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British Airways flying ghost planes across the pond.
If you're a carbon emissions activist, better close your eyes and plug your ears now. Word on the street from the Daily Mail is that British Airways (BA) has been flying ghost planes across the Atlantic strictly to conserve airline slots at the appropriate airports. They can't load passengers because of crew shortages and nobody is sure whether or not any cargo is loaded.
Yes, these are the same people who were fixing fuel surcharges to gouge transatlantic customers earlier this year.
In other news, the dollar is trading at, 1$ = 0.483£.
Spot on, old chap!
Gallery: British Airways
Filed under: Activism, Airlines, Transportation, Airports
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jon Boy Nov 14th 2007 9:55AM
I saw this on the news last night. This pisses me off. Such a waste of fuel. not to mention the harm is does to the environment...
my blog: http://curiousread.com
Neo Nov 16th 2007 9:19PM
What a bunch of idiots at British Air. Instead of everybody writing notes (like me) about them why don't we just stop supporting them and fly another airline??? Then all of their planes can be empty and they will be out of business?. Stupid policies from Stupid, highly paid CEO's
Pats Nov 16th 2007 9:25PM
Souldja boy.. tell em.. crank dat..
ted Nov 16th 2007 9:43PM
crazy it may appear to some but if the people that set up the rules didn't penalise BA if they don't use the slots they would not fly phantom flights.
BA still have the cheapest flight across the pond with the BEST service. frequent BA flyer Atlanta - London
tim boaler Nov 16th 2007 9:52PM
Neo: The name of the airline is British Airways, not British Air. And Ted is right. B.A. don't make the rules.
lastknight1964 Nov 16th 2007 10:05PM
I flew B.A. a few years ago. There were maybe 45 people on a transatlantic flight on a 757. It was great. everyone took whole rows for themselves to stretch out and sleep on.
I love British Airways, they have the greatest service anywhere.
BrittishGal29 Nov 16th 2007 10:17PM
I would fly them all the time if I could. Can't beat a row to yourself with free booze and permission from the steward to help yourself to the fridge! Now that is customer service.
Meg Nov 16th 2007 10:17PM
I agree with what Neo had to say. Airlines Pers. should also listen to the silent sufferer I stopped flying BA years ago because of their ungenerous business attitude. What did they lose by my actions? My Money,
Huge, huge mistake BA.
Jim Furlong Nov 16th 2007 10:29PM
Actually I once worked from United Airlines and people used to say we could fly our international flights without any passengers and they would still make money. Its all about freight people. FEDEX and UPS fly no passengers. So what's the big deal. The airlines need to make a profit like any other business. How they do it is their business. This is "much ado about nothing" IMHO.
Declan Nov 16th 2007 11:04PM
Fact is that the crew that operate from London to the other city (say N.Y.) , spend the night before coming back. This means that there is a load of people and a crew waiting in N.Y. to take the return leg back to London. They don't fly it empty round trip to conserve the slot as they would have to not use the slot 5% of the time before they would lose it. If they don't move the airplane and the crews as much as they can then everything (crews and airplanes) end up out of synch. It is best to keep the machine moving to keep it working at it's best.
teeks Nov 16th 2007 11:33PM
All of you guys raving about B.A. are absolutely wrong. I fly from Boston to London several times a year for my job. I've tried EVERY airline that flies there from Boston direct. The two British airlines, Virgin Atlantic and B.A., both offer free booze in coach. The US airlines do NOT offer free booze in coach. Out of all of the airlines, Virgin Atlantic has the absolute BEST, most modern services and amenities, their planes are among the newest of any airline in the world, but, their coach fares are often the most expensive. B.A. has average service and amenities, and their airfares are among the cheapest. However, both B.A. and Virgin have very tight leg room. They try to cram as many people as they can into their planes like cattle. (That's probably why they offer free booze, so that you'll be so drunk you won't notice you can't move your legs.) I am a petite-sized woman, but I usually get seated between two men who usually hog the armrests, and spread their legs as wide as they can, into my leg space. It's not comfortable and the leg room issue makes getting up to go to the bathroom a nightmare. Taking everything into account, the overall best airline to fly to London is American Airlines. A few years ago, on all of their planes, they took out a few rows of seats, so now ALL of their coach seats have more legroom. Now, American Airlines' legroom in coach class is VERY generous, and their service is just as good as B.A.'s. Also, American's airfares are quite cheap. No, you don't get the free booze, but that shouldn't be a big deal to the average person. American Air and B.A. usually have the cheapest airfares, they're often priced almost exactly the same. So, I usually fly American Airlines and enjoy the generous legroom, and then just bring a few bucks in my pocket to buy my own drinks if I want them.
kathryn Nov 17th 2007 12:58AM
Such a waste of energy resources! The trucking industry does stuff like this also, such as picking up Florida oranges and taking them to CA, and then picking up CA oranges and bringing them back to FL. And like hauling toilet paper from MS to NY then papertowels(which is also a paper product) from NY to MS. All of this adds $$$$$ to the the consumer , plus uses diesel fuel. ALL IN THE NAME OF COMMERCE and ?PROGRE??SS.
International Education Nov 17th 2007 6:26AM
Is 13 hours from London to Bangkok serving nothing but coffee and water good service? That happened to my wife and I. I also had to threaten to sue B.A. e few years ago just to get someone to respond to another customer service issue. 13 months of phone calls, emails, letters, for one person to take responsibility. National carriers are government subsidized, money losing, and shameful.
Emma Nov 17th 2007 7:30AM
They need to lower their prices, they are extortionate.
Greg Nov 17th 2007 6:59PM
It's simply legalized crime.
David Nov 19th 2007 11:10AM
Must agree with Ted....if the Airlines were not threatened about losing their spots, I'm SURE they would not do this! I'm not sure I agree with this practice as the Green Movement will probably hurt the Airlines overall in the future and losing a slot or two probably wouldn't be bad overall. With the price of fuel (have we hit Peak Oil yet?), it won't be long before none of us can afford to fly! Better buy stock in the railroads and Greyhound....they will flourish in the next few years!
Dave Nov 19th 2007 12:59PM
I've flown on BA about a dozen times and found them to have the worst service and worst equipment. On one flight the person in front of me couldn't keep his seat upright because the arm-rest was broken off the seat and hanging on the floor.
I have the same problem with SouthWest airlines. Too busy making jokes and throwing people off flights for no reason to cover up their excessive overbooking practices. I watched them give away a woman's seats because her husband wasn't at the podium with her to get her boarding pass, he was in the restroom. When she complained they said that they felt she had been drinking and would have to come back the next day.
My best experiences have been with American Airlines. So now when I want to fly to Las Vegas from San Diego (a 60 minute flight with SouthWest) I book with American Airlines (a three hour flight with an extra stop).
Jeff Kent Nov 19th 2007 1:55PM
This practice has been going on for a while now and is the norm rather than the exception. All we can do as consumers is take our business elsewhere. This too is easier said than done - many bark, few bite.
Next time you fly - remember this and be proactive in supporting your beliefs.
JK
http://www.RememberYourStuff.com
Because Stuff Happens!