If it's of any consolation, I've had quite the same experience with other airlines. BA were one of the better ones to fly.
> This one goes into my "How did the human species ever survive?" file. Because of the better ones. The ones that buy Pentax among other things. :) Gautam On 1/9/06, Joseph Tainter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This one goes into my "How did the human species ever survive?" file. > > Yesterday I got to Heathrow Terminal 4 early for my flight. After > leaving off my big suitcase I dutifully stepped up to the checkpoint > that you must pass before you are admitted to the security screening > area. One woman is checking boarding passes, while two others intercept > passengers who are trying to carry on the allowed carry-on bag. The > woman wants to weigh my suitcase. It weighs a bit under 15 kg, so she > tells me I must check it. Well, it contains $3000 worth of digital photo > gear, medications, and documents, and I am not about to check it. So a > row begins. She tells me that I am allowed only 6 kg in one bag, and > that I must repack everything into multiple bags. At this point the > illogic of her demand had not sunk in. I asked to see her supervisor, > who duly came along. This woman gave me the same story. I was allowed > only 6 kg in any one bag. Both women suggested that I repack the > contents into multiple bags. Now the absurdity started to sink in. The > objection was not that I wanted to carry 15 kg on board, but that I > wanted those 15 kg in one bag (in which they fit just fine). If I > carried the same 15 kg in multiple bags, that would be okay. I tried to > explain to the supervisor that this was ridiculous: the overhead bin > carries the same weight regardless of whether it is in one bag or > several. Her reply: "Sorry, sir, that is the rule." > > Both women asked me several times if I was in Business Class or Economy. > I was in Economy, of course. I asked why it made a difference. The > supervisor insisted that that in Economy, the bins would not handle the > weight. This was a 747. I pointed out that all sections of the plane > have the same overhead bins. This logic didn't matter. I also pointed > out that I had flown on the same British Airways 747 coming from > Phoenix. That logic didn't matter either. All that mattered was that > only 6 kg would be allowed Economy Class passengers in any one bag. > > At this point I realized that the people who run and work for British > Airways are about as intelligent as American Educators -- the kind who > suspend kids from school on the grounds of no-drugs-tolerated when the > kid shows up with a cold, cold medication, and approval from the parents. > > So I trekked down to the end of the terminal, removed the contents of my > suitcase, and proceeded back to the entrance. Now my 15 kg were in 4 > parcels rather than one. At the entry I saw that the gatekeepers were > harassing some Middle Eastern-looking fellows. So while they were > distracted, I walked right up to the woman checking boarding passes, > showed her mine, and walked on through. Of course, once on the other > side, I proceeded to repack everything into the original suitcase. > > Once past security, I spent 20 minutes walking around the vast duty-free > mall just to bring my blood pressure down. When I was rational again, I > thought about the several times that I was asked if I was in Business or > Economy. Apparently, in Business Class I could carry the 15 kg in one > suitcase. In Economy I had to carry the same 15 kg in several bags. They > even had the nerve to claim that the Economy overhead bins were somehow > less able to carry such a concentration of weight. At that point I > understood that my real offense had been against the British class > system. Those in Business Class had paid for the privilege of carrying > 15 kg in one bag. Those of us in Steerage had not. We could only carry > our 15 kg in several bags. I never asked whether they provide enough > life preservers for everyone in Economy. > > Other than that, it was actually a very interesting flight. Going over > the Atlantic usually isn't, and I've now done it 42 times. But that's > another story, and tonight I just need to rant. And I will never > willingly fly British Airways again. Last June, flying Berlin to > Heathrow (on my way back to Albuquerque), the British Airways attendant > threw coffee all over me right at the start of 24 hours of travel. > > Joe > >
