Gill

An excellent summary of the fiasco of T5.

Anyone who has dealt with BA knows this is a top heavy company, run by an arrogant, greedy, insensitive and incompetent management. They are dealing with a unionised work force that can be stubborn and uncooperative but it is the job of management to overcome problems like this. It is the task of management to foster loyalty but instead BA managers have shown a remarkable ability over the years to alientate staff.

This fact - at best indifference and at worse hostility of staff towards BA management - was crucial once T5 hit problems because BA employees did not care enough to do anything more than was strictly necessary.

If we look at the planning for the opening of the terminal by management then we have to say that it was so inexcusably inept that there should be mass dismissals - without the generous payoffs that senior executives usually pocket when they have failed. So woeful was their performance that if BA's managers had been army officers leading tropps into battle there would have been a massacre.

A new management team should institute an inquiry into every aspect of the T5 opening. What went wrong and why? What lessons can be learned? How can relations with staff be repaired? How can the airline win back the trust of the public?

The men and women - at BA and the BAA - who were in charge of the move to T5 must go. Only then can the company and Heathrow begin the painful process of repairing the damage from this humiliation.

I hate to say that it was easy to see this coming, but it was. There was so much hype for so long prior to the opening that T5 was certain to disappoint.

Right now, BA and BAA need to make their executives visible and take accountability for the problems. They need to make it clear that there will be no finger-pointing or blame games. They need to demonstrate that they understand the problems and what to do to fix them. They need to lay out a credible plan with clear milestones -- and then stick to it and report progress.

Next, they need to repair relations with both customers and employees. That could take the form of flight vouchers ("come back and see that we've got it right now") for all customers who have come through T5. For employees it might be some sort of "combat bonus" as well as special recognition for their efforts to help customers.

More important, they need to build a robust feedback loop that shows that they are listening and taking action on what employees and customers have to say. Michael Beer and Russ Eisendadt laid out a great way to do this with employees in an HBR article back in 2004 -- "How to Have an Honest Conversation about your Business Strategy" -- that could easily be adapted to this situation. With customers, I would put executives on the phone reaching out to both apologize and get suggestions for what to fix.

Finally, learn what the restaurant industry has known for years -- you use a "soft" opening with limited numbers of people to make sure that the staff and systems have a chance to work the bugs out before you have your grand opening. No one gets everything right on day one so you might as well acknowledge that and plan accordingly.

I'm missing T4 already.

Gill,

In the pro-Conservative, pro-business London Evening Standard the newspaper's respected financial editor Anthony Hilton echoed what you and others have said about BA's management. The planning for the opening of T5 had been a shambles, he said. Management had also failed to plan for the possibility of disaster, failed to recover from it and failed to come clean about it.

Mr Hilton also offered an interesting theory about a fatal flaw within BA, and many companies today: the absence of middle managers. These were business's equivalent of sergeants in the army and traditionally had been the link between senior executives and the staff, just as sergeants are the essential link between officers and men. These managers had done dull work and had often been dull themselves but they understood the business and the staff. When there was a new project they made it happen. These 'sergeants' no longer exist in BA and many companies. They have been fired. So top management devises projects without knowing how or if they can be implemented. Once they have drawn up these schemes they employ consultants. These consultants are usually intelligent and creative but rarely know much about the company employing them, or its industry. If there is a problem with the new project - such as T5 - neither the consultants nor senior managers have the experience or knowledge to sort it out.

Gill

First of all, lets get the facts right.

There is no such thing as the British Aviation Authority. The company is called BAA, British Airports Authority, and is owned by Ferrovial of Spain. BAA is the owner of Terminal 5, British Airways rents the space.
When reading through the article, the use of words and quotes remind me of the less serious part of the British press. "the hubris and incompetence of BA’s and the British Aviation Authority’s management", " an astonishing catalogue of organizational blunders". And last but not least, a quote from a British politician!
Is this a serious piece of business research, or a bit of sensationalist journalism?
Yes There was very big problems at terminal 5 on opening day, and some of the problems still persist.

Logistics and Planning, yes there was huge problems. "according to baggage handlers"?

Technical and Human. Lots of technical and human problems, just like any other major project I have ever heard of.
Lack of Leadership and Hubris.
Perhaps. But do you really expect BA and BAA executives to stand up and declare that they have high hopes for the new 4.3 billion Terminal, but that they are not sure it will work?

Low moral and Goodwill. Yes it is a big problem, at least in BA. Nevertheless 1500 volunteers from all over the BA showed up to help out. I know because i was there, as a passenger.

Lack of Communication and Management. Yes, thats where everybody screwed up. Perhaps this was more a communications disaster, that anything else.

And then there is the summary.
Customer relations,Reputation. Do you seriously think that this is going to do anything but dent British Airways, bottom line? Get the facts right. Historically far worse things have happened in the airline business and in the transport business in general.

This is a Media story, in a week the luggage will have been returned and everything will have been forgotten. Or more probably replaced by another disaster somewhere in the world.

Get the facts right. Look at the BA share price. After a dip, 3%, on the day, the share price has has been going happily up!

And the aftermath.
Of course all responsible Managers should be fired, immediately.
Next, everyone who has suffered in terminal 5 should be given "flight vouchers" (come back and see that we've got it right) and finally all employees (minus the guilty managers) should be given a bonus because they work for companies that have had problems opening a new facility.

Please get realistic!
BA and BAA are businesses. They are in the business of making a profit. Therefore the only people who know anything about the problems at Terminal 5 (the terrible Managers) should get on with things and fix the human, logistical and technical problems at T5.
The employees will , as usual, get a pre printed "Thank You" letter, and the passengers should read the small print on the back of the ticket.
The Public relations people will pay a price.

Of course BA can and should do better. All businesses should strive to improve.
This is the airline business. One of the most difficult businesses of all. Besieged by energy, enviromental, and political problems. Before you all get into a frenzy of critisism, Know what you are talking about, and think what you can reasonably expect

Madam,

Beyond what has already been stated, please permit me to share a
slightly different and generic perspective.

A new international airport was recently opened in the south Indian city of Hyderabad. Due to some technical problems, it could not be rendered operational the same day. When it did open, there was considerable confusion - a pilot tried to land at the old airport and not finding any landing lights there, diverted the flight to New Delhi. Another international flight flew to Bombay. Requests from different stakeholders to retain the existing airport and gradually shift to the new airport fell on deaf ears.

Do we learn from recent experience? Unfortunately, no. The city of Bangalore will soon have a new international airport and again, before its functional capabilities are tested, the existing airport is being shut down. Several flights to and from Bangalore are of an hour's duration or less. Commuting to the new airport takes more than two hours under the best of conditions. Imagine having to drive for two hours, check in at least 30 minutes in advance, all for a flight that will take 30 minutes. The fact that many cities have two airports, and that it would make considerable sense to use the existing airport for domestic flights and the new one for international flights, are conveniently overlooked in the name of having to adhere to some contractual obligations.

This is what two professors have recently called The Experience Trap based on a study of hundreds of projects. More often than not, experience, instead of facilitating better decisions, blocks sensible decisions.

Warm Regards

Dear Gill,

Great job in briefing the situation.

This is the best example of how big companies like BA make blunders.

What should BA do now?

I think putting crises management team urgently in place and solving the problems one by one would be the first step to go.

No point in getting panic and focussing on what others (media) are talking about. But, instead focus on what can be done to come out of it.

Humans are blessed with making mistakes but the one who learn from it and rectify it, conqure the situation. So go for it!!!

Make sure that all the quality and operation testings are done properly.

Communicate, communicate and communicate.
- apologize customers
- thanks employees
- internal brain storming
- accepting mistakes

Moreoever, I would agree to all the measures suggested by Ulrik Wiinblad-Rasmussen.

Ulrik, I liked your understanding and attitude of looking at the problem opportunistically. Keep going.

Thanks,

Warm regards,

Asha

Ulrik Wiinblad-Rasmussen's defence of BA and the BAA is extraordinary.

Gill Corkindale reflected what every sensible commentator in the British media said about the opening of Terminal 5: it was an inexcusable fiasco that shamed BA, the BAA and the country as a whole.

I do not know where Mr Wiinblad-Rasmussen lives but he could log into the web sites of the Financial Times, the Times, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph to see how they covered the event. These are not ‘sensationalist’ publications. Ms Corkindale was restrained in comparison. The UK’s leading financial writers have said that T5 holds important lessons for UK business generally.

Mr Wiinblad-Rasmussen is right: T5 won’t be in the news for long. But that is the nature of news: it moves. I have not read much about Enron recently but that does not mean we should forget it.

Business is about providing an honest service at a fair price, about good relations with employees and about learning lessons. Management is about hard work and competence. It should be rewarded. But BA's management should know that stupidity, arrogance and idleness will have repercussions. Or does Mr Wiinblad-Rasmussen believe that senior management should not be judged by their performance?

Thanks to all the readers who have posted comments – a week after opening, T5 continues to spur debate.

Brian Tambling is right to say that BA’s difficulty during T5’s opening was in part due to the way it has alientated staff over the years – this meant they were less than supportive during the opening days of the crisis. 400 volunteers have since been pulled in but this was too late in the day.

BAA needs to take action as well as BA – Eric McNulty offers the excellent suggestion that both companies build a feedback loop to show that they are listening to and taking action on what employees and customers have to say. This will be critical if they are to learn from their mistakes – as Brian says, they need to find out what lessons can be learned and how they can win back trust among customers and the public.

Aasha suggests a crisis management team right now – although scenario planning for possible disaster before the opening of T5 might have been more useful, says Sam Tisdall. Aasha is right to remember a critical skill of management: communicate, conmunicate, communicate, something BA and BAA failed to do during the crisis.

Thanks to B V Krishnamurthy for reminding us that confusion and technical problems occur at other airports. Lessons learned from the recent opening of Hyderabad’s new international airport might have improved the service at Bangalore’s new facility. Perhaps we should send a copy of The Experience Trap to the management committee of London 2012.

Thanks to all the readers who have posted comments – a week after opening, T5 continues to spur debate.

Brian Tambling is right to say that BA’s difficulty during T5’s opening was in part due to the way it has alientated staff over the years – this meant they were less than supportive during the opening days of the crisis. 400 volunteers have since been pulled in but this was too late in the day.

BAA needs to take action as well as BA – Eric McNulty offers the excellent suggestion that both companies build a feedback loop to show that they are listening to and taking action on what employees and customers have to say. This will be critical if they are to learn from their mistakes – as Brian says, they need to find out what lessons can be learned and how they can win back trust among customers and the public.

Aasha suggests a crisis management team right now – although scenario planning for possible disaster before the opening of T5 might have been more useful, says Sam Tisdall. Aasha is right to remember a critical skill of management: communicate, conmunicate, communicate, something BA and BAA failed to do during the crisis.

Thanks to B V Krishnamurthy for reminding us that confusion and technical problems occur at other airports. Lessons learned from the recent opening of Hyderabad’s new international airport might have improved the service at Bangalore’s new facility. Perhaps we should send a copy of The Experience Trap to the management committee of London 2012.

All very interesting and the answers and solutions are available in the works of the American Consultant W.Edwards Deming.

Thanks to Ulrik Wiinblad-Rasmussen for correctly pointing out my erroneous use of Aviation rather than Airports, which will be changed forthwith. He agrees that low morale, technical and human errors, lack of communication and management were all factors in the rocky opening of T5 last week.

I agree wholeheartedly with his suggestions that all the responsible managers should be fired, customers be given “flight vouchers” and employees should receive a bonus for working through the problems. I also agree that the airline business is facing great environmental and political pressures at this time – and, yes, they are indeed in the business of making a profit.

A few points for further discussion:

Q: But do you really expect BA and BAA executives to stand up and declare that they have high hopes for the new £4.3 billion Terminal, but that they are not sure it will work?

Yes, unfortunately it is unrealistic to expect that BA and BAA executives would be honest about their concerns for T5 – but surely passengers and staff deserve better than to be told the systems would work perfectly from day one and that T5 would usher in a new era of air travel? This seems arrogant and ill-advised to me and does not give me much confidence in their respective managments.

Q: Do you seriously think that this is going to do anything but dent British Airways' bottom line?

Yes and no. Worse crises have happened than T5 and BA has bounced back before. In terms of the bottom line, the share price has fallen for the last two days, after a short mid-week rally, and BA has admitted the problems have so far cost the company £16m. However, analysts at Deutsche Bank forecast BA’s problems at Terminal 5 will persist into the summer and cost the airline about £150m in total.

The cost to BA’s reputation and customer loyalty is not so easily quantifiable. T5 may just be the tipping point for customers. It was meant to redress passenger concerns about baggage handling, poor customer service and delays – but instead the events of the last week have compounded them. At one point this week, 28,000 bags were missing, 40,000 passengers were affected, elderly passengers were camping out, travellers were kept in the lost time and money. Why should they – or anyone else who witnessed the T5 debacle or heard stories about it – choose to fly BA again?

Mr Wiinblad-Rasmussen does not disclose where he resides, but in answer to the comment on sensationalism, he may wish to look at the BBC and the Financial Times’s reports and discussion groups on T5, for a clearer sense of the British public’s real anger and dismay with BA's and BAA's performance.

I did quote one politician, but could have quoted many more as the political debate ranged far and wide. Jim Fitzpatrick, the Minister for Aviation, chastised BA and BAA for the “unacceptably poor “ passenger experience at Heathrow and reminded them that “Damage to Heathrow is damage to UK plc.”

Worse, David Miliband, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, revealed on Monday that an unnamed European foreign minister had also lost his bag in the chaos at T5.

“He arrived merely to transit, but his bags are nowhere to be seen and it was whispered that it might take weeks,” Mr Miliband wrote in his blog.

“He asked me to pass on a message to BA/BAA: ‘For goodness sake, get your act together’.”

Mr Wiinblad-Rasmussen raises a challenging question: “What can reasonably expect from airlines? Let’s hear your suggestions. What do you think?

In terms of what can reasonably be expected, the answer seems clear: passengers want to arrive where the airline says they will, when they will, along with all their belongings, which should be intact.

For the most part, this is what airlines deliver. What's become a real source of aggravation is the way the airlines tend to handle things when they fail to do what they've been contracted to do.

I have just read BA pulped a special edition of its internal newsletter BA News to celebrate T5 as it was thought ‘inappropriate’ after the mess of the opening.

BA News apparently goes to around 40,000 BA employees.

I was interested in this comment from Ms Sarah Longbottom, editor of the trade publication Travel Weekly. She said BA had been wise to scrap the news letter as staff morale was ‘very low’ and publication would have ‘rubbed salt in very deep wounds.’

So we have a demoralised staff AND a furious public.

BA management should move quickly to assure both staff and customers that they have learned lessons from T5.

Willie Walsh must be wondering when the nightmare will end over the T5 terminal. he has doggesdly refused to stand down, but every day a new attack comes. Pictures of passengers sleeping in cardboard boxes as flights were delayed over the weekend. Staff saying that nine in 10 bags have probably been lost for good, and now the pilots' union has weighed in against BA's management in a letter published in the Financial Times today.

The union is in industrial and legal dispute with the airline, over BA's system of pilot recruitment at its new OpenSkies subsidiary, but the attack was nonetheless savage and indicative of the continuing anger directed at BA.

Jim McAuslan, general secretary of the British Airline Pilots Association, said the T5 problems were "symptomatic of British Airways' loss of focus on delivering a sound operation".

"This airline can and should make Britain proud but a fundamental change of attitude is required from the very highest levels of BA management," he said. "Banks, institutional investors and analysts need to wake up to the fact that there is "something very wrong at the heart of this company that is making our once great brand a laughing stock".

It takes many years to establish a brand. It requires hard work, dedication and imagination. Brands cannot be destroyed by one mistake. But over time a brand can lose its value. The point of no return comes when a brand, which was once associated with value for money, is so tarnished it is a liability. BA remains a powerful brand but management must not be complacent. They must remember too they operate in an industry where market forces can wreck the most respected companies. Look at the great names which have vanished. Pan Am. TWA. Swiss Air.Sabena.

Yep, BA had problems. Now let's look at American Airlines gounding of a major section of its fleet to re-do---yes, re-do--repairs. What say you all now?

When I heard BA had postponed moving all flights to T5 I thought this showed brave and intelligent leadership. Then I listened as other airlines complained that BA was abusing its position as the UK’s favourite carrier. The other airlines had planned to move some of their flights to BA's T4 but BA had decided that this could not happen after all since it still needed the terminal. The airlines warned passengers to expect delays, as schedules had been arranged on the presumption that T4 would no longer be used by BA. Isn’t this another example of stupidity and arrogance by BA’s management?

Like other readers I am mindful that the media exaggerates its own importance. Businesses prosper despite what the media says about them. But T5 could be that rare example of a news event causing long term damage to a business. The airline has dismissed two senior directors who were involved in the planning of T5.The company may have to sacrifice chief executive Mr Willie Walsh to show it is truly sorry. More worrying for BA is the announcement by some British insurers that they will not cover travellers using T5 for lost luggage. This will not affect business travellers who are backed by their employers but it is likely to impact on those travelling for pleasure. Many will chose other airlines to avoid the risk of losing luggage that is not insured.

My husband and I missed our honeymoon tour because of the fiasco at Terminal 5 on Sunday, April 6, 2008. It was also my birthday on April 6, what a lousy celebration.

I need someone's help or some direction. I am told by my travel insurance - Travelex - that I need a letter from British Airways stating that all flights were cancelled in order for me and my husband to get our money refunded. it has been over a month and i have not heard a peep out of british airways, i have emailed, mailed and called them. their customer relations suck!!!

can anyone give me some advice on how to contact BA?

thanks!

Sandra, I have contacted BA - email me at gill.corkindale@yahoo.com and I and I'll let you know what to do.

BA are terible they just dont care. i for one will try my best to fly with anyone else but them after this.