Barcelona - Slowest boarding I have ever experienced

[Lottie A]

51 minutes ago, davidandjulia said:

We were lucky on Saturday, although delayed an hour in total before take-off (flying to Liverpool with Easyjet due to depart 11am). The terminal was hot and very crowded and no information was given regarding the delay in boarding. Once on the plane, the pilot told us the delay was due to bad weather affecting incoming flights and that we had then lost our take-off slot. The a/c at least was on although no drinks offered. When we did take-off, it must have been into the oncoming storm as the sky was very black, and there were lightening flashes to be seen. The first 15-20 minutes very bumpy and we banked sharply presumably to avoid the worst of the storm.

On our way out to Rome with Jet2, we were delayed 2.5 hours as the plane broke down but again no drinks or food offered until after take-off and then of course no freebies!

Hi davidandjulia.

 

It was a pleasure to meet you both onboard Pursuit. A shame the poor Barcelona weather caused us such problems at the end of a wonderful cruise. Hope to see you both on Azamara again in the future. 

[uktog]

We have to fly on BA a lot for local connections and also they have a work contract. In real terms their fares have come down as they continue to try and compete and this impacts on what frills they offer.  

 

We now use economy on most flights in Europe the add on isn’t worth it. Long haul always business.  

 

I think the later posts illustrate why you need to keep abreast with the products. BA has been running buy on board for two years on UK and  Europe flights.  Usually virtually no one buys so to avoid wastage they load on that basis so you there will be circumstances they run out.  Even in business they run out if the outbound leg drank them dry. 

 

However, following intelligence from others we never buy onboard and always buy something airside, bottle of water and food depending on the journey length. For anyone going through T5 (after final security watch if you are changing terminals) several outlets actually offer picnics to go.  Google Heathrow airport site for more info, you can do some very posh picnics!

 

All airlines have faults, none of them cover themselves in glory, the unforeseen happens and none are as good as they used to be but all that service cruise destinations are 100 times better than what many crew will experience on their first leg back from a contract! 

[Bloodaxe]

40 minutes ago, uktog said:

We have to fly on BA a lot for local connections and also they have a work contract. In real terms their fares have come down as they continue to try and compete and this impacts on what frills they offer.  

 

We now use economy on most flights in Europe the add on isn’t worth it. Long haul always business.  

 

I think the later posts illustrate why you need to keep abreast with the products. BA has been running buy on board for two years on UK and  Europe flights.  Usually virtually no one buys so to avoid wastage they load on that basis so you there will be circumstances they run out.  Even in business they run out if the outbound leg drank them dry. 

 

However, following intelligence from others we never buy onboard and always buy something airside, bottle of water and food depending on the journey length. For anyone going through T5 (after final security watch if you are changing terminals) several outlets actually offer picnics to go.  Google Heathrow airport site for more info, you can do some very posh picnics!

 

All airlines have faults, none of them cover themselves in glory, the unforeseen happens and none are as good as they used to be but all that service cruise destinations are 100 times better than what many crew will experience on their first leg back from a contract! 

 

Good advice, we will certainly buy before we board in future.

[davidandjulia]

2 hours ago, Lottie A said:

Hi davidandjulia.

 

It was a pleasure to meet you both onboard Pursuit. A shame the poor Barcelona weather caused us such problems at the end of a wonderful cruise. Hope to see you both on Azamara again in the future. 

Hi Lottie

It was lovely to meet you too and yes, looking forward to meeting again. We are on Pursuit 28th September out of Venice.

Best wishes

David and Julia

[Globehoppers]

Amazing!  People complaining about safety on passenger aircraft.  Lightening storms are frequent afternoon events at Florida airports.  During these storms planes are forbidden to taxi and must stopped where ever they are at the airport, to include taxiways between runways and terminals.  Its for passenger safety.  Airlines don't do it to just inconvenience passengers.

[Bloodaxe]

1 hour ago, Globehoppers said:

Amazing!  People complaining about safety on passenger aircraft.  Lightening storms are frequent afternoon events at Florida airports.  During these storms planes are forbidden to taxi and must stopped where ever they are at the airport, to include taxiways between runways and terminals.  Its for passenger safety.  Airlines don't do it to just inconvenience passengers.

 

I don't see anyone complaining about delays due to safety issues, just comments about the poor service by Airlines when they occur.

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Bloodaxe

[Lottie A]

1 hour ago, Globehoppers said:

Amazing!  People complaining about safety on passenger aircraft.  Lightening storms are frequent afternoon events at Florida airports.  During these storms planes are forbidden to taxi and must stopped where ever they are at the airport, to include taxiways between runways and terminals.  Its for passenger safety.  Airlines don't do it to just inconvenience passengers.

 

Globehoppers, have you actually read my post? 🙄 No-one is complaining about flight delays because of safety issues! They are perfectly understandable. We are not idiots. 

 

I was making the point that we were sat on that aircraft for over 2 hours in very hot and humid conditions with no air con and not even a drink of water until passengers started complaining. After an hour we got about half a small cup each.

 

Nobody would have minded paying for food or drinks but they were not offered. Children were crying because of thirst. It would have been so easy for the crew to come around with sandwiches and drinks but....Oh yes, they didn't have enough for all the passengers onboard anyway! 

 

That is is what I am complaining about! 

 

I have spoken to BA customer relations about it today and they have apologised and said it shouldn't have happened....but it did! As I was sat at the front of the plane I also noted the cabin and flight crew were drinking bottles of water in the service area while we passengers were sat on that hot, packed plane with nothing to drink. 

[uktog]

So did they not serve the business class people anything given you were at the front of the plane?  Mind I have had it that we couldn't have anything because they need everything to be such that they can do a quick take off if things clear.  Its not fun when it gets hot but these were exceptionally circumstances.

 

I will be honest whilst I am very sorry children were hot and unhappy, having had to fly on my own many many miles with three young children, the one thing I always made sure I had at the airport was sufficient liquids to placate them as you never knew when the trolleys would be around or what they would have on them, so parents should be prepared with some contingencies.  

[Lottie A]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

So did they not serve the business class people anything given you were at the front of the plane?  Mind I have had it that we couldn't have anything because they need everything to be such that they can do a quick take off if things clear.  Its not fun when it gets hot but these were exceptionally circumstances.

 

I will be honest whilst I am very sorry children were hot and unhappy, having had to fly on my own many many miles with three young children, the one thing I always made sure I had at the airport was sufficient liquids to placate them as you never knew when the trolleys would be around or what they would have on them, so parents should be prepared with some contingencies.  

I wasn't in Business Class Ann....just had a seat very near the front section in the first Club Europe row. Like you, I don't see the point in BC for such a short flight. Long Haul definitely yes for BC. 

The parents onboard did mostly seem to have drinks for their children but they drank them fast...it was so hot. I felt like I was going to faint due to the heat, thirst and lack of air. I could not have purchased any food or water prior to getting on the plane as I had disability assistance this time due to my foot and they do not stop for you to buy food.

They took me straight to the Gate. I got a bottle of water there from the machine but it was all gone in 15 mins. 

 

There was plenty of time for them to do a water run up the plane. The pilot told us there would be a two hour delay. It was no surprise to anyone once the electrical storm set in and there was never going to be any chance of a quick take off. 

 

Anyway, it was a disastrous flight home with very poor customer service by BA. I will now look at alternative carriers for all my future flights. They may not be better than BA but I'm not sure they could be any worse! 

 

[Covepointcruiser]

I am sure all flights waiting to depart had the same experience.   We always board with water and snacks as what is served on any airline is not palatable.    Last November we were delayed for 5 hours in Houston because of a Thunderstorm.   We landed just before the airport closed.   We were to take a flight to London.   We could not depart the plane because all of the gates were full, no planes were departing.   The flight we were to catch was incoming from London and had to divert to New Orleans.   Those passengers on the plane from London sat on the plane in New Orleans for over 3 hours, this was after a transatlantic flight.   We finally departed Houston over 5 hours late.   We had to board very quickly or the flight crew would be over their allowed flight hours.  No matter your tale of woe, just think how much worse it can be, be glad yo arrived safely even after a 2 hour delay.   It is a wonder the runways were not washed out.