Chaos at Terminal 5
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1. With this wonderful new £4billion terminal, why do 45% of the stands not have a Finger? Is that just down to lack of space?
And how many stands are remote and not adjacent to the terminal -those won't have bridges I suppose ?
Looking forward to my trip through T5 in August......
Suzeman
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Going through tomorrow from Manchester and back on Friday, Ive already decided on just a carry on bag so as not to lose my luggage. If I can log on tomorrow I will let you know how I get on.
Rob
from Manchester and back on Friday, Ive already decided on just a carry on bag so as not to lose my luggage. If I can log on tomorrow I will let you know how I get on.Rob
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Interesting comments, VintageKrug, but I'm not sure about passengers' short memories. Consider the relative success of Europe's three largest "legacy" carriers. Between 1998 and 2006 RPKs at BA grew only 2.6% from 112,029 million to 114,896 million. In the case of Lufthansa the growth was 40.9%, from 81,401 million to 114,672 million. Air France, not even in the world's "top 10" in 1998 in terms of RPKs, was placed fourth in 2006 (and this excludes KLM) behind American, United and Delta, with 123,458 million. Now I know that there might be factors unique to the German and French carriers' growth, but might this not also point to BA's long-term decline (and to its over-reliance on the truly awful LHR)?
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Going through tomorrow from Manchester and back on Friday, Ive already decided on just a carry on bag so as not to lose my luggage. If I can log on tomorrow I will let you know how I get on.
from Manchester and back on Friday, Ive already decided on just a carry on bag so as not to lose my luggage. If I can log on tomorrow I will let you know how I get on.
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overstress
Why do you say that. One writes as an engineer, the other writes as a pilot (meaning what/how they discuss certain of expertise)
FAStoat is the same person as BAengineering
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Heathrow must Thrive
Superb little ditty from Kalium Chloride
Still in a fix - need Terminal SIX
Might want to see if you can 'copyright' that statement. I've a feeling BAA might just want to use it soon
Still in a fix - need Terminal SIX
Might want to see if you can 'copyright' that statement. I've a feeling BAA might just want to use it soon
Everything is under control.
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Federal Express helps with baggage
"FedEx handled about 800 bags at Heathrow yesterday and plans to deliver about that many bags again today, spokeswoman Sally Davenport said. The Memphis, Tennessee-based company has an ongoing relationship with British Airways and has helped the carrier handle passenger baggage in the past, she said."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...efer=worldwide
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...efer=worldwide
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Sorry if this has been posted earlier - can't keep up with the thread.
I seem to think that someone made a comment about how inconspicuous BAA had been in all this. Well I have just found the article below in UK Airport News.
BAA's new chief executive, Colin Matthews, flew into a storm at Heathrow Terminal 5. He has started his job early to help cope with the problems, the Independent reports.
Mr Matthews was due to start on Tuesday (April 1), but attended the T5 opening at 04:00 last Thursday. He then stayed for two days to help deal with the chaos caused by the failure of the baggage-handling system. A spokesman for BAA told the newspaper: ‘He has been working flat out, helping us sort out the problems. He is firmly on board.’
So that's all right then.....
Suzeman
I seem to think that someone made a comment about how inconspicuous BAA had been in all this. Well I have just found the article below in UK Airport News.
BAA's new chief executive, Colin Matthews, flew into a storm at Heathrow Terminal 5. He has started his job early to help cope with the problems, the Independent reports.
Mr Matthews was due to start on Tuesday (April 1), but attended the T5 opening at 04:00 last Thursday. He then stayed for two days to help deal with the chaos caused by the failure of the baggage-handling system. A spokesman for BAA told the newspaper: ‘He has been working flat out, helping us sort out the problems. He is firmly on board.’
So that's all right then.....
Suzeman
I'm going to make a guess here.
There is a school of thought in IT management (and consultants like McKinsey's, Accenture, etc.) that suggests that if you are going to change to a new computer system that is supposed to produce manpower savings, then you need to sack the supposedly surplus staff before the system goes live and make those who are retained run the new system from day one.
The logic of this position is that if you don't do the change this way, those "under threat" will carefully embed themselves into the new system, complicate it, and that when you go looking for your supposed savings six months after day one, they are no where to be found because everyone's job is now "essential" to making the new system run.
Now such a ruthless "make it work you lot!" approach is defendable when you are dealing with a system handling little pieces of paper, I would suggest that it is indefensible when you are dealing with people.
My guess is that BA and BAA have adopted the above approach on the advice of some very very expensive and beautifully spoken consultants. The fog around T5 is miraculously supposed to clear almost of it's own accord within the month as "teething problems" are dealt with, leaving BA with a pared down workforce happily producing happy travellers in a spotless 21st century environment.
The result? Bonuses all round, golf claps at Board meetings - that's the vision that's been sold, and that's why the silence from the Board and Management is so overwhelming. They haven't panicked yet. The serfs are supposed to "get it" within the week and make the system work the way the Consultants designed it.
As for the passengers involved in this little experiment? What of them? From the top down your management would appear to be composed of Industrial psychopaths or narcissists. They hire each other. Who else do you think would have previously worked as Chairman of a tobacco company? They care nothing for the staff or customers because they don't do empathy.
I don't know which boutique consulting firm is advising them now, but if the fog around T5 doesn't clear within the month, then another boutique consulting firm will be called in to review what's been done, and in true consulting style, they will tell BA to start again from a bottom - up complete system redesign. It's at that time that the punishment of the innocent will begin and some lowly managers will be "let go".
Mind you I'm only guessing from my system integration management days.
I work for BA. ...........................................T5 is the same - we cut manpower to the bone because T5 was meant to require fewer people - look at us now, cancelling flights because we don't have enough baggage loaders to operate the system or cabin crew to operate flights.
The logic of this position is that if you don't do the change this way, those "under threat" will carefully embed themselves into the new system, complicate it, and that when you go looking for your supposed savings six months after day one, they are no where to be found because everyone's job is now "essential" to making the new system run.
Now such a ruthless "make it work you lot!" approach is defendable when you are dealing with a system handling little pieces of paper, I would suggest that it is indefensible when you are dealing with people.
My guess is that BA and BAA have adopted the above approach on the advice of some very very expensive and beautifully spoken consultants. The fog around T5 is miraculously supposed to clear almost of it's own accord within the month as "teething problems" are dealt with, leaving BA with a pared down workforce happily producing happy travellers in a spotless 21st century environment.
The result? Bonuses all round, golf claps at Board meetings - that's the vision that's been sold, and that's why the silence from the Board and Management is so overwhelming. They haven't panicked yet. The serfs are supposed to "get it" within the week and make the system work the way the Consultants designed it.
As for the passengers involved in this little experiment? What of them? From the top down your management would appear to be composed of Industrial psychopaths or narcissists. They hire each other. Who else do you think would have previously worked as Chairman of a tobacco company? They care nothing for the staff or customers because they don't do empathy.
I don't know which boutique consulting firm is advising them now, but if the fog around T5 doesn't clear within the month, then another boutique consulting firm will be called in to review what's been done, and in true consulting style, they will tell BA to start again from a bottom - up complete system redesign. It's at that time that the punishment of the innocent will begin and some lowly managers will be "let go".
Mind you I'm only guessing from my system integration management days.
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I cannot believe the BA Press Office are getting away with this? Along with WW Julia Simpson (ex Tony Blair Comms advisor!!!) and her door slamming media sullen faced oppo's should be shown the door. Surely Virgin, Bmi can show BA how to do PR....even the BAA are doing a better job!!!
Today, I hear BA's Director of Customer Service David Noyes (who was head of Heathrow for the last 3 years and should take responsibility) showed up at work................nice!
Today, I hear BA's Director of Customer Service David Noyes (who was head of Heathrow for the last 3 years and should take responsibility) showed up at work................nice!
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Terminal6???????
Of course if you were really cynical!!!!!!Is this just a ruse to force through a third runway at LHR?Think about it?BA vacates Terminal 1 and its main establishment Terminal 4.Other Airlines snap up the spaces and the all important slots.Terminal 5 departures then are totally blocked on taxiways to the northern runways.When flying the Shuttle, Lon-Edi-Gla-Lon,albeit several years ago,it was our Airline SOP to ask for pushback as soon as the Pax had boarded,so we could jump the queue.We automatically then also jumped the queue for the tug.By the time our tug arrived we were hopefully all shut up and the Cabin briefings underway.This was deliberately done by other Airlines as well,to block BA,especially out of GLA,when you had to give an estimate to Deans Cross.As for Terminal 5 departures,it will be all too easy to do exactly the same,but worse.On European routes,Lufthansa used to do this regularly,even with other crews complaining they were still boarding when they called for push and start!!!All in a days work-you might think childish-but when competing for Pax,my Pax would be out and racing for Hatton Cross tube,before the BA 757 was on stand.BA asks for all it gets in my humble opinion.
overstress:
"FAStoat is the same person as BAengineering"
I think you are getting just a little paranoid dear boy. Unless BAengineering flew Sea Furies in the Navy, they are most definitely not the same person!
"FAStoat is the same person as BAengineering"
I think you are getting just a little paranoid dear boy. Unless BAengineering flew Sea Furies in the Navy, they are most definitely not the same person!
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BAA's new chief executive, Colin Matthews
BAA's new chief executive, Colin Matthews, flew into a storm at Heathrow Terminal 5.
Colin Matthews, 51, is the technocrats’ troubleshooter. Toronto-born, the former chief executive of Hays and Severn Trent has a reputation for being a technician and a safe pair of hands, ideal for BAA where regulatory complexity goes hand in hand with an almost daily need for damage limitation.
Sir Nigel Rudd, the chairman who was responsible for his appointment after a very discreet recruitment exercise, has not worked directly with him before. However, Mr Matthews is understood to have been recommended to Sir Nigel by Sir John Parker, the chairman of National Grid.
Educated at Cambridge and Paris business school, Mr Matthews first came to Sir John’s attention when National Grid was buying Lattice, the owner of gas networks group Transco. He was a director of both Transco and Lattice.
In the last 11 years, Mr Matthews, an engineer by training, has spent no more than two years in any one job.
Following a three-year stint at Bain, the management consultancy in the mid-80s, he has worked at General Electric, British Airways, Transco, Lattice, Hays and latterly water company Severn Trent.
At Hays and Severn Trent, where he held chief executive roles he garnered a reputation for successfully breaking up companies. He demerged Hays’s mail business DX and at Severn Trent, demerged Biffa, its waste business.
If BAA’s owner Ferrovial is forced by the regulator to sell off any of its airports or takes that route because of difficulties refinancing its huge debts, Mr Matthews is adept at profitably spinning off businesses.
His deep knowledge of the aviation sector will also please BAA’s biggest customers - the airlines. His knowledge of aviation goes back to his time at British Airways, where he was first director of engineering then director of technical operations, responsible for all aircraft maintenance, IT and procurement.
Mr Matthews’s time at Severn Trent, in which he had to oversee the fallout from a whistleblower which led to Serious Fraud Office charges being laid against the company, will also have equipped him with the crisis management and public relations skills to deal with the constant criticism levelled at the airports group.
So one less excuse then?
Been there, got the teeshirt ?
Colin Matthews, 51, is the technocrats’ troubleshooter. Toronto-born, the former chief executive of Hays and Severn Trent has a reputation for being a technician and a safe pair of hands, ideal for BAA where regulatory complexity goes hand in hand with an almost daily need for damage limitation.
Sir Nigel Rudd, the chairman who was responsible for his appointment after a very discreet recruitment exercise, has not worked directly with him before. However, Mr Matthews is understood to have been recommended to Sir Nigel by Sir John Parker, the chairman of National Grid.
Educated at Cambridge and Paris business school, Mr Matthews first came to Sir John’s attention when National Grid was buying Lattice, the owner of gas networks group Transco. He was a director of both Transco and Lattice.
In the last 11 years, Mr Matthews, an engineer by training, has spent no more than two years in any one job.
Following a three-year stint at Bain, the management consultancy in the mid-80s, he has worked at General Electric, British Airways, Transco, Lattice, Hays and latterly water company Severn Trent.
At Hays and Severn Trent, where he held chief executive roles he garnered a reputation for successfully breaking up companies. He demerged Hays’s mail business DX and at Severn Trent, demerged Biffa, its waste business.
If BAA’s owner Ferrovial is forced by the regulator to sell off any of its airports or takes that route because of difficulties refinancing its huge debts, Mr Matthews is adept at profitably spinning off businesses.
His deep knowledge of the aviation sector will also please BAA’s biggest customers - the airlines. His knowledge of aviation goes back to his time at British Airways, where he was first director of engineering then director of technical operations, responsible for all aircraft maintenance, IT and procurement.
Mr Matthews’s time at Severn Trent, in which he had to oversee the fallout from a whistleblower which led to Serious Fraud Office charges being laid against the company, will also have equipped him with the crisis management and public relations skills to deal with the constant criticism levelled at the airports group.
So one less excuse then?
Been there, got the teeshirt ?
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Looks like they finally managed to silence BAengineering. First ban the media from the terminal then silence the voices of dissent 
Who's next?
Mugabe you have friends here....
Who's next?
Mugabe you have friends here....