APRIL 2005: Hello all, yes, I am still alive! See Personal Homepage for more! :)
APRIL 2005: Hello all, yes, I am still alive! See Personal Homepage for more! :)
Member since:18.08.2001
Reviews:61
Members who trust:27
As some of you may know, I went to Barbados about three weeks ago. The carrier for our flight was Britannia Airways. Despite the fact that I have only flown 4 or 5 times in my life, I would like to say with confidence that Britannia Airways is the best flying experience I have had (!).
This is really a personal opinion, I will tell you now. I will not be writing about the technicalities - rather than regurgitate facts about where Britannia fly from, where to, how often and so on, I would like to direct you to their company website at www.britanniaairways.com for that kind of information. Mainly because there is so much of it and for me to copy it out in my own words would be a bit useless when you may as well get the word from the horse’s mouth!
So – here goes with the personal opinion. Since my father died in June this year, I have been diagnosed with mild depression and have suffered from some very bad panic attacks. From a psychologist’s point of view, one might say that I have become reluctant to leave the house in case something happens to another member of my family. This isn’t actually a conscious thought of mine, but I can understand the thinking behind it and accept that this may well be an underlying cause as to why I have become so nervous about public situations and being away from home.
With my 21st birthday occurring four days before we were due to leave for Barbados, my feelings were put into a tailspin. Here I was at one of the biggest milestones in my life and my Dad was not here. I cried the morning of my birthday and I felt in a very strange mood all day. Coupled with the fact that I was facing a 3 hour airport wait, an 8 hour flight, a 1 hour transfer and 2 weeks away from home, I was becoming more
and more nervous by the day. When it came to the morning of departure, I was so scared I had to take some tranquillisers and I actually considered backing out. It was only for the fact that I didn’t want my sister to go alone that I eventually forced myself to get on that plane and leave my Mum, my dog, my cat and my wonderful home behind. Now I know this all sounds rather extreme, but it is what happens when you suffer from anxiety. KarenUK wrote a very good op on anxiety a while back which I recommend reading as it explains the feelings a bit better.
My Mum, interfering but wonderful as she is, went up to the Britannia Airways check-in desk when we arrived at Gatwick and asked what was the latest time I could back out if I really wanted to. The lady behind the desk, who was called Julie, came round and asked me how I was feeling and explained that she would put my luggage on standby so it wouldn’t be loaded on to the plane until I stepped on the aircraft myself, just in case I decided not to go. She explained that I could also take a look around the plane if I wanted to, and that I had right up until the plane doors closed to back out. Feeling awkward and ridiculous, I also felt a little better knowing that I still didn’t have to go if I didn’t want to. Insane, I know, but that’s how it is.
After taking the luggage through and going up to the departure lounge entrance, Mum kissed me goodbye as me and the sis went to go through to the departure lounge. She told me she would wait until the flight had left the ground in case I changed my mind and came back through. With a deep breath, I headed through the bleepy metal gate and left my Mum behind. When me and the sis got to our departure gate, as soon as we handed them our passports, they recognised my name and took me to one side. Julie at the check-in desk had radioed through to the departure gate and told them all about it. One of the women who wear the fluorescent vests came up and asked me if I would like to take a look around the plane and I agreed. She walked us past all the other passengers, through the doors and down the tunnel on to the plane. She introduced me to the Cabin Crew Manager, a lady called Astrid, who had also been thoroughly informed and knew my name right away. She walked us down the plane, pointing out all the toilets and televisions, re-iterating the extra security measures that were in force, and even walked us around the crew areas. She asked me if I would like to take a look at the cockpit and meet the pilots but I declined because I was still feeling silly.
Fluorescent Vest Lady then took us back to the gate lounge and on the way asked me when I would like to board if I chose to go. She said we could be boarded before everybody else or boarded last. I chose last because I was still feeling horribly nervous and scared and still wasn’t sure whether I wanted to go. During the next 20 minutes, my sister and I sat and thought while all the other passengers were boarded row by row. Once everybody had been boarded, it was just my sister and I left in the gate lounge.
Fluorescent Vest Lady returned, sat down next to me and asked me how I was feeling. I said I still wasn’t sure and like everybody else, she told me that once I went I would have a lovely time relaxing in the sun. Which I knew all along but because of the fierceness of my anxiety, I couldn’t believe myself. I was further amazed by the kindness of the Britannia staff at this point. Every single passenger except me and my sister were on board, the engines were firing up and my suitcase was still waiting on the tarmac ready to be given the go-ahead. It was about two minutes before official departure time and they weren’t pushing me to get on the flight.
Eventually I agreed, and Fluorescent Vest Lady gave me a big smile and led us through the doors down the tunnel and on to the plane. Astrid was waiting there, asked me once more if I was sure and when I said yes she said congratulations and showed us to our seats. We were in the middle section of four seats, and though there were two other people already in our row, Astrid asked them if they would mind moving to some other seats further back so that my sister and I could have a row to ourselves. The people kindly agreed. As the plane doors closed, the captain came on the radio and informed the passengers that the last piece of luggage was being loaded (i.e. mine!) and launched into the weather report.
Throughout the whole flight, Astrid and all the other crew members were checking on me, asking how I was feeling and bringing me drinks. Not once did anybody make me feel pressured or make me feel stupid, despite the fact that I felt like the most childish person on Earth. In fact, when we arrived at the Grantley Adams International airport in Bridgetown, Barbados and were waiting at the luggage carousel for our suitcases, somebody tapped me on the shoulder and I turned to find the captain behind me. He asked me if I had enjoyed the flight and told me a little story about his wife, who was petrified of flying. I thanked him and he wished me a happy holiday and as we left, Astrid gave me a big smile and a wave.
I know that this opinion has little information on Britannia Airways that you might expect, but as I said before I would only have to jot down notes from their site and then regurgitate them, so once more I’ll suggest you visit the website at www.britanniaairways.com for all that information.
What I can tell you is that every single person who was responsible for flight BY238A, LGW-BGI, at 11:55am on Sunday 14th October 2001 - from Julie at the check-in desk, to the Britannia staff at passport control, Fluorescent Vest Lady at the departure gate, Astrid and the rest of the cabin crew and the captain of flight BY238A to Bridgetown, Barbados – every single one of them provided first class customer service. They did all they possibly could and not once made me feel stupid or made me feel as if I was inconveniencing them. I will definitely try to fly Britannia Airways in the future, and recommend them thoroughly as an airline who does not give preference to the First Class passengers, who do not treat their Economy passengers as cattle as some airlines do, and who truly know and put into practice the idea of premium customer service.
PS) When we came home, I asked my Mum how she knew I had boarded the plane. She gave me a big hug and told me she had paid the fee to get into the Skyview Lounge and watched our plane taxi down the runway and take off. Once she had seen it go, she went back down to the check-in desk to verify that I had boarded. When they told her I had, she burst into tears in the middle of the airport. Bless her, I love my Mum!
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This is brilliant for me thank you - i am due to fly to the Dominican Republic with them in 3 weeks and i am terrified of flying! Thank you for putting my mind at ease, xxx jen
superpricee 08.11.2001 17:15
Well, as far as I'm concerned everything I would need to know was in that op - flight delays and so on are not always the airlines fault, so what really swings it for me is customer service. From what you say they were absolutely terrific, and that's a high recommendation! Great stuff (and I'm chuffed you had a good time too). Cheers - Ricky
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Nov 2nd, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
