I'm what some would call a part time single dad, I work full time and in between have my 15yr old da...
I'm what some would call a part time single dad, I work full time and in between have my 15yr old daughter staying with me. Always busy I can tell you.
Member since:20.01.2003
Reviews:12
I decided to try out this airline for a trip from Cardiff to Edinburgh, after a friend suggested we have a long weekend there.
Online booking was very easy, you input your chosen days of travel and it returns a list of flights and prices for those days plus a day earlier & day later so you can compare them.
I made my selections (£5.99 outbound £7.99 return) and continued to the next page where taxes are added. This bumped the price up considerably but still came in at under our expected fuel costs if we were to drive up.
Finally a £2 charge per passenger was added for booking with a credit card.
You are then given a reference number and are advised to print the page to take with you to the airport. You are also sent an e mail with the same information if you should wish to print this instead.
Very
good I thought, easiest booking I have ever done including the option to reserve a seat online.
The day of departure arrived and we got to Cardiff airport 2 hours before departure time as advised, things started to go downhill from here on. The check in desk for our flight had the words 'Flight Cancelled' on it.
The check in staff said it was due to a 'Technical fault' but other than that had nothing to say. We were given the option of taking the later flight or have a full refund (I assume they meant the taxes too). We chose to take the later flight and were given a £5 voucher to get something to eat along with a very bad photocopy of a form which apparently entitles us to a free one way flight.
I'm waiting on a reply from customer services on this as it just says cancellation refund on the form.
We were checked in efficiently, baggage allowances are consistent with most airlines, each passenger has a limit of 20kg with a maximum of 2 bags for checked in luggage and a 7kg allowance on carry on luggage providing it fits in the basket by check in.
After a 6 hour stay at Cardiff we boarded the later flight, this was full with every seat taken. The journey was uneventful with cabin crew coming around offering drinks & snacks at a cost, I just had a tea for £1.50
The flight arrived in Edinburgh several minutes late after quite a bumpy landing due to bad weather.
Once off the flight we headed straight for the baggage reclaim area and to our suprise when we got there our bags were already on the carousel, I don't know if this is down to BMI or the staff at Edinburgh airport but full marks to the people responsible. There is nothing worse than hanging around a baggage reclaim area.
Now for the return flight, I was hoping the Airline would redeem itself by getting us back to Cardiff on time (my travelling companion rarely flies and wasn't very impressed with the outbound service).
We arrived 2 hours prior to departure time to be greeted by the departures board showing a 2 hour delay on our flight. Here we go again.
On checking in I asked why the flight was delayed 2 hours and was told it was 'Due to a late inbound aircraft'. Yes that was pretty obvious but on pushing the issue the check in staff said 'We don't know'. As far as customers service goes this answer is a big no no.
The airline makes no effort to compensate in any way for this kind of delay and this should be addressed with your travel insurers which is the norm with most airlines.
I did get quite fed up of the 'BMI Baby would like to apologise' announcements during my 4 hour stay at the airport.
With 25 minutes to go to the new departure time there was still no aircraft in sight but it landed shortly afterwards.
I think thanks once again to the staff at Edinburgh airport the aircraft was turned around in what I can only describe as 'double quick time'.
On boarding the aircraft I asked one of the staff why they were 2 hours late and again I got the response 'I don't know'. Customer service failed again i'm afraid, the cabin crew should make it their job to know why they are late.
The flight finally departed 2 hours and 10 minutes late and after an uneventful flight arrived in Cardiff 2 hours and 20 minutes late due to the fact there was a nice big storm sat over Cardiff, so we went on a bit of a tour of the west country while it moved away.
Being my first time using this airline I would say either I was extremely unlucky with their inability to run to a timetable or that they really need to do some 'growing up' (sorry for the pun).
With my current experience i'm unsure if i'll use them again, yes the fares are very good and the booking is easy which is why I have said I would recommend them to other customers but there is the temptation to spend and extra hour in the car and fly with Easyjet from Bristol at similar cost.
BMI Baby take note, improve or lose customers to your rivals.
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Well, to respond to the title of your review, in my eyes it IS just you ;)
No offence, but the second time I used them they left about 20 seconds BEFORE they scheduled? They were not even a minute off, the plane was ready, looking forward to the flight. The booking was awesomely easy, and you can check in online, which makes it even easier to catch your flight and relax before boarding.
However, I am going to write a review, because I am sort of a regular user being born ( monday is my third time, teehee )
ilusvm 20.12.2004 12:12
hadnt even heard of these! doesnt sound so good! Em x
AnitaM 11.09.2004 14:35
I flew from Nottingham to Edinburgh with BMIbaby and they apologised for the landing in Edinburgh 2 minutes later than planned! You must have been very unlucky to have been delayed on both flights.
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