[News] Flying from Heathrow today (Fri 21 March) or picking up please read

[Balders]

Can only speak for where I worked, where there is a 24 hour line available as most of our business was in The USA and the Far East so time zone differences make that essential. I am talking about IATA business travel agencies not high street package holiday agencies.

and yes BA is a cunty airline for customer service and support in stressful situations. Arrogant and totally lacking in empathy for distressed passengers.

The Travel Agent landscape has changed, but the majority of agents/tour Ops have a 24hr phone line for emergencies, such as this. There is a lot of emphasis on getting through on the phone to either the airline direct or an agent or tour op on here, but in reality if you have booked through a decent agent or tour op, they will be very pro active in trying to sort things before a call has even been made/received.
It's not uncommon in situations such as this for a DR scenario to kick in and staff will be called in (a lot work from home these days) and the agent/tour op will already be aware of which of their customers are affected and they will be pro active in finding the best solution and then communicate same to their customers.

You are right that agents/tour ops have access to all available flights and routings (when compared to online companies) and they get immediate refunds if they need to change airlines etc.... It's not just flights that are an issue, if you are flying to pick up a cruise, that's another thing that needs sorting, accommodation and transfers are another - book it all with an agent/tour op and you get protection from the Package Travel Regulations and the agent/tour op sorts it all for you.

Of course some agents/tour ops are better than others, I know one specialist tour op that when there is a whiff of ATC issues, they respond immediately to cancelled flights (BA short haul are worst for this) and they change customers flights even before the customer is aware that it is cancelled either late at night or in the early hours of the morning.

Each to their own.....

 

[portlock seagull]

Well I feel sorry for the local residents without power, going to be a right mess....
We've still got power here thank f...
Will be quiet in the sky's over our house, as generally on a flight path.

Planes replaced by Red Kites?

 

[portlock seagull]

It must be the Russians. I blame Die Hard 2. It’s the same plot they’ve copied!

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

PS use Expedia to find out info/routes etc but then book direct with airline.

Expedia etc will also oversell seats in situations like this, the airline will only work from actual seats left.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Maybe easy to say with hindsight, but if an attack on a substation can cause millions of pounds damage to the economy, does it stand to reason we should spend thousands a week to secure it?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Expedia etc will also oversell seats in situations like this, the airline will only work from actual seats left.

I know. I only use Expedia, and others, as a summary and a guide for pricing and routes. Armed with their info, I then go and book direct.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Thoughts and prayers for Big Jet TV guy.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Met police, working with the LFB, say there is no indication of foul play, but keeping an open mind, at this time.

 

[Chicken Run]

Only 3 planes left in the sky en route to Heathrow, where do we think BA Yokyo-Heathrow currently over Greenland will be diverted to?

 

[peterward]

Counter terrorism police now leading investigation...... someone's got a whiff of Putin?

Heathrow latest: Internal review launched alongside government investigation - as airport boss faces 'laughing stock' claims

Flights have resumed at Heathrow after a substation fire shut the airport and triggered global travel chaos yesterday - but disruption remains and airlines warn impacts could last for days. Listen to the Daily podcast below as we ask: How could a single fire shut Europe's busiest airport?

news.sky.com

 

[rippleman]

My daughter reports that power has already been restored so if it was the Ruskies they made a pretty poor job of it!

 

[Chicken Run]

I see a flight from Cairo to Heathrow has just departed, maybe they are getting ready to accept aircraft sooner than first thought,

Edit it’s disappeared now

 

[Home and Away]

Counter terrorism police now leading investigation...... someone's got a whiff of Putin?

Heathrow latest: Internal review launched alongside government investigation - as airport boss faces 'laughing stock' claims

Flights have resumed at Heathrow after a substation fire shut the airport and triggered global travel chaos yesterday - but disruption remains and airlines warn impacts could last for days. Listen to the Daily podcast below as we ask: How could a single fire shut Europe's busiest airport?

news.sky.com

It does seem obvious. Timing

Putin will break any peace deal where Ukraine is not 'defended' by 'coalition of the willing', Starmer warns

The prime minister spoke as he visited a UK base to meet a group of senior military officers from more than 30 nations tasked with turning a political desire to support Kyiv into an actionable plan to help protect the country.

news.sky.com

 

[SkirlieWirlie]

Maybe easy to say with hindsight, but if an attack on a substation can cause millions of pounds damage to the economy, does it stand to reason we should spend thousands a week to secure it?

If these apparent "accidents" continue to arise I suspect this will be a necessary course of action.

 

[Flounce]

The Travel Agent landscape has changed, but the majority of agents/tour Ops have a 24hr phone line for emergencies, such as this. There is a lot of emphasis on getting through on the phone to either the airline direct or an agent or tour op on here, but in reality if you have booked through a decent agent or tour op, they will be very pro active in trying to sort things before a call has even been made/received.
It's not uncommon in situations such as this for a DR scenario to kick in and staff will be called in (a lot work from home these days) and the agent/tour op will already be aware of which of their customers are affected and they will be pro active in finding the best solution and then communicate same to their customers.

You are right that agents/tour ops have access to all available flights and routings (when compared to online companies) and they get immediate refunds if they need to change airlines etc.... It's not just flights that are an issue, if you are flying to pick up a cruise, that's another thing that needs sorting, accommodation and transfers are another - book it all with an agent/tour op and you get protection from the Package Travel Regulations and the agent/tour op sorts it all for you.

Of course some agents/tour ops are better than others, I know one specialist tour op that when there is a whiff of ATC issues, they respond immediately to cancelled flights (BA short haul are worst for this) and they change customers flights even before the customer is aware that it is cancelled either late at night or in the early hours of the morning.

Each to their own.....

All good points and BA will only rebook on cancellation of flights automatically, if they bother to rebook at all, in the booking class in which the booking was made, rather than in any class that is within the class of travel. Most punters are not aware that there are up to six or seven booking classes within economy and four or five within business class. A travel agent will rebook in the lowest booking class available which can end up as full Y or C class. In short you have a better chance of getting on the first available flight if booked through a travel agent than you will online or through the airline themselves. Travel Agent is the way to go if you are happy to pay a little more and be guaranteed a professional service in times of problems and disasters, which are getting more and more common.

So speaks an ex travel agent

 

[SeagullinExile]

Maybe easy to say with hindsight, but if an attack on a substation can cause millions of pounds damage to the economy, does it stand to reason we should spend thousands a week to secure it?

An attack? Am I missing something?

 

[The Optimist]

Now watching Paw Patrol.

They’d get it fixed in time for everyone to still get their flights.

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

Open again by midnight -they're having a laugh

 

[Balders]

All good points and BA will only rebook on cancellation of flights automatically, if they bother to rebook at all, in the booking class in which the booking was made, rather than in any class that is within the class of travel. Most punters are not aware that there are up to six or seven booking classes within economy and four or five within business class. A travel agent will rebook in the lowest booking class available which can end up as full Y or C class. In short you have a better chance of getting on the first available flight if booked through a travel agent than you will online or through the airline themselves. Travel Agent is the way to go if you are happy to pay a little more and be guaranteed a professional service in times of problems and disasters, which are getting more and more common.

So speaks an ex travel agent

The majority of the time you don't even have to pay an agent "a little more"

 

[Flounce]

The majority of the time you don't even have to pay an agent "a little more"

On long haul you could pay considerably less, on short haul you’ll do well not to.