Hello everybody, Im sure this topic may annoy some people but its just my from my observations this year. I have worked the biggest US airlines over the past few years and since a job change I know work more with UK carriers, mainly BA and BD.
I know LHR and LGW are two of the biggest and busiest airports in the world but the problems that come out of both of these airports is amazing such as delays and complaints from passengers.
So this week one of the busiest weeks of the year and a little bit of fog has hit the UK and the place is now is total chaos. A quick look at DUB arrivals today shows some distressing delays, cancellations etc! no airport is immune to these problems but this wouldnt be tolerated for to long anywhere else.
London-LGW Ryanair FR115 21-12-2007 15:05 Arrived 2056
Birmingham Aer Lingus EI275 21-12-2007 17:10 Arrived 1958
Edinburgh Ryanair FR817 21-12-2007 17:55 Delayed 2143
London – Lcy Air France AF5119 21-12-2007 18:50 Cancelled
London-LHR Bmi BD131 21-12-2007 19:00 Arrived 2036
Southampton Flybe BE388 21-12-2007 20:15 Cancelled
London-LHR Bmi BD133 21-12-2007 21:10 Delayed 2305
London-LGW Ryanair FR1127 21-12-2007 22:05 Delayed 0050
London-LGW Ryanair FR119 21-12-2007 22:35 Delayed 0050
The department that I work in is lost baggage so problems in the UK have a direct effect on how busy we get in work. Flights can have low loads and still passengers who have 3-4 hour connections in LHR/LGW arrive without their bags.
I had the oppourtunity to go and work for BA directly in EDI back in July and was stunned at the scale of the problems coming out of LHR up their.
So why does it seem the UK are the worst when it comes to operating airport efficently?
The busy factor is a lame excuse at this stage.
Any comments?
By: SHAMROCK321 - 22nd December 2007 at 09:37
BAA dont baggage handle, the airlines do that themselves!
By: Rickt - 22nd December 2007 at 01:32
Or, put it down to the fact that Mother Nature still rules the world!
.
Earlier in 2007, On the 7th Feb, i departed out of STN to NYO Stockholm with FR, Left the UK without fault on a cold morning.. it was around -5’c..
Landed in NYO in heavy snow which was not a problem, drove 180 miles West over to Varmland, a town called Karlstad in really heavy snow, (about 6 inch in 3 hours) which was not an issue and all local traffic around managed fine as expected.
Few photos below on the landing.. poor quality i know..
landing @ NYO
After speaking with family in the UK the following day, STN had got about an inch or 2 of snow and had closed for a few hours causing major issues for pax.
See link below..
http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/flights/2007/02/snow_forces_air.html
As we had just driven 180 Miles in heavy snow with no issues, we all began chatting about how the UK is unable to cope with a bit of snow compared to other Countries of the world who just dont panic and get on with it..
Below is a video from us driving out in Sweden… If we would have had this much snow the UK, the full UK will of stopped stop.. (yes, The car does have studded tires, but thats because they are prepared).
Anyway…a little off topic from the main thread, but this is a fine example that when mother nature calls… other countries do a lot better than us and have the infrastructure in place to cope with it all..
Ps… *ALLIANCE, we will have to do the trip again mate.
Rick
By: symon - 21st December 2007 at 23:45
I guess you just have to put it down to an overworked,outdated infastructure.
Or, put it down to the fact that Mother Nature still rules the world!
I think that British infrastructure is built to fit the current needs with little anticipation for growth or problems such as these that may occur. Also, compaines prefer to have the right number of staff for the job instead of extra for “if” scenarios.
By: *ALLIANCE - 21st December 2007 at 23:33
Errr..it’s not BA’s direct problem.
It is when people start to aviod flying them because they have to use that armpit of an airport.
These problems with transport in the UK really come to a head when the weather goes down,be it Air,Rail or road.I guess you just have to put it down to an overworked,outdated infastructure.
By: David Kerr - 21st December 2007 at 22:58
I try and avoid LHR as much as possible,but others tell me if your connecting there with BA its almost certain you will lose some of your luggage.
Errr..it’s not BA’s direct problem. It’s the BAA’s problem regarding baggage handling. Other airlines are affected just as badly but as they don’t have quite an extensive route network or have a high profile, it’s not publicised.
Theoretically, the BAA’s problem with BA’s baggage should for the most part be minimised, but there will probably be some given that some services, I’m led to believe, will not operate out of T5.
By: *ALLIANCE - 21st December 2007 at 22:52
I would hope to see things improve for BA at LHR once T5 is up and running,but the ammount of baggage thats missing now must be enormous.I try and avoid LHR as much as possible,but others tell me if your connecting there with BA its almost certain you will lose some of your luggage.
By: David Kerr - 21st December 2007 at 22:36
The busy factor may be a lame factor for you but consider:
LHR’s biggest problem is that it’s running at near enough full capacity every hour from 6am to 10pm. Any kind of inclement weather will result in delays, even if all domestic routes are cancelled.
For LGW, the problem is that it’s the busiest single runway airport in Europe (world?). So it’s similar to LHR when bad weather’s around.
Until there is extra runway capacity at LHR/LGW, these problems will remain.
For the other airports – SOU has been fogbound, London City is so badly affected that it’s hard to see across to Canary Wharf, Luton is in a valley (at least that’s my dim recollection of my single vist there too many years ago) so when fog comes, it’s likely to stay, STN can and often does get a bit of fog in winter time.
MAN has a new runway that’s not CAT3 capable (but think it may be rectified sooner or later), LBA’s runway can see certain types divert when other types land (i.e. DHC8 land, 757 divert), etc.
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December 21, 2007 at 9:46 pm