The very first flight I ever took was with British Airways – or rather with BOAC as it then was.
I was left feeling I will never fly with them again. Particularly since the second leg of that journey, with PANAM, was a joy. BOAC, I thought, are very good at saying Modom, but that is where their idea of customer service – even plain kindness – begins & ends
Well, it was not a resolution I could keep to all the time, but give me a choice & it will not be BA for me. In truth there have been some quite pleasant experiences in the intervening years – especially since cabin crew no longer had to be well-spoken young ladies under 5’ 6” in height & 27 years of age. But they still have too much of the knack of making you feel as if, somehow, you are not quite the right sort of person to be on one of their planes
So in one way I feel a sneaking schadenfreude over the T5 debacle
I am not qualified to comment, or even understand what may be the problem with the much-vaunted computerised baggage system. What bothers me most however are the hints that a large part of the problem, on the first day at least, was caused by basics such as staff not knowing where to go in the vast new terminal, or not having the correct passwords, or parking places
The foolish faith in technology which can seduce too many in these days of targets & tick boxes, allied with a total failure to understand the difference between different kinds of computer applications - If Google can find me 3 zillion references to Britney in 0.2 of a second computers must be able to keep track easily of a few suitcases – just keeps adding to the tendency to treat people like so many bits of computer data themselves, ignorant automatons who will somehow just miraculously obey the computers instructions.
And engenders all too easily a confusion between keeping track of luggage & actually moving the awkward heavy stuff around
