British Airways contact details

defender_of_the_weak

Does anybody know the direct number to BA Head office excluding the 0870 options. I dont mind the cost (usually) but I have just spent 32 minutes hanging for the customer don't care department to speak to me. All I was trying to do was warn them that I will be filing in the court tomorrow.

Anybody got the details?

Sam_Bee

Lots of numbers here http://www.saynoto0870.com/companysearch.php

Do tell more...!

defender_of_the_weak

Sam

thanks for that. In short I upgraded 3 flights to World traveller Plus last October (not very money saving but it was our anniversary) and it was awful.

Fast bag drop - 15 minutes

Fresh Contemporay Meals - Wouldnt give it to a starving dog

Friendly attentive service - No one about for most of the time, and judging by the surly service when they turned up they hadnt been spending thier time with ranulph fiennes

Complimentary drinks - in any flavour so long as its orange (or water, must have put the wife on the even cheaper service side of the plane.

Been complaining since the return in November and will file in court this week. As an old hand at this its surprising how often the word court sparks a reaction. Tried it 5 minutes ago with Bryant homes and although the girl in the office has never received our letters she has now agreed to reimburse for the leak and cost of drying the carpets

Sam_Bee

If they removed inconsistency from airlines.....

I boycotted BA (in my adult life) after being dumped in Singapore by them (twice) by myself for 24 hours when I was 11 years old.

But had to backtrack last year flying to the states, and was thoroughly impressed - blagged champagne in economy on way out, was upgraded to WT+ on the way back. They still come bottom of my 'preferred airlines' list.

Just out of interest - what are you actually trying to sue them for?

WiseInvestor_2

Fast Bag Drop - it's only as quick as the passengers queueing in front of you. The process itself is incredibly straight forward but some people insist on making a mountain out of a molehill (ever stood behind someone at a cash machine puzzling over which button to push next? Push 'Withdraw Cash' then the amount you want - why does that take 90 seconds?!)

Out of interest, you mentioned you travelled in October - just weeks after the biggest terror alert Britain's airports have ever seen. What were the general conditions on the day? How did your 15 minute wait compare with the normal check-in queues?

Contemporary meals - without knowing where you were going and at what time of day it's impossible to comment on whether you were offered a suitable product, but you're not going to get a Full English Breakfast at 8pm and you'll probably get a curry (or similar) flying to Bombay. What was it about the food you didn't like? Are you aware that WTP passengers get the same meals as WT, albeit with first choice of the menu?

Complimentary Drinks - the cabin crew make frequent "juice rounds" in between meal services for those still awake. All other drinks (except Champagne in World Traveller/World Traveller Plus) are available FREE OF CHARGE by either pressing the call bell or walking up to the galley. Unless you're seemingly drunk (which is illegal onboard a plane) you won't be refused - at any time of day or night. You only have to ask since dragging drinks trolleys up and down for 10 hours is not only disruptive, it's also very dangerous with the blinds down and the lights off.

Friendly attentive service - as SamBee has suggested, consistency is a known problem with most airlines nowadays, possibly because air travel is no longer the glamour job it once was. Now it's just a job, not unlike sat on a checkout at Tesco - and they don't smile much either. There are anything up to 5 supervisory cabin crew on BA's longhaul aircraft, any of whom would've been happy to listen to your concerns. Look out for the Pursers or the Cabin Service Director (easy to spot - look for a silver tie) and tell them exactly how you feel.

I'm sorry to say it but waiting until after the flight to complain is pointless. You need to tackle the issue on the day with the people looking after you. Calling the BA Head Office won't help and neither will threatening any kind of court action. You entered into a contract to travel from A to B which is (supposedly) what you got. BA will simply insist that drinks are AVAILABLE free of charge and that meals are suitable to the time of day and the route in question.

It sounds as though you've struggled with this complaint for many many months now. If I were you, I'd focus on the parts of your anniversary you did enjoy and if necessary fly another airline next time - taking your custom elsewhere is often the best way to get your point across.

defender_of_the_weak

Wiseinvestor, I can only assume you work for BA or are within the industry based on your detailed comments.

Taking the points in detail:

Fast bag drop, 3 desks all shut and referred to the one further down the line lots of staff around but no-one willing to man a desk for five minutes and stand under the sign marked fast bag drop.

Terror alert: I flew easyjet from Luton 2 weeks after the alert and the service was better even with the enhanced security and delays

Contemporary meals - fresh and vaguely edible would be good. I was a chef at 4 and 5 star hotels. World traveller were served first

Complimentary drinks is just a minor part of the overall experience, the staff were surly, the food rubbish and mainly unrecognisable. On Virgin the staff just walked around without the trolley and if you wanted something you only had to ask rather than go fetch.

Based on experience I do not think talking to the crew would have made any difference,

Update

Today I spent a total of 57 minutes 54 of which were spent on hold before speaking to the 'executive team' the guy I spoke to said it would be dealt with by a team leader sometime in the next week hopefully but could not assure me of this or provide a definitive date in which to respond fully to a complaint filed 7/11/06. He was useless and clearly could not care less

If all I wanted to do was fly from a-b I could have done it at considerably less cost, I thought I was buying additional services etc. Thats what I didnt get and I will be claiming for the difference between standard fare the upgraded cost, court costs and time spent

LB1985

Court action - isn't that a bit severe? Afterall, we all know that BA stands for Bloody Awful!

Victors_Bruvver

I suppose you could write an email to the CEO, Willie Walsh, and then send "care of" to the following; Company.Secretary@ba.com , but I would not hold your breath. Like a lot of companies nowadays there are good and bad and some like BA, that are getting just blasé and possibly arrogant with their customers on the basis of the “never mind some you lose some you win” scenario and whilst still winning, they don’t care. I am finding that there are a lot of like minded people like defender of the weak out there but equally many more who will regard you as a moaner or whinger and go to great lengths to jump to the defence of the company you are complaining about rather than agree that the product or service was just not good enough. I have said it before why do we have to go through the expensive rigmarole of calling 0870 numbers in this country when in the USA they are given an 0800 TOLLFREE number to contact BA, who are for goodness sake our home carrier? I would love to book my trip of a lifetime holiday to the Far East with BA but they do not answer emails coherently or give me the courtesy of calling me back when I explain I have been holding on their 0870 number for twenty minutes and would like them to give me a call back.

richardw

have you noticed their disclaimer on their website

"Whilst British Airways will make every reasonable effort to provide you with the products listed above, for operational reasons, we may not be able to provide all of them"

Voyager2002

OP, your complaint is not likely to get anywhere in court. And while I am sorry that your anniversary trip was disappointing, what happened to you was nothing like as bad as the 27 hour delay suffered by another poster here.

I suggest that you get on with your life and plan your next holiday. All airlines are liable to be as bad as your BA experience, so why not take Eurostar next time?

defender_of_the_weak

I'm a professional complainer, and simply do not feel anybody should put up with rubbish service or sub standard products. At the last estimate I reckon that we had claimed back/refunded/deducted from about 20,000 pounds. Of the cases filed at court over the last 12 years 16 wins and one draw.

Rubbish services and products - don't put up with it