Infuriating CityJet treatment – Part 2
Unbelievable – the only word for it. Now sit down with a good drink and listen.
Following the story from post #584 above, I went over to London City at about 1545 for the “rescheduled” 1645 departure to Belfast. Over to the check-in machines, put my details in, and up it comes for a departure time for me of – 1945. This is of course the old departure time for the late evening flight I was given to believe was cancelled, along with my lunchtime one I was originally booked on.
The check-in attendant started to give me a lecture about the schedules “now have changed for ze summer timetable”. Sorry, wrong punter to give this lecture to.
Over to ticketing. Now I was ticketed on the 1340 departure which I was advised was now operating at 1645, then when I get to the airport that is in turn now rearranged to 1945. So I believe I am entitled to TWO EC compensation payments, one for each gross delay. So I hold out for that, advising the agent to go and seek authority from the Station Manager. It sure takes some explaining, but eventually the harassed supervisor comes over and agrees ! So they both set to on dealing with this. I ask, and have confirmed, that the 1945 is actually operating.
In passing it is described what a cock-up the whole rearrangement has been, with the auto-checkin machines having different details to the FIDS screens, which in turn are different to realty. So there is a huge amount of keying to the computer, which is having none of this. Cancelled ? No, it won’t have that. So they try Overbooked. No, not allowed either.
Then, while loking at a screen, they start speaking about a 1645 departure. I ask if the flight is actually leaving at 1645 now, not 1945. They say yes, that is what it now says, it is going at 1645. They are surprised as well. So only one lot of compensation. But if I hadn’t spotted the change in conversation I could well have gone away and come back for 1945 to find the last plane long gone. Oh, and by the time I had to leave to go for the flight they still couldn’t get the computer to cough up the compensation, despite substantial reference to a manual which described how to do it. But not correctly, it would seem.
They sort of seemed prepared for it all in that they were ready with transfers to Dublin flights and vouchers for taxis from there to the north. London City used to be exempt from such nonsenses. Not any more, I’m afraid.
Doors on the 1645 departure were closed at 1725. Skipper says something about the schedule change having caught the ground staff “on the hop”. An understatement. Nice flight as ever on a Scot Airways aircraft, but they told me that May 23 was indeed the last day, and the Belfast crews have been told and will be dispersed. The Air France website however still shows the flights into June. And they seem happy to take bookings. What a way to run an airline.