Ma grande BA ........?

[italex]

FLIGHT REVIEW
CONCORDE : London - New York

October 2003



Like many other people with a big enough credit card I recently decided to take the trip of a lifetime and fly to JFK on Concorde with British Airways. As you can imagine the excitement was immense and the expectations high!



I checked-in nice and early so as to enjoy the whole experience without having to worry about time keeping or rushing about. The check-in was uneventful with the staff at Heathrow being their usual friendly, chirpy selves. Not having to queue to check-in was fantastic and being fast tracked through security was also very nice!



The 'dedicated' lounge at Heathrow was packed, so much so that I was forced to perch on a window ledge for an hour before a seat became available. The lounge staff here were efficient but arrogant with it! The snack menu was hidden at the end of the bar, and unless you asked you wouldn't have known that food was available.



The bar was well stocked and service was very speedy - as was the food once you had managed to order. My bacon sandwich and cheese selection board was of high quality and was most enjoyable.



Once 'invited' to board the aircraft a scrum began and all 98 passengers raced for the gate. It was great to be able to board the aircraft directly from the lounge but the idea of staggered boarding by seat numbers seems to have passed British Airways by when it comes to Concorde.



After plodding down a flight of steps we reached the aircraft only to be turned around at the plane door and told to go back to the lounge as the aircraft wasn't ready due to "technical difficulties". The problem here was that no-one thought to tell those at the back of the queue about this so everyone had to fight their way back past each other and into the lounge.



Once onboard we were given a lengthy information briefing by the captain which was very good. Full details of what to expect were given but without giving away the little surprises that make Concorde so much different to other aircraft.



Following what can only be described as the most powerful and enjoyable take off run I have ever experienced we were airborne and the cabin crew started inflight service. The crew were efficient and polite enough but you got that arrogant attitude from one or two of them which make you feel like they are looking down at you.



The food, as you would expect, was fantastic and served on real china plates with real glassware to drink your champagne and wine from. The fact that we had to use plastic flatware kind of let down the whole dining experience but this is out of British Airways' control I guess.



The 'dinner' menu was:



Canapés


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fresh prawn nicose


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Roast guinea fowl and truffle stuffing, with cep reduction

and fondante potato

or

Lobster fish cakes with a light shellfish sauce

or

Grilled fillet of veal black pepper and lemon butter, sauté mushroom

mix, roasted sea salt potatoes

or

Grilled artichoke, plum tomatoes, buffalo Mozzarella on mixed

leaves with balsamic dressing


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chocolate silk on a nut brittle base with chocolate sauce

or

Selection of cheese



Also available was an amazing selection of wines, aperitifs, cocktails, beers, soft drinks and digestifs & liqueurs - however I stuck to my Champagne!



The seating was luxurious and very comfortable and was also quite wide considering the narrow space inside the Concorde. As we left the final sight of land we were warned that we were about to go supersonic and you could quite clearly feel four small jolts as the engines afterburners kicked in that extra bit of power to push us past the sound barrier. "Ladies and gentlemen, you are now supersonic" the captain exclaimed to 98 excited individuals behind him. Cameras flashed and peoples smile widened as the reality hit home that we were actually doing this - we were part of the supersonic club!



After approximately thirty mins of supersonic travel we all felt another small jolt, followed by a second about ten minutes later, and then a third five minutes after that. We were then informed by the captain that we had developed engine trouble and had to reduce speed to subsonic, which also meant flying at a lower altitude.



Not just that but we didn't have enough fuel to reach JFK at subsonic speed so we were to be diverted to Bangor in Maine. This is where the flight of a lifetime turned into the flight from hell!



While all the passengers were naturally disappointed by this we kind of understood that "these things happen" and got on with making the most of what was left of our flight. After all, at subsonic speed we were going to enjoy the lavish, high class service for longer than expected! However, this idea was smashed when it became clear that the cabin crew were completely indifferent to our plight, actually seeming amused that we were diverting.



The Champagne stopped flowing after a short while and your glass was only topped up if you had the cheek to request it. We reached Bangor three hours past our scheduled arrival in JFK which is where the real nightmare began. As we left the aircraft we were handed a flight certificate for our "Supersonic Experience" - which would have been a nice touch but was actually quite a cheek considering it only lasted thirty minutes! To make it worse it was left unsigned by the captain, so is more or less invalid anyway!



After standing on the tarmac for fifteen minutes we were shipped from the aircraft to the terminal in a school bus (forty at a time) which took about thirty minutes for us all to do. We then reached US immigration where there were only two desks open - this took another forty minutes to complete. Then upon reaching US customs, there were only two desks open here as well which took another thirty minutes to get through.



Once arriving in the terminal at Bangor there was a gift shop (closed) a cafe (closed) a general shop (closed) and a bar - which by the time we had all reached it was packed!



The British Airways flight and cabin crew had all conveniently vanished (after bypassing all of us mere passengers in the immigration/customs queues) and with there being no BA ground staff at this airport we relied on the bar staff and word-of-mouth to find out what was going on. FULL credit must go to the airport staff at Bangor International Airport in Maine (code BGR) as they were of great help dealing with 98 unhappy passengers in the best way that they could.



Even though we had landed 3 hours late, at the wrong airport we were not offered any refreshments, rooms, food or anything by British Airways - not even a phone call which was most needed as my partner back in London was worried sick.



The bar soon ran out of change for the payphone and without a kind lady allowing me to use her mobile phone my partner would not have known what was happening. Several hours passed without any information from anyone except the bar staff.



Eventually we found out that a B747 was being diverted to pick us up (from the bar staff) and we all headed for immigration to undergo the fun of being physically searched at the security area. I've come to the conclusion that it's best not to wear shoes when flying to/from/within the USA! The boarding of the diverted B747 was chaotic at best, with everyone trying to squeeze into whatever seats were available. This is where British Airways began to resemble [a much more expensive] easyJet!



I eventually found a [dirty] seat at the rear of the World Traveller (economy) cabin. I then endured an hour sat in a very cramped and uncomfortable seat listening to the lady next to me snoring in my ear (how anyone can sleep in these seats is beyond me!) and the cabin crew in the galley behind me making fun of the passengers who had paid thousands to fly on Concorde just to end up sitting in economy! If this was supposed to be overheard or not I do not know but it was very insulting all the same!



Before disembarking the aircraft at JFK several of the Concorde passengers asked the cabin crew where we should go, and who we should speak to about our flight and onward travel arrangements. They didn't know as no-one had given them any information and told us to speak to the British Airways staff in the airport.



On our way to the baggage claim hall we came across another US immigration area - we tried to explain (in vain) that we had already been through immigration at Bangor and had to wait for thirty minutes while 'the boss' was consulted. British Airways had failed to inform them of our routing and that we had already 'entered' the USA at Bangor.



We then got waived through by just showing our passports - but again there was no help here from British Airways! Upon reaching the baggage claim hall there were British Airways staff milling around aimlessly. None of them seemed to care about the nightmare we had just been put through and gave the impression that we were bothering them just by our very existence! Their indifferent attitude was MOST annoying.



Due to the late hour (000 hrs in NY - seven hours late) none of us wanted to be using the subway to reach our final destination in NYC. I managed to find a British Airways duty manager, when I asked about transport to my hotel he snapped "We have anticipated that!" but before I could find out how to arrange it he turned and walked away and started dealing with something else.



We then had a British Airways 'Customer Relations' business card thrust in our faces and were told to "call them in the morning" but in the meanwhile we were instructed to just go through to arrivals where other British Airways staff would assist with any onward journey planning. We then had the same arguments at customs as we had just had at immigration which we eventually solved - but without any help from the British Airways staff who were stood just behind us.



Upon reaching the arrivals area we looked around for the staff that were supposed to be there to arrange our transportation - but there were no British Airways staff to be found. I eventually found two British Airways staff hidden around the corner, with no signage saying they were from British Airways. Once again the indifferent attitude was most annoying and as other passengers managed to find this small desk the attitude of the staff became more and more rude.



Eventually, an hour later, I managed to get a taxi to my hotel - and arrived NINE HOURS later than planned! In the morning I looked at the business card I was given and found that there was no US number to call, only a UK number. I dialled and got a recorded message telling me "this number is no longer in use, please re-dial...." etc etc. So I dialled the number it gave me and got an "unavailable" tone. I then called my Executive Club (BA frequent flyer) number only to be told that the Customer Relations department is closed on weekends and I should speak to the staff at the airport to resolve my problems.



As you can imagine I was livid! Not only did I have to run up a huge telephone bill calling the UK from my hotel but the department I was told to call is closed anyway, even though the airport staff told me to "call them in the morning".



Anyway, I decided to cut my losses and try to enjoy what was left of my stay in New York and deal with this on my way through the airport on my return flight. Upon arrival at JFK on my return I checked in (booked Club World) and no comment was made about my Concorde flight. Not a word, an apology - nothing.



I tried to call Customer Relations upon my arrival back in the UK but was told "we will take a pro-active stance with this sir, you will be contacted" but they could not tell me what they were going to offer as an apology.



On the 12th September (one week after the flight) I received a pre-prepared letter telling me that 'bonus' air miles had been deposited into my Executive Club account as a 'gesture of goodwill'. So after all that had happened - the grief, worry, rude attitude, indifference, poor service, delay and stress - all I get given (not offered - GIVEN) is a general letter of apology and some lousy air miles!



I wrote to British Airways to complain further but to date (two months later) have only received a receipt for my letter - not full response. I was holding back from writing this review in the hope that British Airways would be able to resolve my anger in some way but instead they have made it worse with their non-response!



British Airways may be a good airline when everything is going well, but when things go wrong they are made worse by the airlines [lack of] response. The fact that I was delayed on such an expensive ticket is not the issue, the issue is the way that Britsh Airways and their staff failed to deal with situation at the time.



You expect such a huge airline to be able to get things sorted out when things go wrong - clearly British Airways are unable to!



Non malaccio no .........
Ciao
Italex

[AZ1774]

Wowowowowow, alla faccia, se questo fosse stato in Economy, a NYC ci sarebbe arrivato con un carro bestiame.

E poi mi spaccano i ma..... con BA bla bla bla ......

Incredibile.

Daniele.

[AZJumbo]

In Origine postato da AZ1774
Wowowowowow, alla faccia, se questo fosse stato in Economy, a NYC ci sarebbe arrivato con un carro bestiame.

E poi mi spaccano i ma..... con BA bla bla bla ......

Incredibile.

Daniele.

eh già...da un lato si sputa su chi sappiamo noi, dall'altro si esaltano BA e LH, che certo generalmente sono più efficienti, ma le cragne le combinano anche loro...morale è che le compagnie europee sono più o meno tutte uguali. Siete d'accordo?

[italex]

Direi proprio di si'
Italex

[FlyIce]

Se devo essere sincero ho avuto ritardi galattici volando in Europa sia con BA che con AF che con AZ, ma i primi sono quelli che si sono preoccupati di dare costantemente e puntualmente informazioni ai passeggeri.

Spesso con AF e qualche volta con AZ le spiegazioni dei ritardi non sono tempestive o complete.

Per quanto riguarda l'eperienza citata da Italex mi sembra si sia trattato di un evento veramente eccezionale anche se sembra che non sia stato gestito in modo ottimale credo che un rimborso della differenza tra il prezzo del Concorde e quello dell'economy sia doveroso.

Purtroppo le compagnie aeree non hanno una politica di rimborsi in caso di ritardi (neanche gravi, tipo quelle per overbooking e cancellazioni) e questo e' un grosso limite dell'industria del trasporto aereo.

[AZ1774]

In Origine postato da AZJumbo
eh già...da un lato si sputa su chi sappiamo noi, dall'altro si esaltano BA e LH, che certo generalmente sono più efficienti, ma le cragne le combinano anche loro...morale è che le compagnie europee sono più o meno tutte uguali. Siete d'accordo?

Perfettamente d'accordo.