Penned on 23rd June 2023
The malapropism title – attributed to baseball ledge Yogi Berra – is what I am experiencing in a anonymous airport hotel at Johannesburg OR Tambo.
This time an eMail at midday informs that…
“Despite our best efforts, we’ve made the difficult decision to delay your departure to London Heathrow overnight.
We don’t underestimate the inconvenience this will cause. We’re really sorry for the change to your travel plans and we’ll do everything we can to help. ”
BA, midday, 23rd June 2023
Of course BA, of course. (Do you believe them: “best efforts”? Can’t say I do.)
“…everything we can to help”? AKA I had to find, book and pay for a hotel room which I then have “the opportunity” to claim back.
The deja vu in question refers to Bristish Airways leaving yours truly (and a plane full of passengers) in the lurch at Dubai International in February 2019. On this occasion we are – at the time of typing – staring down the barrel of a mere twelve hour delay. (Time will tell, I am not minded to beat my PB currently standing at 29 hours.)
The other deja vu element is the surreal situation of being in a (hotel) room IDENTICAL to the one I left this morning. Different locale, different room number, different view but otherwise milimetrically duplicated… even the wifi auto-recognised. You might suggest the benefit of a bed versus sleeping in an airborne chair in a metal cylinder. I would counter that a) the chair would be taking me home, b) tomorrow I get to spend – if it all lines up – 12 hours in a chair awake and c) I lose a day and evening of my life that I should be spending with my wonderful wife and daughter (who is about to leave the UK).
I s’pose it’s better to get an eMail than find out when you rock up at the airport. At midday plus a few I rushed to grab a hotel room and am glad because the reception informed they are (now) full tonight. #clutchingatstraws
Thing is, it’s difficult not to be bitterly disappointed and really rather angry with the flag carrier British Airways. I do my best to be patriotic, loyal and a straightforward customer. But, let’s face it, their service these days is [searches for approriate term] unremittingly crap. As in conisisently inconsistent; reliably unreliable. As in if-anything-late. As in lacklustre. As in their website/app experience is woeful with sporadic updates. As in “no gate, so we are going to have to wait for a fleet of buses.” As in the luggage delivery at T5 – their home! – is glacial. As in their phone lines are unanswered. As in their Twitter is a mediocre bot.
Do I have other carriers to compare with? As it goes, yes. Yes I do. As a counterpoint, I have recently – since February – been flown from Dubai-Pune (Spicejet), Dubai-Cairo (Emirates), Cairo-Riyadh (SaudiAir), Dubai-J’burg (Emirates) and everything was ON TIME. Sure, SpiceJet would more aptly be named SardineJet and Pune airport messed up the return departure: but there is an India factor to account for. But the above carriers delivered me ON TIME. The SpiceJet aircraft – 737MAX – was brand new. The Emirates – who are a shadow of their former selves post pandemic – aircraft flew from a functioning terminal and had big screens in economy and their app really useful/informative. Heck, SaudiAir Cairo-Riyadh had decent legroom.
I note on this day, exactly seven years since Brexit was voted for, that our national carrier is pants. This is somehow symbolic of how Brexiteers convince themselves that Britin-iz-best yeh? Without any evidence to support their claim. I travel a lot: I have a different perspective.
Flying BA is beginning to feel masochistic. Their focus is on… what exactly? It isn’t the bloody customer.
aroundtheworldin84days 