British Airways is a Joke
 

Before I bash this criminal outfit, I would like to say that the in-flight crew and pilots were professional and courteous, and we had no problems whatsoever with the actual flight.

Our problems began several months ago. We had a previous trip planned in May that had to be cancelled. We called British Airways (BA) to inform them that we would be going at a later date. We were informed that there would be a $200 cancelation fee, no problem, that we could use the balance to apply to a future trip, and and we were given a new booking number to use when we made our new reservations.

Fast forward to October 2003. We planned our trip for December and called to make the reservations. Unfortunately, British Airways stopped flying direct from San Diego to London, so we would have to fly from Los Angeles to Europe.

I called BA to make our reservation and gave the person our code given to us from the previous cancellation. They could not find it in their system. They asked for our previous booking codes. One they could find, the other was in someone elses name!. I'm looking at the number in my hand and I was getting told this could not be my booking number! Finally, after much bickering trying to explain our situation, they were able to find our previous reservations.

Now, keep in mind that at this time, the cost to fly from LAX to Paris was slightly higher (maybe $50) than our previous credit. The person made our reservation, provided two new booking numbers, and then asked me to call back in 48 hours to confirm the extra charge.

Well, this sounded strange, but I did as was told, and called back in 48 hours. I gave the agent the two new booking numbers, and they could not find them in the system. I explained what had happened, and she asked for the previous booking codes. I went through the exact same process with this agent as I did with the first agent. They could not find the cancellation booking number, the number was in someone elses name....Finally, we got it all set up. But low and behold, the price was nearly $500 higher!!! Now I'm livid at this point, as surely we should have been given the same price quoted just 48 hours before. In fact, while I was talking to the agent, I got on Expedia and quoted the price for a round trip flight from LAX to Paris, and it was about $400 cheaper than what she was quoting.

And this is what I was told. Because our original ticket was from San Diego, we would have to pay the difference of what it would cost to travel from LAX to London, then from London to Paris. Huh????. We were originally told that our cancellation could just be used as a credit for any flight, now we were being told something different. I even read the terms of our original flight and it only said it would be subject to a $200 cancellation fee.

Now, I should have been writing down the names of the previous agents I had talked with, but I've never had a problem using funds from an unused ticket to another ticket...didn't even think to.

So now I'm fuming and ask to talk to a manager. I get the same story. Well, what can I do, I need to make these reservations so I just give in and do it. So what do I get told...I get told to call back in 48 hours to approve the charge!!!!!!

Well, this time when I do, the transaction was approved and I was not only given my booking codes over the phone, they were e-mailed to me.

Fast forward to LAX on December 6, 2003. We arrived at the airport Two and a half hours before the flight. Now, British Airways has a unique way of loading luggage. First it gets scanned before you check in. At that point you are separated from your luggage, and it is brought to a holding area that as you get to the front of the check in line, you point out your bags, (among 300 other ones 40 feet away) and another attendant gets them from you. Since we were so early, I would say we were one of the first 50 people in line to board the airplane. A 747 holds what, 250, 300 people? We were in that line for two hours. By the time we got to the front of the line, the plane was supposed to depart in 15 minutes. Obviously the flight was going to be delayed. Not because the plane wasn't ready to go, but because the people that check you in at LAX seem to not have a single clue what they are doing. First off, they had only four stations opened to check in an international flight on 747. It appeared to me that there was a problem with every single person checking in. And each clerk would excuse themselves and go through a door that I assume leads to an office behind the check-in area, then re-emerge five minutes later. It was like the Wizard of Oz, where the answers to everyones problems were being handled by one guy behind the little curtain.

We finally got to the check-in area, pointed out our bags to one of the baggage attendants, and handed our booking codes to the check-in agent. She did mine first, then realized that we would probably not make our connection in London, and told us we would have to go see the Ticket person at the end of the check-in counter. She completed my check-in, then started on my fiance's, at which point she said there was no reservation for her from London to Paris!!!!!She took our bags, escorted us to the ticket lady, and said she was a manager and would get everything fixed.

The manager looks at our booking codes, spends about five minutes hitting keys on her computer (ever see the scene in Meet the Parents when Ben Stiller is checking in at the airport?). She asks us to hold on then disappears behind the curtain to talk to the wizard. She is gone for nearly 20 minutes, then reemerges and says that my fiance's reservation was not paid for! I'm in awe, she is holding the booking reservation in her hands and telling us that they don't mean anything...they are just a hold. I explain to her what happened...twice before...She tells me that when you call British Airways (1-800-British or whatever, the one on their website, you are talking to a contractor, and this is not British Airways).

She goes back to talk to the Wizard. Another 15 minutes pass, and she comes back and says that both of our tickets weren't paid for, and it would cost an additional $375 each ($750 now) to book the flight.

So, the flight that I originally was supposed to pay $50 more has now gone up to $700. At this point, everyone on our flight had checked in, the plane had been delayed an hour, and it was questionable whether we would even make the flight. We were so close to saying no, but we did it and I asked for the number of a BRITISH AIRWAYS customer service department.

Now, I cannot blame this women for the hell we were going through, and she was nice enough to escort us straight through the security point (if she didn't we would have never made the plane). We were the last two on, and I proceeded to take 4 Nyquil pills to calm my nerves.

Our experience with this airline was as bad as any I have ever experienced with any major corporation. They are now looking into the matter, but I'm sure nothing will come of it.

There was one good thing that came of it, we were bumped up to Business Class on the return flight from London to LAX. So I do not feel so "ripped off" per se. But I have never dealt with such utter disorganization and ineptness in my life.

Ooohhhhh man! that is the worst way to begin a trip. I know the feeling, fuming and having no ones head to rip off.
At least you made the trip, and came home in a comfortable manner.
Send this to British Air also..and Conde Naste Traveler Omnbundsman..that might make a difference..
Welcome home, when is the wedding?

Wow. I am surprised your head didn't explode during all of that or that you didn't cancel the trip in total disgust. I read your Paris/Rome trip report and congratulations for being able to put all that turmoil behind you to have a great trip (also congratulations on your engagement!).

That sounds so much like my experience with BA! It is the only airline I will not fly.

Keith

Good grief, what a nightmare! I'm amazed you continued on with the trip with such aplomb!

Definitely contact The Ombudsman - and anyone else you can think of. BA has been the source of a lot of dissatisfied customers lately, but this is the worst story yet!

What a horrible way to start what should be a wonderful vacation. A friend is leaving tomorrow on BA, I hope she doesn't encounter the same nightmare.

BA used to be one of my favorite airlines - but things have certainly changed with them! I now try to avoid them whenever possible.

This sounds like a nightmare! I know there was nothing funny about it at the time, but I couldn't help but laugh at your description of the "wizard"!

Thanks for posting your story. It helps a lot of us in making decisions.

I hear you -- and Keith, et al. I've made the same decision never to use them again if I can at all help them due to problems I've had with them in the last couple of years, although none that bad.

MOst recent problem was they sold me a ticket to a flight that didn't exist and waited about 3-4 weeks to tell me, wanted to re-route me on one of their other flights with a 10 hour layover and then acted like they were doing me a favor when I insisted they put me on a diff. BA flight with only a 3 hour layover instead--this required many phone calls, waits and "special permission" for me to get the most logical convenient flight substitution rather than the one they wanted to give me. I would have booked a diff. airline if they had listed the correct times of the flights when I booked, and I found out from the codeshare airline (of the cancelled flight) that it had not existed for about a month before BA sold me the ticket. I went through the same thing as you with their customer service, and I had even called BA directly and a customer service agent swore up and down that the flight time they were selling was legitimate (I was suspicious when booking because the codeshare airline's own web site, Iberia, did not list the flight at the time BA did) and that the flight I saw on Iberia's web site wasn't the one they were selling me a ticket on. He claimed the BA flight "used Iberia equipment" but was not an Iberian flight that I could find on the IB web site so I shouldn't be worried.

They lied (or were incompetent), it was the same flight and later another agent told me that, of course, all BA/IB codeshare flights will be listed on the IB web site. So how come their own employees don't know these basic rules.

I had to laugh with you over the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain, I could picture a wizoned British chap working the levers and making executive decisions, with the Tin Man and Dorothy (you and fiance) waiting and trembling behind the counter, looking at your watches.

I had an experience like yours, but it was on Air France, they had me and my boyfriend running like Scarecrow and Toto from counter to counter while the plane loaded up and left without us!

Darling, I am British and I have always been embarrassed by British Airways. Brit Air has the most inept, rude, crude employees imaginable. I am sure that Yanks who first encounter the air hostesses on Brit Air flights probably wonder why Brits are applied with the myth of being so polite. (I once heard a air hostess scream in the middle of the plane aisle, "The slag in seat 4B wants a HELLO Mag, Wendy.") I think that they all graduated from the Madame de Farge School of Hospitality. Blimey.

But, at least we get our passengers drunk. American, Delta, and Continental charge for the drinks cart on international flights. :)

JohnG, Happy Holidays, honey, to you and Jackie O!

ThinGorjus, I have never payed for a drink on an international Delta coach (or any other carrier) flight. Sorry you had to find this out the hard way. LOL

Jor--I think that policies have changed recently on international flights. This past August, American Airlines, perhaps because their initials are AA, officially charged for drinks on the flight from Paris to New York; I expressed surprise and the flight attendant gave me some wine for free.

Almost all US carriers now charge for drinks...unless you are flying business or first..even delta!

One of the big travel magazines--I think it's Travel & Leisure?--has an "Ombudsman" to which you submit travel complaints/nightmares such as yours and they help you get to the bottom of it, quickly. The big advantage is that they are big-time media, and the businesses in question almost always make immediate amends in order to avoid worse press. You should submit your story.

I'm scheduled to fly BA in March, and that story makes me VERY afraid!

The "Ombudsman" is a CondeNast Traveller feature.BTW, not really on the subject...but if you ever thought of flying coach, and attempting the use the FirstClass biffy, read this months Ombudsman.I havent seen it posted on line yet, but the print issue is out.Certainly one of the most harrowing incidents I have heard of.....

What happened to that biffy-jumper?

I can deal (barely) with total incompetence, though it upsets me. I can deal (almost not at all) with bad attitude and negativism on the part of the staff. But I CANNOT deal with being lied to. That is my problem with BA. I haven't told my story for a while, so here goes.

About six years ago we were flying from London to Miami on BA. The flight was delayed and we waited in the lounge. Finally they called for boarding. As we were actually getting onto the plane (right in the plane's doorway) two mechanics were coming out of the plane. One said to the other, "I can't understand why they're putting all these people on a plane that can't fly." What? When seated (we were in "club class" or business) I mentioned this to the attendant who insisted I had heard wrong. I knew I hadn't. As soon as they got all 300 plus passengers on the plane, the pilot came on and made an announcement. He said that there was still a slight mechanical problem and they were working on it. We would take off when it was fixed. Yet we had seen into the cockpit, there were no mechanics there. There were no apparent mechanics outside near the plane either. Immediately after this announcement, they made an announcement that they were going to serve dinner to us on the ground since our flight had already been delayed about two hours. Sure enough, they quickly went about serving the meal. No wine or alcohol at all though as we were on the ground and they said that was illegal. As soon as the meal had been served and the dishes cleared (about an hour later), the pilot made another announcement. He was sorry to report the mechanics were unable to fix the problem. Huh, what mechanics? They got off the plane when we got on making their statement then that it couldn't be repaired. The flight was now being cancelled. Deplane and wait for further announcements. They were trying to find another plane. They managed to do so and we finally had our flight nearly 6 hours late (three of those hours lost while they "pretended" to be fixing the plane).

There has never been even a shadow of a doubt in my mind what happened. If they had turned all these 300 people loose, they would have had to give everyone a meal ticket and they would have had to throw away the food on the plane. They knew when we got on the plane the only reason was to serve the meal to us. Some people were really furious as they would have made other arrangements in those passing hours when this little charade was going on.

As I said before I can't tolerate LYING. And that is exactly what BA did to all 300 plus passengers on that flight.

Thank you, Miss Scarlett, likewise. My poor Jackie has been eating so much Buche de Noel and drinking so much Krug that I am going to have to lace her up in a corset so she can get into her Christmas gown (vintage Nina Ricci). She is booked for Canyon Ranch on Jan. 12 so they can work that winter fat off of her. I am at my wit's end because she is starting to look like Madeline Albright, especially when she wears her Duchess of Windsor brooch.