers along with closing the gates and aircraft doors promptly.
Check in times vary across the BA network. For example, at New York JFK the deadline is 60 to 120 mins, at Bahrain and Dubai it's 60 minutes whereas in Sydney it's 45 mins while 45 mins will suffice in Singapore.
Readers should also note that the 30 min deadline in the UK also applies at London's compact City airport where some rivals have 15-20 min deadlines.
For more information go to www.ba.com
Report by Alex McWhirter
