to want to stamp repeatedly on this woman's head? (a bit long, sorry)

[scampadoodle]

Ok, backstory: We booked flights 3 months ago, at eminently suitable times to transport our young DSs (5.5 & 2.9). 3 weeks before departure BA inform us that the times have been changed & we now arrive at both destinations late at night. After much hassle they deign to re-book us - on our return leg only - on a better flight, though not the original one. Right. Fast forward to that return flight. We arrive at the airport 2 hours before departure to find huge queues at our check-in desks. We had tried to book on-line the previous day but the website wouldn't let us. DH & I join a queue each. After half an hour a computer breaks down so all the queues have to shuffle over one. After ONE HOUR waiting (with DSs cavorting like crazy - as usual the worst behaved
children in the place) I get to the head of my queue to discover that they have had A TRAINEE CHECKING PEOPLE IN ON A FULL FLIGHT DURING THE EASTER HOLIDAYS... WTF??? Of course, by this time all the seats have gone & they cannot seat us together, just 2 together & 2 singles, meaning that my 5yo DS has to sit by himself. When we complain we are told that we should have checked in on-line. When we say we tried but the site wouldn't let us, they say 'Well, everyone else managed' (Okay, so we're LYING, are we?)

Anyway, this woman behind me in the queue goes, ''You are supposed to be here 2 hours before the flight''. I turn around, & keeping very very calm (amazing for me) say, 'We were. We've been queueing for an hour. We've already been bumped off one flight & tried unsuccessfully to check-in beforehand. So, please do not contribute without knowing the full details. Thank you'. She just looked at me, impassive, as though I were absolute scum. As I pushed the trolley back I said, 'do apologise whenever you like'. 'I'm not going to' she replied, giving me another filthy look.

It just really upset me at a time when I was very stressed & worried about DS1 sitting for 3 hours with strangers. And it was NONE OF HER BUSINESS!!!!

What a cow. I should have clocked her one.

computer says no,

silly cow,

i hate hate nasty cows.

flying can be so stressful when it needn't be. The cabin crew should have tried to be more helpful with the seating of your 5 year old.

FWIW woman behind you needed a kick up the mooweee! Cow!

Didn't they switch seats so that you could sit with a ds each?

I thought BA didn't let you check in online if you were travelling with children? (Although it may have changed since last summer). I know that we couldn't.

I'd have told the stupid woman to get lost!

your right you should have and how rubbish are BA ? ignorant woman hope you got home safe eventually scamp xx

I think you were very polite to her under the circumstances, so why was she in the queue and not on the plane she evidently did not deign to turn up two hours before the flight.

This is actually why I have sworn never to fly with BA with two little children in tow. our last holiday I boooked five months in advance (I like to be prepared), as I had a toddler and a baby with me I had booked our seats and everything, then as you had they cancelled our scheduled flights three weeks before we were due out, and changed the flights back too, our flight out was saved as we were upgraded, as we had booked way in advance and had turned up at check in just as the desks opened, the flight back....I'm trying to block it out of my mind, never ever again.....

I would write and complain for what it's worth. It's not acceptable to have a child sat away like that. In most instances they will want to rectify this as a lone child will be more disruptive to other passengers. I'd be really pissed off if I was put next to someone else's 5 yr old!

Wow, you lot read quickly!
I have to say, once we were on the plane the actual cabin crew were really helpful & got someone to volunteer to swap so that DH could sit next to DS1, & I sat with DS2. It was still a pain though as DS2 kept wanting to go & see Daddy, & the poor bloke sitting in the aisle can't have had a relaxing flight!

However, I was REALLY hoping DS1 would be sitting next to the nasty cow-woman

Your 5.5 year old had to sit with strangers on a flight??????? This is so unacceptable. Unbelievable.
And the woman behind you was a stupid cow.

Scampadoodle - this woman probably ate her children on the way to the airport to save on luggage fees

Airports are hell. If you throw a hissy they accuse you of being a terrorist threat too. Oh and BAs website NEVER works when it's a peak period - I reckon they turn some of their servers off deliberately so they can play with you in the queues!

I do hope you encouraged your children to vomit on the trainee?

FWIW I don't think they should allow anyone to pre-request seats except for medical reasons and then you have to be fit to be by the exits anyway!

And they shouldl offer free group seating for bookings with children or infants. I might go to that petition site, feeling punchy myself now!

They allow families with children under two to pre-book seats, we needed a bassinet for our baby at the time, we wouldn't be allowed now unless we had a baby with us. It's a BA rule, so you can get seats near the bassinet.

It's not worth paying to prebook seats ... ex-Oh did on my flybe flight then I was just moved "to balance the plane" & got stuck next to the engine was a turboprop & the engine completely blocked the window. Well worth the money to book the seat!!

LOL, Whomovedmychoc. DH just erupts when he's pissed off & I had to keep saying to him,'Calm down, they'll arrest you!'
You do feel scared about making a fuss, for that very reason.

But we all got home safely & hopefully that interfering bint has developed a nasty case of the pox.

Moral? We're going Easyjet next time!

I've always been quite happy with BA though, although am not going with them to the USA this summer as they don't do the internal flights.

SD would you like to borrow one of my DMS to stamp on her with?

Me too Blondilocks - I've always loved BA, but this was a BA flight operated by GB Airways & they were crap. If they hadn't cancelled our original flights I probably wouldn't have been so pissed off. On the outbound flight they had us arriving at 9pm; we then had to get our hire car & drive to somewhere we'd never been to before, in the dark, in a foreign country, with 2 horrendously tired infants in tow. We'd originally booked to land early afternoon. By the time they informed us of the change it was too late to re-book with another airline as the prices had tripled, it being Easter.

you did well. I would have said something jumbled and outraged and then spent the entire flight (and probably most of the next week) doing it all again but better.

afaik they can't seat small children seperately legally - so even if they have to check you in on seperate seats they have to find someone for you to swap with once you;re on the plane.

Kimi - ooh, yes please! You know, I can still see her sour face in front of me now!

We booked a holiday to Finland (going from Heathrow) changed to Gatwick then time changed 3 YES 3 times and the airport at the other end TWICE.

/kimi puts size 6 doc martin in the post.

Have to point out shoes left over from my Brossett days
/ kimi finds dark hole to hide in.

scampadoodle - Queasyjet is just as bad I'm afraid, but at least they don't pretend to care!

here let me help !@take that@!

Hatwoman, that's usually what I am like, so how I kept calm I do not know. I wanted to burst into tears afterwards though.
The irony is that DS2 & 1 were seated right at the back by ourselves in a row of 3, the 3rd seat being empty during the flight as it was saved for cabin crew on take-off & landing!