Leeds Bradford: Passenger Reviews, Q&A, and Travel Advice

[Len Fish]

It’s not so much that things go wrong that irks people but a lack of communication when they do. This is a common modern day failing of many organisations and doesn’t just apply to airports. An apology and explanation go a long way to calming people down.

 

[White Heather]

It’s not so much that things go wrong that irks people but a lack of communication when they do. This is a common modern day failing of many organisations and doesn’t just apply to airports. An apology and explanation go a long way to calming people down.

Agreed. But at what point does an explanation become necessary? It's not as though there's a common standard for the delivery of bags. At every airport. without exception, there will be variable wait times. It could be 10 minutes, 20, 30 or longer. If multiple flights land at the same time, the available baggage staff can't be in two places at once. Someone will end up waiting. Its nothing new and I fail to understand why passengers get so wound up about it. It happens at every airport. Every day.

For an explanation to be given and an apology, a time limit needs to be set. Perhaps 30 minutes at LBA would be reasonable. But is that 30 minutes from parking on stand or from arrival at the baggage belts? Staff outside emptying the holds of aircraft in all weather's don't know how long it's taken people to get through border force and to the belts. So to control the situation, issue updates, explanations and apologies, Jet2 and Swissport would both need to have someone posted in the baggage hall who keeps in touch with the guys unloading. Its not difficult, but its their problem, their customers, yet it's LBA that takes the criticism. And it's no different at MAN or various others.

Some passengers, who object to having to wait a while, must have a long self imposed list of airports they never intend to use again!

 

[LBAYORKIE]

Airports tend to be high stress places for some people and often people arrive knackered, all that leads to people being more tetchy. I’ve arrived at multiple places before and said I’m not flying from there again (mainly because my partner goes off on one- I’m fairly relaxed). Will I use those airports again, yep, because everyone calms down after the event, but if I was called pathetic for moaning, that would be very dangerous territory

Its really time from landing to leaving the terminal that counts. Someone first in the immigration queue will be happy with that experience but will have to wait a seemingly long time for bags.

Someone at the back of the immigration queue may complain about queueing but is likely to find their bags are on the carousel when they get to the baggage hall.

However the airport, who are adamant that the Regen is addressing a previously sub-optimal airport experience should be actively monitoring the new experience, liasing with the various handling agents etc and ensuring passengers expectations are being met. It wont be percect until the end of phase 2 but this makes monitoring even more important.

When we arrived back at LBA recently, we were the only arrival and it took 30 mins from deplaning for our bags to arrive on the belt. I would say this is a little long given we were the only arrival and makes me wonder how long it would have taken during a busy period.

 

[White Heather]

Its really time from landing to leaving the terminal that counts. Someone first in the immigration queue will be happy with that experience but will have to wait a seemingly long time for bags.

Someone at the back of the immigration queue may complain about queueing but is likely to find their bags are on the carousel when they get to the baggage hall.

However the airport, who are adamant that the Regen is addressing a previously sub-optimal airport experience should be actively monitoring the new experience, liasing with the various handling agents etc and ensuring passengers expectations are being met. It wont be percect until the end of phase 2 but this makes monitoring even more important.

When we arrived back at LBA recently, we were the only arrival and it took 30 mins from deplaning for our bags to arrive on the belt. I would say this is a little long given we were the only arrival and makes me wonder how long it would have taken during a busy period.

But, it's not just about your flight arriving and being the only one is it? The staff employed by Jet2 and Swissport aren't just there to unload bags off arrivals. They also have to load bags on to the trailers in the basement, drive them to waiting aircraft, and load them on to outbound aircraft which may have slots to meet. Departures could therefore take priority. Again, staff cannot do two things at once so it's a matter of how many staff are employed to ensure there's sufficient to deal with most situations, but not so many that they are sitting around doing nothing at quieter times in unsustainable numbers.

Let's also not forget too that unforseen things happen behind the scenes which you, as a passenger know nothing about. An outbound customer falling foul of the law, for example, being denied boarding, and resulting in loaded baggage having to be unloaded again.

I can assure you that LBA management do liaise with Jet2 and Swissport to ensure things run as smoothly as possible, but airports are big, busy, complex places with lots of things that can create issues. They don't always run as smoothly as everyone would like and it's always been that way.

 

[SierraHotel]

Some pax yesterday had taken 1 hour 30mins from deplaning to emerging from arrivals. I think part of the issue centres around the trough and peak nature of LBA arrivals. I'm optimistic that when the additional 2 carousels are operational, that the situation should improve provided communication is improved.

 

[LBAYORKIE]

Some pax yesterday had taken 1 hour 30mins from deplaning to emerging from arrivals. I think part of the issue centres around the trough and peak nature of LBA arrivals. I'm optimistic that when the additional 2 carousels are operational, that the situation should improve provided communication is improved.

The 'pinch point' may not be the number of carousels, rather the number of staff and their efficiency. If I were the airport I would be asking some serious questions about the operations of the baggage retrieval process, however if they have no one monitoring/observing they are probably not aware there is a problem.

But, it's not just about your flight arriving and being the only one is it? The staff employed by Jet2 and Swissport aren't just there to unload bags off arrivals. They also have to load bags on to the trailers in the basement, drive them to waiting aircraft, and load them on to outbound aircraft which may have slots to meet. Departures could therefore take priority. Again, staff cannot do two things at once so it's a matter of how many staff are employed to ensure there's sufficient to deal with most situations, but not so many that they are sitting around doing nothing at quieter times in unsustainable numbers.

Let's also not forget too that unforseen things happen behind the scenes which you, as a passenger know nothing about. An outbound customer falling foul of the law, for example, being denied boarding, and resulting in loaded baggage having to be unloaded again.

I can assure you that LBA management do liaise with Jet2 and Swissport to ensure things run as smoothly as possible, but airports are big, busy, complex places with lots of things that can create issues. They don't always run as smoothly as everyone would like and it's always been that way.

Yes unforseen things happen but as @len said people need to be kept informed.

When things go wrong someone needs to find out why and ensure, as far as possible that it doesnt happen again.

But, it's not just about your flight arriving and being the only one is it? The staff employed by Jet2 and Swissport aren't just there to unload bags off arrivals. They also have to load bags on to the trailers in the basement, drive them to waiting aircraft, and load them on to outbound aircraft which may have slots to meet. Departures could therefore take priority. Again, staff cannot do two things at once so it's a matter of how many staff are employed to ensure there's sufficient to deal with most situations, but not so many that they are sitting around doing nothing at quieter times in unsustainable numbers.

Let's also not forget too that unforseen things happen behind the scenes which you, as a passenger know nothing about. An outbound customer falling foul of the law, for example, being denied boarding, and resulting in loaded baggage having to be unloaded again.

I can assure you that LBA management do liaise with Jet2 and Swissport to ensure things run as smoothly as possible, but airports are big, busy, complex places with lots of things that can create issues. They don't always run as smoothly as everyone would like and it's always been that way.

Yes unforseen things happen but as @len said people need to be kept informed.

When things go wrong someone needs to find out why and ensure, as far as possible that it doesnt happen again.

 

[Aviador]

As for complaints about wait times I'm with White Heather on this. It's the airlines responsibility to return your baggage.

You should really expect to wait up to 40 minutes for your bags to be returned. If they arrive any earlier than that then consider yourself lucky.

I've had a stint doing baggage, I know what is involved and it isn't as straightforward as some would suggest here. Man handling 100-150 bags weighing between 15kg - 22kg isn't a quick or easy task.

Sometimes delays happen due to things beyond the airlines control. An aircraft pulling onto stand requires ramp traffic to stop while aircraft are manoeuvring, the same with passengers crossing the airside road on foot. A hold door could be stuck and require an engineers attention.

The only time the airport is at fault is if the belt system isn't working.

 

[LBAYORKIE]

As for complaints about wait times I'm with White Heather on this. It's the airlines responsibility to return your baggage.

You should really expect to wait up to 40 minutes for your bags to be returned. If they arrive any earlier than that then consider yourself lucky.

I've had a stint doing baggage, I know what is involved and it isn't as straightforward as some would suggest here. Man handling 100-150 bags weighing between 15kg - 22kg isn't a quick or easy task.

Sometimes delays happen due to things beyond the airlines control. An aircraft pulling onto stand requires ramp traffic to stop while aircraft are manoeuvring, the same with passengers crossing the airside road on foot. A hold door could be stuck and require an engineers attention.

The only time the airport is at fault is if the belt system isn't working.

But someone has to be sure the airports reputation doesnt suffer. It cant be seen as a worse experience than before the extension opened. If theres a good reason for a delay they will accept it, but otherwise they need to ensure it doesnt happen again. 40 minutes as a maximum may seem acceptable, but is 90? I think not, but if lessons are learned at least something positive comes out of it.

As for complaints about wait times I'm with White Heather on this. It's the airlines responsibility to return your baggage.

You should really expect to wait up to 40 minutes for your bags to be returned. If they arrive any earlier than that then consider yourself lucky.

I've had a stint doing baggage, I know what is involved and it isn't as straightforward as some would suggest here. Man handling 100-150 bags weighing between 15kg - 22kg isn't a quick or easy task.

Sometimes delays happen due to things beyond the airlines control. An aircraft pulling onto stand requires ramp traffic to stop while aircraft are manoeuvring, the same with passengers crossing the airside road on foot. A hold door could be stuck and require an engineers attention.

The only time the airport is at fault is if the belt system isn't working.

But someone has to be sure the airports reputation doesnt suffer. It cant be seen as a worse experience than before the extension opened. If theres a good reason for a delay they will accept it, but otherwise they need to ensure it doesnt happen again. 40 minutes as a maximum may seem acceptable, but is 90? I think not, but if lessons are learned at least something positive comes out of it.

 

[SierraHotel]

Totally agree, LBA Yorkie. Reputation can be quickly destroyed these days.

 

[Aviador]

I appreciate the point you're making @LBAYORKIE but without the details about this particular flight in question it's hard to make any judgement including the timescale which could be exaggerated by those involved.

I've still yet to use the airport and experience the new facilities for myself but my initial takeaway from what I've seen so far is it is vastly improved compared with the previous customer experience. We are still a long way off seeing the finished product. We still only have three of the five carousels available. Passengers are still using a temporary exit and there's nowhere for meeters and greeters.

 

[dmrodgers]

I appreciate the point you're making @LBAYORKIE but without the details about this particular flight in question it's hard to make any judgement including the timescale which could be exaggerated by those involved.

I've still yet to use the airport and experience the new facilities for myself but my initial takeaway from what I've seen so far is it is vastly improved compared with the previous customer experience. We are still a long way off seeing the finished product. We still only have three of the five carousels available. Passengers are still using a temporary exit and there's nowhere for meeters and greeters.

Flew back into LBA on Tuesday on LS212 from Jersey, 40 minutes from landing, picking up baggage from the baggage hall and into the car and on our way home. The baggage hall was a massive improvement on what we previously had, only three belts installed and working at present but the facility is 1000% percent better than the cramped facility we previously had. Light and airy and the full size belts make such a difference. Those people that moan want to fly into Man and then they would have a reason to complain, this is major improvement on the facilities at LBA.

 

[Seasider]

It is a trait of today's society that people expect to be able to pick up their baggage and go home. They don't care about how long the job takes all they are interested in is self, self, self.
Before anyone asks, I'm nearer 80 than 70, courtesy is rarely seen today.

 

[The Pole]

It is a trait of today's society that people expect to be able to pick up their baggage and go home. They don't care about how long the job takes all they are interested in is self, self, self.
Before anyone asks, I'm nearer 80 than 70, courtesy is rarely seen today.

My grandad would be turning in his grave how it is today.
If a WW3 happened i think people would appreciate life each other and get on. No everyman for himsel nowadays.
No one queues at bus stops just hang about and just push in. People can't drive. Don't get me wound up!

 

[Bob O'JOb]

Like the Daily Mail letters page.

 

[GDC1]

Landed back at LBA this evening at 7-05 from Arrecife parked at gate13 so only a short walk we were in the car by 7-50 cant fault the place

 

[Seasider]

Well, I had an enjoyable trip to WAW yesterday.

With the weather "as it was" when I arrived at LBA at 7am, I was hoping that the a/c would be able to land and I would not have had a wasted journey from the East Coast. It took me 30 mins to clear Security (longest in over 2 years) and I looked at the departure board to see that it was going from Gate 11. I have never flown from this gate before so it was interesting to see the facilities on the journey that people have commented on previously. I felt that the condition of "the walkway" was good, and you can see out to apron (couldn't see much because of the fog) which is better than most Airbridges.

The flight was delayed because the airport was in LVP and we must have pushed back early as it was over 5 minutes before we taxied to 32. We managed to land only 5 mins late, there wasn't much " take up" of the inflight service but the cabin crew appeared friendly, although the announcements were spoke too quickly, in English first before Polish.

I cleared Passport Control quickly and was on the observation Deck within 30 mins of landing. Now the Observation Deck is open from 06.00 to 22.00 hrs - and is free. It overlooks the apron and you could see all the movements in front of you. Now the bad points. It is fronted with angled glass and faces south into the sun, which was shining all day - so not very good for Photographs. There were plenty of movements - mainly LOT - but also Wizz Air, Enter Air and some you do not see here "Up North" eg Electra A/W; Sky Express; Air Arabia; SkyLine; Sky2 A/L.

Sunset was at 4pm, so I moved to the terminal just before 5pm to get something to eat and prepare for the flight home on Ryanair. We were bussed out to the aircraft early but then had to wait for some "strags", so we set off back on time and landed 15 mins early. Here again the cabin crew were OK but there was much "take up" of the service. On approach to LBA, we were asked to turn off all electronic equipment as the Captain was doing an automatic landing - I didn't see many turning their phones off. The approach over the City Centre was clear until we got to the Cookridge aerials, which had mist swirling round them. We landing with a "bang" followed by full brakes until we passed the entry to the apron, eased off and went round the loop.

I was in the middle of the aircraft so one of the last to get off and the walk to Border Control which took about 5 mins to clear.

I apologise if this has developed into a "trip report" but my experience of LBA was as good as it usually is. Next trip? I've not been to GVA for a few years .......

 

[White Heather]

Well, I had an enjoyable trip to WAW yesterday.

With the weather "as it was" when I arrived at LBA at 7am, I was hoping that the a/c would be able to land and I would not have had a wasted journey from the East Coast. It took me 30 mins to clear Security (longest in over 2 years) and I looked at the departure board to see that it was going from Gate 11. I have never flown from this gate before so it was interesting to see the facilities on the journey that people have commented on previously. I felt that the condition of "the walkway" was good, and you can see out to apron (couldn't see much because of the fog) which is better than most Airbridges.

The flight was delayed because the airport was in LVP and we must have pushed back early as it was over 5 minutes before we taxied to 32. We managed to land only 5 mins late, there wasn't much " take up" of the inflight service but the cabin crew appeared friendly, although the announcements were spoke too quickly, in English first before Polish.

I cleared Passport Control quickly and was on the observation Deck within 30 mins of landing. Now the Observation Deck is open from 06.00 to 22.00 hrs - and is free. It overlooks the apron and you could see all the movements in front of you. Now the bad points. It is fronted with angled glass and faces south into the sun, which was shining all day - so not very good for Photographs. There were plenty of movements - mainly LOT - but also Wizz Air, Enter Air and some you do not see here "Up North" eg Electra A/W; Sky Express; Air Arabia; SkyLine; Sky2 A/L.

Sunset was at 4pm, so I moved to the terminal just before 5pm to get something to eat and prepare for the flight home on Ryanair. We were bussed out to the aircraft early but then had to wait for some "strags", so we set off back on time and landed 15 mins early. Here again the cabin crew were OK but there was much "take up" of the service. On approach to LBA, we were asked to turn off all electronic equipment as the Captain was doing an automatic landing - I didn't see many turning their phones off. The approach over the City Centre was clear until we got to the Cookridge aerials, which had mist swirling round them. We landing with a "bang" followed by full brakes until we passed the entry to the apron, eased off and went round the loop.

I was in the middle of the aircraft so one of the last to get off and the walk to Border Control which took about 5 mins to clear.

I apologise if this has developed into a "trip report" but my experience of LBA was as good as it usually is. Next trip? I've not been to GVA for a few years .......

Did you fly out to Warsaw on Ryanair/Buzz or on Wizz?

 

[dmrodgers]

Did you fly out to Warsaw on Ryanair/Buzz or on Wizz?

I assume White Heather looking at flight radar for Thursday departures from LBA that Seasider was on the W61316 Wizzair flight operated by HA-LGM Airbus A321-271NX.

 

[Seasider]

Sorry, I didn't make it clear, @dmrodgers is correct. I flew out on Wizz and back on EI-EBX FR7665.

 

[BCFC]

Came back last night on FR2504…..landed on time, straight off (no waiting around for buses and only hand luggage) the airport was empty, straight through passport control, out of the short-stay car park and in Murgatroyd's 15 mins after landing. No complaints whatsoever.