British Airlines In Major Goofs
Posted on 5 September 2010 by LynThomas in Travel
British Airlines
British Airways has been ordered to review its airfield inspections process after a Boeing 777 flight to Antigua, took off from St Kitts on the wrong runway, in September last year.
The aircraft left the Caribbean island with 87 passengers on board on a section of runway that was not long enough for a Boeing 777. The aircraft was left with approximately 1,220 metres less than if it had departed from the correct intersection.
The mix-up, was labeled as a “serious incident” by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
According to the accident report, the 39 year old BA co-pilot realized the mix-up when he saw grass at the end of the runway under the plane’s nose, as the aircraft became airborne.
A number of failures emerged from the accident report, including: airport authorities not installing any taxiway, or holding point signs at St Kitts, the crew not discussing their taxi routine and the crew misidentifying taxiway Bravo for taxiway Alpha.
The report also revealed that it was the first time the captain and co-pilot had operated to or from St Kitts and the trainee air traffic control officer didn’t notify the flight crew they were at intersection Bravo.
Earlier British Airways was involved in another giant gaffe when passengers onboard a Hong Kong bound flight were informed they were going to crash.
The error left 275 passengers petrified, when flying over the North Sea a programmed voice announced, “This is an emergency announcement. We may shortly need to make an emergency landing on water”.
“People were terrified we all thought we were going to die. They said the pilot hit the wrong button because they were so close together,” passenger Michelle Lord said.
British Airways cabin crew settled the passengers, by running up and down aisles explaining the mistake. The airline has apologized to passengers for the “undue distress”.
On Oct 2, between 3.30 and 5.30 p.m. travelers could book an airfare between the U.S. and India for just $40, including taxes, fees and surcharges.
BA spokesman, John Lampi said, “We were filing for a $40 increase in fares between the U.S. and India. Somewhere in that process, they eliminated the ‘plus’ sign.”
British Airways didn’t even know how many customers snagged the air deal of a lifetime, due to many tickets being sold through third parties, such as Orbitz and Travelcity.
It was later reported that BA offered $300 to fliers who mistakenly booked the $40 fare to India, as it sent out an urgent email to travel agents, “As these fares were so clearly below the normal fare levels, British Airways is unable to honor these bookings. We have cancelled all affected bookings made during this two-hour window and will make a full refund for any paid for and issued ticket.” It also said it would refund any fees associated with rebooking other airline segments on the same ticket.
british airways is the best airline that i have been into, great crew and great service*’:
you can always say that british airways is the best airline on the travel industry *`,
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