BA LHR - Meet & Greet for non-English speakers?

[eal401]

My mother-in-law is travelling to the UK from Russia in June, to visit us and her new granddaughter.

She does not speak any English and therefore would need some assistance in getting through passport control, baggage reclaim etc and to the arrivals hall. The flight is from Ekaterinburg and is operated as a BA flight by BMed.

About a month ago, we contacted the BA special services department and explained the situation and asked if this service would be possible. The answer was a resounding "yes."

Now the ticket has been booked, my wife has called BA again to confirm the request for this service and this time has been offhandly told "well, we can make the request and there may be someone there or there may not." Leaving a lady in her 60's visiting a foreign country for the first time potentially having to fend for herself.

Can anyone advise if BA is reliable with such help or suggest any alternative means of assistance?

Many thanks in advance

[Railgun]

My mother-in-law is travelling to the UK from Russia in June, to visit us and her new granddaughter.
She does not speak any English and therefore would need some assistance in getting through passport control, baggage reclaim etc and to the arrivals hall. The flight is from Ekaterinburg and is operated as a BA flight by BMed.
About a month ago, we contacted the BA special services department and explained the situation and asked if this service would be possible. The answer was a resounding "yes."
Now the ticket has been booked, my wife has called BA again to confirm the request for this service and this time has been offhandly told "well, we can make the request and there may be someone there or there may not." Leaving a lady in her 60's visiting a foreign country for the first time potentially having to fend for herself.
Can anyone advise if BA is reliable with such help or suggest any alternative means of assistance?
Many thanks in advance

Only way there will be assistance provided for sure is to book a wheel chair.

[eal401]

Only way there will be assistance provided for sure is to book a wheel chair.
the individual who my wife spoke to said even that wasn't guaranteed!!

[lexxity]

EAL you should book a wheelchair because the meet and assist is rapidly disappering due to staff cutbacks and time constraints. Definitely book the 'chair and everything should be ok.

[apaddyinuk]

The wheelchair should of course be gauranteed. However MAAS (Meet and assists) as your mother would probably come under are no longer recognised at BA unfortunately for the reason Lexy already gave and also the fact that people used to take advantage of it as a hangbaggage carrying service!
Unfortunately it is hit and miss regarding whether there will be any russian speakers available also!

[cavortingcheetah]

:hmm:

I fail to see too much difficulty for a sixty year old from Ekaterinburg, the city where the last Russian ruler and his family were murdered.
The alphabet is different, true but a letter sent to Russia eplaining that:
Do not follow signs to TRANSIT.
Follow signs to PASSPORT CONTROL/BAGGAGE CLAIM.
Follow signs to: NON EU PASSPORTS. (I presume?)
Follow signs to: BAGGAGE CLAIM.
Check TV monitor for: BA XYZ. EKATERINBERG.
Numbers 1-10/Cyrilic/Roman.
Follow signs: EXIT/CUSTOMS.
Follow signs: GREEN. Non EU arrivals, nothing to declare/or RED.
Meet and greet loved ones.
If in doubt, follow fellow passenger from same class on aeroplane who obviously is an English speaker?
She'll get out quicker using a little of the well known Russian quality of self reliance than she ever will by waiting for the demonstrable lack of such a quality so lacking in this country today.;)
You could equip her with a letter of invitation, which you need to get into Russia by the way, with your names, addresses, telephone numbers and relationship for the benefit of the passport people.
If she has a Russian mobile, it should work over here so she might be able to call for help before being dragged off screaming to the holding pens in the basement.:eek:

Terminal 4

Arrivals is located on the ground floor of the terminal.
Arriving at Heathrow from an EU country
If you started your journey in one of the other 25 EU countries you should use the blue exit from the baggage hall. You are not required to pass through a customs channel and your hold baggage will have a green edged tag.

Arriving at Heathrow from outside the EU
If you started your journey outside the EU you must go through the red/green customs channels as normal. Your hold luggage will have the usual white tag.

Arriving at Heathrow via an EU country
If you started your journey outside the EU you must go through the red/green customs channels as normal. Your hold luggage will have the usual white tag.

Making flight connections at Heathrow
If you are transferring through Heathrow to an international or UK connecting flight, you can have baggage tagged through to the final destination. Items in hand baggage that are liable for duty need to be declared at customs red points in the Flight Connections Centre and other transfer lounges.

http://www.heathrowairport.com/assets/B2CPortal/Static%20Files/Heathrow_Terminal_Map_2006_Terminal_4.pdf

Wait for the flick over from check in to arrivals.

Hope this is of some use.

da svidaniya:D

[eal401]

Followed CC's advice as back up, however a polite email to BMed's MD has sorted out a meet and greet!

Thanks to all for advice and comments

:ok:

[striparella]

The problem i can see happening is the regardless of whether MAAS or WHCR has been requested, as the pax doesn't speak English they will simply get off the aircraft and start walking.

I see it all the time - you get paper work for MAAS/WCHR's etc that never show themselves as they've not been told to stop and identify themsevles to ground staff, and do what all passengers do which is follow the rest of the group.

If any assistance is requested tell the pax to make her self known to the groundstaff - maybe using a Russian speaking cabin crew if there is one.

[tomatolover]

russian speaker? unlikely. Get her to take a letter in english addressed to cabin crew and ground staff explaining what she needs and that a MAAS has been ordered. They'll sort it from there.