BA gone to pot?
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To answer earlier questions re length of time to train users on PRS:-
I used to do some training for BA on PRS and found that with competant new recruits it should not ntake any longer than one and a half weeks to give them a crash course in the basic fundamentals of PRS what normally takes the most time is security passes and getting up their confidence alone on check-in.
Like with anything new it takes a while for people to get up their confidence to checkin the amounts of passengers in the time that BA are going to need them to!!!
I used to do some training for BA on PRS and found that with competant new recruits it should not ntake any longer than one and a half weeks to give them a crash course in the basic fundamentals of PRS what normally takes the most time is security passes and getting up their confidence alone on check-in.
Like with anything new it takes a while for people to get up their confidence to checkin the amounts of passengers in the time that BA are going to need them to!!!
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It is just me or do the staff at BA seem to forget that the more they disrupt flights the more passengers will switch to different airlines never to fly BA again! It seems it is now the staff who have lost the plot!!
M
M
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Flying loses its allure for Britons
By Ben Fenton
(Filed: 28/08/2004)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...ixnewstop.html
The British airline industry is failing to provide high levels of customer satisfaction and the airports are even worse, a survey for the Telegraph shows today.
British Airways, by far the country's biggest airline, fares poorly in the poll of 4,000 passengers. It has endured a week of damaging publicity over cancelled flights at Heathrow because of staff shortages.
It is rated lower than its main British competitor, Virgin, on almost all counts. Passengers rank it equal to the low-cost Ryanair and Easyjet for punctuality, comfort and baggage handling.
Passengers say it comes bottom of the list for value when compared with its rivals, including bmi, formerly British Midland.
The most telling finding is that its passengers are significantly less satisfied with it than Virgin's are with their carrier and only marginally more than the passengers of low-cost airlines.
The poll will also depress the management at most of the country's airports, which are given the thumbs-down.
Senior BA executives, who will be manning check-in desks at Heathrow today in a show of solidarity with hard-pressed employees during the busiest weekend of the year, will be alarmed that the airline's ratings are as low as Ryanair's and Easyjet's in four of nine categories.
The airline cancelled more flights yesterday, bringing to more than 100 the number hit by the staff shortages.
The survey results will be an additional blow to Rod Eddington, the chief executive of the airline, who will be manning the pumps with 11 other directors.
He joined BA in 2001 at a time when it seemed poised to expand and become dominant in the world market. Since then its fortunes have gone into steep decline.
The survey shows that passengers who fly Virgin are more impressed by its service than the users of Easyjet, BA, Ryanair or bmi in all but two categories.
British Airways said: "We strive to provide the best possible services to our customers at all times.
"Clearly the last week has fallen short of our customers' expectations and for that we offer our sincere apologies."
Sir Richard Branson, who interrupted his Moroccan holiday to comment on the findings, was delighted with them.
He said: "Independent customer surveys are great because they give us feedback from our customers, which is invaluable as it keeps us on our toes. And, let's face it, they are even better when the feedback is this positive."
Ryanair, which yesterday halved fares on many routes, ranked bottom or equal bottom in every category except value for money.
A spokesman said: "Ryanair is Europe's No 1 airline for low fares and our average fare is £27. We give consumers what they want - low fares and great customer service - and the public are voting with their feet."
Easyjet said the survey dispelled the myth that low-cost airlines were inferior to full-service carriers such as BA.
Bmi declined to comment until it had seen the full results of the survey.
None of the airlines will draw comfort from the survey's findings that many British people hate the whole experience of flying.
More than 40 per cent say they do not mind flying but say it is "not much fun", while one in six dislikes flying altogether.
They say they would prefer to avoid Heathrow, Luton, Stansted and Nottingham-East Midlands airports, with Birmingham, Edinburgh and Gatwick faring little better.
By Ben Fenton
(Filed: 28/08/2004)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...ixnewstop.html
The British airline industry is failing to provide high levels of customer satisfaction and the airports are even worse, a survey for the Telegraph shows today.
British Airways, by far the country's biggest airline, fares poorly in the poll of 4,000 passengers. It has endured a week of damaging publicity over cancelled flights at Heathrow because of staff shortages.
It is rated lower than its main British competitor, Virgin, on almost all counts. Passengers rank it equal to the low-cost Ryanair and Easyjet for punctuality, comfort and baggage handling.
Passengers say it comes bottom of the list for value when compared with its rivals, including bmi, formerly British Midland.
The most telling finding is that its passengers are significantly less satisfied with it than Virgin's are with their carrier and only marginally more than the passengers of low-cost airlines.
The poll will also depress the management at most of the country's airports, which are given the thumbs-down.
Senior BA executives, who will be manning check-in desks at Heathrow today in a show of solidarity with hard-pressed employees during the busiest weekend of the year, will be alarmed that the airline's ratings are as low as Ryanair's and Easyjet's in four of nine categories.
The airline cancelled more flights yesterday, bringing to more than 100 the number hit by the staff shortages.
The survey results will be an additional blow to Rod Eddington, the chief executive of the airline, who will be manning the pumps with 11 other directors.
He joined BA in 2001 at a time when it seemed poised to expand and become dominant in the world market. Since then its fortunes have gone into steep decline.
The survey shows that passengers who fly Virgin are more impressed by its service than the users of Easyjet, BA, Ryanair or bmi in all but two categories.
British Airways said: "We strive to provide the best possible services to our customers at all times.
"Clearly the last week has fallen short of our customers' expectations and for that we offer our sincere apologies."
Sir Richard Branson, who interrupted his Moroccan holiday to comment on the findings, was delighted with them.
He said: "Independent customer surveys are great because they give us feedback from our customers, which is invaluable as it keeps us on our toes. And, let's face it, they are even better when the feedback is this positive."
Ryanair, which yesterday halved fares on many routes, ranked bottom or equal bottom in every category except value for money.
A spokesman said: "Ryanair is Europe's No 1 airline for low fares and our average fare is £27. We give consumers what they want - low fares and great customer service - and the public are voting with their feet."
Easyjet said the survey dispelled the myth that low-cost airlines were inferior to full-service carriers such as BA.
Bmi declined to comment until it had seen the full results of the survey.
None of the airlines will draw comfort from the survey's findings that many British people hate the whole experience of flying.
More than 40 per cent say they do not mind flying but say it is "not much fun", while one in six dislikes flying altogether.
They say they would prefer to avoid Heathrow, Luton, Stansted and Nottingham-East Midlands airports, with Birmingham, Edinburgh and Gatwick faring little better.
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I have heard tonight from a serving BA staff member that BA are going to look at compensation issues for those who have been affected by the latest debacle on a "case by case" basis.
Very noble - let's hope that all those poor unfortunates are awarded at least the same as all serving BA Staff are just supposed to have received for services rendered - a nice letter from Mike Street and two FREE Hotline tickets to anywhere in the world. I am informed by my BA friend that this "award" is totally separate from the pay deal which is going through at the moment. Insensitive actions like this, when they become public, are bound to cause controversy.
Any BA staff out there like to comment - true or false?
Very noble - let's hope that all those poor unfortunates are awarded at least the same as all serving BA Staff are just supposed to have received for services rendered - a nice letter from Mike Street and two FREE Hotline tickets to anywhere in the world. I am informed by my BA friend that this "award" is totally separate from the pay deal which is going through at the moment. Insensitive actions like this, when they become public, are bound to cause controversy.
Any BA staff out there like to comment - true or false?
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They say they would prefer to avoid Heathrow, Luton, Stansted and Nottingham-East Midlands airports, with Birmingham, Edinburgh and Gatwick faring little better.
Their running out of options with airports to fly from if they plan to avoid these.
Their running out of options with airports to fly from if they plan to avoid these.
Thread Starter
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BA boss admits job cuts led to Heathrow check-in chaos
TRACEY BOLES Scotland On Sunday, Online, 29/08/04
BRITISH Airways chief executive Rod Eddington has admitted for the first
time that too many check-in staff have been made redundant under cost
saving initiatives implemented after September 11, leading to the scenes of
chaos at Heathrow last week.
Dozens of flights were cancelled because a shortage of check-in staff meant
passengers could not be processed. Eddington said: "I?ll be the first to
admit the cuts were too deep in this area. But we had to do it, we had no
choice. I wouldn?t still be here if we still had £6.5bn worth of debt on
the balance sheet."
Last week he was reported as saying he did not believe the City?s investors
had pushed the airline too hard to make cuts.
Pilots and cabin crew are among the 200 volunteers, including Eddington and
other senior airline executives, drafted in to staff Heathrow check-in
desks and terminals this weekend as the airline strives to avoid a repeat
of last week?s pandemonium over what is the busiest holiday period of the
year.
Eddington promised to conduct a "thorough investigation" into last Monday?s
events when BA was forced to cancel 51 flights, blaming lack of manpower
and technical problems.
The Australian, who has been at the airline since 2000, said it was too
early to say whether management heads would roll over the debacle which
stretched into Tuesday and Wednesday as more flights were axed and queues
built up.
Full story at
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com...?id=1011662004
BRITISH Airways chief executive Rod Eddington has admitted for the first
time that too many check-in staff have been made redundant under cost
saving initiatives implemented after September 11, leading to the scenes of
chaos at Heathrow last week.
Dozens of flights were cancelled because a shortage of check-in staff meant
passengers could not be processed. Eddington said: "I?ll be the first to
admit the cuts were too deep in this area. But we had to do it, we had no
choice. I wouldn?t still be here if we still had £6.5bn worth of debt on
the balance sheet."
Last week he was reported as saying he did not believe the City?s investors
had pushed the airline too hard to make cuts.
Pilots and cabin crew are among the 200 volunteers, including Eddington and
other senior airline executives, drafted in to staff Heathrow check-in
desks and terminals this weekend as the airline strives to avoid a repeat
of last week?s pandemonium over what is the busiest holiday period of the
year.
Eddington promised to conduct a "thorough investigation" into last Monday?s
events when BA was forced to cancel 51 flights, blaming lack of manpower
and technical problems.
The Australian, who has been at the airline since 2000, said it was too
early to say whether management heads would roll over the debacle which
stretched into Tuesday and Wednesday as more flights were axed and queues
built up.
Full story at
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com...?id=1011662004
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Jobs of British Airways Directors Under Threat, Telegraph Says
Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) --
Three senior directors at British Airways Plc face pressure as Chief Executive Rod Eddington starts an investigation into last week's flight delays, the Sunday Telegraph said, citing an unidentified executive at the airline.
The positions of Mike Street, the airline's director of customer services, and Mervyn Walker, director of U.K. airports, are under threat, the newspaper said. The job of Peter Read, an operations director, is also under threat, the paper said.
Europe's second-biggest airline grounded 60 departing flights last Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, four flights were canceled. British Airways has cut 13,000 jobs and slashed costs by 869 million pounds ($1.57 billion) in three years to counter competition from low-cost carriers such as EasyJet Plc.
(Sunday Telegraph 8-29, Business 1)
To contact the reporter on this story:
Richard Blackden on [email protected]
Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) --
Three senior directors at British Airways Plc face pressure as Chief Executive Rod Eddington starts an investigation into last week's flight delays, the Sunday Telegraph said, citing an unidentified executive at the airline.
The positions of Mike Street, the airline's director of customer services, and Mervyn Walker, director of U.K. airports, are under threat, the newspaper said. The job of Peter Read, an operations director, is also under threat, the paper said.
Europe's second-biggest airline grounded 60 departing flights last Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, four flights were canceled. British Airways has cut 13,000 jobs and slashed costs by 869 million pounds ($1.57 billion) in three years to counter competition from low-cost carriers such as EasyJet Plc.
(Sunday Telegraph 8-29, Business 1)
To contact the reporter on this story:
Richard Blackden on [email protected]
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What is wrong with the engineering side of BA. Flights cancelled due to defective aircraft, 3 across the pond on one day. A couple of reported diversions in North America in one week.
If all these things were happening with their low cost competitors the Pprune forums would be red hot.
If all these things were happening with their low cost competitors the Pprune forums would be red hot.
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I think the Hotline tickets thing is a bit of a red herring as I haven't been offered one. I did hear a rumour that it was Customer Service staff only but I think a rumour is all it is. It would certainly be ironic if the people who threatened to strike and engaged in mass sickies over the last few months received a bonus whilst the people who stayed at work trying to help the customers got nothing.
Nice to read that Mike Streets position is under threat. The airline would be a far more effective and efficient company if we could lose that throwback to the days of nationalised industry. Most of the problems in BA these days can be laid squarely at the door of his bloated, inefficient empire.
The engineering side of BA is struggling with a lack of spares due to a new computer system which is putting a lot of pressure on the engineers to keep as many aircraft servicable as possible. No aircraft means cancellation. The diversions are entireley unrelated. I doubt three technical cancellations in one day at any low cost airline would make the news.
Nice to read that Mike Streets position is under threat. The airline would be a far more effective and efficient company if we could lose that throwback to the days of nationalised industry. Most of the problems in BA these days can be laid squarely at the door of his bloated, inefficient empire.
The engineering side of BA is struggling with a lack of spares due to a new computer system which is putting a lot of pressure on the engineers to keep as many aircraft servicable as possible. No aircraft means cancellation. The diversions are entireley unrelated. I doubt three technical cancellations in one day at any low cost airline would make the news.
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How can diversions due to technical defects be unrelated?.
These 2 diversions and the 3 cancellations due to defects all within a couple of days must be related and are symptoms of deficiences with BA. How many BA aircraft are being forced to fly with defects because of these problems?.
These 2 diversions and the 3 cancellations due to defects all within a couple of days must be related and are symptoms of deficiences with BA. How many BA aircraft are being forced to fly with defects because of these problems?.
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Can you assure us the diversions were solely due to technical reasons, and can you explain exactly what the technical failures were? I hate to be the one to break it to you but serviceable aircraft break fairly frequently and occasionally they divert. A significant failure in one system does not necessarily relate to an unservicable part of another system and if the aircraft were not safe to fly in accordance with the manufacturers rules they wouldn't be in the air. Most BA aircraft are flying around with defects at the moment, as are most aircraft in any airline. BAs aircraft are flying around with more than usual for BA, but I have no idea what the average is for other operators.
I've just seen todays Sunday Times with a report on the free Hotline tickets for ground staff. Gobsmacking! Seems the way to do business now is to threaten a strike, get a big bonus, reluctantly show up to work, do as little as possible, go home at the end of your shift without going the extra inch to help the customers and award yourself two free tickets! Wish I'd known that yesterday when my flights were disrupted, I could have walked off the flight deck and won a free holiday.
I've just seen todays Sunday Times with a report on the free Hotline tickets for ground staff. Gobsmacking! Seems the way to do business now is to threaten a strike, get a big bonus, reluctantly show up to work, do as little as possible, go home at the end of your shift without going the extra inch to help the customers and award yourself two free tickets! Wish I'd known that yesterday when my flights were disrupted, I could have walked off the flight deck and won a free holiday.
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Carnage Matey!..
re my post about the Hotline tickets - my friend is a CSA in T4 - I have no reason to doubt his word. Also, apparently, there is something about these ticket awards in today's Sunday Times (I haven't read it myself though). I bet that has pleased the (not-yet-compensated) stranded punters no end!
Just shows what you can get if you put your collective foot down!
re my post about the Hotline tickets - my friend is a CSA in T4 - I have no reason to doubt his word. Also, apparently, there is something about these ticket awards in today's Sunday Times (I haven't read it myself though). I bet that has pleased the (not-yet-compensated) stranded punters no end!
Just shows what you can get if you put your collective foot down!
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According to STimes, staff giveaway will cost 4m. This reaction reminds me of the "we were wonderful" self congratulation from the management to staff after last year's walk-outs. A strange sense of priority yet again which reinforces the impression that certain parts of BA are run for the benefit of those within - one wonders if/when the true victims, the customers, will get similar largesse and whether it might not have been more sensitive to make a gesture in their direction first? Whatever the rights & wrongs, the image is sure taking a self inflicted knock, and shareholders will not put up with this, I suspect.
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Hmmm, Used to work at BA and it was imploding even then. Constant cycle of bizarre management creating cycnical defeatist staff. If it wasn't for the human carnage that would result (for the staff) i'd love to see the end of BA. It might open up a few slots at LHR also. Problem is most airlines seem to just as bad as far as managemant/morale goes.
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Interesting letter in todays Times from GEOFFREY C. LLOYD,
Research Fellow, University of Wales.
If an outsider could see the problems within BA 7 years ago, begs the question what the Board have been doing in the meantime.
Research Fellow, University of Wales.
In early 1997, I carried out PhD research into staff/management attitudes in 34 UK companies, including British Airways. I sent the results to the then Chief Executive, Bob Ayling, but heard nothing further.
I quote from my research findings at BA:
The figure that should cause the most concern is the 87 per cent of the workforce that considered that management had not earned their loyalty. This was the highest figure shown from any of the 34 FT 100 companies that took part in the survey. A further 70 per cent did not believe management practised its stated values.
It appears that the airline is still failing its shareholders, customers and its greatest asset, its staff, and will continue to to do so until management accepts that it must engage with staff at all levels in all aspects of the business.
I quote from my research findings at BA:
The figure that should cause the most concern is the 87 per cent of the workforce that considered that management had not earned their loyalty. This was the highest figure shown from any of the 34 FT 100 companies that took part in the survey. A further 70 per cent did not believe management practised its stated values.
It appears that the airline is still failing its shareholders, customers and its greatest asset, its staff, and will continue to to do so until management accepts that it must engage with staff at all levels in all aspects of the business.
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The company lacks direction and leadership. Line management are unwilling or unable to challenge custom and practices that have become worst not better. We seem to be getting more like Marks & Spencer trying to flog questionable quality and styles to people that aren't that interested in the product and can get elsewhere for less. The status enjoyed by both companies has virtually evaporated.
Further compounded when I see we are using a 'Titan' 737 today to cover shortfalls.
Further compounded when I see we are using a 'Titan' 737 today to cover shortfalls.
Last edited by HZ123; 30th Aug 2004 at 11:19.