- Joined
- Jan 21, 2010
- Posts
- 393
This is probably only for travellers from London City Airport to Florence so a small market but it may be that some of the info is useful on a wider scale. I hope so!
Flying BA, a week or so ago we had booked through from Edinburgh to Florence with a connecting flight at London City. The flight from Edinburgh was fine.
So far so good. Arriving at the gate at London City in plenty of time, boarding time came and went. It continued to come and go for maybe 15-20 mins with barely a mention of a delay from the staff until one of the ground crew came up and announced that because of weight issues the flight had to drop 4 people.
(We subsequently discovered that this is not an unknown issue at London City and a search reveals news stories (for all airlines) back for years; eg Passengers Kicked Off 14 Flights in London Due to Heat Wave
Nevertheless, still no problem - and my wife and I considered taking up the offer although as the ground crew person had no idea what the new flights could actually be (and there was nothing obvious on the schedule from any of the local UK airports) - we decided not to do it. As it turned out, a family of 4 did. I sure hope they weren't in for an unpleasant journey although it may well have turned out to be better than ours.
Throughout this whole process there was not one apology from the ground crew. I was really surprised. We knew what was happening because the check in area is small and it’s a small plane we are taking - and could live with that but not one apology. Seems small? It shouldn't. Relationships are everything in business.
So anyway, we eventually board, ready for take off. But - wait! There is more.... Sitting on the tarmac - as it turned out for another 60 to 90 mins. I don't recall the exact length.
To his absolute credit, the captain kept everyone in good communication and that really saved the day. The story was that they were waiting for paperwork and – once they had that we would be waiting for a slot to takeoff. However – the paperwork wait was interminable…
But there was worse to come. Did the ground crew know? About 30m or so before departure from London City I heard a clunk - luggage!. I had this awful feeling that the extra delays were because the plane was still overweight and it turns out that at least 20 - maybe more - bags were left at City without the passengers knowing. Including ours.
We and everyone else found this out when we were all standing around the carousel at Florence wondering what had happened, and everyone else had left! Coincidentally the Lost and Found office is directly on front of our carousel.
So begun another round of paperwork and process. I don’t particularly blame the folks at the reporting desk because all they can do is take the information. They have no idea what happened and were as patient as they could be.
However – when you think about it. If this is a regular problem, is there no system at BA (or any other airline for that matter) to streamline the process?
It took the best part of a couple of hours to process all the people. Can you imagine the difference if – knowing the bags had been offloaded (as distinct to lost) - the airline had contacted Florence in advance, advised them of the situation with a list of the passengers and names and all the passengers would have to do is provide passports, forwarding address and so on.
Instead there was distress all round – medication – weddings – travel further on. The emotional upheaval is enormous. It was also some time before we were able to find out when the bags would come. It turned out to be 24hrs - the corresponding flight the next day.
Because the folks at BA MUST have known that the luggage had been shunted, the least that could be done is a communication with the passengers - even by text or email. That there was no communication at the time– and still now, not even an apology, is pitiful.
In my own case I have a BA App – notification via that! What a concept!
The Florence lost luggage staff were completely overwhelmed and unable to deal with so many cases of lost luggage at once. And so with all the delays - what should have had us at our hotel by 2pm Florence time had us there about 6pm.
So, my significant upset is not with the flight or even that the luggage was dumped. It is with the communications. The ground crew knew the luggage was left, there was no notification to Florence and no streamlining to get the documentation resolved. It would have been so easy to ease the uncertainty and create a better experience.
So all this is a preamble to get me to the point of explaining the headline; ‘There Is No Harm In Asking’.
So while lodging the paperwork we were informed that we could pick up the luggage at about the same time the next day, when the corresponding flight arrived. (Delivery was also an option)
Subsequent checks indicated this was accurate although this is a good place to mention that the lost property page on the BA site could not be updated (it had info different to that I had given the Florence L&F (and was on the printed sheet they had provided!)
Anyway – about an hour or so after the plane had arrived I was there to pickup the bag.
After much tut tutting by the man at the desk (same office – new person sitting at the terminal side) he explained to me that unfortunately customs has new rules and so they have to look at every bag first and so it would be better if I came back in the morning as no-one knows when the searches will be done.
The problem he said is that there are lot of bags and L&F don’t know whether it will be 5 minutes or several hours before they look. He explained that he was just telling me the facts and that that is the system and not much we can do. He said the info I received yesterday (from an incredibly helpful man) was wrong.
So, it was quite interesting because I knew I had this opportunity to give up or press the point. I decided to press because it just felt like I was getting ‘sold’….
So – I asked, how we could we find out how long the the customs people will be. It took asking the same question a couple of times but the ultimate answer was…
‘You can ask them – they are at the next window, 30m away!) But there is no point etc etc.’ I said – I will take my chances and went on my way.
Explaining to the nice person at the window that I need to pick up lost luggage but that I believe customs need to see it first, she said – ‘you just need to go to the L&F – 30m the other way and they will give you your bag’!!
I explained that I had been sent to customs by the man and she said No No No, turned around and spoke to her boss with much Italianising. Her boss got up and headed off.
I quickly thanked her and went back and sat in the seat in front of the L&F. Admittedly looking for a slightly theatrical opportunity.
Surprise and a quizzical expression on the L&F man’s face when he saw me. I pointed, because coming up behind his left shoulder was the boss.
Much Italianising.
It took another 20mins and not a look or comment from the man but I got the bag.
I have no idea what she said to him but I presume the basis was that there is another way….
Useful encouragement for a weary traveller sometime, I hope!
Flying BA, a week or so ago we had booked through from Edinburgh to Florence with a connecting flight at London City. The flight from Edinburgh was fine.
So far so good. Arriving at the gate at London City in plenty of time, boarding time came and went. It continued to come and go for maybe 15-20 mins with barely a mention of a delay from the staff until one of the ground crew came up and announced that because of weight issues the flight had to drop 4 people.
(We subsequently discovered that this is not an unknown issue at London City and a search reveals news stories (for all airlines) back for years; eg Passengers Kicked Off 14 Flights in London Due to Heat Wave
Nevertheless, still no problem - and my wife and I considered taking up the offer although as the ground crew person had no idea what the new flights could actually be (and there was nothing obvious on the schedule from any of the local UK airports) - we decided not to do it. As it turned out, a family of 4 did. I sure hope they weren't in for an unpleasant journey although it may well have turned out to be better than ours.
Throughout this whole process there was not one apology from the ground crew. I was really surprised. We knew what was happening because the check in area is small and it’s a small plane we are taking - and could live with that but not one apology. Seems small? It shouldn't. Relationships are everything in business.
So anyway, we eventually board, ready for take off. But - wait! There is more.... Sitting on the tarmac - as it turned out for another 60 to 90 mins. I don't recall the exact length.
To his absolute credit, the captain kept everyone in good communication and that really saved the day. The story was that they were waiting for paperwork and – once they had that we would be waiting for a slot to takeoff. However – the paperwork wait was interminable…
But there was worse to come. Did the ground crew know? About 30m or so before departure from London City I heard a clunk - luggage!. I had this awful feeling that the extra delays were because the plane was still overweight and it turns out that at least 20 - maybe more - bags were left at City without the passengers knowing. Including ours.
We and everyone else found this out when we were all standing around the carousel at Florence wondering what had happened, and everyone else had left! Coincidentally the Lost and Found office is directly on front of our carousel.
So begun another round of paperwork and process. I don’t particularly blame the folks at the reporting desk because all they can do is take the information. They have no idea what happened and were as patient as they could be.
However – when you think about it. If this is a regular problem, is there no system at BA (or any other airline for that matter) to streamline the process?
It took the best part of a couple of hours to process all the people. Can you imagine the difference if – knowing the bags had been offloaded (as distinct to lost) - the airline had contacted Florence in advance, advised them of the situation with a list of the passengers and names and all the passengers would have to do is provide passports, forwarding address and so on.
Instead there was distress all round – medication – weddings – travel further on. The emotional upheaval is enormous. It was also some time before we were able to find out when the bags would come. It turned out to be 24hrs - the corresponding flight the next day.
Because the folks at BA MUST have known that the luggage had been shunted, the least that could be done is a communication with the passengers - even by text or email. That there was no communication at the time– and still now, not even an apology, is pitiful.
In my own case I have a BA App – notification via that! What a concept!
The Florence lost luggage staff were completely overwhelmed and unable to deal with so many cases of lost luggage at once. And so with all the delays - what should have had us at our hotel by 2pm Florence time had us there about 6pm.
So, my significant upset is not with the flight or even that the luggage was dumped. It is with the communications. The ground crew knew the luggage was left, there was no notification to Florence and no streamlining to get the documentation resolved. It would have been so easy to ease the uncertainty and create a better experience.
So all this is a preamble to get me to the point of explaining the headline; ‘There Is No Harm In Asking’.
So while lodging the paperwork we were informed that we could pick up the luggage at about the same time the next day, when the corresponding flight arrived. (Delivery was also an option)
Subsequent checks indicated this was accurate although this is a good place to mention that the lost property page on the BA site could not be updated (it had info different to that I had given the Florence L&F (and was on the printed sheet they had provided!)
Anyway – about an hour or so after the plane had arrived I was there to pickup the bag.
After much tut tutting by the man at the desk (same office – new person sitting at the terminal side) he explained to me that unfortunately customs has new rules and so they have to look at every bag first and so it would be better if I came back in the morning as no-one knows when the searches will be done.
The problem he said is that there are lot of bags and L&F don’t know whether it will be 5 minutes or several hours before they look. He explained that he was just telling me the facts and that that is the system and not much we can do. He said the info I received yesterday (from an incredibly helpful man) was wrong.
So, it was quite interesting because I knew I had this opportunity to give up or press the point. I decided to press because it just felt like I was getting ‘sold’….
So – I asked, how we could we find out how long the the customs people will be. It took asking the same question a couple of times but the ultimate answer was…
‘You can ask them – they are at the next window, 30m away!) But there is no point etc etc.’ I said – I will take my chances and went on my way.
Explaining to the nice person at the window that I need to pick up lost luggage but that I believe customs need to see it first, she said – ‘you just need to go to the L&F – 30m the other way and they will give you your bag’!!
I explained that I had been sent to customs by the man and she said No No No, turned around and spoke to her boss with much Italianising. Her boss got up and headed off.
I quickly thanked her and went back and sat in the seat in front of the L&F. Admittedly looking for a slightly theatrical opportunity.
Surprise and a quizzical expression on the L&F man’s face when he saw me. I pointed, because coming up behind his left shoulder was the boss.
Much Italianising.
It took another 20mins and not a look or comment from the man but I got the bag.
I have no idea what she said to him but I presume the basis was that there is another way….
Useful encouragement for a weary traveller sometime, I hope!
