Originally Posted by
Skipness One Echo
BA self handle at T3/T5 but ramp is outsourced to Menzies at T1, a legacy fron BMI but still in place. I would say the deterioration in service quality is actually consumer driven as people demand to fly for peanuts at the same time as expecting more than peanuts to eat.
I can't quite go along with that, because the issue of stand staff not being around on arrival seems to be unique to BA at Heathrow, and yet the same matters of fare levels and service provision obviously apply everywhere else. Even on BA, I've never known this waiting for the stand staff to turn up at any of their outstations, including those overseas where they are handled by their competitor on the route.
Is Heathrow actually the only place on the network where BA ramp is self-handled ?
It's a similar thing to the winter turnrounds, where BA de-icing at Heathrow invariably seems accompanied by long delays in turning up (and consequent delay to the next aircraft on the gate), whereas at overseas points it seems to turn up when required.