Heathrow, terminal 5 and BA!

Don't want to disillusion you with Ryanair, but the assistance for the disabled at airports is really down to the airport, not the individual company. We booked assistance for DH with Easyjet at Edinburgh and Bristol airports, but it was carried out (very well) by people who did the same service for people travelling by other companies' planes.

Was it Edinburgh that you landed at?

Once on the plane it is down the crew, of course. I am talking of the service from the terminal entrance to the plane, and back.

Ryanair own Charleoi Airport, so the staff there are employed by them. I was trying to make the point that good and bad service can be found everywhere, no matter how much you pay. I had a friend who years ago worked at Heathrow, and all the staff called it Theifrow, as so much stuff 'disappeared'.
Ryanair are a large employer in a quite impoverished part of Belguim and I think people there, except for the local council, who are always complaining they don't pay enough in local taxes, are very glad to get steady employment.

Thiefrow, can't find my glasses, DGS was donstairs with Grandma for the weekend.

Downstairs !!!!!!!

In many years of being an Xpat i have travelled with many air carriers, Easyjet 7/8 times a year before Ryanair started flying to Edinburgh, sometimes good sometimes bad. My DD has just remined me of the reason she will not travel by train alone.
She had flown from Brussels to Aberdeen via Gatwick, British Midland, age 13, she has been travelling unaccompanied since she was 7. From Aberdeen to Edinburgh to spend some time with my family, i had flown over 4 days after her, was by British Rail, her Aunt paid extra for her to be assisted and put off the train at the correct Station in Edinburgh, unfortunately somone didn't read the ticket she had and she was put off in Edinburgh Haymarket not Waverly where I was waiting for her. The chaos began, I was taken to the other station only to find she had also been moved, then some bright spark put her on a train which did not stop at Haymarket and she was on her way on an express to London. I got the police involved and they took her off the train in Berwick-upon-Tweed, 6 hours after I was supposed to meet her she finally arrived safely in Edinburgh. She has never got on a train alone since.The Railway Police were brilliant, and all praise for British Midland who re-organised our flights home without extra charge at the airport when they discovered we were on different flights. DD was not too happy then as she loved being looked after by the staff when flying alone.

Yes i think you are right there Elegran. Its the airport not the carrier.

Edinburgh Airport is one of the best I have been to. We went to my daughters wedding in Derby, the homeward journey should of taken 4 hours, leave East Midlands 7am to Glasgow, a short wait than plane to Benbecula then home by 12, it took us 32 hours to get home. we got to Glasgow fine, went to board the next plane but there was a delay because there was fog in the Atlantic, we waited 2 hours then the airline decided it would be aright to go, it was still foggy so we flew round the airport at Benbecula for an hour in the hopes that the fog would lift, The pilot made an announcement saying we have to go back to Glasgow before we ran out of fuel and to book for the next flight at Flybe's desk in the main pat of the airport, which would be on a first come first served bases. Because I can't walk fast we were the last to get to the desk, to be told because of the backlog we would have to wait 2 days to get home. I told the girl on the desk unless you want me to have a heart attack here and now whilst showing her all my medication, she then became very helpful, We had a taxi from Glasgow to Edinburgh a night in a lovely hotel with full board and room service. Next morning a taxi arrived to take us to the airport we then flew to Inverness, after a short wait we flew to Stornoway then our last flight was a 20 minute one to Benbecula in a small 17 seater plane which was fun. Needless to say by the time we got home we were quite tired.

I find De Gaulle a nightmarish place. The signage to baggage reclaim in Terminal 3 is terrible, whether or not you read French. My GD had a bad experience there. She had to change flights there on the way to and from Florida. On the outward flight, her baggage was transferred to the onward flight automatically. On the way back, nobody told her she had to collect and re-check her baggage, so it was a shock when she got back to Manchester without it. Hanging around some airports - Schiphol, for example - isn't too great an ordeal, but I don't care to repeat the experience at DeGaulle.

You should try an eight hour wait at Ben Gurion as I once had to do - and to make things worse I was lumbered with one of the most miserable women I have ever met -- a half German half 'Native American' stripper who spent her life complaining that 'the public do not like me...'

Not one of the best Airport experiences! And for the life of me I can't recall how it came about...

LAX is pretty horrible too. You nearly always have to retrieve your luggage and go through the whole rigmarole of customs and immigration, then back again through security to your onward flight. You are also instructed to leave your suitcases unlocked. I try to avoid flying via the US as it is really set up for internal not international flights. Lots of major airports don't even have transit lounges, hence the heaving your luggage backwards and forwards scenario.

LAX is indeed horrible - in its own special way. Heathrow horrible IMO because they cram too many passengers and retail into small spaces. Lax i think is owned by the city (this is norm in US I believe) and was designed as a row of separate terminals rather than a normal airport with internal transfer routes.
HK is a palace and staff always seem hyper-efficient.
Sydney immigration a pain in the bum.
NZ airports

Oh yes, I'd forgotten how abrasive Sydney immigration was. Auckland, on the other hand - very friendly.

And very slow anno if you arrive at the same time as a jumbo or two from China. 2 hours is not enough to make a connecting flight with any comfort it seems.
I think the LAX border staff are the slowest though and why they have to do finger print AND iris recognition, every time, if you are only transiting the states without setting foot landside - getting back on the same aircraft even

They even did Minibags's fingerprints and irises at New York when she was nine years old. Bonkers control freakishness.

dontcha love the term "homeland security" bags ? Spin or what

Paranoia more like, eh jess?

Can relate totally JessM re LAX in particular! We were at the end of the queue during a 2 hour lay-over and just made it back onto the same aircraft having effectively moved around in a loop, finger prints, iris checks etc - no time to sample the delights of the "refreshments" on offer, just made a quick gallop to the loo then ran onto the plane!

My daughter & family had the experience of missing their onward flight between Sydney and Canberra when flying in from Auckland a few weeks ago due to the time it took to go thro' immigration then get on a bus to the domestic terminal.

Will agree, anno re Auckland, thorough but friendly. We had to open our suitcase as they saw something when it went through the scanner - it was a box of PG Tips for our DD! Mention Marmite and you receive a wry smile - they've seen it all before!

I can believe the sydney thing. I only caught my flight courtesy of:
having a bright red bag i could locate at a distance (it was off the carousel by the time i got through immigration)
the fact that biosecurity were far more interested in Chinese groceries than my boots
nice Maori lads who did not mind me pushing in front of them in queue at domestic check in
Going straight to the business desk in the domestic terminal
The fact that I was able, as suggested, to run to the gate.

So the learning points were
Dont think you can immigrate at Sydney (or LAX actually) and take another flight in less than 3 hours.
Red suitcases are good idea
and make sure if you have walking boots that they are immaculate (top and bottom) before you get on flight or don't take them at all.
Oh and its a good idea to make sure you have had a wee on the plane or before you join those terrible queues.
(i think it can be this bad sometimes for non nationals coming into UK?)

Transferring at Minneapolis was the most scary, disorganised mayhem.

I have finally had a non helpful response

This is not addressing my complaints which were mainly about the lack of porterage . I would point out that there was no one available to drive the buggy when we arrived on the return flight.
On the 22 sept. I actually arrived at the airport at 05am. No porter was available!
I addressed my complaint to Heathrow airport who have forwarded it to you!
Please redirect to Heathrow complaints!



On 18 Oct 2013, at 11:39, Kay Harris <[email protected]> wrote:

Dear

Thank you once again for providing us with your feedback.

BA 594 – 22.9.13

The Help Points are operated and run by Heathrow Airport so I am unable to comment on the lack of a porter to assist with your luggage as this needs to be addressed directly to Heathrow Airport. It appears that our Host intervened when the porter, who assisted with your excess luggage, attempted to charge you for the porterage service.

From the electronic and manual data that we retain our records show that at 06.22 you were assisted through Heathrow Security arriving in the lounge at 06.35. At 07.42 you were collected and assisted with 3 other passengers to the High Lift which arrived at 08.05. The High lift was at the aircraft side at 08.15 and reported clear at 08.27.

I am unable to comment on any issues relating to British Airways ground crew, these should be addressed directly to the airline.


BA 639 – 04.10.13

This flight arrived on stand 54 minutes late at 16.24. You were met and assisted on a buggy through the arrivals process to baggage reclaim. Regrettably there were no porters available and our agent remained with you until 18.20. I am unable to comment on the availability of porterage and this again should be addressed directly with Heathrow Airport.

I am sorry that you were once again disappointed by our service.
With kind regards
Kay


Kay Harris
Office Manager
D'Albiac House (Room 2047)
Terminal 3
Cromer Road
Heathrow Airport
Middlesex
TW6 1SD

Tele: 0208 745 6604
Mobile: 07920 012839


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That's terrible Galen. This person's lack of understanding only serves to make things worse.

The people that corporations put in charge of complaints are so often useless!

That is awful Galen so matter of fact and business like, They are talking about the circumstances as if you are not a human being, as if you are luggage. Your horrible experience has made me much warier of airports in general. Thanks for sharing this