LHR T1 Arrivals Hall late last night 27.06.07, BA Customer Service

[2infinity]

Thanks for all your various replies, suggestions and insight.

LGW is indeed an option I should investigate more thoroughly, although part of my thinking behind picking the last service of the day to LHR was that there was less likely to be a foul-up at that time of the night, notwithstanding surprise dramas such as Hatton Cross.

While things were compounded this week by the gas leak, this is not the first time I have experienced the “no jetway, no bags scenario” on the last flight of the evening. I once had this whilst one of a total of only eleven pax on an A320: A peculiar experience to say the least!

Perhaps I will give BMI another chance. I flirted with them briefly a year or so ago until, on their last flight of the day from ABZ, we arrived early…only for a 1.5 hour wait for bags due to a hold door problem. Again, speaking for myself it would have been forgiven, if only we hadn’t had to wait for an hour before the problem was explained…

In summary: it’s a lottery and I suspect travelling without checked in luggage as Spanlishflea suggests is sound advice.

NWT and Avman I think you also have both hit the nail on the head and couldn’t agree more.

When will airlines realise that [some] passengers will forgive many a cock-up, drama, unforeseen event or shambles on the ground if there is a reasonably competent person in the departure lounge/arrivals hall who will speak up and tell us what on earth is going on? This means, no matter how late the flight, someone has to be on hand to take responsibility.

Let’s hope that T5 is all that it is cracked up to be…or it’s back to the night sleeper for me, God forbid!