BA Management (Split From T5 Thread)
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Get Willie Out
How can the CEO of a company say the above, 1 mth in advance of opening, and hope to keep hold of his job. He states he actually spent much time with the baggage system, that the staff are all well trained. He lied, pure and simple and must go..... Keep this on thread till he does.
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The T5 fiasco,chopping of kirkwood and noyes,does the demise of those two sort the inherent problems of management within BA ? i think not.the whole structure needs a complete shake up,the airline needs a charismatic leader who can get the demotivated workforce back onside.for years employees have been treated as a cost which needs to be reduced,rather than a well trained,professional workforce,vital to the prosperity of the company and it's long term future.T5 is a shining example of replacing humans with self service machines,fine when things run smoothly,utterly useless when the operation falls apart,have you ever tried asking a machine for help or assistance ?the current leadership team has based it's whole strategy on cost cutting and technology,sadly the technology hasn't worked and the cost cutting left no backup when it was needed.that decision, to me should decide their fate.airlines are a people business,passengers expect to talk to people and be assisted by caring,well trained,professional employees,not stranded in a check-in hall with a machine for company.creating the climate for real success doesn't mean extra cost,just treat your workforce with respect,let them know they are valued and listen to the people that actually do the jobs day in and day out.it's so simple,yet BA seem to get it all so wrong.i wish i could run BA for 12 months,it would be a totally different operation!
Bermuda, you have to start with changing the Board, because no "charismatic leader" is going to work for that shower unless he has a free hand, and that won't be forthcoming.
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Observer Newspaper article
* Business
* British Airways
Walsh hits heavy turbulence
T5 is not the only problem facing BA's beleaguered chief - his staff are angry and his competitors threatening. Tim Webb reports
* Tim Webb
* The Observer,
* Sunday April 20 2008
* Article history
About this article
Close
This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday April 20 2008 on p6 of the Business news & features section. It was last updated at 00:03 on April 20 2008.
Not many chief executives have a computer game named after them, but players of 'Wee Willie Walsh' can manoeuvre the beleaguered boss of British Airways around a baggage carousel, scoring points by getting him to place bags on to the conveyor belt safely. The creators of the online game insist they are fans and say Walsh is going a 'great job turning round the problems he inherited'.
Walsh, who has endured a torrid few weeks since the shambolic opening of BA's flagship Terminal 5 at Heathrow, might not appreciate being the laughing stock of the online gaming world, but he needs all the support he can get. A mountain of problems - and not just the thousands of lost bags - are piling up for him. Unions are threatening to strike, the airline's fuel bill is rocketing and the economic downturn is hitting bookings.
Competition with rival carriers is also hotting up with the opening-up of flights last month between Heathrow and the US, a route BA has traditionally dominated. These same rivals are getting bigger - and more powerful - through mergers and takeovers. But Walsh's attempts to do the same have been frustrated by protectionism and his rivals. It all paints a bleak picture. Is BA, like Terminal 5, broken? And can Willie fix it?
To recap, more than 350 flights have been cancelled since Terminal 5 opened at the end of March. BA has lost an estimated 19,000 bags, most of which were driven to Milan for sorting. Many have yet to be returned to their owners.
The terminal is now running more smoothly, though BA is anxious not to tempt fate and pronounce the baggage system fixed. But the disruption is set to continue, with BA admitting that the transfer of most of its long-haul services from Terminal 4 to the new building may not be complete until October. It is fair to say that, among passengers, BA is currently not, as its Nineties' slogan told everyone, 'The world's favourite airline'.
BA has estimated the cost of the Terminal 5 shambles at £16m in lost revenue and compensation. But the damage to its brand - and popularity - is already worrying the City. Morgan Stanley analysts estimate total costs could be more like £150m.
The first indications of how badly the Terminal 5 chaos has affected BA's bookings will be revealed in its April traffic figures next month. One top 10 shareholder says: 'If this goes on too long it would damage the franchise and the value of the brand. If the transfer of the rest of flights from Terminal 4 to 5 is a complete horlicks, you may get people saying "I will not fly with BA".'
Walsh has come in for criticism for his handling of the chaos. Last week, Gareth Kirkwood, BA's director of operations and David Noyes, its director of customer services, were fired. This was despite Walsh, a day after the opening of Terminal 5, insisting: 'I am not going to start trying to find someone else to point the finger at ... The buck stops with me.'
Peter Knapp, a creative director specialising in aviation at branding and design agency Landor Associates, says the damage to BA's brand will 'linger for a long time', and believes that executives need to be seen to be doing more to sort out the mess. 'The public's impression is that BA is sorting out the problems with Terminal 5 from a distance and in an aloof way. Executives should go meet passengers on the ground to apologise to them personally as a gesture of commitment to the problem.'
Like many of his predecessors, Walsh also faces another battle on the union front. Pilots' association Balpa is going to the High Court next month for the right to strike over BA's plans to set up a new airline this summer.
Called Open Skies and flying between Paris and New York, the carrier is BA's way of trying to embrace the competition forced upon it by the liberalisation of the market in flights to the US. The airline wants to recruit new, non-unionised pilots, whom Balpa believes will be paid less, leading to an eventual deterioration of conditions for mainstream BA pilots. BA argues the subsidiary would not be economic if the new pilots had the same terms and conditions as Balpa's members. It claims that European legislation prevents Balpa striking over this issue.
If Balpa wins the court case, Walsh would be left with an impossible situation. After Terminal 5, he can't afford a mass walk-out that would bring more disruption and cancelled flights this summer. Neither can BA, already being squeezed by a soaring fuel bill and low-cost competitors, afford to cave in.
Relations between pilots and management appear to be at an all-time low. According to Jim McAuslan, Balpa general secretary, pilots are very unhappy with BA: 'Balpa has not sought to capitalise on the T5 chaos. But they are deeply ashamed of this debacle and what their airline is becoming.'
He adds that pilots are becoming disenchanted with what they perceive as wider, deep-rooted management failings. 'BA is no longer focused on its core business - getting customer care right. There is a feeling among staff that the only thing that matters is the margin. You get a feeling that the company is more aggressively run. Maybe this is required to be more competitive, but it has gone too far.'
He also suggests that the management culture has made it difficult for employees to speak up. 'There is a climate of fear. We are no longer prepared to stay silent, like the senior managers who kept silent about the impending disaster in the run-up to the opening of Terminal 5.'
The City is not enamoured with BA either: shares are down by almost a third since February. Last month, BA warned that fuel costs would rise by about a fifth in the current financial year because of soaring oil prices. As a result, Morgan Stanley has downgraded BA's earnings estimates for the year by almost half.
Analysts also say the airline is more exposed than most to the credit crunch. Passengers travelling in first and business class generate about half its revenues, but about half of these passengers work in the financial sector, making them among the worst hit by the crunch. Such corporate customers are the most likely to start cutting back on flights.
Because of Open Skies, airlines - including BA - are increasing flights to the US in the race for market share on the new transatlantic routes. With the economic downturn, they could not have chosen a worse moment. Andrew Lobbenberg, an analyst at ABN Amro, says: 'Demand on North Atlantic routes is softening for economy class and holding up for premium class. It's not clear for how long this can continue.'
A lot of BA's woes are not of its - nor Walsh's - making and are common to other airlines. The former pilot, who became chief executive in 2005, has got a great deal right: he has ditched the loss-making short-haul subsidiary BA Connect, halved the pension deficit, started to modernise the fleet, and slashed levels of debt. But whatever the outcome of its current travails, in the longer term the future for the airline is uncertain. Joe Gill of stockbroker Goodbody says: 'The big question for BA and Willie Walsh is: where will the airline be in five-to-10 years' time? Will it scale up, or will it get gobbled up by another carrier?'
The Open Skies agreement and the worsening economic climate have triggered a wave of consolidation by airlines. Scaling up gives an airline greater operational efficiency and more clout in bulk-ordering aircraft. So far this has passed BA by; there are not many airlines it can buy. Lufthansa already holds a blocking stake in BMI, BA's most likely takeover candidate. Competition issues would prevent a takeover of Virgin Atlantic, while the Spanish government seems to have put paid to its attempts to buy Iberia. The much-rumoured merger with American Airlines also seems unlikely to happen, as long as American protectionist sentiment holds sway.
Walsh may not attract much sympathy from passengers still waiting for their lost bags to be returned, but calls for his resignation are premature. Shareholders and Balpa have made clear they do not want his head on a plate. None the less, patience - and goodwill - is evaporating fast. As Gill says: 'If Terminal 5 is in the headlines for three weeks, it's not a problem. But if it is still in the headlines in June or July, Walsh has a problem - and it could cost him his job.'
* British Airways
Walsh hits heavy turbulence
T5 is not the only problem facing BA's beleaguered chief - his staff are angry and his competitors threatening. Tim Webb reports
* Tim Webb
* The Observer,
* Sunday April 20 2008
* Article history
About this article
Close
This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday April 20 2008 on p6 of the Business news & features section. It was last updated at 00:03 on April 20 2008.
Not many chief executives have a computer game named after them, but players of 'Wee Willie Walsh' can manoeuvre the beleaguered boss of British Airways around a baggage carousel, scoring points by getting him to place bags on to the conveyor belt safely. The creators of the online game insist they are fans and say Walsh is going a 'great job turning round the problems he inherited'.
Walsh, who has endured a torrid few weeks since the shambolic opening of BA's flagship Terminal 5 at Heathrow, might not appreciate being the laughing stock of the online gaming world, but he needs all the support he can get. A mountain of problems - and not just the thousands of lost bags - are piling up for him. Unions are threatening to strike, the airline's fuel bill is rocketing and the economic downturn is hitting bookings.
Competition with rival carriers is also hotting up with the opening-up of flights last month between Heathrow and the US, a route BA has traditionally dominated. These same rivals are getting bigger - and more powerful - through mergers and takeovers. But Walsh's attempts to do the same have been frustrated by protectionism and his rivals. It all paints a bleak picture. Is BA, like Terminal 5, broken? And can Willie fix it?
To recap, more than 350 flights have been cancelled since Terminal 5 opened at the end of March. BA has lost an estimated 19,000 bags, most of which were driven to Milan for sorting. Many have yet to be returned to their owners.
The terminal is now running more smoothly, though BA is anxious not to tempt fate and pronounce the baggage system fixed. But the disruption is set to continue, with BA admitting that the transfer of most of its long-haul services from Terminal 4 to the new building may not be complete until October. It is fair to say that, among passengers, BA is currently not, as its Nineties' slogan told everyone, 'The world's favourite airline'.
BA has estimated the cost of the Terminal 5 shambles at £16m in lost revenue and compensation. But the damage to its brand - and popularity - is already worrying the City. Morgan Stanley analysts estimate total costs could be more like £150m.
The first indications of how badly the Terminal 5 chaos has affected BA's bookings will be revealed in its April traffic figures next month. One top 10 shareholder says: 'If this goes on too long it would damage the franchise and the value of the brand. If the transfer of the rest of flights from Terminal 4 to 5 is a complete horlicks, you may get people saying "I will not fly with BA".'
Walsh has come in for criticism for his handling of the chaos. Last week, Gareth Kirkwood, BA's director of operations and David Noyes, its director of customer services, were fired. This was despite Walsh, a day after the opening of Terminal 5, insisting: 'I am not going to start trying to find someone else to point the finger at ... The buck stops with me.'
Peter Knapp, a creative director specialising in aviation at branding and design agency Landor Associates, says the damage to BA's brand will 'linger for a long time', and believes that executives need to be seen to be doing more to sort out the mess. 'The public's impression is that BA is sorting out the problems with Terminal 5 from a distance and in an aloof way. Executives should go meet passengers on the ground to apologise to them personally as a gesture of commitment to the problem.'
Like many of his predecessors, Walsh also faces another battle on the union front. Pilots' association Balpa is going to the High Court next month for the right to strike over BA's plans to set up a new airline this summer.
Called Open Skies and flying between Paris and New York, the carrier is BA's way of trying to embrace the competition forced upon it by the liberalisation of the market in flights to the US. The airline wants to recruit new, non-unionised pilots, whom Balpa believes will be paid less, leading to an eventual deterioration of conditions for mainstream BA pilots. BA argues the subsidiary would not be economic if the new pilots had the same terms and conditions as Balpa's members. It claims that European legislation prevents Balpa striking over this issue.
If Balpa wins the court case, Walsh would be left with an impossible situation. After Terminal 5, he can't afford a mass walk-out that would bring more disruption and cancelled flights this summer. Neither can BA, already being squeezed by a soaring fuel bill and low-cost competitors, afford to cave in.
Relations between pilots and management appear to be at an all-time low. According to Jim McAuslan, Balpa general secretary, pilots are very unhappy with BA: 'Balpa has not sought to capitalise on the T5 chaos. But they are deeply ashamed of this debacle and what their airline is becoming.'
He adds that pilots are becoming disenchanted with what they perceive as wider, deep-rooted management failings. 'BA is no longer focused on its core business - getting customer care right. There is a feeling among staff that the only thing that matters is the margin. You get a feeling that the company is more aggressively run. Maybe this is required to be more competitive, but it has gone too far.'
He also suggests that the management culture has made it difficult for employees to speak up. 'There is a climate of fear. We are no longer prepared to stay silent, like the senior managers who kept silent about the impending disaster in the run-up to the opening of Terminal 5.'
The City is not enamoured with BA either: shares are down by almost a third since February. Last month, BA warned that fuel costs would rise by about a fifth in the current financial year because of soaring oil prices. As a result, Morgan Stanley has downgraded BA's earnings estimates for the year by almost half.
Analysts also say the airline is more exposed than most to the credit crunch. Passengers travelling in first and business class generate about half its revenues, but about half of these passengers work in the financial sector, making them among the worst hit by the crunch. Such corporate customers are the most likely to start cutting back on flights.
Because of Open Skies, airlines - including BA - are increasing flights to the US in the race for market share on the new transatlantic routes. With the economic downturn, they could not have chosen a worse moment. Andrew Lobbenberg, an analyst at ABN Amro, says: 'Demand on North Atlantic routes is softening for economy class and holding up for premium class. It's not clear for how long this can continue.'
A lot of BA's woes are not of its - nor Walsh's - making and are common to other airlines. The former pilot, who became chief executive in 2005, has got a great deal right: he has ditched the loss-making short-haul subsidiary BA Connect, halved the pension deficit, started to modernise the fleet, and slashed levels of debt. But whatever the outcome of its current travails, in the longer term the future for the airline is uncertain. Joe Gill of stockbroker Goodbody says: 'The big question for BA and Willie Walsh is: where will the airline be in five-to-10 years' time? Will it scale up, or will it get gobbled up by another carrier?'
The Open Skies agreement and the worsening economic climate have triggered a wave of consolidation by airlines. Scaling up gives an airline greater operational efficiency and more clout in bulk-ordering aircraft. So far this has passed BA by; there are not many airlines it can buy. Lufthansa already holds a blocking stake in BMI, BA's most likely takeover candidate. Competition issues would prevent a takeover of Virgin Atlantic, while the Spanish government seems to have put paid to its attempts to buy Iberia. The much-rumoured merger with American Airlines also seems unlikely to happen, as long as American protectionist sentiment holds sway.
Walsh may not attract much sympathy from passengers still waiting for their lost bags to be returned, but calls for his resignation are premature. Shareholders and Balpa have made clear they do not want his head on a plate. None the less, patience - and goodwill - is evaporating fast. As Gill says: 'If Terminal 5 is in the headlines for three weeks, it's not a problem. But if it is still in the headlines in June or July, Walsh has a problem - and it could cost him his job.'
Controversial, moi?
The airline wants to recruit new, non-unionised pilots, whom Balpa believes will be paid less, leading to an eventual deterioration of conditions for mainstream BA pilots. BA argues the subsidiary would not be economic if the new pilots had the same terms and conditions as Balpa's members.
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Welcome to the swamp
As a PAX I watch the BA T5 fiasco with a certain amount of detachment, but not as much detachment as I'm comfortable with, and when names like Accenture are mentioned and MBAs I get a sense of deja vu. I work for the NHS which is a less regulated but structurally more complex organisation and the morass where the NHS is now looks to be where BA is heading.
I was involved in the NHS cock up with Accenture (with others too) and thier set of assorted letters and numbers in random order that was presented as a computer system for the NHS. Blaming computer systems is old hat... as a user of that system you should make sure it (censored) well works otherwise throw it back at the company that supplied it.. and test it first! There is a problem, however, and that is if a manager's meteoric career depends on the system working and hasnt worked with the people that are going to use it. Cognitive dissonance can be deafening when things arent going smoothly.
NHS management is not there to manage (ie run an organisation that works smoothly and to be fit for purpose) but to advance thier own careers and shareholder/stakeholder/Government interests. The division between the two standpoints is widening and absorbing resources as well as compromising safety. I can expand on this ad nauseam but I dont think its necessary as I beleive that most posters here understand the parallels between the NHS and BA.
This mangement/workforce division is a long way from the mliitancy of the union workforce of the 1970s. Many of the comments I hear on this site are reflected in the comments from my own organisation in the terms of "We would love to do a first class job but we cannot due to management" With the NHS things are so bad that I cannot see them ever being recitifed. I fear that BA is headed that way too.
As SLF could I also comment about MOL and Ryanair? I am not a business account traveller and therefore cost is important. I know I'm gonna be treated like shyte but I pay less for the flight from a local airport than than i ever could with BA by a huge margin so it means I can go places by air - I simply cant afford to travel BA as I have to go to London (expensive and hassle - baggage problems and T5 aside)
Ryanair, (BMI and Easyjet too for that matter) gets to where I want to go safely and competently. I can put up with being livestock for 2 hours or so. I'm not so sure about long haul but I use European routes about 5 times a year to long haul about once every two years.
I was involved in the NHS cock up with Accenture (with others too) and thier set of assorted letters and numbers in random order that was presented as a computer system for the NHS. Blaming computer systems is old hat... as a user of that system you should make sure it (censored) well works otherwise throw it back at the company that supplied it.. and test it first! There is a problem, however, and that is if a manager's meteoric career depends on the system working and hasnt worked with the people that are going to use it. Cognitive dissonance can be deafening when things arent going smoothly.
NHS management is not there to manage (ie run an organisation that works smoothly and to be fit for purpose) but to advance thier own careers and shareholder/stakeholder/Government interests. The division between the two standpoints is widening and absorbing resources as well as compromising safety. I can expand on this ad nauseam but I dont think its necessary as I beleive that most posters here understand the parallels between the NHS and BA.
This mangement/workforce division is a long way from the mliitancy of the union workforce of the 1970s. Many of the comments I hear on this site are reflected in the comments from my own organisation in the terms of "We would love to do a first class job but we cannot due to management" With the NHS things are so bad that I cannot see them ever being recitifed. I fear that BA is headed that way too.
As SLF could I also comment about MOL and Ryanair? I am not a business account traveller and therefore cost is important. I know I'm gonna be treated like shyte but I pay less for the flight from a local airport than than i ever could with BA by a huge margin so it means I can go places by air - I simply cant afford to travel BA as I have to go to London (expensive and hassle - baggage problems and T5 aside)
Ryanair, (BMI and Easyjet too for that matter) gets to where I want to go safely and competently. I can put up with being livestock for 2 hours or so. I'm not so sure about long haul but I use European routes about 5 times a year to long haul about once every two years.
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For all of BA's present management troubles I don’t think it's anything like as bad as the NHS. 
At least BA isn’t killing its customers (at least not yet), losing their bags maybe but no ones leaving with C-Diff or MRSA. The big difference of course is that BA is a private company and will eventually go bust if it doesn’t deliver. It will be punished by the market. The NHS is in the public sector, can’t go bust and just gets propped up by the Government and hosed down with ever more public cash. I don’t expect anytime soon to here that Rose Gibb is the new BA Customer Service Manager. Now that would be a nightmare.
At least BA isn’t killing its customers (at least not yet), losing their bags maybe but no ones leaving with C-Diff or MRSA. The big difference of course is that BA is a private company and will eventually go bust if it doesn’t deliver. It will be punished by the market. The NHS is in the public sector, can’t go bust and just gets propped up by the Government and hosed down with ever more public cash. I don’t expect anytime soon to here that Rose Gibb is the new BA Customer Service Manager. Now that would be a nightmare. Join Date: Sep 2005
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At least BA isn’t killing its customers (at least not yet)...
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I had cause to pass through T5 last night following a diversion to LGW and a brief, but very pleasant stroll in the sunshine following our evacuation on TWY E.
Coach chartered to take us to LHR (T5). On leaving the M25, where do we go? No signs to indicate the correct route for coaches (i.e. we were not a scheduled service) but plenty saying don't go this way (height restrictions). Our driver followed a National Express coach on the premise that if he could fit, so could we!
Parked, and a very "nice" man told us to move on. No discussion, no advice, just move! Eventually after much pleading we were told to leave the airport and come back in and park in another place. He suggested upstairs at pax drop-off. He may well have been correct, but all the signs we saw for upstairs mentioned height restrictions and therefore decapitation for coach drivers and their pax. He also said we could park in bay 17 in another bus lane which is what we eventually did.
Got to bay 17 - no baggage trollies.
Went inside T5 and took the lift to the departure level. V. few staff and most positions closed. Those staff that were there were helpful, but gave conflicting advice so we were bounced from customer service to check-in to customer service.
Through to security. This was very disappointing. A brand new terminal and no "lessons learnt" seem to have been applied to security screening. Very cramped and inefficient, And where may I unpack my laptop, take my belt, and jacket and shoes off and then where do I go to reverse this process? Easy, just leave all my bits on the conveyor belt until I get round to them thus blocking the flow of pax. Great! I do wish more airport operators would see how this is managed at Brussels National (BRU).
Once through security I had time to visit the gents. I turned right after security, walked for 5-10 metres, then started to look for signs to the toilets. None to be seen. But did soon find toilets on the right. So, T5 has been open for 4 weeks and hopefully nice and shiny new toilets? No chance! The toilets and floors were dirty. It was obvious from the general dust and fluff from clothes/the atomsphere that clung to the porcelain (to say nothing of other.... I'll leave it to your imagination) that they had not been cleaned for some considerable time. Five, or was it six handbasins? No soap in any of the dispensers.
The colour of the floors in T5 seems a bad choice. The tan coloured tiles naturally look dirty. Mind you, they are! On every level and in every area, the floors were scuffed, dirty and covered in rubbish. Sweet wrappings, screwed up baggage labels, etc. To me it was impossible to believe this "show case" facility is just one month old. And when all the longhaul flights are eventually transferred? I do hope arrangements are set in place to ensure basic cleanliness and hygenic conditions exist. As for the present, they most certainly do not!
And finally, our flight had a minor (<20mins) delay. So time for a snack. Went to the Giraffe??? fast food outlet. Lovely staff. However, bearing in mind no soap in the toilets (and some people's complete antipathy to washing their hands at any time) I was not impressed by the fact that each table had a pot with cutlery jammed in to it and just the very tips of the "business" end protruding. So grubby hands have to root around selecting the knives, forks, spoons......How can this be allowed? Surely basic common sense and hygene should prohibit this?
This month I've flown 9 sectors. And what stands out? My stroll in the sunshine at LGW? No. Just a feeling of depression and sorrow at just how poorly T5 was presented to me/everyone yesterday evening. Shabby, dirty and unhygenic.
Oh dear!
Coach chartered to take us to LHR (T5). On leaving the M25, where do we go? No signs to indicate the correct route for coaches (i.e. we were not a scheduled service) but plenty saying don't go this way (height restrictions). Our driver followed a National Express coach on the premise that if he could fit, so could we!
Parked, and a very "nice" man told us to move on. No discussion, no advice, just move! Eventually after much pleading we were told to leave the airport and come back in and park in another place. He suggested upstairs at pax drop-off. He may well have been correct, but all the signs we saw for upstairs mentioned height restrictions and therefore decapitation for coach drivers and their pax. He also said we could park in bay 17 in another bus lane which is what we eventually did.
Got to bay 17 - no baggage trollies.
Went inside T5 and took the lift to the departure level. V. few staff and most positions closed. Those staff that were there were helpful, but gave conflicting advice so we were bounced from customer service to check-in to customer service.
Through to security. This was very disappointing. A brand new terminal and no "lessons learnt" seem to have been applied to security screening. Very cramped and inefficient, And where may I unpack my laptop, take my belt, and jacket and shoes off and then where do I go to reverse this process? Easy, just leave all my bits on the conveyor belt until I get round to them thus blocking the flow of pax. Great! I do wish more airport operators would see how this is managed at Brussels National (BRU).
Once through security I had time to visit the gents. I turned right after security, walked for 5-10 metres, then started to look for signs to the toilets. None to be seen. But did soon find toilets on the right. So, T5 has been open for 4 weeks and hopefully nice and shiny new toilets? No chance! The toilets and floors were dirty. It was obvious from the general dust and fluff from clothes/the atomsphere that clung to the porcelain (to say nothing of other.... I'll leave it to your imagination) that they had not been cleaned for some considerable time. Five, or was it six handbasins? No soap in any of the dispensers.
The colour of the floors in T5 seems a bad choice. The tan coloured tiles naturally look dirty. Mind you, they are! On every level and in every area, the floors were scuffed, dirty and covered in rubbish. Sweet wrappings, screwed up baggage labels, etc. To me it was impossible to believe this "show case" facility is just one month old. And when all the longhaul flights are eventually transferred? I do hope arrangements are set in place to ensure basic cleanliness and hygenic conditions exist. As for the present, they most certainly do not!
And finally, our flight had a minor (<20mins) delay. So time for a snack. Went to the Giraffe??? fast food outlet. Lovely staff. However, bearing in mind no soap in the toilets (and some people's complete antipathy to washing their hands at any time) I was not impressed by the fact that each table had a pot with cutlery jammed in to it and just the very tips of the "business" end protruding. So grubby hands have to root around selecting the knives, forks, spoons......How can this be allowed? Surely basic common sense and hygene should prohibit this?
This month I've flown 9 sectors. And what stands out? My stroll in the sunshine at LGW? No. Just a feeling of depression and sorrow at just how poorly T5 was presented to me/everyone yesterday evening. Shabby, dirty and unhygenic.
Oh dear!
Last edited by fat'n'grey; 23rd Apr 2008 at 08:21.
The above is mostly a commentary on BAA rather than BA.
Having said that, Willie Walsh should be down there looking at every aspect their supplier (for that is all BAA are to them, just as much as Airbus or Shell are) is providing, or not. And raising the roof if things are not perfect.
Where on earth are the press statements from the top of BA that what is being provided a T5 is "disgraceful, an insult to Britain", etc. If said they would be on the front page in a moment.
I can only conclude that BAA have managed to get compromising photographs of the whole of the BA board to keep them quiet. There seems no other logical explanation.
Having said that, Willie Walsh should be down there looking at every aspect their supplier (for that is all BAA are to them, just as much as Airbus or Shell are) is providing, or not. And raising the roof if things are not perfect.
Where on earth are the press statements from the top of BA that what is being provided a T5 is "disgraceful, an insult to Britain", etc. If said they would be on the front page in a moment.
I can only conclude that BAA have managed to get compromising photographs of the whole of the BA board to keep them quiet. There seems no other logical explanation.
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taking the p***
Just received an email from BA titled:
Get ready for an altogether unique shopping experience
Yes, really !! They are flogging the 'shopping experience' at T5 !!
Actually, this is turning into a case study for all these fabulastic MBAs:
HOW TO LOSE CLIENTS !!
Get ready for an altogether unique shopping experience
Yes, really !! They are flogging the 'shopping experience' at T5 !!
Actually, this is turning into a case study for all these fabulastic MBAs:
HOW TO LOSE CLIENTS !!
Paxing All Over The World
Quote:
At least BA isn’t killing its customers (at least not yet)...
At least BA isn’t killing its customers (at least not yet)...
They're trying though. Try doing a "Pan Pan" into LHR with a medical emergency. Speedbird Airport Centre, or "55" as they're known, would seem to be incapable of organising a suitable reception committee without a significant wait. If I were you, I'd divert.
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Originally Posted by WHBM
The above is mostly a commentary on BAA rather than BA.
I saw something similar on Monday inbound from BCN. I take the Oxford Airline bus to Oxford from LHR, and inbound it drops people off at T5 and then Central, then outbound picks people up at Central and returns to T5 before hitting the M25 for Oxford.
While stopped at T5, two very confused foreign arrivals approached our bus asking how to get to Central because they had to continue their journey from T2. They were apparently told by staff in T5 to take a bus. Which one they were not told. Our bus driver politely told them to go back into the terminal and look for the 'Trains' sign to take the Tube or the next Heathrow Connect to Central. Why ground staff in the terminal couldn't do that is beyond me.
A disinterested staff member stood a few yards away but didn't lift a finger to help.
S.
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The above is mostly a commentary on BAA rather than BA.
This may be technically correct. But T5 is the "LHR home" for BA. Irrespective of who owns, manages and cleans T5 if I was BA I would ensure that resources and programmes were in place to present the image that I want.
T5 yesterday evening was a disgrace. Why can't BA/BAA see this? And sort it; rocket science it is not!
Oh dear!
T5 yesterday evening was a disgrace. Why can't BA/BAA see this? And sort it; rocket science it is not!
Oh dear!
For the benefit of the BA management members who read this board, can you please, over your Lattes at Waterworld, tell Sarah Keyes ("Exec Club Manager"), who signed this one, to just get a grip ! What an idiotic thing to send out.
The e-mail tells us that we will find "all our travel essentials" in T5. Presumably we are having to shop for these because BA lost our baggage on the inbound.
Paxing All Over The World
BAA are keeping quiet because they know that anything they say will be blasted across the papers. Whilst there has been criticism of them in all media outlets, they have not been shown stammering apologies in front of Jeremy Paxman. In other words, an extremely sensible approach. Despicable - but sensible.
Fortunately, the break up of BAA is now inevitable. Yet another monopoly turned commercial and maintained by the Conservatives that has failed to deliver long term value to the UK.
Fortunately, the break up of BAA is now inevitable. Yet another monopoly turned commercial and maintained by the Conservatives that has failed to deliver long term value to the UK.
I flew out of T5 to Joburg last Tuesday afternoon and back Saturday morning.
Had previously arranged valet parking - this was reasonably signposted and I stopped in the marked bays only to be told I couldn't park there
. Anyway, that was sorted soon enough but not a great start 
Went to an automated checkin - all done in 2 mins with no fuss. Had taken hand luggage only due to the anticipated problems. A shortish queue for passport check only to be told I had to go back to a BA desk to get my passport checked (summat to do with visas). Then queued at the "passport check" BA desk, where the BA staff took a quick glance at my passport before sending back to the by now longer passport queue.
No issues at all with security - impressed that we no longer have to remove laptops. (still frustrated with the silly liquids rule but I digress)
Through security to see the BA lounge on my right. However this was the Concorde room (1st Class) and I was only travelling business. The business lounge is on the 3rd floor, directly above. However, to get there, you have walk towards the centre of the terminal to decend from floor 2 (entry level) to floor 1, then walk back to the right side, go back up to 2, then walk across the 1st class lounge lobby, then take another escalator up to floor 3 Signs were not particularly clear and there were loads of confused business class pax wandering around looking for the way in
The flight boarded on time, but we were 30 mins late off stand due to "baggage irregularities". No matter, we made up the time and the in-flight service was as good as ever
Came back 1st Class, again with hand baggage only. Excellent in flight service again. Arrived on stand exactly on time, but then had to wait 20mins for the air bridge to be connected
Got no more then 1/2 way up the airbridge before finding myself in a scrum behind a locked glass door. Took a further 20 minutes before someone came and opened the door.
Longish walk through to passport control, noting en route that half the escalators were already marked off unservicable, but the terminal was quiet and I got through without undue further delay to the baggage hall, by now 50 minutes after the aircraft's arrival.
Having only hand baggage I walltzed through an almost deserted baggage hall, but noted in passing that the baggage info for my flight was showing "wait in hall"
Overall, not a complete disaster by any means, but so far short of what it should have been
Had previously arranged valet parking - this was reasonably signposted and I stopped in the marked bays only to be told I couldn't park there
. Anyway, that was sorted soon enough but not a great start Went to an automated checkin - all done in 2 mins with no fuss. Had taken hand luggage only due to the anticipated problems. A shortish queue for passport check only to be told I had to go back to a BA desk to get my passport checked (summat to do with visas). Then queued at the "passport check" BA desk, where the BA staff took a quick glance at my passport before sending back to the by now longer passport queue.
No issues at all with security - impressed that we no longer have to remove laptops. (still frustrated with the silly liquids rule but I digress)
Through security to see the BA lounge on my right. However this was the Concorde room (1st Class) and I was only travelling business. The business lounge is on the 3rd floor, directly above. However, to get there, you have walk towards the centre of the terminal to decend from floor 2 (entry level) to floor 1, then walk back to the right side, go back up to 2, then walk across the 1st class lounge lobby, then take another escalator up to floor 3
Signs were not particularly clear and there were loads of confused business class pax wandering around looking for the way in The flight boarded on time, but we were 30 mins late off stand due to "baggage irregularities". No matter, we made up the time and the in-flight service was as good as ever
Came back 1st Class, again with hand baggage only. Excellent in flight service again. Arrived on stand exactly on time, but then had to wait 20mins for the air bridge to be connected
Got no more then 1/2 way up the airbridge before finding myself in a scrum behind a locked glass door. Took a further 20 minutes before someone came and opened the door.
Longish walk through to passport control, noting en route that half the escalators were already marked off unservicable, but the terminal was quiet and I got through without undue further delay to the baggage hall, by now 50 minutes after the aircraft's arrival.
Having only hand baggage I walltzed through an almost deserted baggage hall, but noted in passing that the baggage info for my flight was showing "wait in hall"
Overall, not a complete disaster by any means, but so far short of what it should have been
I recently was on the walkway from the Central Underground station to T1 in the early morning. Ahead, an overloaded baggage trolley jammed at the end of the walkway, those following it started to trip over it, then it overturned. I was close to the emergency stop and pressed it (just as well).
Coming home in the evening I noticed it was still stopped, and a distinctive paint mark I had noticed in the morning showed it was still stopped exactly where it had stopped it. In 8 hours and tens of thousands of passengers nobody had bothered to come round, see the stoppage, and restart it.
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Through security to see the BA lounge on my right. However this was the Concorde room (1st Class) and I was only travelling business. The business lounge is on the 3rd floor, directly above. However, to get there, you have walk towards the centre of the terminal to decend from floor 2 (entry level) to floor 1, then walk back to the right side, go back up to 2, then walk across the 1st class lounge lobby, then take another escalator up to floor 3 Signs were not particularly clear and there were loads of confused business class pax wandering around looking for the way in
Through to security. This was very disappointing. A brand new terminal and no "lessons learnt" seem to have been applied to security screening. Very cramped and inefficient, And where may I unpack my laptop, take my belt, and jacket and shoes off and then where do I go to reverse this process? Easy, just leave all my bits on the conveyor belt until I get round to them thus blocking the flow of pax. Great! I do wish more airport operators would see how this is managed at Brussels National (BRU).