The DISGRACEFUL State of British Airways

[Music] this is an important video someone at British Airways and more importantly Heathrow needs to see this because things have gone too far this started as a regular review and descended into absolute Chaos on arrival in London to the point where I don't think I've witnessed an airline handling disruption so poorly so first let me share my business class review because that's the main purpose of this video and then you'll hear what happened after landing it sucks because there are a few amazing things about the onboard experience and some less amazing things that you'll see but those in no way justify flying British Airways if you have to deal with the show that is Heathrow and British Airways ground operations this is not an exaggerated video for views this is not a one-off issue this is a culmination of issue after issue that leads me to believe that no one cares about their customers here well besides squeezing as much profit out of them as possible I post this video with a heavy heart because I don't like completely bashing Airlines anymore but someone's got a say it so here we go why should you listen to me I'm clearly just entitled and arrogant as Charles says well I'm not subdan a half Sweden half American who has been obsessed with airplanes for as long as I can remember over the past eight years I've been lucky to co-reviewing Airlines my full-time job and in that time I've flown 150 different airlines always self-funded nothing makes me happier than seeing you guys have an amazing trip after following my advice so I hope this video helps you with your choices this travel day starts in Doha Qatar not the most unexpected place on my channel I head to the airport at 7am ahead of my 8 50 a.m departure which was originally supposed to depart from Kuwait City but was canceled by British Airways for no clear reason three weeks prior to the flight after four calls to the airline I got an agent who finally agreed to rebook me from Doha I needed to get back to Sweden for a special trip I'd booked to the US so this was my only option in terms of dates as I pull up to the terminal I'm so excited to see how the whole experience compares to Qatar Airways which have obviously flown on this route and similar dozens of times I'm super curious to see how British Airways passengers are treated here in Doha because while counter Airways has a very exclusive business class check-in I'm not quite sure about ba foreign [Music] business class Lounge which spoiler alert is undoubtedly the most luxurious part of this whole trip but I decide to head straight to my gate one thing I want to say before we board though is that given what a popular airline British Airways is they're one of the biggest Airlines in Europe to me it's shocking that there aren't more reviews of them I feel like people should be reviewing them all the time but instead we're all reviewing Qatar Airways Emirates and Singapore Airlines because they get the most views eyelash flew Club World in December 2020 when there were massive coveted restrictions on the service making it not great so let's just say I'm very curious to see what the experience is like in 2023 today we'll also get to see the very best side of British Airways as we fly a one month old 787-10 so why don't we hop on over to the NASA dance seat map database to see what's waiting on board foreign the British Airways 787-10 is a real stunner with eight first class seats 48 business class seats wow 35 premium economy seats and 165 economy class seats as you can tell premium cabins are an especially large Focus for British Airways so they should do them well right in this cabin row 6 is a blocked window so I'd avoid that but most other seats are created equal I went for the seat I almost always choose the last one in the cabin 11a in this case which happens to be especially great because there is no seat next to it let's hop on board so I can show you around foreign down the jetway and managed to be the first person on board so welcome to the club World Cabin [Music] spread out in a one two one reverse herringbone layout this is a great if slightly uninspiring seat they all have doors which is 100 a gimmick in this case because the Privacy is fantastic when seated with or without the door especially back here with no neighbor welcome to my seat 11a my betting an amazing pillow from the white company are awaiting here so I shove them on the foot rest and settle in I'm welcomed on board by name and thanks for being an executive Club gold member with a choice of champagne or orange juice they describe this orange juice as fresh if by fresh they mean the type of Orange Squash us Europeans makes ourselves from concentrate I would have to agree let's look around our so-called Club Suite as with most reverse herringbones we have a storage locker and two bins on the side the ladder contains all our charging ports and is remarkably stupidly designed a British charger doesn't fit here so you can't charge a Mac with a British charger on a British Airline there are no USBC ports either to help with that besides that this is impressive amount of storage and definitely more than enough below here are our C controls since I was so quick to board I had plenty of time to explore the entertainment system and a holy British macaroni what has happened to High Life entertainment British Airways now has by far the biggest selection of TV shows of any airline in the world I see a total of 320 different shows and most of those have multiple Seasons with 4 to 12 episodes per season we're talking several thousand episodes in total the movie selection is almost equally impressive with foreign language films in Arabic Chinese French German Hindi Italian Japanese Korean Canada Marathi Portuguese Punjabi Russian Spanish Tamil Telugu and more the accompanying headphones are pretty standard business class quality foreign that's entertaining the Calvin crew the youngest crew member taking care of me must have been a maximum of 21 years old I later found out he flies on weekends and goes to university on weekdays what the rest of the crew were typical ba extremely casual which is sort of charming occasionally just given how laid-back it is at precisely 8 50 am we push back from game B5 and start our taxi around almost the entire airport to reach the europe-bound departure Runway [Music] [Music] as we take off and get closer to London and the chaos that awaits let me emphasize that I never set out to make negative videos I occasionally get comments from people saying that all I ever do is complain which is categorically Incorrect and I have one way to prove that to you by clicking that subscribe button right now you'll see all my future posts and discover that the majority of my videos are positive it's really a no-brainer so whether you're a hater or you're one of the amazing people who likes my content why not hit that button and support my unbiased and balanced reviews after takeoff I head to one of three Club World lavatories which are definitely on the teeny tiny side but stalked with a variety of great products [Music] back in my seat the crew has commenced a meal service as we fly over Bahrain this is our menu for today breakfast is always the most underwhelming airplane meal so with that in mind this selection sounds decent a wrap for lunch on the other hand the drink menu is great with a big variety of drinks to suit all types of preferences 50 minutes after takeoff my meal is served all on one tray which is standard in club world besides the orange juice this is the first service of the flight kind of surprising there's no initial drink service after takeoff no nuts and no hot towels on board whatsoever I found out later that apparently there are supposed to be hot towels so I guess my crew is a little naughty my meal starts with this tray of fruit and a cold porridge with the most disgusting texture ever I love overnight oats and this is not overnight oats the main course is an assortment of Indian breakfast items and naturally there's good Indian food in both London and Doha so this is a nice breakfast with a real kick mostly I'm struck by how small the quantity of food is overall but still you get far more here than you'd get on Virgin Atlantic foreign [Music] by connecting to the browse and stream Wi-Fi package for about 15 pounds let's just say you won't get any streaming done here since the speeds can barely handle a simple Google search without disconnecting or taking painfully long to load while I'm connected to this wi-fi network let me emphasize the utmost importance of protecting yourself when using Wi-Fi in public since these networks can be compromised by criminals to intercept your data and even alter it this is a so-called man in the middle attack and the only way to truly protect against it is by using a VPN like today's video sponsor nordvpn the fastest VPN on the market that not only protects your browsing and unlocks all types of services and websites that might be blocked in the country or traveling whether that be streaming services in various countries or even Google in China but it also includes threat protection which protects you from scammers malware and so much more so you don't have to worry about coming across no intention sites when you're on the internet best of all nordvpn just turned 11 and to celebrate anyone who signs up at nordvpn.com Dan and uses code non-stop Dan at checkout will receive a free gift of extra time on top of the already heavily discounted rate giving you nordvpn for the price of a coffee every month on two-year plans again that's nordvpn.com to protect yourself online and support my reviews in the process [Music] the 21 year old flight attendant reminds me so much of the guy who goes to the US and Love Actually he passes me multiple times saying can I tempt you with a Lindor which almost makes me laugh out loud but eventually I tell him I can't eat it because it contains milk and he proceeds to bring me this massive selection of snacks these popcorn are insane I guess their Ba's version of the in-flight crack that is thin Air's barbecue nuts after a while I'm getting tired and decide to make my bed there are no individual air vents on board but the cabin temperature was good [Music] before I go to sleep I check out the amenity kit which just like the bedding is from the white company I absolutely love the smell of these products which are infused with essential oils there's an essential oil spray to help you relax which I almost empty on this flight alone [Music] as we're about 75 minutes out of London afternoon tea is served which is bread with a side of bread I usually love finger sandwiches but it's better when they have flavor at least the plating is quite nice [Music] soon enough we approached London where everything starts going downhill over the real life Dan to explain what happened next [Music] so here I am in YouTuber mode gonna tell you exactly what happened after we landed at Heathrow because everything was going pretty well although I might have sounded a bit critical at some points during the video I really was quite impressed by British Airways especially by the entertainment system the service was you know British in a fun way anyway all of that was overshadowed by what happened after we landed so we were 30 minutes early into Heathrow which in and of itself is a complete Miracle but unsurprisingly there was no gate available for us I thought that's fine I have a one hour 50 minute connection so we taxi out to the westernmost holding point at the airport and then we just stood there the captain came on one saying it's going to be about a 20 minute wait after 30 minutes of sitting there he comes on again and says we still have no gate and no timeline I think okay fine it can't be that much longer and it seemed like it was about negative four that morning which apparently in the UK leads to Absolute chaos so flights we're super delayed coming in and out meaning there were many aircraft occupying Gates that weren't supposed to be occupied at that time but again I thought this is no big deal and about five minutes after our scheduled Landing time we started taxing and I thought thank goodness we finally have a gate that was wishful thinking from there we proceeded to have the most unnecessary random taxi around Heathrow Terminal 5 you couldn't even make this up our root took us on a Scenic tour of most of the concourses of Terminal 5 before after 15 minutes we ended up at a bus gate right by Terminal 3 and I was like hello my connection is leaving from here can I just walk so at this point it's about 20 minutes after our scheduled arrival and I'm thinking uh it's all good this is British Airways main Hub they have it under control the stairs pull up to our aircraft right away so I'm thinking this is all going well so naturally everyone has stood up got their bags collected their things and left their seats the aisles are packed as they always tend to be and then the captain comes on and says ladies and gentlemen and I regret to inform you that there are no buses and given that a few flights were canceled that morning the buses can't have been in such high demand but we thought all right fine after a long flight it's nice to stand up and stretch your legs which we do for another 15 minutes until the captain comes on again and says ladies and gentlemen for some reason they've only sent one bus we're waiting for more what happens after this is something that I've personally never really experienced before after about another five minutes the captain comes on and says ladies and gentlemen I know this sounds like kind of a joke but there's a vehicle blocking the bus and until that vehicle has been moved the bus can't board at this point everyone on the plane is thinking can't the bus just reverse apparently not at Heathrow and given that it's 40 minutes after our scheduled arrival at this point and 70 minutes after we touch down people start to get a little crazy now keep in mind most of the people on this flight were British but British crazy is not quite American crazy thank goodness but even so people start yelling at the flight attendants who are literally really just standing there without a word people start shoving up the aisles pushing so that the area around the door which was close to my seat was literally overfilling with people people were being pushed out onto the stairs people were being pushed in every direction and there was one specific guy who's like I'm a brain surge and I have surgery scheduled for 4 P.M and I'm like wow we need to get off this plane but also why did you schedule a surgery for the day you landed on a British Airways flight at Heathrow that can never end well so he's yelling other people are yelling and the resounding word that everyone is using is this is a disgrace I feel really bad for the crew because none of this was their fault but the amount of abuse they were receiving from the passengers was insane and it wasn't helped by the fact that the captain remained silent obviously he was embarrassed but we ended up waiting another 20 minutes for someone to move that vehicle meaning we spent a total of 90 minutes on the plane after touchdown waiting to get off when the term know was empty there was no reason to put us there I was trying to figure out the buses pushback Vehicles who do these belong to is it Heathrow or British Airways and based on the asking around I've done it seems like British Airways has their own Vehicles including their own buses meaning that it's entirely their fault that no buses came still at this point I wasn't expecting to make any negative video about British Airways because this kind of stuff happens and ultimately I was lucky to be in a business class seat it wasn't so painful for me the only problem was that at this point at a one hour connection where I'd have to switch from Terminal 5 to 3 at Heathrow which is a notoriously slow process so finally the bus leaves it takes 10 minutes to drive to Terminal 5 and I run for it to the transit science for terminal 3 where for some completely unnecessary reasons the buses to Terminal 3 only leave every 15 minutes at an airline's main Hub when you're in a rush like me that is not ideal luckily a bus came after about 10 minutes and I made it to Terminal 3 10 minutes after that meaning at this point it was 30 minutes until my connection was leaving and I was kind of on the fence of whether or not I should even try catching that flight because the next day I had a super important expensive British Airways flight I was gonna review flying from Gothenburg to Dallas via Heathrow again so I was thinking if I missed this flight to Gothenburg I might be able to convince someone a British Airways to cancel my flight from Gothenburg to London and then I can just stay here sleep overnight and fly from London to Dallas on the flight I wanted to review but I had promised my family I was going to come home for that night to have dinner with them and hang out with them and I was a little worried that they wouldn't agree to the rebooking so I thought it's best to try to catch it I reached the scanner for Transit security 29 minutes before my connecting flight is supposed to leave I scanned my boarding pass and it goes beep beep beep red light and the agent says no sorry you've missed your flight head back to customer service and they'll rebook you and there was literally no line for Transit security I could have totally made it but the system rejected me anyway and sent me to the enormous line for customer service again I was so lucky that I had priority and as a British Airways Gold Member I could use the first class desk because there was no business class desk and at the first class desk there was only one party ahead of me so after about five minutes it was my turn and insanely enough the agent goes wait I watch your videos and I thought what's gonna happen now he goes what's the problem so I say they won't let me through the transit he says no no come with me so he actually took me back to the security and said let this guy through he knows what he's doing I didn't get to try my luck with rebooking because maybe I could have just kept the Dallas flight skipped Gothenburg but I was so grateful for that coincidence which obviously none of the other passengers were lucky to have so I put my bag on the scanner I send it through and of course my bag is randomly selected for a thorough screening and the woman is taking her time and by the time she's repacked it it's 10 minutes until my connection is leaving and if he throw the gate is supposed to close I think 20 minutes before the flight I am not running after this day if if I make it I make it and guess what I made it so I'm the last leave the holding area I am on board about 10 minutes after the flight schedule departure and I'm thinking great everything is going well until we sit there and wait and wait and finally the captain comes on about 30 minutes after scheduled departure is saying well ladies and gentlemen I'm sorry to inform you that there is quite a lot of pushback trucks here at Heathrow so we're just waiting on a truck now it should be here in 15 to 20 minutes I think great we've heard that before fast forward almost two hours and we still don't have a pushback truck no word about when one might come and again this is a British Airways main Hub several flights are canceled so the load is actually lower than usual and still they can't seem to find a single pushback truck to dedicate to our flight for 10 minutes and of course during this time the crew is lovely I have to say but they have not been trained to give any service whatsoever I was sitting in club Europe which is European business class and do you think in those two hours the crew offered a anything to drink forget about a pre-departure beverage on British Airways but with a two hour delay do you think they offer drinks snacks anything like that not a thing they were just chatting in the galley until finally I asked them for something to drink at which point they offered it to other passengers in business finally a push bike truck arrives we push back and thankfully have a quick taxi so we lift off about two hours delayed due to strong headwinds we land in Gothenburg two hours behind schedule I meet up with my mom it was lovely and as we're in the car going to our house this is about 8 P.M I get an email saying British Airways regrets to inform you that your flight tomorrow morning from Gothenburg to London Heathrow is delayed by two hours and how long do you think my connection in London was the next day two hours so needless to say it wasn't a very relaxing night and it was made worse when I called British Airways to ask about solutions they couldn't offer me anything over the phone and by the way this was the first flight of the morning the aircraft had been there overnight so unfortunately I had a very sleepless night got out of bed at 5am went to the airport where there was a surprisingly really helpful woman who worked for Menzies nothing to do with British Airways she was trying to find me a solution to rebook but she said you know there's no way I can get a refund through so just try calling British Airways a few times because I can't understand why they wouldn't offer a refund now the law states that a four hour delay or more would require a refund but at the same time if you're gonna miss your connection you're gonna be super delayed to your destination even if it's not fully four hours I really don't understand why passengers wouldn't just be allowed to cancel if they don't want to travel anymore so I ended up calling British Airways twice the first time it was just a five minute call the agent just outright refused she said there's no way I can cancel this the second time I reached the most helpful woman in an Indian call center she was like yeah sure I'll help you cancel and I thought okay she's gonna put me on hold she's going to come back and say she can 30 minutes later she returns and says I've canceled your ticket you've got a refund and you're good to go so the thing about all of this is it might sound like I just had a bad experience you know it's just me but that's really not the case if you've flown through Heathrow more than a couple of times I'm pretty willing to bet you've had some issue whether it's been an insane way for immigration delayed bags missed flights and I've had issues like that every single time I've flown through Heathrow in the past 18 months and British Airways just makes it all worse the reason I say this is that it's just so obvious based on this entire experience how much British Airways is prioritizing profit over passenger experience there's no reason to have to wait two hours for a pushback truck at an airline's main Hub like that when the weather is sunny and above freezing so not only does this suck for passengers it also sucks for the crew so big time on all these flights they had such pissed upset passengers yet they are the ones who have to deal with it and British Airways and heathrow's corporate offices that are the ones making these decisions don't have to face angry customers at all so their decisions have no impact on them personally even Emirates CEO sir Tim Clark who's one of the most respected people in the industry said in a statement that he threw throw has a blatant disregard for customers saying the airport management is Cavalier about their Travelers and their Airline customers for me this is just a lesson for myself and for all of you guys if you're not going to London and there's not some insane reason for you to be traveling through Heathrow on British Airways there is literally no reason to choose to go through there people talk badly about other airports in Europe I certainly think Paris Trail to go is insanely bad but nothing beats how bad Heathrow is truly and unfortunately by extension that reflects on British Airways with an in-flight experience like you've seen today which is mediocre at best I really don't see any reason to choose to fly with them and that's it for today's video sorry about this long story hopefully it was entertaining in some ways and on that note thank you so much for watching this video guys I'm gonna go and slices all together so I can share the story with you and until I see you in my next video which is let's just say pretty interesting as well fly safe

Channel: Nonstop Dan

Views: 1,676,824

Keywords: Nonstop Dan, Flight Review, Luxury Travel, Flying, Airplane, british airways

Id: LeChx0qsRTo

Length: 24min 37sec (1477 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 19 2023