Flight BA 349: A study in chaos theory and the importance of managing expectations

A technical problem compounded by lack of leadership among ground staff; a flight delayed 28 hours; a riot on-board - what does it all mean and how it could have been avoided?

Here's the story of how my weekend away turned into a nightmare.

As mentioned in the previous post - here was I really looking forward to a weekend away, in South of France of all places, but a safe bet this time of year in terms of sunshine, good food and in this case, also nice company - all factors conspired to create a most wonderful break and memorable party away from the rain and cold of Britain during Wimbledon and it would all have been perfect if it wasn't for the flight back. So what happened?

T - 2 1/2 hours:
We arrive at Nice airport, a smooth journey from Cannes - expect to check in; nobody at the desk so we check in using machines and sit ourselves down to wait.

T - 1 hour:
1 1/2 hours later BA staff appear at desk so we drop our bags off and head for the restaurant.

T - 1/2 hour:
We are called to gate; proceed to board and sit ourselves down onboard plane.

T + 1/2 hour:
We are still sat on-board and get informed by pilot that there is a technical problem with the hydraulics and we need to check this before departing.

T + 1 hour:
We are told a hydraulic pump has failed and it cannot be fixed. BA is trying to source one in France along with an engineer to come install it.

T + 1 1/2 hours:
We are told there is neither a pump nor an engineer to fit it in entire France; so both of these need to be flown down from Heathrow in the morning. We are advised to exit the plane (it is now 9 pm) and go find the BA desk in the terminal where the staff will advise us on hotel accommodation and give us drinks/food vouchers.

T + 2 hours:
We are waiting in front of BA desk along with 200 odd passengers; having to queue up individually to the desk to state our names and receive information about our accomodation. To ease congestion some are told to leave now and claim back their hotel expenses from BA customer relations. Some take this advice and leave; others stay. General pandemonium exists as people are conviced there is no space for them on flights scheduled for the next day so there is a scramble for getting wait-listed; buying places on other flights etc.

T + 3 hours:
It turns out the queue we have been standing in (there are 6) is for people trying to reschedule themselves onto flights tomorrow and not for accomodation at all, so we shift ourselves over to the queues for accomodation.

T + 4 hours:
We finally receive information about which hotel we need to go to. Turns out it is only 200 m from the airport and this could have been announced to us collectively 4 hours ago. We are told to make sure we are back at the check-in no later than 11 o'clock the following morning in order not to miss the flight, now rescheduled for 12.30. At this point it is finally explained to us that there will be an extra flight scheduled that day - our famous flight 349 will appear again, to take all original flight 349 passengers back. This eases some of the fears people had about getting back, yet some speculate whether this will really happen and how free BA are to schedule extra flights in excess of their allotted slots.

T + 4 1/2 hours:
We arrive at hotel, discover it is a 2 star hotel, the kitchen has closed and there is no minibar in the room. We dump our stuff and decide to go find food.

T + 5 hours:
We, along with 50 other people, decend upon the local Novotel whose kitchen is still open and virtually scramble to order the last food they have.

T + 6 hours:
Exhausted, but full we make our way back to the hotel and fall into bed.

T + 14 hours:
We get up and brace ourselves for the depressing breakfasts you can expect in a 2 star hotel; rubbery croissants and jam packaged in one-off saches, coffee comes from an automatic dispenser and the orange juice has a metallic taste.

T + 15 hours:
We go outside to await the shuttle bus supposed to take us to the airport. The hotel completely fails to realise that it's shuttle service consisting of a minivan for 12 people scheduled to run every half hour will completely be overrun by over 50 people told to all be at the airport at the same time. We decide to walk.

T + 16 hours:
Back in the airport, we check in again and get our suitcases dropped off. We go through security and up to the display board only to notice that our extra flight has suddenly disappeared from the list of departing flights. This fills me with worry, but other passengers who have missed this detail continue to be merry at the prospect of going home.

T + 17 hours:
We are told the flight is delayed again as the plane has not been fixed. Passengers are outraged. New departure time is set at 17.00 hours. No further information is given to us at this time, we are given £10 vouchers and told to go have breakfast/lunch. Passengers demand their luggage be returned to them so they can make their own way back, but are denied this and told that it is not feasible for security reasons. Some try to leave anyway, but are stopped by passport and security personnel and told to remain in the terminal. Talk of a hostage situation emerges.

T + 18 hours:
Furious passengers keep harassing BA staff at desk, someone manages to elicit that the part was indeed flown down that morning, but the engineer who was supposed to fit it was not on the flight. Faith in BA's ability to fix this problem is diminishing by the minute, some passengers (including us) resign ourselves to waiting, others decide to get drunk.

T + 19 hours:
BA staff, intimidated by angry passengers wanting information and an update on the situation and getting none, disappear from the desk altogether, determined not to be seen for the rest of the day. An airport official is approached to ask for possibility to leave / this is denied / an update of the situation / to which official claims he doesn't work for BA thus doesn't have any information. Passengers request he go find someone who does, which he again declines to do and wanders off.

T + 20 hours:
Some wealthier passengers speculate on the cost of hiring a private jet to fly them back to the UK. Another passenger has managed to squeeze himself onto an earlier flight by BA for the princely sum of £1000 for a business class seat. Boarding is imminent, so he joins other passengers in queuing to board only for BA staff announce that this flight is also delayed and is now scheduled to leave at similar time to ours.

T + 21 hours:
Still no updates, but furious passengers have been trying to accost anyone and everyone who look like they could be working for BA and the intimidation has caused a number of the junior staff to give out pieces of information, some correct, some rumours, some half-truths literally to try to ward off and pacify aggressive passengers hungry to know what is going on. Said passengers gather around to exchange their respective findings only to find none of the stories match. Everyone is collectively convinced BA is lying and has no intention to fly the plane back at all. Still no one can understand why BA hasn't flown another plane down as they have been cancelling so many other flights in the UK due to the scaled-up security situation.

T + 22 hours:
Our favourite (and only knowledgeable!) BA staff member arrives back on her evening shift, greeted by cheers and applause by all the passengers convinced that the only person able to ascertain facts and communicate them to us has finally joined us. She immediately rushes to tell us that the plane has been fixed. Nobody can quite believe it. There is an incredulous silence. She continues by explaining what had happened and how the part had finally been fitted. Cheers erupt and we are told boarding will be in 15 minutes.

T + 22 hours 15 minutes:
Having all drifted downstairs and witnessed a furious telephone marathon erupt at the departure gate; we quickly realise that despite the reassurances, there is still something wrong. We are told that the pilot is testing the system and will get back to us soon.

T + 22 hours 45 minutes:
Five minutes turned into ten, into another five, then twenty-five and conspiracy theories abound again. A bus pulls up, the crew appear, are briefed in a corner and promptly disappear again. At this point the more drunk passengers lose their self-control and begin shouting at our favourite stewardess.

T + 23 hours:
The bus has disappeared again and fear is mounting among passengers that there is really no chance we will get home that evening and that neither is there a contingency plan in place by British Airways. As if by magic another bus appears and we are suddenly told to board. Nobody can quite believe it, but dutifully we squeeze into a bus and eventually climb on board the plane.

T + 23 1/2 hours:
Captain tells us we are missing the paperwork from the Civil Aviation Authority to certify the work being done on the plane and deeming us airworthy. Crew appear and begin checking everyone's boarding passes. It emerges that only half of the original people on the flight are actually on board as people had decided to leave on their on accord, somehow managing to get out of the terminal reconciling themselves to leaving their luggage behind. Baggage transport pulls up by plane and begins unloading bags. Drunk passengers go berserk and decide that Civil Aviation Authority approval is a lie and a smokescreen and that we will not take off after all (why would they be offloading the luggage otherwise) and staff are being addressed in an increasingly abusive manner

T + 24 hours:
One of the pilots comes down from the cockpit to try to calm down the situation; there are tears, crying, a contingent of ladies decide they will leave the plane and are refused. Hostage theme emerges yet again and situation seems almost out of hand, when captain appears yet again on the PA system, trying to calm down the situation and threatening with police involvement.

T + 25 hours:
We are finally told the paperwork is ready and that we are ready to take off. Passengers are shooed back to their seats and the plane eventually takes off. Passengers are silent as a small child asks - what if it crashes? Nobody wants to think about this eventuality, and ply themselves with more drinks reeled out by staff to pacify passengers. Sandwiches are served and more conspiracy theories abound as passengers try to post-rationalise the past 24 hours of acrimonious experiences.

T + 26 1/2 hours:
We are ready to land, but are held in a holding pattern over Heathrow, which is beset by thunderstorms. We eventually land and end up on the tarmac waiting for a gate. All flights out of Heathrow are delayed so although being assigned to a gate, we have no idea how long we have to wait.

T + 27 1/2 hours:
An hour later we are finally able to pull up to the gate. This after passengers being rowdy and refusing to sit down in their seats or to turn off their mobile phones until police action is yet again used as a threat. Drunkenness means certain passengers' capacity to process information and instruction is severely impaired and the continuous speculation and conspiracy theories mean no one believes a word of what the staff say anyway. Being at the gate we discover that the individual whose job it is to manoeuvre the exit port to the plane and attach it is nowhere to be found. Passengers are incredulous at the fact that having sat for an hour on the tarmac awaiting to get to a pre-assigned gate Heathrow staff have not managed to foresee that a plane coming to a gate will require to unload its passengers.

T + 28 hours:
We are finally able to exit the plane and do so silently, almost not sure whether we really are at Heathrow. Personally I have lost track of time and place, and my overwhelming desire is to sleep. Passport check awaits me and a firealarm goes off as someone's been smoking in the toilet. A brief moment evacuation is considered, but moments later this idea is dropped and we are allowed to proceed. Getting our suitcases was surprisingly quick and a tube journey later I am finally home. Shattered.

The Greatest Failure of the 28 Hrs: Lack of Leadership
Leadership is not just something someone at the top of an organisation has and uses with a long-term objective in mind - in situations like these, people regardless of their position need to take charge;

1. get the the information they need to manage the situation;
2. communicate that situation to people around them;
3. find solutions to problems, if necessary: enlist the help of others to achieve them.
4. But more than anything: be clear, be sharp and manage expectations at all times.

There was one person who did that. Her name was Tracy Vasser. She has only been with BA for 3 months. I suspect those skills she exhibited during these 24 hours were not skills BA had helped her aquire. Nor would they reward her for them either. But she is the only reason I have anything positive to say about British Airways.

The Greatest Learning Opportunities for BA based on these 28 hours:

1. Give the facts the way they are - not how you want them to be: All these passengers really wanted was someone who was in command of the situation - however bad the news were, we need to know them.
2. Stick to the story: Having conflicting stories happens when there isn't anyone in charge. Train for this situation, make a team decide who is in charge, be consistent, honest and stick with it.
3. Give people a choice - a meaningful one
   Don't hold people hostage. Imagine the worst possible scenario and figure out a solution to it and give people the choice - to stick with you as you try to sort it out or to leave. Put the ball in their court, don't string people along.
4. Give people on the ground the tools to do their jobs properly
   Sometimes things do go wrong. Equip people with the skills, contacts, knowledge and information to be able to make a difference. Help them help you with the passengers. It's as simple as that. Tracy had only been there 3 months, but somehow she knew more about who to hassle, who to call, where to get drinks vouchers and what kind of support people needed and when they needed to be told not to kill the messenger. All the 10+ other staff did not have a clue and did not care.
5. Reward exceptional behaviour
   So Tracy saved the day. She has very broad shoulders someone commented. It is a thankless task Tracy has to do if nobody steps up to help her. How likely are they to? Their rewards don't depend on it. They are happy she does it so they don't have to. How long do you think Tracy will stick with her job? Not long if she isn't recognised for her unique contribution. She is hardworking, but by God she is not stupid.