British Airways.

[mat the expat]

Yeah nah, they've had since February to recruit/train up new staff.

Qantas have spectacularly imploded. I only fly them if work is paying

I think staffed realised they were working in an industry that will lay you off at the drop of a hat. Now that there is a labour shortage, they can find a role that has more certainty about it.

I don't travel internationally and my parcels always seem to get to point B in good time so I am in the "don't give a toss" paddock.

The staff morale issue is entirely valid, I reckon... as you say Enzo, rapid lay offs showed everyone their worth in the eyes of their employers and the response is on the same par.

As for freight... I mentioned SIA earlier, who kept air freight going right through. Others have managed to maintain that service while simple issues like baggage are proving too hard. Again... the recent scandal that erupted after footage of outsourced baggage handlers mistreating bags at Melbourne shows the lack of care that evolves with casualisation and reduction of staff care.

In short... employers treating staff like cattle are reaping the rewards of that.

And Joyce has Tunnel-vision for profit over service so it will only get worse.

By the time shareholders realise, it''ll take years to undo

[Tichtheid]

The airport on the island of Barra

https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/se ... he%20world!


I've never landed there (though I have sailed to Barra)

I've only been on a plane four times in my life - two return journeys, and I don't think I'll be on one again.

If I take your photo, do you believe I’m stealing your soul?

No, but I believe social media and internet chatrooms do.

I had forgotten that the full tally of my flights was in fact six times, three return journeys.

I developed a fear of flying from nowhere when I was on holiday in Spain with the family and in the next day or so there was a bad crash in Madrid.
Prior to that I loved the acceleration on take off, the flights themselves were okay and I no problems with the landings.

I know the odds etc, but I'd rather take the train and boat.

[Slick]

The airport on the island of Barra

https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/se ... he%20world!


I've never landed there (though I have sailed to Barra)

I've only been on a plane four times in my life - two return journeys, and I don't think I'll be on one again.

If I take your photo, do you believe I’m stealing your soul?

No, but I believe social media and internet chatrooms do.

I had forgotten that the full tally of my flights was in fact six times, three return journeys.

I developed a fear of flying from nowhere when I was on holiday in Spain with the family and in the next day or so there was a bad crash in Madrid.
Prior to that I loved the acceleration on take off, the flights themselves were okay and I no problems with the landings.

I know the odds etc, but I'd rather take the train and boat.

It's funny how that happens. I'd flown loads of times then suddenly in my 20's I got gripped by a fear. I would literally be sweating and shaking going on to the plane and would have to get blind drunk. Then suddenly about 5 years later it stopped again. Still don't enjoy it at all but it's manageable

[Tichtheid]

It's funny how that happens. I'd flown loads of times then suddenly in my 20's I got gripped by a fear. I would literally be sweating and shaking going on to the plane and would have to get blind drunk. Then suddenly about 5 years later it stopped again. Still don't enjoy it at all but it's manageable

For me it's not the flight, as I say I enjoyed the acceleration etc, it's the thought of it. It ruined the last half our ten days away in Spain for me and it would be the same now if I booked a flight. I'd hate it from the minute I booked to the minute I landed back home

Getting the Valium out or getting blind drunk would make no difference to me as the flight itself isn't the problem.

[dabooldawg]

The airline business have become one of those industries where the bare minimum is supposed to be acceptable. Let's be honest the whole experience has turned into a hope for the best scenario and a pain that needs to dealt with to get where you're going. What goes for a business class meal these days looks like economy meals from 2 decades ago. Flew premium economy with air France couple of years ago and our seats couldn't even recline - just slide up or down but no more.

The whole things slowly gotten worse and worse.

[robmatic]

I know the odds etc, but I'd rather take the train and boat.

Obviously time and expense are big factors, but I think the train is a much better travelling experience. One of these days, I guess when my wee boy is older, I want to travel back to the UK from Istanbul by train.

[Tichtheid]

I know the odds etc, but I'd rather take the train and boat.

Obviously time and expense are big factors, but I think the train is a much better travelling experience. One of these days, I guess when my wee boy is older, I want to travel back to the UK from Istanbul by train.

I don't wish to, ahem, derail this thread, but I've just had a look and you can do the "Murder on the Orient Express" route - in reverse it's

1. London, Great Britain

2. Paris, France

3. Munich, Germany

4. Zagreb, Croatia

5. Belgrade, Serbia

6. Sofia, Bulgaria

7. Istanbul, Turkey

https://www.interrail.eu/en/plan-your-t ... rain-route

Taking a leisurely time with stop offs to get there and back would be a brilliant holiday

[GogLais]

The airport on the island of Barra

https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/se ... he%20world!


I've never landed there (though I have sailed to Barra)

I've only been on a plane four times in my life - two return journeys, and I don't think I'll be on one again.

If I take your photo, do you believe I’m stealing your soul?

No, but I believe social media and internet chatrooms do.

Nice one!

[fishfoodie]

The airport on the island of Barra

https://www.visitouterhebrides.co.uk/se ... he%20world!


I've never landed there (though I have sailed to Barra)

I've only been on a plane four times in my life - two return journeys, and I don't think I'll be on one again.

Landing strips on offshore islands like that must be very similar.

The one on Inishmaan was just inside the dunes, & the pilot used to have to make a low pass over the runway to get the sheep off it, before he tried to land.

[Slick]

I know the odds etc, but I'd rather take the train and boat.

Obviously time and expense are big factors, but I think the train is a much better travelling experience. One of these days, I guess when my wee boy is older, I want to travel back to the UK from Istanbul by train.

I don't wish to, ahem, derail this thread, but I've just had a look and you can do the "Murder on the Orient Express" route - in reverse it's

1. London, Great Britain

2. Paris, France

3. Munich, Germany

4. Zagreb, Croatia

5. Belgrade, Serbia

6. Sofia, Bulgaria

7. Istanbul, Turkey

https://www.interrail.eu/en/plan-your-t ... rain-route

Taking a leisurely time with stop offs to get there and back would be a brilliant holiday

I assume you also use Man in Seat 61? Love that website

[SaintK]

I assume you also use Man in Seat 61? Love that website

Great website.
I haven't flown anywhere since I retired 5 years ago.
Done Nice, Bordeaux and Girona/Barcelona by train though.

[Tichtheid]

I assume you also use Man in Seat 61? Love that website

I will now

[Biffer]

I assume you also use Man in Seat 61? Love that website

Great website.
I haven't flown anywhere since I retired 5 years ago.
Done Nice, Bordeaux and Girona/Barcelona by train though.

I wish there were night trains through the channel tunnel. I could, entirely realistically, get on a train in Edinburgh and wake up in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels etc. I'd happily do that for some of the work travel I do.

[robmatic]

I know the odds etc, but I'd rather take the train and boat.

Obviously time and expense are big factors, but I think the train is a much better travelling experience. One of these days, I guess when my wee boy is older, I want to travel back to the UK from Istanbul by train.

I don't wish to, ahem, derail this thread, but I've just had a look and you can do the "Murder on the Orient Express" route - in reverse it's

1. London, Great Britain

2. Paris, France

3. Munich, Germany

4. Zagreb, Croatia

5. Belgrade, Serbia

6. Sofia, Bulgaria

7. Istanbul, Turkey

https://www.interrail.eu/en/plan-your-t ... rain-route

Taking a leisurely time with stop offs to get there and back would be a brilliant holiday

Yeah, I would love to do something like that.

[vball]

"She who must be obeyed" is 60 next year. She really fancies doing the Orient Express. So perhaps do the stop off journey as above going out and then the true train trip on the way back.

Need to get planning.

What time of year is best .. .Octoberfest apart of course !!

[Paddington Bear]

Should say I flew BA (internally) today and T5 was exceptionally well organised, no queues at security despite the numbers and landed ahead of time.

[Calculon]

It's something Heathrow seems able to do well. Even when there are long queues they move smoothly

[inactionman]

I assume you also use Man in Seat 61? Love that website

I will now

It's superb - we planned out our honeymoon using it, Eurostar to Paris, sleeper to Cologne, Prague, Dresden, Berlin. Really useful advice and I swear there's no train the bugger hasn't yet been on. He must live on them.

I find flying an ordeal at the best of times, there's just something so much more relaxed about getting the train - and it makes city-hopping in Europe so easy.

[fishfoodie]

I assume you also use Man in Seat 61? Love that website

I will now

It's superb - we planned out our honeymoon using it, Eurostar to Paris, sleeper to Cologne, Prague, Dresden, Berlin. Really useful advice and I swear there's no train the bugger hasn't yet been on. He must live on them.

I find flying an ordeal at the best of times, there's just something so much more relaxed about getting the train - and it makes city-hopping in Europe so easy.

Not a bad idea; probably cheaper than living in London !

[Marylandolorian]

Getting worse.

[Guy Smiley]

Getting worse.

That's related to the grounding of longhaul flights out of the US the other day. Just some added celebrity heft for an issue already sorted. The UK does like a bit of celebrity heft, yeah?

[Clogs]

If it's dodgy airport experiences you're after, I've flown in and out of Lukla twice. Overshoot, and you hit a mountain. Undershoot, and you hit a mountain.



There are a number of airlines flying in Nepal. Some might not be quite as well... resourced, as others. I've booked open returns both times as you're never sure of which day you'll come out of the mountains. I'm not, anyway. My first trip up the Kumbhu saw me come down with a bad cough at altitude and I scorched the trails coming back down and out for thick air (on the advice of the medic up at altitude) so I came into the airport mid morning, sweaty as fuck and breathing hard. The guys at my service desk checked my booking and asked me to wait in the departure lounge. I was too scared to take off the light jacket as I thought my stink would have me turfed out. A German guy was berating his young guide because they'd been waiting hours for a flight. My guess is the guide had booked with a 'friend's' airline and they didn't have planes or seats spare. I watched this drama unfold for an hour or so, slowly freezing as my sweat dried and Herr Oberthemountainfuhrer got angrier and more abusive while the poor young guide made phone calls and tried to explain they'd have to wait.

My service desk guy came and grabbed me... with a ticket in his hand. Through here, he says, your bag here please... I was through the gate and walking across the tarmac to a flight out to Kathmandu after just an hour of waiting. Better yet... I was the sole passenger . I could see Herr Oberthemountainfuhrer's face going beetroot red through the windows so I gave him a cheery wave, first from the tarmac and again from my seat as they closed the door behind me.

I love the smell of airfuel. It reminds me of victory.

That certainly is a clenchy bum of an airport. We landed safely and I swear I heard one of the passengers offer the pilot a hand job in appreciation for putting us on the ground and not into the side of the mountain.

There is a youtube video of an aborted landing. There is a moment when you lose sight of the plane where you are just waiting for the fireball. And then the plane re -appears. Terrifying.

[Guy Smiley]

My first time flying in there (with a very nervous flier as trekking companion) we were delayed at take off due to weather before the mad rush to make the most of the window of clear weather at the other end... only to be put in a holding pattern close to Lukla. We weren't told what was going on, all I had to guess from was the view out of the window which showed terrifying sheer mountain walls dropping into impossibly deep valleys between ridgelines seemingly too close below us, so close you could see the faces of people looking at us as we floated in and out of the clouds. Then all of the sudden the clouds parted and we were on final approach with no time to get nervy about the landing.

Pretty sure I managed to step in some yak shit within minutes though

[Torquemada 1420]

Getting worse.

That's related to the grounding of longhaul flights out of the US the other day. Just some added celebrity heft for an issue already sorted. The UK does like a bit of celebrity heft, yeah?

Was going to say they are welcome to keep her there.

[Biffer]

It's something Heathrow seems able to do well. Even when there are long queues they move smoothly

Have you ever transferred flights between terminals at aheathrow?

[Calculon]

I don't think I have. always used Heathrow as a point of departure or arrival. I'm guessing it doesn't go that smoothly if you have to transfer between terminals?

Thinking back about Aberdeen airport what annoyed me the most was the space allocated for shops was about three times the size of the lounge, at least that's how I remember it. Usually I prefer smaller airports.

[Calculon]

The cheeky bastards also insisted I paid £10 towards some airport improvement fund and only informed me of this once actually going through check-in. I couldn't fly without paying the surcharge. Is that even legal?

In Zimbabwe you have to pay an airport departure tax , which I think is currently something ridiculous like 50 US dollars. We also had to pay an airport arrival tax/bribe at Victoria Falls Airport before they would let us outside. It wasn't for visas because we didn't need visas.

[Biffer]

I don't think I have. always used Heathrow as a point of departure or arrival. I'm guessing it doesn't go that smoothly if you have to transfer between terminals?

Thinking back about Aberdeen airport what annoyed me the most was the space allocated for shops was about three times the size of the lounge, at least that's how I remember it. Usually I prefer smaller airports.

Yeah, it's a fucking nightmare

[Sandstorm]

Border Force on strike. Army drafted in and doing a better job at airports!!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ports.html

[Biffer]

Border Force on strike. Army drafted in and doing a better job at airports!!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ports.html

Sure they are. No doubt there will be stories in the next six months of errors about entry regs and such, but the Mail won’t cover them,

[I like neeps]

Border Force on strike. Army drafted in and doing a better job at airports!!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ports.html

Sure they are. No doubt there will be stories in the next six months of errors about entry regs and such, but the Mail won’t cover them,

I doubt it's actually a very difficult job as it's basically scanning a passport and checking a database and perhaps a few documents.

The challenge is, it pays sh*t and is boring as f*ck.

[SaintK]

Border Force on strike. Army drafted in and doing a better job at airports!!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ports.html

Sure they are. No doubt there will be stories in the next six months of errors about entry regs and such, but the Mail won’t cover them,

I doubt it's actually a very difficult job as it's basically scanning a passport and checking a database and perhaps a few documents.

The challenge is, it pays sh*t and is boring as f*ck.

............and post pandemic the Border Force are still massively understaffed

[Slick]

Aaaaaand just heard the 4th of our 5 flights so far has been delayed tomorrow. QF this time

[mat the expat]

Aaaaaand just heard the 4th of our 5 flights so far has been delayed tomorrow. QF this time

Normal for QF Nowadays

[Guy Smiley]

Qantas have had two engine 'malfunctions' in flight in recent days. One, misreported widely as a 'MAYDAY' call (it was a PANPAN, not quite as serious but requiring priority route clearance) was a trans Tasman flight. The other was a domestic, MEL-SYD flight that turned around.

Joyce's chickens are knocking on the door, enquiring about roosting space.

[mat the expat]

Qantas have had two engine 'malfunctions' in flight in recent days. One, misreported widely as a 'MAYDAY' call (it was a PANPAN, not quite as serious but requiring priority route clearance) was a trans Tasman flight. The other was a domestic, MEL-SYD flight that turned around.

Joyce's chickens are knocking on the door, enquiring about roosting space.

And the one that had to turn back from Fiji....

I wonder if the pilots have had enough of Joyce and are using the opportunity to use marginal calls to bring attention to the maintenance being offshored/outsourced

Hard to disprove

[Slick]

Was speaking to a girl last night who was BA cabin crew pre pandemic and loved it. She lost her job and went into something else but got drawn back and started again 3 weeks ago. Quit yesterday and said it was absolutely awful, treated like shit, everyone she met trying to find away out, no one had any pride in the job any longer etc

[mat the expat]

Was speaking to a girl last night who was BA cabin crew pre pandemic and loved it. She lost her job and went into something else but got drawn back and started again 3 weeks ago. Quit yesterday and said it was absolutely awful, treated like shit, everyone she met trying to find away out, no one had any pride in the job any longer etc

I'd say it's the Americanisation of the industry - the furloughs/layoffs over covid gave the beancounters the opportunity to finally cut the conditions

[Sandstorm]

When I was a teenager I booked a flight to Germany and it was something like 300 pounds one way.

Still lots of flights available for that price today. Some even higher.

[Blackmac]

Was speaking to a girl last night who was BA cabin crew pre pandemic and loved it. She lost her job and went into something else but got drawn back and started again 3 weeks ago. Quit yesterday and said it was absolutely awful, treated like shit, everyone she met trying to find away out, no one had any pride in the job any longer etc

To be fair, despite all the problems we had with BA, the staff couldn't have been nicer.

We actually flew down and up to London this weekend and BA couldn't have been better. Cheap, punctual and nice half full flights in and out of City Airport