Buggy Delivery
 

Hello all,

I was hoping some of you SLF with nippers may be able to tell me what airlines you have flown that provide an "Immediate Delivery" or "Deliver at Aircraft" service for your buggies after a flight where it must be placed in the hold.

Thanks a mill!

United does it, and I think most other US airlines do. ANA definitely did at least up to a couple of years ago and I expect still does it today.

Buggy Delivery
 

Any BMI, EI flight into DUB excellent. FR not far behind. SQ J class at SIN you wait 15 mins.

VS do it at most stations too.

Why is it though that the SLF don't realise that as it has only taken them 30 seconds to walk to the a/c door and their buggy is not there, it may actually take a little longer to position equipment, open the hold door, unload the flaming things and then lug them up several flights of stairs which is why they actually have to wait up to 10 mins at the a/c side before they come up.

Some even don't bother waiting, so the buggy then has to go back down several flights of stairs, often by which time the rest of the bags have left meaning the buggy will then be very late to the baggage belt until someone can take it after the cargo has come off !!.

If you have a buggy in the hold and want it at the door - at least wait for it !!.

It is actually a hell of a lot of man power involved that delays offloading bags to get buggies to the gate - when you only have a team of 4 men and 2 of them have to lug the buggies up and down stairs, something has to wait !!.

:ugh:

Good point! Also, clarify on where you should wait. On the few U.S. carriers I have been on the waiting place is at the aircraft door. On ANA, we were told to wait in the gate area, and it was brought to us there.

paddy.,

R u getting into areas you know nothing about again!
I know all you girls in the cabin would love to hold load the buggies then have them put on the jetty post flight
but I think you will find, it is not a BA decision, it is the Elf's of health and safety that prevents this at LHR.
If I have misjudged your reason for a conflicting post accept my apologies before your long explanation
cheers
tp

I know that with BE we certainly try to...

Another nice touch for parents who insist on flying with small children would be the provision of a complimentary rag, soaked in chloroform.

bmi do bring buggies to the aircraft at LHR so I guess it is a BA decision rather than a BAA one!

My buggy experiences in the past six months or so:

Singapore Airlines, in ZRH, SIN, AKL and SYD: no problem at all, 5 or 10 minute wait, collected and delivered with a smile.

Easyjet, in GVA and various UK airports: no problem, friendly service, 5 minute wait at most.

Swiss, in GVA and ZRH: they collect it on boarding OK, but on arrival nobody has a clue what has happened to it. Spent 30 mins trekking around GVA being sent in circles by clueless cabin crew, ground staff and baggage handlers. Got the buggy in the end, after much cursing.

Air New Zealand, in AKL: utterly useless, unhelpful and incompetent. Made us check buggy in as hold luggage - when we protested, said they would lend us a buggy to get to aircraft. Once we had reluctantly parted with ours, it turned out there were no loan buggies available... well, my wife let 'em have it with both barrels, and they eventually found a buggy. In the meantime I quizzed the check-in supervisor about the AirNZ "no buggy" policy, as I hadn't seen anything about it when booking. It took her 20 minutes to find it on their own website - I asked what hope the poor customer has of finding the info, if senior customer service staff can't? She looked at me like I was talking martian ("I don't design the website", she pouted). They promised us another loan buggy would be waiting for us at disembarkation in SYD - it wasn't, of course.

Another AirNZ staff member explained something similar to what TightSlot mentioned about injuries carrying buggies up and down stairs - but, honestly, this has to be bollocks. All parents (some of whom are presumably airline employees) carry buggies up and down stairs constantly. The typical travelling buggy weighs 7 or 8 kg - i.e. about the same as any other piece of carry-on. SQ, EZY and Swiss staff handle them without complaint and apparently without injury - are they supermen/women?

BTW, for long haul travel with babies or toddlers, I heartily recommend SQ: cabin crew were outstanding - helpful, patient, efficient, always one step ahead of what our baby wanted/needed. In contrast, AirNZ might as well put up a "families not welcome" sign.

How in gods name does anyone manage to injure themslves carrying a buggy?!?!?:rolleyes:

If my 5ft 45Kg petite wife can carry one about without hurting herself, then surely a big strapping baggage guy can!! HSE rules my ar$e!! More likely the airline staff just arent organised or cant be bothered....:suspect:

And how much does a child under the age of two weigh? Or is it a case of YOU can't be bothered carrying your own offspring a few hundred yards? Perhaps if some of these "parents" took less hand baggage and duty free on board they might have more hands free to look after their children. And no, before any of you start, I don't have children because I have CHOSEN not to have - why do some people expect the entire world to bend over backwards for them simply because they CHOOSE to have children.

Red...

Seriously, would you stay out of it and stop with the anticrew bull please! You clearly have no idea what you are talking about...apology accepted! Did I ever tell you I have worked on the ground for many years before I became the hand that feeds you?

Anyways,
Everyone, thanks a mill for your input!

You state you dont have children so you really dont understand the ammount of crap that absolutely does need to be carried with you as a parent with a baby or young child. Extra Duty free? You must be joking!! So you put the buggy in the luggage system and it doesnt arrive or is damaged - a buggy is a REQUIREMENT for a small child, not an option, you wouldnt put your laptop at the mercy of the T5s baggage system would you? A car seat is also a LEGAL REQUIREMENT, and often these are a part of the buggy, but at least these can now be hired (usually at an extortionate rate!) if you get a hire car and it all goes wrong in the baggage system....

You may be thinking "so why fly at all then, its your choice"....

.....And this is the choice we made as a family following the security clampdowns in the UK a couple of years ago. Its never easy to travel with a baby/child, but at least BA staff used to be very good at helping you out. Im sure they are still as helpfull as ever, however, the whole handbaggage/liquids restrictions have just pushed it such that we have chosen not to fly to the UK anymore as a family. Car & ferry/tunnel is way easier.

At least our shorthaul trips back to family in blighty can be driven and we used to fly it as a couple, I really feel for those parents that need to fly intercontinental, especially if alone.

SD..

I do hope to God you are joking. Because if you seriously suggested to me, to my face, that I do that to my daughter I would punch you in the mouth. And no, that is not internet tough guy talk, THAT is fact!

Skydriller

I'm not talking about checking your buggy in with your lugagge, I'm talking about the people who are incapable of making it from the aircraft to the baggage reclaim without their buggy. Just because I don't have children doesn't mean I don't know what accoutrements (or "crap" as you put it) parents have to travel with - I do have family and friends with children. However, speaking from personal experience, I have seen adults, travelling with young children, carrying four or five bags EACH onto the aircraft and then expecting the airline and ground staff to jump through hoops to ensure their buggy is delivered to the aircraft door. I have even seen some demand special assistance - this is reserved for people with mobility problems or disabilities who require assistance through no choice of their own. At the end of the day, if you can't carry it yourself then don't bring it on! That applies to children as much as it does to heavy handluggage.

Well, that wasnt in the UK in the last couple of years, what with the UK's idiotic baggage security rules - see my comment above about no longer flying into the UK.

Couldnt agree more.

BTW, ....accoutrements.....Nice:ok:......I just dont think the word does justice to the amount of stuff I've see Mrs SD pack for the mini SDs on a trip...

You're right, I'm talking about over three years ago when I used to work as crew. I have nothing against children per se but just wish some parents would take a bit more responsibility for them rather than expecting others to do so. But I guess that applies to all areas of society and not just on an aircraft. Ah well...:hmm: