British Airways Consumer Reviews - Page 3

DENVER, COLORADO -- On Friday 13th July I checked in at Paris CDG. I was travelling on a business class ticket to Salt Lake City via Heathrow and Denver. Upon arrival at the check in area I could only locate self-serve kiosks... no "real" person. I checked with an airport steward to verify that this is where I was supposed to check in since normally business class travelers get a "real" person to deal with. I was told to use a kiosk. There were no signs or anything else to indicate a separate check in area.

I used a kiosk and received my boarding cards. Then I proceeded through Passport Control to find the bag drop (which is after Passport Control at CDG). I was dismayed to find about 150 people waiting in line to check their baggage (for economy class). I spent several minutes working my way around the line just so I could get near the counters and see if there was a business class counter but there was not. When I asked a BA rep she told me the business counter was... back outside Passport Control in a different check in area.

I was furious at the concept of having to go back outside but it still would be faster than waiting in the economy line so I made my way past the luggage carousels, through Passport Control, and eventually found the business class counter. I double checked to make sure I had not simply overlooked it before but there were no signs or any other indications to it. The counter was 50m down from the BA kiosk area.

Upon reaching the business class counter/bag drop I waited a few minutes while the BA rep processed three gentlemen in front of me, all the while speaking on her phone. When it was finally my turn, I checked in two bags (she was still on the phone). She put bright orange "Priority" tags on my bags, evidently to indicate that my business class luggage should receive special handling. All the while she was still on the phone. During the process I asked her to verify that my frequent flier number had made it onto the reservation; the ignored me or forgot about it. Eventually I got my claim tags and headed off to go through Passport Control (again!) so I could find the BA business lounge.

Arriving at the lounge I approached the reception desk to check in and dealt with a man that at first wouldn't speak any English, apparently just intending to check me into the lounge. When I asked him about my frequent flier number and presented him my frequent flier card, it was evident that he didn't speak English very well at all, nor could he operate the computer because he told me that my FF number wasn't in the computer...nor could he put it in!

Disgusted, I resolved to deal with the FF number at Heathrow. Meanwhile I was astonished that I was met at that counter with someone that couldn't communicate in English...even though it was a UK based airline and I was flying to the UK!

Upon arrival at Heathrow I made my way to the business lounge and was able to verify that my FF number had in fact been on the reservation. The 9hr flight to Denver was uneventful. The aircraft was older and the seat did not meet my expectations for business class but the staff were nice so I figured that maybe I had seen the end of troubles for this day and that the rest of my journey would be better.

I was wrong. Upon arrival at Denver I was dismayed to find that only one of the two bags I checked in at CDG had made it to the USA, despite having those nice pretty orange "Priority" tags. Furthermore I was confused as to why one bag would make it and the other wouldn't, but that's an impossible mystery to solve. Interestingly enough, there were about 10 to 15 other people on my flight who also had bags that did not arrive, and yet the luggage carousel delivered about 30 bags that nobody claimed! Was BA just randomly sending bags around the world?

I went to the luggage service counter to file a report and was presented a photocopied form with my name already on it. Amazing technology BA has that can tell them--in advance of my arrival--that a bag has been lost, and yet they can't actually just get my bag on the plane. I re-checked my other suitcase with the BA attendant (having cleared US Customs) and made my way to the gate for my final flight (a united flight purchased through BA). Upon arrival in Salt Lake City a few hours later I discovered--you guessed it--my second suitcase was lost. I checked in two bags at Paris CDG only to have them lost (separately!) before I got home.

Again I spent a few minutes of quality time at the luggage desk, filing a second report. United Airlines, however, managed to find my bag the next morning and it was delivered to my home that afternoon. BA, however, still has not located my other suitcase and it's now the third day since my flight home. Their online tracer service perpetually reports "no information available" and I can find no place on their site to communicate with a real live person.

There is a page for filing a claim for lost luggage but it only applies to UK & Ireland residents. After stumbling around the website I eventually found a link titled something like "online claim form for lost luggage--USA residents" but it wasn't even a claim form, just a link to a generic customer service inquiry form. I did call the 800 number for lost luggage but it simply duplicates the online tracer and does NOT give any opportunity to connect with a real live person.

My employer informed me last night that I will be flying back to London either Tuesday or Wednesday. I suppose there is a chance I can collect the bag myself at Heathrow but I'm really skeptical about this, assuming at this point that I'll never see the bag again, nor will I ever receive compensation for the lost bag and its contents.

LONDON -- My daughter is in a 1-month study abroad program in South Africa (traveling from Los Angeles). She transferred at Heathrow (British Air) to South Africa. She arrived and her single bag (luggage) did not. It is now 10 days later… She is now 1/3 of her way through her study abroad program with No books, no proper clothing (winter), NONE OF HER PERSONAL ITEMS AND NO RESPONSE FROM ANYONE AT BRITISH AIR.

She is in classes most of the day and does not have easy access to transportation to re-purchase all she has lost (it is winter in South Africa). She also does not have the time to wait and find someone at British Air to help her. As parents we have spent 3 hours daily trying to get a "live" body to speak to. British Air's website based luggage locator service is only updated when someone actually finds the luggage, versus minimally letting you know someone is actually working on the issue. British Air (baggage service in South Africa) did give her a debit card with a value of about $70.00 (US), but it did NOT WORK when my daughter tried to purchase emergency items.

We have made over 50 calls, getting a live person 10 times (from the baggage department in London and South Africa and the Customer Service Department). From this we received 8 different stories ranging from "it's likely to be on the next flight", to a more honest, "it will show up when it shows up". Most of the time the employees would tell us about their difficulties and how others have suffered (I am sorry, but I refuse to feel sorry for you because it is clear customer service is not a priority at this company, if it was they would have the resources and the will to help).

We were told 4 different times that someone would follow up and contact us. We have e-mailed 8 times to baggage and customer service (where they note that we are important and they will contact us). Though this entire fiasco, Nobody has once called us (or responded to our e-mails) to update us on the situation. Recommendation: Pack only what you can carry on, and if your baggage is lost..."it will show up when it shows up".

PROS: When calling the customer service department, we were switched to a reservation call center! The gentleman was very helpful, but he could not call the London baggage department (they are both departments of British Air). He gave us information we saw on the internet. He did send an internal computer message to the London unit and told them to update the automated luggage locator page (this is accessed on their website), and to call us. Of course 36 hours later, none of this has occurred.

They do have an automated luggage locator service on their website, but nobody ever updates the information until the bag is delivered. The baggage services unit will give you a debit card for inconveniences and for emergency purchases, but make sure it works (my daughter's did not).

CONS: It is amazing that through all of our attempts to find one person to "step-up", take responsibility and follow through, we have not found that person, but I guess we still have 20 days to try. NOTE: After reading similar horror stories at this site, my wife and I have decided to quit sending e-mails to BA or calling them. It appears that there is no customer service and they really do not care!!!

I was refused to board a flight on the basis of insufficient documents. I was to fly to India from Vancouver via. Heathrow. The British Airways airport authorities told me that since my Canadian Visa has expired I would not be allowed to board the plane. This was unexpected for me because: 1) I had my valid Canadian Work Permit. 2) The purpose of my visit to India, was to renew my Visa, since I cannot renew it in Canada; therefore I have to fly out of it and get the Canadian embassy overseas to renew it.

I was not informed by the travel agent from whom I bought the ticket that I would need any documents, even upon telling him that I am not a resident in Canada. He said all should be OK since India is a part of Commonwealth, and promptly issued me the ticket. After being refused boarding I was told by the airport BA official to seek help for rebooking. We talked to one of the officials who cancelled my flight before couple of hours departure. I come back home and talk to my agent, who says it was not his responsibility to inform me of any paperwork, but my stand is that he should not have misinformed me either, he could have avoided the whole Commonwealth issue.

Now I research the www.britishairways.com to find information on Visas, only to find the following. "Passport and visa information is temporarily unavailable on this site, we hope to restore the service soon." I have a legal passport, I have valid work permit, so these documents provided by Indian and Canadian government are useless for my 1 hour commute over Heathrow. I was not staying in London for even a day or overnight, only till my next flight took off.

On 26th I talked to a British airways representative over the phone and she said that the only way to deal with this situation is to rebook my flight for a future date, which would still leave me with my problem of not having a valid Canadian Visa. But I would try to get my documents to salvage my ticket. Another agent Kimberley said rebooking would be possible only through the agent, so I called my agent again, he said that the notes on the ticket did not talk about the cancellation before departure and I have to get a note from the authorities at the airport saying that I cancelled my flight before departure in order to get any refund or rebooking.

So I had to go to the airport again. How can the officials be so irresponsible as not to add such important data to my file, however, the mistake was rectified and note added. So I would think I can still rebook my flight for a future date since 2 BA agents had told me that I could rebook it and in the meantime I can try and get a transit visa. However, on 27th I called again at the BA information center to rebook my flight, and they said I could not get a REFUND, I cannot REBOOK and I cannot TRANSFER my ticket to someone else and I need to talk to my agent.

What sort of a policy would this be, if you check out BA.com it is not that British airways is doing all it can to inform their customers. I don't think it is my fault at all, since I went home last year under the same circumstances, I flew Cathay Pacific and I had no problems at all even though my visa was expired even then and I was going home to renew it. I think BA and Flight centre need to polish the way their deals with people and not have irresponsible staff who forgets to mention entries and who mislead customers saying that rebooking can be done.

They need to have correct information on the website and above all they need to have employees who understand individual problems and do not constantly repeat "We can do nothing about it, it is not our responsibility."€These people just wash off any responsibility by mentioning misleading information or " Passport and visa information is temporarily unavailable on this site, we hope to restore the service soon." They don't have to ask customers to run to airports and get documents. There are lots of airlines out there but British Airways is simply a misanthrope.

This has been such a cruel and horrible experience and I would recommend people never to fly British airways, because they are all psychotic and unreasonable. In the end I have not got any money back, lost time and effort in getting people to listen to me and have been held responsible for everything. And I never got a call from flight centre to follow up on my issue after the first 2 days, after that I went and visited them a few times but they were all smiles with less than a hello to say.

With anger & disgust, I am bringing to this forum that I traveled along with my 4 year son in British Airways #BA 118 (Bangalore to London) & # BA 95 (London to Montreal) on Date: 12 April 2006. Upon arrival I found one of our checked in baggage missing. Although we sent all the documents to their Toronto office, there is no information about the baggage as well as compensation that should be given for lost baggage. We have great doubt about the existence of their office in Toronto as it is given in British Airways website and also as mentioned by the people at Montreal International airport.

The agony we underwent after losing our essential things and passionate belongings in a new place is known only to us. The stress we underwent upon loss & for the ignorance shown by them for our complaint, letters, phone calls, e-mails and not meeting the needs of their suffered customer is inexplicable. I have to state that my family & all the people known to us are upset at the services of British Airways.

To begin the story, we were able to contact BA through a toll free number (1-800-828-8144) for initial 10 days where the people attending the calls used to give irresponsible reply. After 10 days, our complaint is so programmed that we are not able to contact any person directly. The automatic message says, “If your luggage is lost for more than 10 days, press 1”. If we press 1, the message we hear from answering machine all the time is really shocking. “Please leave your message; we will call you back soon”. In fact, they don't have contact phone number for checking the status of our baggage claim.

For our every e-mail an auto responder replied that they will reply in 24 hours. But, there is no reply for our e-mails sent for the last 5 months. As soon as a mail is sent, we used to receive the following message. "This is an automated message to confirm receipt of your email to British Airways Customer Relations. Your email is important to us and we will reply to you as soon as possible. While you are waiting for your reply, it is not necessary to re-send your email or send a follow-up communication”.

I am very upset to say that British Airways lacks basic customer service, not to mention their business ethics. We advice everyone we know to stay clear of BA to enjoy the trip. I had enough bitter experience & I don't want anyone I know suffer from the worst service like British Airways.

When the luggage is lost, their customer service department goes underground or they have discovered a nice way to cheat in this way! However, I am sure this will never work in the long run. I am disgusted & no longer feel as for giving about the situation. I wonder, how could they care so little about their customers? I also will stop not until they have the decency to respond and explain, and solve the problem!

This is a letter to inform British Airways' current and prospective customers of British Airways' poor customer service following its last-minute cancellation of one of its flights. On July 6th, 2006, we were to travel with British Airways from Moscow (Domodedovo Airport) to Montreal, with an overnight connection in London. After waiting for more than two hours at the gate, after passing through customs and security, a British Airways representative announced at around 11pm that the flight was cancelled."

On the spot, we expressed concern that we had reserved a hotel room in London for that night and wanted to call to cancel. Although the hotel's cancellation policy normally requires a minimum 24 hour notice from the client, we were ready to discuss with the hotel administrator and avoid this unpleasant financial loss, instead of asking to be refunded by British Airways. However, British Airways didn't provide us with an international line, to which we were entitled as per their flight cancellation policy, so we never reached the hotel and, as a result, were billed the hotel room at 70 pounds ($132.00 US).

After the cancellation announcement, we were kept waiting at the gate for several hours, left with empty stomachs as British Airways neglected to provide us with a meal. It was only at 3 am that passengers were provided with sleeping accommodations, after having been rerouted on different flights departing the next day.

When finally given a new plane ticket with Aeroflot instead of our British flight, we expressed concern about our luggage weight. Indeed, we had packed our luggage in accordance with British Airways' maximum weight limit of 32 kilograms per non-carry-on bag. However, with Aeroflot each non-carry-on bags may not exceed 24 kilograms. Only because of this policy had we chosen British Airways when buying the ticket, knowing we would have a lot of luggage for this trip.

We were told by a British Airways representative that our 32 kg of luggage should NOT cause any trouble. So the next day, tired but confident that we were finally to leave Moscow, we headed to another Moscow airport, Sheremetevo, paying $70.00 US for a taxi ourselves, as British did not see fit to look after such a minor detail.

Unfortunately, at the checking counter, we were told by Aeroflot that we could not board the plane, due to our luggage weight. We were given the choice of either buying a new suitcase to repack our bags, or paying a costly penalty fee. As there were no British Airways representative at Sheremetevo Airport, we bought on the premises a calling card (another $6.75 US) to contact British and resolve this problem.

After more than an hour on the line with British's manager in Moscow, we were informed that the only solution was to buy the additional suitcase at the airport shop (the least expensive was $210 US), as it was the less costly of the two options. However, we were assured by the British Airways manager that British would reimburse us.

Finally in Montreal, after a total of $418.75 US extra expenses due to British flight cancellation, we wrote a letter to the Customer service in UK, as stated on British website. To our surprise, British Airways now refuses to reimburse all expenses except the calling card and the taxi, meaning close to nothing in the huge amount we unexpectedly paid.

In its response to our letter of complaint, British Airways does not provide us with adequate justification for refusing to reimburse our expenses. Neither does British Airways apologize for the cancelled flight, nor show any concern for our expenses or discomfort following its last-minute cancellation. The unspoken assumption seems to be that we will happily continue to fly with British Airways, and accept its contemptuous and unprofessional treatment of its customers. Fellow flyers, be advised as to how British Airways customarily treats its paying customers, and encourage others to think twice before choosing British Airways as their airline.

I am a regular traveller to the US on business and have split my travels between BA and Continental. As a Director of the company I work for I have the privilege of flying Club/Business class which helps me carry out work whilst in the sky and arrive refreshed ready for a day's work. I find Continental superb, their business first cabin, service and approach is by far the best I have experienced to the US. BA, well they just live off their name and don't really give a damn, let me enlighten you on the last couple of trips I have had with BA.

I flew from LGW to Houston on business, the flight was delayed, nothing new there, because the cabin services director was not happy with the standard of cleanliness that the contract company had undertaken. Once we were onboard I was not happy with the second lot of cleaning they had carried out which included gravy still on my club world seat due to a spillage from the previous passenger. As the aircraft was full they could only offer me a seat in economy and, no, they couldn't put a word in recompensation!

I noticed that the flight had a first class section on it and asked if I could have a seat up front as it looked like no-one was in it, they said "No, it was the flight crew rest area!" GREAT, flight crew get first class beds & seats and the fact I paid £3800 return means I sit in economy! GREAT!!

I was offered another alternative, put a spare blanket on the seat and sleep on top of it. I took that option but only because I had to. The crux of a long story is that I was awarded 5,000 BA miles as compensation, not even enough for a one-way economy domestic flight and I only got that after writing to Willie Walsh - the Chief Executive.

The second is more disturbing, I booked to fly from Inverness to Gatwick and then on to Orlando with my wife and son. My son was celebrating his 11th Brithday, and we were all flying Club as a treat, I had paid over £1000 for my son's seat, used 100,000 airmiles for my own seat and used a BA Amex voucher which I had received after spending £17,500 on my card for my wife, we also paid for our regional flights and taxes which came to £600.

Our outbound from Inverness went tech, a common fault that BA have never managed to fix due to the age of the BAE 146 aircraft they use. In fact they had to call in another airline to service the route for 3 months last year as the aircraft was tech. Our flight was delayed from Inverness for 2 hours, which meant we would only have 45 minutes to catch our connection, BA Inverness told us they had already informed Gatwick and we WOULD make our connection.

Imagine how annoyed I was when we got to the gate 15 minutes prior to the Orlando flight taking off to be told that the Captain had offloaded us. We were routed via Atlanta and then had a 6 hour wait for a connecting flight to Orlando which resulted in us arriving 9 hours later, totally stressed and very annoyed. BA's response to my complaint - 5,000 airmiles.

I have complained to Willie Walsh again and haven't received a reply, I have now switched my credit card and no longer use BA, their service, customer care and general lack of enthusiasm for a customer is so bad. Their cabins are now old, dirty and behind the market leaders. Have a look at Emirates first class, it is mind blowing and a hell of a lot better than BA's first class and cheaper than BA's club world. BA may well be making money but there reputation will/is catching up with them and it won't be long before they suffer.

Please tell me if I am over reacting. At the start of this debacle 2 months ago I just wanted an apology & assurance, now I am insulted & forced to change airlines as being ignored is a constant reminder... My partner & I were returning from a week's vacation in Tenerife Saturday night & had such an affronting experience, we felt it right that we bring it to your attention.

We were booked on the 20.20 flight from TFS to LGW. My better half was connecting to MAN & myself DAL via IAH. At 16.00 I called the airport to check the flight departure time & they told me that the flight was delayed approx 1 hour. As an earlier flight on BA was scheduled, I asked if we could change bookings to avoid missing my am connection to Texas if the delay proved longer than expected but was informed that the earlier flight was fully booked. I offered to pay to upgrade to club or 1st but again, no seats were available.

Fair enough - the early bird gets the worm. But when I called at 6pm our flight was now scheduled to leave 2 hours late. To be safe I double checked by calling the UK BA desk & as the actual plane had yet not left Gatwick on its 4 hour plus trip to TFS & would need an hour's turnaround time on arrival, the time delay would have to be in excess of the latest 2 hour quote. At 19.00 I called back just to make sure that we did not need to check in until 1 hour prior to the now updated 23.20 departure & thank heavens I did, as they told me only when prompted, that check-in was closing in 50 mins.

** & I left for the airport immediately & after a 20 min queue successfully checked in with minutes to spare for a 3 1/2 hour further forced wait in the airport! On the bright side, the check in lady managed to get my other half & me two seats together. Again I tried to pay or use miles to upgrade to club or 1st given the increasing hardship of the trip but the flight had none so unfortunately this also meant no lounge access to lessen the blow on the other end.

Though the flight was now 3+ hours delayed, no inconvenience or dining vouchers were offered. We solaced ourselves with the fact that we would get a warm meal when we boarded our BA plane which has always in my experience been worth waiting for. But no, not this time.

Not only was the plane the exact opposite that I expect from BA, an XL 737 cramped bus with wings, but the only entree offered was pork - not a Jewish preference - never before have I taken a trip where pork was the only option! So a 4 hour trip with a meal had now become a 10 hour one with an angry tummy to say the least. And lucky us, another rapidly approaching leg to go with an ever diminishing gap between.

But still we were trying to look on the bright side. The Corpse's Bride was the movie. But it began with no offer of headphones & after the stewards had started handing them out 15 mins into the movie, what was the point? Not that they actually ever got round to offering us any! And to add to the blackening mood the back row seat I was assigned dripped a smelly liquid substance on my head the whole trip. Condensation would have been more bearable but this had a nasty odor that I carried on my head & shirt the next 15+ hours of my journey.

The flight was originally due to land at 00.30 & as my connection was not until 9.30, I had reserved a room at the Renaissance Gatwick a month prior for a few hours good rest before my 7.30am check in to the States. But now with a predicted 4:00 arrival, after collecting bags & taking a taxi as the shuttle does not operate 24 hours, the 120 pound room rate would now cost 130 pounds for an hours sleep!

But we had missed the cancellation time at 16.00 due to an impossible quoted arrival time at LGW from BA so pay we must. Though the flight made up 45 mins in the air, after having to shuttle from the south terminal to the north & wait for baggage (the shortest wait for luggage was 45 mins after landing), We checked into our 130 pound room at 5.30am, for ones hours sleep before the 2nd leg began.

In the end my journey from TFS to DAL took 25 hours. (Continental was the 2nd leg & it was uneventful & perfect thank goodness) but without the much valued nights sleep, dinner & piece of mind that is granted from booking with what is meant to be the best. It would have been a different story if the following service issues were not forced upon us:

The delay time given was inaccurate & the BA staff knew so. If the plane has not left the UK & was not scheduled to do so until 6pm, how could it possibly return from TFS-LGW prior to 11pm? (The plane actually left at 6.19pm) If the staff had been informed or cared to be so, we could at least not have thrown 130 pounds out of the window on top of the nightmare forced wait at Tenerife South Airport & the service that followed.

Check in by 7.50pm for a flight now scheduled for 3½ + hours later? This is terrible customer service. Why not keep some check-in attendants on & not make a plane full of customers tired, sore & grumpy? Surely they have to be at the boarding gate on departure anyway? And not telling the customer that check in would be closed at 7.50pm regardless of when the plane would leave -€“ possibly disastrous! Not providing any inconvenience or dining vouchers for a 3 ½ delay? And then only offering a pork sausage meal on board = tired, hungry & discriminatory to a significant subset of the population. This added insult to injury.

I book BA for the comfort & reliability it offers me - but there was next to no comfort, no sleep, no options & no customer service to mention. The plane was old & cramped with overhead bins duct taped down & the dripping was the closest to Chinese torture I ever want to get. You advertise your high standards & you make a commitment in doing so.

Although ** & I are British citizens by birth, we work out of the States where most of our travel occurs. Combined we fly 200 times + a year. BA was in my opinion the BEST European airline but in all the flights we have taken in the last year, this was the poorest & most disappointing. We have taken the time to let you know where we think you dropped the ball & in return would like to hear from you. Time & ease are our most valued commodities & hence why we do not fly charter. The experience we got on January 7th was below our lowest expectations of any scheduled airline or for that matter charter. It was a nightmare that erased the tranquility of the vacation.

Finally, this is the first letter of complaint that we have ever sent to an airline. Given our travel schedule, hopefully this will further validate our unhappiness & help bring your bar back to where it once was. And in time with your assurance, maybe we will fly BA again.

Finally, if you are reviewing this email within 24 hours as you claim - how come you have not called, emailed or written 50+ days after my 1st complaint? NOTHING. No one word from my weekly email & letter contacts. Don't insult me further - take out the patronizing lies.

This is the upteenth time I have emailed or written & no response from you in 8 weeks (every week by email & mail since 1/7/6). I am disgusted & no longer feel as forgiving about the situation. If I do not hear from you for an awful trip & wasting my time I will go to every website, forum, Trip advisor & publication about your lack of customer service. How could you care so little about the hands that feed you? I also will not stop until you have the decency to respond & explain!

LONDON -- I flew Business Class on Sat 5th April from their new Terminal 5. Prior to check-in they said that the problems were behind them and everything was working normally. This was the first lie. I left the security to try to go in the lounge to wait for departure. The door is beside security manned by two BA people. Despite being entitled to access I was told that BA/BAA insisted that I walk past all the shops and go down a floor and up again to get in. With my flight time approaching I inquired with staff in the lounge. I was advised that there were no delays and to proceed via the transit to the departure gate. Second lie.

Do not leave the lounge or get the transit until you are sure your flight is on time. You can't get back to the lounge. Sure enough I arrive at the gate and the flight is delayed for 1 hour. Reason given was problems with the baggage system meant that they were manually making sure that all our bags were on board prior to take off. Third lie. We then boarded and sat on the ground for another hour supposedly looking for the bag of a passenger who hadn't showed. Finally we got airborne.

About two hours into the flight the pilot declared a hydraulics emergency and turned back, dumped fuel and safely landed at Shannon. This is where all the lies surfaced. Tons of bags were coming onto the carousel but no-one was picking them up. It turns out that these were the bags belonging to BA's victims on the earlier San Francisco flight that had not made it with their owners. Sure enough my bags did not show. About £2k worth of stuff.

There is no BA representation at all. We have been put up overnight and are still waiting to try to depart for the US. There is no information on the state of the aircraft. We all have had hours where we could have used the time to start the process of registering our lost bags. Despite calling the Executive Club and searching the web, I am told that the only way I can do this is to get in line in San Francisco, presumably with 300 or so other people and fill out a form.

BA have collected several thousand pounds from me and given me this experience in return. They deserve to go broke. They should start by firing their arrogant little bean counter Walsh. Avoid them if you can.

APEX, NORTH CAROLINA -- Students who are flying to the United States should be aware of the rip off by British airlines agents at airports. I bought a ticket through British airlines from Mumbai - London- Raleigh. I called British airlines customer service weeks ahead and a day before my flight journey to make sure that students traveling to USA FOR THE FIRST TIME FROM SPECIFIC LOCATIONS are allowed to carry a third checked in baggage.

I requested in writing to avoid any unforeseen complications at the airport, but the customer service agent said, "We do not have any provision to email you in written at this time, but I assure you that if you show your I-20 and screen shot of our website where it stated that students are allowed to take an extra 23 kg checked baggage at the British airlines check in counter, you should not have any issues."

I had no other option to believe what the customer care said, which was my BIGGEST MISTAKE TO TRUST BRITISH AIRLINES. At Mumbai airport, I was tortured by the adamant agent to pay for the 3rd baggage. I tried to convince them by narrating the prior story with the customer service, but they were adamant, rude and not ready to even hear what I was saying.

My flight is in 1.5 hour and I called my sister in the United Stated to talk to the customer service and pay for the 3rd baggage with a credit card as I was having insufficient funds to pay for the baggage and the internet service was down at the airport. All in vain, even the customer service said that they cannot accept any payment 3 hrs before the flight departure. No option left to pay, I had only one choice left, to trash all the contents of the suit case at the airport and take the flight or miss the flight.

Finally, after 2 hrs of struggle, after realizing that there was no means to do the payment due to the lack of internet service they let me board the flight. Therefore, I advice students think twice before they purchase tickets through British airlines. I want to make sure that the British airlines agents working at airports and customer service know their basic rules regarding baggage allowance and what message they are conveying to passengers.

I am filing a FCC consumer complaint against British airlines to make sure that this will not happen to any other passenger, especially students traveling for the first time. I hope this incident will awake British airways officials and take necessary action to train their agents and not to mislead passengers.

I should have arrived at the airport three hours early for my British Airways flight to Verona however when I got to Victoria station to take a 35 minute train to Gatwick airport, a water main had just exploded and flooded all the train tracks. I quickly jumped on another train going to East Croyden where I then got a replacement bus service to the airport. I could have still made my flight but 2 miles outside the airport the traffic completely stopped. When I finally got into the airport I had 20 minutes before my flight, but British Airways wouldn't let me fly, which is understandable enough.

But the understanding stops there. British Airways then charged me a hefty £60 to change my flight to the next day. Hundreds of people missed their flight because of the transportation problems that was no fault of their own, but British Airways charged them all £60 to transfer their flight to the next day. However other airlines were a lot more understanding, like Easy Jet, which didn't charge their customers anything.

I asked British airways, who are always advertising how much they understand their customers and care for them, where did they get the arbitrary charge of £60, why did they have to charge so much, and why did other airlines like Easy Jet not charge their customers anything? They wrote back in a cold robotic way and basically told me to piss off.

British Airways definitely made a lot of money that day. And I actually originally paid £20 more to fly with them because I bought into their brand and thought they were more reliable and understanding. But from my experience, and other people I have talked to since then about their negative experience with British Airways, I think those days are over and I think they need to change their brand song from the Flower Duet to John Lee Hookers ‘I need money' song. At least I'm giving my money to Easy Jet next time.