View Full Version : Valid reason for delaying departure?
ChatterBox33
1st May 2012, 13:19
I was PAX on a BA 737 out of LGW today, on a route I use very regularly.
Me and two other economy passengers were seated in row 4, which is a 3-seat row within the Club Europe section of the aircraft.
Upon seeing us seated here, the purser checked our boarding cards and said that he would have to get an engineer to move the cabin divider forward so that we (and the two passengers opposite) would not be within the CE cabin.
The flight (already running slightly behind) was delayed for a further 10 minutes while we waited for this guy to come and shift the barrier.
Now, I understand that Club passengers have paid for an extra service, but is this really a good enough reason to hold the aircraft on stand?
'Fraid so - the product must always be 'protected' by airlines. Big up-cock by passenger services/ops I fear - unless an eng put the divider in the wrong place. Out of interest, how late were you at destination? After all, that is what really matters.
Rwy in Sight
1st May 2012, 17:18
Why they don't move some rows back to the economy section?
ChatterBox33
1st May 2012, 18:13
We were approx 15 min late getting in to our destination.
As it happened I was invited to move to an empty exit row anyway, but it just seemed a bit silly to do all that for a 1h10 flight.
They even took the time to make the seats in that row narrower!
I would add that I was able to choose the seat in question when checking in online as an economy passenger. I did not "invade" Club Europe.
As it happened I was invited to move to an empty exit row anyway, but it just seemed a bit silly to do all that for a 1h10 flight.
I'd agree that moving folks back into Economy with a suitable apology sounds like a pragmatic solution for the original problem ex-LGW but I wonder what the booked load was on the return sector? If the return flight was scheduled to be full, and engineering support out the outstation was going to be minimal then it might well have made sense to accept the delay, reposition the divider and correct the seat configuration before leaving LGW....
easyflyer83
1st May 2012, 23:04
Back at GB Airways it was the dispatcher that changed the rows and curtain but quite often the crew would just do it.
Espada III
2nd May 2012, 08:19
The cabin crew on BMI did this two weeks ago on the FRA-MAN flight. Simply unclipped the three curtain holders and moved them forward to reduce the size of business class. Why it took a BA technician to do it, is a bit like the lightbulb question.
It's the dispatcher on SAS too, I wasn't aware of any airlines that required an engineer to do it (unless seat pitch had to be altered)
a) Its BA
b) They have the 'extender' seats
c) I suspect Union 'issues' may preclude other more 'sensible' solutions.
GANNET FAN
2nd May 2012, 10:56
The same thing happened to me on a BA flight back from Nice. My seat ticket put me one in front of the curtain, thus in Club. I was then told to move back a row behind the curtain and saw a lot of accusatory eyes clearly thinking I'd upgraded myself. I hadn't, honest.
Dont Hang Up
3rd May 2012, 11:15
Product "protection" or not - if the error is on the part of the airline then the passenger should be upgraded as a courtesy rather than risking the mild humiliation described above.
After all, economy passengers are customers too. i.e worthy of a little respect.
Let's face it - on long haul the airline does not have a choice. If there is no room in the back then it has to be an upgrade. The "because we can" attitude to moving the separator for short-haul aircraft is just being petty.
I think airlines are mistaken if they believe the full Club fare passengers would resent the occasional spurious upgrade so much that they would change airline (much more likely the extra delay to move the separator would be the cause of irritation). Now - if they let all and sundry into the Club Lounge with noisy kids in tow, well that may be a different matter ;)
Hotel Tango
4th May 2012, 14:31
Product "protection" or not - if the error is on the part of the airline then the passenger should be upgraded as a courtesy rather than risking the mild humiliation described above.
Fully agree with this. Some airline CC and ground staff can be a little trigger happy with patronising and humiliating remarks to their customers when in fact it wasn't their fault at all.