SilverHood
FH is my second home
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2003
- Messages
- 2,284
I don't usually rant, but I feel I need to vent somewhere, because my experience has more or less ensured I never ever EVER fly with BA again.
I was supposed to fly from JFK to London on the 19th of December at 9PM.
Around 10PM we get told that due to heavy snowfall, we're delayed indefinitely. Around 3AM we finally board, then get told that the plane ahead of us needs de-icing again and we're stuffed due to crew not legally being allowed to work. Flight canceled... ah well, shit happens.
So we get unloaded, and the most incredible shit show begins to unfold. As soon as we get off the plane, we hang around the lobby expecting an announcement on what to do... only, nothing. Around 5AM, we get told to call the BA hotline and re-book. Phone lines up at 7AM. So we start asking about our baggage... Oh, it's still on the plane... come 7AM, I get through and managed a flight 4 day later.... but because my luggage is still on the plane, they can't confirm the booking! So we go stand in the ticketing queue, at this point some 150 people are in front of us. Time rolls by, people are getting diverted to other airports for flights, but we're not really moving. At around 2PM, we start looking to get refreshments because we've been in JFK for around 24 hours... we take turns going to bathroom and watching each others stuff...... ...... because there's now a lot of people entering and leaving the queue, people start queue jumping. BA staff care nothing despite our protests that people are jumping the line we've been in for 8 hours. Around 3 or 4, we get told our luggage is off the plane by other passengers... so we take turns to get our bags. At 4.30PM we get the first official announcement from BA... the New Ark replacement plane is full (1st / business class got priority). They're trying to get another plane for us. This is the first official BA announcement in 24 hours. And they only told those of us at the front of the queue, news had to filter down... A few of us manage to grab some food vouchers, but from talking to other passengers, we were the exception rather than the rule.
Now the next shit show begins... we get told to take a seat and go on standby... meaning anyone doesn't show up, we take their place... fair enough. Then we get told that there's a Tuesday plane (3 days later!) that will have room for everyone, and that Hotel rooms are being arranged. Fair enough. We sit on standby for another 8 hours. It's now 9PM Sunday... the last flight leaving is delayed by 5 hours, so we decide to say screw it and go to the Hotel. Only, there's no more buses! Despite the fact that there were still people getting re booked and the 30 of us on standby. Shambles! We manage to force the BA staff to call for another bus, which arrives around 10... only no one told us it had arrived... ... ....
Anyway, 11PM comes, and one of the smokers mentions there's a bus outside... we ask the driver and YES! It's going to the Hilton...
We get on and sit... what are we waiting for? I head inside to find there's still people getting re booked and getting assigned hotel rooms! And the one lady on the desk didn't know how to book the hotel rooms... then finally, the BA manager in charge comes and speaks to us, telling us that it will be too expensive to get another bus for the last 15 people inside and we'd have to wait another 3-4 hours... This is the second time during this ordeal that someone from BA spoke to us when we werent at the ticketing office.
We wait another hour and no more people are getting on the bus... At this point we literally have to go, as most people are ready to collapse. We shout at the bus driver to fuck BA, take us to the hotel. We get to the hotel and they're ready to close for the night! The hotel room bookings were made at 3PM and they didn't understand why we'd only just arrived. Anyway, everything was shut, and the buffet they'd kept open for us for the previous 8 hours had been removed 10 mins ago... *sigh*.
Oh, did I mention that despite our flight now being on Tuesday, the hotel room was only for one night, and that we'd have to check out in 11 hours?
A nice chap gets us some left over desert and we go to bed on an almost empty stomach. Following morning, we managed to get BA to extend the hotel room for another night, but that's about the only thing they've done right so far.
Been speaking to the other passengers and some of them were in a plane for 12 hours before they decided they couldn't take off... then they got dumped in the lobby like the rest of us.
Anyway, in a hotel room atm... I'm hoping for the best now, got a flight tomorrow morning, just gotta hope that the plane can actually land in Heathrow. If not, not much point as I'm returning on the 26th due to work reasons...
I was supposed to fly from JFK to London on the 19th of December at 9PM.
Around 10PM we get told that due to heavy snowfall, we're delayed indefinitely. Around 3AM we finally board, then get told that the plane ahead of us needs de-icing again and we're stuffed due to crew not legally being allowed to work. Flight canceled... ah well, shit happens.
So we get unloaded, and the most incredible shit show begins to unfold. As soon as we get off the plane, we hang around the lobby expecting an announcement on what to do... only, nothing. Around 5AM, we get told to call the BA hotline and re-book. Phone lines up at 7AM. So we start asking about our baggage... Oh, it's still on the plane... come 7AM, I get through and managed a flight 4 day later.... but because my luggage is still on the plane, they can't confirm the booking! So we go stand in the ticketing queue, at this point some 150 people are in front of us. Time rolls by, people are getting diverted to other airports for flights, but we're not really moving. At around 2PM, we start looking to get refreshments because we've been in JFK for around 24 hours... we take turns going to bathroom and watching each others stuff...... ...... because there's now a lot of people entering and leaving the queue, people start queue jumping. BA staff care nothing despite our protests that people are jumping the line we've been in for 8 hours. Around 3 or 4, we get told our luggage is off the plane by other passengers... so we take turns to get our bags. At 4.30PM we get the first official announcement from BA... the New Ark replacement plane is full (1st / business class got priority). They're trying to get another plane for us. This is the first official BA announcement in 24 hours. And they only told those of us at the front of the queue, news had to filter down... A few of us manage to grab some food vouchers, but from talking to other passengers, we were the exception rather than the rule.
Now the next shit show begins... we get told to take a seat and go on standby... meaning anyone doesn't show up, we take their place... fair enough. Then we get told that there's a Tuesday plane (3 days later!) that will have room for everyone, and that Hotel rooms are being arranged. Fair enough. We sit on standby for another 8 hours. It's now 9PM Sunday... the last flight leaving is delayed by 5 hours, so we decide to say screw it and go to the Hotel. Only, there's no more buses! Despite the fact that there were still people getting re booked and the 30 of us on standby. Shambles! We manage to force the BA staff to call for another bus, which arrives around 10... only no one told us it had arrived... ... ....
Anyway, 11PM comes, and one of the smokers mentions there's a bus outside... we ask the driver and YES! It's going to the Hilton...
We get on and sit... what are we waiting for? I head inside to find there's still people getting re booked and getting assigned hotel rooms! And the one lady on the desk didn't know how to book the hotel rooms... then finally, the BA manager in charge comes and speaks to us, telling us that it will be too expensive to get another bus for the last 15 people inside and we'd have to wait another 3-4 hours... This is the second time during this ordeal that someone from BA spoke to us when we werent at the ticketing office.
We wait another hour and no more people are getting on the bus... At this point we literally have to go, as most people are ready to collapse. We shout at the bus driver to fuck BA, take us to the hotel. We get to the hotel and they're ready to close for the night! The hotel room bookings were made at 3PM and they didn't understand why we'd only just arrived. Anyway, everything was shut, and the buffet they'd kept open for us for the previous 8 hours had been removed 10 mins ago... *sigh*.
Oh, did I mention that despite our flight now being on Tuesday, the hotel room was only for one night, and that we'd have to check out in 11 hours?
A nice chap gets us some left over desert and we go to bed on an almost empty stomach. Following morning, we managed to get BA to extend the hotel room for another night, but that's about the only thing they've done right so far.
Been speaking to the other passengers and some of them were in a plane for 12 hours before they decided they couldn't take off... then they got dumped in the lobby like the rest of us.
Anyway, in a hotel room atm... I'm hoping for the best now, got a flight tomorrow morning, just gotta hope that the plane can actually land in Heathrow. If not, not much point as I'm returning on the 26th due to work reasons...
