BA Upcoming Strike

So as you all may of heard, there will be another BA "Mixed Fleet" strike between the 1st and 16th July 2017. 

If you always need to keep an eye of updates on this, I would recommend to follow the "bible of anything BA" the BAEC Page on Flyertalk. 

This will be a long strike and BA has said they have made plans to cover this so that no customers will be effected. They are paying hardball with the very poorly paid crew and spending more to fight this disruption instead of giving the crew their original benefits back. 

The first news, is that BA have applied for a licence to operate 9 A320/A321's from Qatar (QR) during this time. This is on a wet lease this means it will also have a QR crew working on the flight, we are hoping this will include QR service too (actual free food and drinks instead of buy on board in economy).

Difference in Flight!

As most of you will know, flying on BA short haul, you will find a business class looking like this. 

 (Image  sourced on Business Traveler)

As you see, a normal seat with the middle 
seat blocked off, nothing special sitting here. However if your a lucky person who is on one of the QR wet lease planes, you could walk on and find this. 

 (Image  sourced on OMAAT)

There will be a very very nice surprise for the customers. However BA customers may expect this quality in the future too. 

Lets all hope that the dispute is settled, staff remain happy and and potential disruption will be prevented. 

Conclusion

I will keep you updated of this and advise if there are any changes with this.

Update!

I will be moving to a new site, which will be ran by myself and my partner! Please visit and subscribe!

Update With Me

Hey All, 

I have been offline for a while, there are a lot of updates to give. Firstly I am getting married one month today! 

In the time since China, I have traveled a lot, spent time with my partner and been busy planning our wedding in Canada. 

I will try and upload some of my other travels, my travels have got my a bit of status with the airlines, so it's nice to enjoy the lounges now! I have also found the sweet spot for free upgrades, on BA! 

Hope someone is reading these and I will regularly update on the way to the wedding and AFTER the honeymoon!

The Gambia - Day 3

Day 3
So even though we thought there would be a night time call out, I woke up at 06:30 from my alarm and not a member of the security team dragging us out of the country, good news I thought! I opened my curtains and there was military in the hotel courtyard, I thought strange, however it must be ok as we have not been dragged out. 

So once I’m showered and ready for the day, I went down for breakfast and walking outside, I saw another soldier, with a very happy smile and a wave, so I waved back and met my colleagues. At breakfast the security team came to brief us on the situation. 

Current Situation:

The president has until 12:00 to step down of the Senegalese army would take over, if this happened we had the exit plans in place. 

There is army in the hotel and even though the Senegalese army are in the country, this is the Gambian army, the reason why the hotel has been secured overnight, we were not the only guests, the president of Mauritania had arrived in the night and he was staying in the hotel, he had the job of convincing the president to step down. As they had a foreign leader in the hotel and the extra security was in place, it was confirmed that we were in the most secure location in the country and there was no risk to us. We saw this when leaving the hotel and going through many levels of military gates as checks, every soldier was very friendly. 

On our way to the airport, there were many more check points on the roads, the most notable aspect was how empty the streets were, and there was not a person to be see. We had noted this, until one point when there was a middle aged European couple cycling on the street, we were all amazed and named them Nigel and Doris, who noticed the streets were quiet, so the day would be good for a bike ride! Some people eh!

So we arrived at the airport and all seemed very, very quiet, we walked through the doors and there were approx. 40-50 people. We walked past the security barrier and had an amazing surprise, the local ground team had got up early, taken note of our organisation and planned out the check in areas, so we were ready to go. 

Today there would have been more organisation needed, as there were 3 other airlines operating, running their scheduled services, which we had to bear in mind and give fair access to their check in areas, and on top of this, the Swedish and Finnish foreign offices had also changed their travel advices, so our Northern European customers and staff would be leaving today too. 

This meant we would operate with 5 check in desks, one for the 2 BHX flights, one for the 2 LGW flights, one for the 2 MAN flights and finally 2 for the 2 HEL flights. This meant blocking access until people who were on the correct flights could come in, then outside the security area we would setup holding areas for various other flights, and then another area for customers on these flights but would like to get on the earlier flights. 

Airport all setup, it was my task to liaise with the FCO and keep an eye on general ops assisting where possible. Check in had opened, all went well and the queues for the UK flights remained quiet, with low loads on each flight, as each flight was officially full I could not let people check in on the earlier flight, these went into the standby queue, as they were already on the later flight, it was a change to get home a lot earlier. Check in closed one hour before the flight was due to depart, at this time for the first was of UK flights, there was low loads and we allowed everyone to go on the early flights. We also started to gradually sent team members back. We also got a team airside to speak to the customers and show representation at all areas, this is not always possible, so when we have a change it is a great aspect of customer service, in some places we are not even allowed to enter the building. 

The Northern European customers arrived and the airport became a mess again, which was a shame, but we controlled the best we could, with the amazing help from the local NE reps (who can speak the language), we monitored and kept on going as well as we could. 

This is where the running around constantly and speaking to team members, governments and customers none stop, I started to love my voice. Finally we got all checked in, then I went to the desk to check in myself and my colleagues to leave on one of the last flights (by 5 mins) to BHX. Its always strange writing your own boarding card and adding yourself to the manifest. 

All checked in, no UK customers left and the Northern European guests and staff all now checked in, it was time for me to leave. Even after only 3 days in the Gambia, the local check in team all came to say goodbye and give us big hugs. 

Off too immigration I want, remember when I arrived I mentioned we skipped this part, luckily I got to know the immigration and security team well over the last few days as I was constantly going airside to help. He stepped out of the booth, saw my passport and boarding pass, he said, “you don’t need a stamp do you”, my answer “no we “forgot” on arrival, but I’d like one” he laughed and said thanks for everything have a good flight and see you soon, no stamps for me! I had a nice goodbye from the security team, at the gate, we advised that the team lead was finishing some paperwork so don’t close until he is through. They gave use hugs and thanks for everything, we advised we will be back soon for a holiday in the future, I would recommend it, the people are great.

So we got on the bus, the gate agent passed me the manifest to pass to the flight crew, amazing to see the paperwork I had written. Whilst on the bus waiting for the team lead to join us, we saw him run out of the door and run to the plane across the tarmac. You can just see him here

So we advised the gate team, and we were bused to the plane, of course I had to take a pic.

So I stepped on board, said hi, handed over the manifest and we each found a row seats each at the back. The crew came down, we had a chat, and obviously a lot of shop talk! 
MT4951
A321 G-DHJH
BJL-LPA-BHX (Diverted to EMA)
Sched: No Sched as a rescue flight
Act: 17:09-01:40
We were flying to BHX via LPA, where we would change crew refuel and head off home, to BHX, or what we thought. 
The taxi was simple and time to take off, goodbye Gambia and our Scandinavian plane!

There was a service in flight, so being cheeky, I had the chicken & the beef! One thing I must admit, even though we have a small charter airline, our food is very good BA take some tips. 

The flight to LPA was a short 2 hours, where we landed and said goodbye to the amazing, friendly crew that we had. The new crew had arrived, and had obviously been briefed on who we were, so came down and gave us all a welcome hello and we had a chat. 
Then…

..The pilot made an announcement, the usual welcome and then advising that the flight was being diverted to EMA and everyone would be bused home. After the days everyone had, you can imagine the response on the plane was not popular, I was out of action by then, my voice had fully gone. The team leader got up and spoke to the pilot to find out what was happening and the situation, he advised that the central department had changed the plan an hour earlier, when we were in flight and there was nothing that could be done, but to get home. He was up and down the flight speaking to the customers, showing a real high level of customer service, after everyone had calmed down, we took off and on our final leg to EMA. 

This leg was quiet, as most people, including myself fell asleep, and we finally arrived on UK soil. As it is EMA, the bus gate airport we had to wait for buses, the team leader set off straight away at landing and got off first and went through to check everything was setup for the customers, me and my other colleague stayed on as normal passengers at this part. 

Once we were off, time to get the bus to immigration, on this cold, foggy night a big change from the 35C temps we had in the Gambia.

Once we were processed through immigration, it was clear for us, as we planned for a day trip, we only had our backpacks. Straight outside, we saw the team lead and he was with the ground team, introductions were made, and they advised all was in hand and we were good to go. 

Our taxi was awaiting to take us back to Peterborough, where our office is based. Finally arrive back at approx. 3am, I found my car like this


So another 10 mins defrosting, and finally I got to go home, get the 3 days clothes off and sleep!

The Gambia - Day 2

Just a note to say, I have kept out company specific items and items in regards to specific staff
Day 2
We all woke up early and met for breakfast, this was our time to make our plans for the day. First thing’s first a big breakfast was in order. As we were booked on a B&B basis you could order off the menu, unlimited. 
Due to the fact we had breakfast on our outbound flight at approx. 07:30 and didn’t eat again until 22:00, we all made sure we were filled up for the day ahead. The food in the hotel was amazing.
So the plan for today was, to stop the entry into the airport, until we had control of the check in areas, we would then make it a haven of tensa barriers. Off to the airport we go!
As you can imagine, when we went to the airport, the streets were quiet, very quiet



Upon arrival into the airport, there were approx. 100 passengers waiting outside the security point for check in. With this time, we were able to ensure we had the barriers up, making organised lines within the area for each flight, instead of a mass of people compared to the previous day. 
Now we had the airport setup ready for people to be filtered correctly. 



We were ready to open, however this was now approx. 09:00 and we found out that the regular check in staff would not arrive until at least 10:00, Africa! However the 107 passengers we bused to the hotel the previous night, we had promised that they would be checked in first, as a priority. To combat this we took these people through the initial security door to queue for their flights, ensuring when it opens they would be through first. 
Whilst we were waiting the FCO team arrived for the day, so I met up with them giving an update of what was planned for the day, ensuring we are in sync with our work. One of the FCO guys recognised me and me recognising him too, we had worked together of the evacuation of Tunisia 18 months ago, small world eh! 
After an hour the regular check in crew arrived, to a cheer from the crowds, by then we had had written the majority of the boarding cards, with flight number, date, destination. We opted for free seating, as it was taking far too long on the previous day to allocate seats manually. We had to prepare these for 4 flights on day 2 and 5 flights on day 3, as you can imagine I never want to see a manual boarding pass in my life. There was also an additional flight each day, but as these were the original scheduled flights, they had a working departure control system and could be loaded electronically. 

Initially the first group of people we were allocating to our early Manchester flight, and as it was the only flight at the airport in the am, it was processed very quickly and everyone came though. Then we had an update from the FCO, they had been advised by UK immigration, that they wanted some form of API, on emergency rescue flights, with no computers!!!
The team lead suggested if they emailed the sheets over and these could be done in flight and handed over on landing, as there was 6 hours in the air, this was kicked back unless they could be sent before landing. They would not accept the situation and insisted, even though 4 flights went without API on the previous day with no issues. 
Luckily today we also had assistance, as we had another 6 staff fly in from the UK to help us out, as they were from the business division I am in, I was happy knowing we would have the best people to help us out, as were in the overseas area which look after all the operations once you set foot off the plane, the reps. They helped a great deal, and bought a sea of colour, of the uniform into the area.
For the API they were a godsend, as we had extra resource. The solution was, they would send through a sheet, I would get a team and go airside manually take the date and write the classic “API OK” on the boarding cards, then when boarding after the ID check, boarding passes are passed to me, where I checked and directed to boarding or api area, this worked, as there was only 1 flight in departures and it was quiet, it did not work later. 
Now that flight was gone, there was a 3 hour gap between that and the rest of the flights, plus other airlines flights too, making the airport a bit busier. We were getting everyone on the earliest flights possible, with the newly arrived team, PR’ing in the outer area and the team arrived earlier on check in, I was going between the two, troubleshooting and liaising with the FCO. 
Setup looks a mess but it now organised!

So we checked in the next departure, and we attempted the API again, however due to the other flights being out there, we were not able to cover all passengers and it would of delayed boarding too much, feedback was sent to UKBA and no response, so it was a wasted exercise, as passports and visa’s are checked at check in and any issues at immigration the carrier is liable anyway, so I’m not sure what the advantage was on the evac flights. Thanks for the waste of time UKBA, I didn’t API my flight and there was no delays at immigration!

However, we had 3 flights to check in, all similar times, these went a breeze and the rest of the day finished nicely. Once we closed the check in desks, cleaned up, we had a team meeting in the airport café. As you noticed, I forgot to mention earlier, we were asked to stay another night. 
On the update meeting, there were some new people at the table, we were introduced to the security team, who had been flown in on the empty flight from the UK, it was arranged to have a briefing at 19:30 back at the hotel, so back we go. It gave me time to try and wash my clothes, seeing I went for a day, in one outfit, I felt awful. 
So dinner came along and the security team introduced themselves, as the private security contractors sent by my company. They advised of the changing situation, as to be honest we didn’t even look at phones or the news whilst working, we were focusing on getting the passengers out as quick as possible, as this was the last advertised flying day, it was only decided last send to send some more on Friday in case of any stragglers, who ignored or didn’t show up, for various and stupid reasons. 
Anyway back to it, we were briefed on the situation and advised the Senegalese army was on the border, waiting to cross. We were told to get the grab bags ready at a moments notice and have a breakout buddy, so if the worst came to the worst, everyone could escape at a moments notice. 2 coaches were allocated to leave, so it one broke down, we could swap to the other immediately. 
We carried on the evening, then saw a video of the army entering the country, then we had the further official update that army had entered and to be on standby to leave at a moments notice. Then again that there has been some trouble to the buses were not here so be ready to run… This is where we put the beers down! 
The security team then went around area picking up the staff who worked locally, the Nordic colleagues and airline staff, so the whole group was in one location if we needed to leave. 
We sat around chatting for a bit, the Swedish and Finnish foreign office advice’s changed, meaning more flights for us tomorrow. After that we went to our rooms for some sleep, many of us sure that we would have a night time departure.

The Gambia - Day One

Day 0 
At 22:00 on Tuesday 17th Feb the foreign and commonwealth office has decided to change to travel advice in the Gambia to against all but essential travel. This was because the previous president Yahya Jammeh contested the election results of a new president Adama Barrow. With the inauguration coming up, the president decided that he would not step down for the new one. 

There were protests and the new president was supported by Economic Community of West African States and The UN. Due to this the travel advice has changed. 

I got a message advising of a conference call to take place at 22:15, on the call we were advised of the situation, advising how many customers were still in the country and that we would be deployed for a day trip into the country to operate the local airport (BJL) with the 1 scheduled flight and 4 rescue flights sent in and we would return home on the last flight of the day.

The plan was to meet at the office at 02:30 and a taxi would take us to Manchester airport. 

Day 1
Upon arriving at the airport, at 05:30 we went to check in and were all issues standby tickets for the rescue flight MT4810. 

MT4810
A321 G-TCDD
MAN-BJL
Sched: No Sched as a rescue flight
Act: 07:09-13:06

We were called for boarding, all 8 of us on the 220 seater A321.

The crew and captain came down pre deparutre to us and had a chat about the flight, whats going on and were asking what we were upto. They advise the flight will be relaxed as we are staff and food and drink would be available when we wanted. 

We all decided to sit near the back, as it was closer to the ovens for food! Took ourselves a row each, turned them into beds and time to go.

Time for takeoff on this busy flight



A packed flight


We took off in the early hours, this flight just consisted of, sleep, breakfast and coffee. A quick team briefing of what will take place on landing, then to enjoy the rest of the flight. 

The scenery of the rest of the journey until landing




Anyone know what plane this is?

And this, the boss man's plane
.

Now we had landed, we got off the plane, spoke to the local ground crew, they then took us to the terminal, they did say however we needed to go through as quick as possible, so we would not be going through immigration, instead we were taken through the aircrew door and straight into the departures hall. 

We were not expecting this


The local staff could not check in the rescue flights on the computers, only the scheduled flight, this meant that we had to go old school, with manual boarding card and manifests. 

As we arrived at the airport at 13:00 and the passengers got there from 8am, there was no control of the airport whatsoever, all we could due was try to mange the areas, help on check in, with the agent doing the boarding passes and bags, we did the manifests. 

We were fighting an uphill struggle but we did our best, and got out the 5 flights with over 1000 passengers returning to the UK. The FCO rapid deployment team arrived to assist later on in the day. 

The team leader asked us all, if it would be of if we would stay the night and help out the next day, we all said yes. 

When the last flights had gone, we had arranged hotels for the 107 passengers still remaining in the airport, once the coaches arrived, the passengers left and it was time for this.

Yes my passport is VERY VERY worn out!


So we were staying at the Coco Ocean resort, this was an amazing hotel, the manager came to pick us up as he didn't want his staff driving after curfew at night. I went with the team leader and my local colleague in the private car.

The plan for tonight, we food, a few beers and some rest. First things first, we bought some toothbrushes, toothpaste and deodorant, as we only planned the day trip. 

The some snaps from the hotel:









After a good sleep, an amazing breakfast, it was time for Day 2, 5 more flights, UK immigration causing trouble, the Senegalese army entering, the country, a briefing and an exit plan from our security team, some much needed assistance and another night in the Gambia.

Evacuating the Gambia - The Start

Hey Everyone,

I thought i would do a little write up, of my week, I was having a normal week at work, then the foreign office travel advice for the Gambia has changed to all but essential travel. This meant a conference call, 4 hours notice for me and I was flying out to help with the return of the UK passengers back to home.

Enjoy the read and seeing how things are done on the travel company side of things

Day 9 & 10 - Shanghai Fun - 1

Day 9 Started with a monumental sleep in, with a bit of a hangover from the both of us.

When we left, the first port of call was Jing'an Temple. This is an active temple in the middle of the city, with a large congregation of monks living in house.

Upon arrival, the first think you see is, everyone throwing their coins up at the pot (below) to get their money to land inside, as if you get it in, good luck will remain, as you can imagine, we both spent a long long time at this.

We walked around the temple some more and saw some amazing statues and altars to Buddha. The most famous point of this temple is the gold, and you can see these below.

Just as we were about to leave, we heard some noise and the monks came out to sing and bless the boxes of prayers, which was burnt after their blessings

After this, I took my first visit to the smaller dodgy market in Shanghai. This place was full of anything you could imagine. Firstly I went into one stall to look at some sunglasses and I finally found the pair I wanted, so the fun started! I asked how much, and all they said was 360RMB, I ended up leaving paying 50RMB, so I was happy with the result.

We walked around and you could get any thing you wanted for any phone  (as we learnt except for the popular Chinese make Shaumi). We carried on walking around with not much else taking our fancy, out of the phones, extras, clothes, watches, belts, tack and shoes.

When we were walking by one stand, one seller asked if I wanted a Rolex, which was new as everyone offered a smart watch (even though I was wearing a genuine one!!), but I thought what the hell, let’s have a look. He then said there at my shop, and asked to follow him, a bit strange but we followed, then he went down a back alley to an elevator. Both me and Katrina said to each other that this seemed a bit dodgy. So I said to the seller, no thanks, we expected it to be on this floor so we wont take a look. He kept on pestering and didn’t get this hint, which is strange as I normally lay on my hints pretty heavily. We left him standing and left to go towards the Nanjing Street.

Nanjing street is the popular shopping street, this would be closely linked to Oxford Street, Regents Street or Rodeo Drive. As you can imagine in a country of over 1billion people. This was a good experience to walk down, and experience a true crowd of people, more then I’ve encountered before.

Once through Nanjing Street, we made it to the Bund. This is the promenade on the river, overlooking the famous Pudong Skyline. I have been taking of this Skyline for a while and it was amazing to see. The is a famous picture of the below scene in 2000. Where there were no skyscrapers just a few small properties and farmland. In 15 years everything you see below came to life. 

After this we went to the Yuyuan Mall. This is one of the only malls built in the ancient Chinese design. We had a wander to see what was about. The first aim was to visit the famous dumpling store, when we arrive the que was around the block, as it’s a Saturday night we thought we would come back in the week when its quieter.

We instead found a little food shop and selected our choices for the meal. Katrina chose some dumplings, with, what we thought was Prawn inside. And a soft dough food with a Pork filling. My first selection, was what I thought was chicken in a sauce, Katrina taught me the fact that it was chicken feet, so I passed on that. Instead picking the brown rice in Pancake bowls. The dumplings were strange, and left. The rest were devoured, and the soft dough items were so good, I got up and got some more. This was a delicious choice.

After the food we had a walk through the market and saw a chopstick store. I wanted to get a chopstick set for my new house, so I was eager to go in.

Inside there were many choices from 20RMB to 2000RMB, however the type I wanted was approx 150-200RMB. I decided I would see what I can find at the markets. Katrina did but a set of sticks for her friends though, which was a great set and I should of also got some for a gift for a friend too.

After this, we headed back to the flat for some much needed rest after a busy day of walking.

Day 10

Today, we left early and headed towards Lao Wai Pu (Foreigner Street). Upon arriving the first thing you see is a big train at the start of the street, this is the site of the old Shanghai train station. With the train being 101 from the Mao Tse Tung train route. This train only operated from Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai.

We went into the street, which has cuisine from all nations, we walked the whole street to see what was on offer, there was only one choice. Once restaurant was packed full to the rafters whilst everyone else was quiet.

It was clear why it was busy, the breakfast was amazing, I had chocolate chip pancakes, with scrambled eggs and crispy bacon. I thought I was back in the US again, eating their brekkie  treats at Dennys.

After this, we took a visit to the market over the road from Lao Wai Street. This was smaller than yesterday’s market, but had other options. I went to the sunglasses stand early one and saw another pair that I liked. This time I left paying 40RMB.

Next we walked down and Katrina was looking at some handbags, whilst I was looking for my Chopsticks. Both had some good bartering and got the deals that we were both happy with.

After we left the market we took the train to Pudong, we were going to the top of the World Finance Centre, the building that looks like a bottle opener. This has 101 floors in the building.

You have 2, little known, choices at the centre. The first is, go to the observation deck on the 94^th floor for 180RMB or visit the Park Hyatts bar on the 92^nd floor, for the price of the drinks. This was a no brainer.

We went to the Hyatt Bar, ordered 2 beers (at 90RMB each) and found an empty table by the window, we were setup for sunset.

The picture may appear that there are clouds, but if you look at me at the bottom, you can see its clear skies. The distortion is the famous pollution that hangs over Chinese cities.

I will leave you to saviour the amazing views.