Hi Joe,
I felt really sorry for you reading about the BA attendant spilling
coffe all over you. One would have thought you had got enough already
by then...:-(
I've been in and out of Heathrow 8-10 times per year for five years
now. Sometimes everyone's smiling and all is OK, but there are times
when all the ground staff seem to sulk at once. And they really know
how to spoil a man's good day. I haven't noticed the staff at Terminal
4 to be any worse than at the other terminals, though. I think it's
mostly airline independent even if all the BA flights are from
terminal 4...
Jostein
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Tainter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>; "Michele M Schoeneberger"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Carol B Raish" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "Bonnie
Bagley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 4:51 AM
Subject: OT: Need to Vent
This one goes into my "How did the human species ever survive?"
file.
Yesterday I got to Heathrow Terminal 4 early for my flight. After
leaving off my big suitcase I dutifully stepped up to the checkpoint
that you must pass before you are admitted to the security screening
area. One woman is checking boarding passes, while two others
intercept passengers who are trying to carry on the allowed carry-on
bag. The woman wants to weigh my suitcase. It weighs a bit under 15
kg, so she tells me I must check it. Well, it contains $3000 worth
of digital photo gear, medications, and documents, and I am not
about to check it. So a row begins. She tells me that I am allowed
only 6 kg in one bag, and that I must repack everything into
multiple bags. At this point the illogic of her demand had not sunk
in. I asked to see her supervisor, who duly came along. This woman
gave me the same story. I was allowed only 6 kg in any one bag. Both
women suggested that I repack the contents into multiple bags. Now
the absurdity started to sink in. The objection was not that I
wanted to carry 15 kg on board, but that I wanted those 15 kg in one
bag (in which they fit just fine). If I carried the same 15 kg in
multiple bags, that would be okay. I tried to explain to the
supervisor that this was ridiculous: the overhead bin carries the
same weight regardless of whether it is in one bag or several. Her
reply: "Sorry, sir, that is the rule."
Both women asked me several times if I was in Business Class or
Economy. I was in Economy, of course. I asked why it made a
difference. The supervisor insisted that that in Economy, the bins
would not handle the weight. This was a 747. I pointed out that all
sections of the plane have the same overhead bins. This logic didn't
matter. I also pointed out that I had flown on the same British
Airways 747 coming from Phoenix. That logic didn't matter either.
All that mattered was that only 6 kg would be allowed Economy Class
passengers in any one bag.
At this point I realized that the people who run and work for
British Airways are about as intelligent as American Educators --
the kind who suspend kids from school on the grounds of
no-drugs-tolerated when the kid shows up with a cold, cold
medication, and approval from the parents.
So I trekked down to the end of the terminal, removed the contents
of my suitcase, and proceeded back to the entrance. Now my 15 kg
were in 4 parcels rather than one. At the entry I saw that the
gatekeepers were harassing some Middle Eastern-looking fellows. So
while they were distracted, I walked right up to the woman checking
boarding passes, showed her mine, and walked on through. Of course,
once on the other side, I proceeded to repack everything into the
original suitcase.
Once past security, I spent 20 minutes walking around the vast
duty-free mall just to bring my blood pressure down. When I was
rational again, I thought about the several times that I was asked
if I was in Business or Economy. Apparently, in Business Class I
could carry the 15 kg in one suitcase. In Economy I had to carry the
same 15 kg in several bags. They even had the nerve to claim that
the Economy overhead bins were somehow less able to carry such a
concentration of weight. At that point I understood that my real
offense had been against the British class system. Those in Business
Class had paid for the privilege of carrying 15 kg in one bag. Those
of us in Steerage had not. We could only carry our 15 kg in several
bags. I never asked whether they provide enough life preservers for
everyone in Economy.
Other than that, it was actually a very interesting flight. Going
over the Atlantic usually isn't, and I've now done it 42 times. But
that's another story, and tonight I just need to rant. And I will
never willingly fly British Airways again. Last June, flying Berlin
to Heathrow (on my way back to Albuquerque), the British Airways
attendant threw coffee all over me right at the start of 24 hours of
travel.
Joe
