BWIA - by John Cook

12 August 2005

Heathrow - Barbados return. Apart from the Barbados end where there was only ever 2 or 3 maximum staff to deal with the contents of their ex Air Canada airbus, and rude staff, the plane itself is falling to bits. On both outward journey and return the seats would not stay in the upright position slowly reclining to maximum. On both occasions on take off I go told off by the cabin crew for not having it upright and when complaining that it wouldn't stay up, I was told why didn't I report it before - I had only just boarded!! Subsequently as soon as airborne on the return flight and found the same problem, I asked to move seats, nothing happened, drinks were served and I reminded the cabin crew, nothing happened. Went and complained to be told that although there were some spare seats the passengers adjacent to those had now spread out over the two seats and it was too late to do anything!! On the outward flight to add insult the seat upholstery wasn't even fixed to the frame. As on a previous comment I noticed a complaint that the TV monitors were not working, that hadn't changed. Although most were on many were unviewable with distorted colours or blank areas. Two of the centre loos were blocked within 1/2 hour of take off. About the only nice thing for economy class was that the leg room was quite good. But then I don't fly that often and have suffered the virgin and orion cattle trucks in the past. To elaborate on check in at Barbados end, we arrived at 4.45 for an 8.00pm flight. We were about 20th in the queue. temp around 34 degrees. Only one check out open. By 5.45 only 7 of the 20 had gone through and the queue now went out into the road. Various reps from the holiday companies were berating the BWIA manager and eventually 4 check outs opened and the original closed. It was hopeless. On arrival there was only two immigration desks open and one of those was blocked by an unaccompanied minor with the wrong paperwork. After about half an hour two more were opened but it still took us over an hour to get through immigration and there were still about 50 people queing. ( at least being in part of the new terminal it was cooler ) Sorry but never again.

BWIA - by Phillip Cross

9 August 2005

Port of Spain to Barbados - First Class - August 5, 2005. All I can say, is that I am thankful to have choice - and in the future I will choose NOT to fly with BWIA again. On this short flight, the staff were beyond rude - not to me but to passengers who actually asked for something. I guess that is the secret with BWIA, don't ask for anything and they will not be rude to you - just ignore you. The flight was 3 hours late in departing with no reason given, even after boarding we stayed on the ground for over 45 minutes waiting to depart, but the flight attendant would not allow the passenger next to me to use her blanket - she was wearing shorts and was cold, but was told it was a security issue and how was she "Going to run for her life, with a blanket wrapped around her legs" . This was the most ridiculous comment I have heard a cabin crew say. The baby blue, almost leather seats with pen marks and gashes on them are embarrassing to be considered a First Class seat - upon arrival in Barbados, but before deplaning, the FA told us that we would have to obtain our Barbados immigration documents in the terminal as they did not have any on the plane. When we got into the immigration hall, the immigration officers told us that BWIA was supposed to give us the documents as the airline must pay for them from the Bajan government and passengers should not be allowed off of the aircraft without them, but BWIA does this all the time apparently. 1 Hour later after being paged 4 or more times, a lazy and uninterested BWIA ground crew shows up in the immigration hall and slowly hands out one document to each of the 12 inconvenienced passengers without as much as a word spoken. When I obtained my luggage and went to re-check in with Air Canada, I noticed that the BWIA counter was close by. When I asked to speak with the manager, he was astonishingly uninterested and could not have cared less about my story. BWIA in financial difficulty, I just cannot figure out why.

BWIA - by N Kennedy

28 July 2005

Never again! Flights were on time but the majority of the staff are rude (especially at the check in at Manchester & Barbados). The food outbound from Manchester to Barbados was terrible. On the return flight check in at Barbados took 2 hours due to a lack of staff and 4 flights all departing within a few hours of each other. The only time the captain spoke was to inform us we were nearly at our destination. On both flights the majority of TV screens were not working. Which is alarming when the faults have occured in previous messages. If you have not booked yet don't. An article in Barbados local press indicated that the airline is in serious financial trouble and the Trinidad & Tobago Government have stepped in with financial backing. Currently they are planning what to do next. The best thing for all concerned would be to liquidate the company and a reputable airline replace it.

BWIA - by David Lloyd-Davies

25 May 2005

Barbados to Kingston in BWIA's First Class. This is First Class in the North American sense, what would be called Business Class in most other parts of the world. I had to ask for an invite to the business class lounge, which was very cold and on the landside of immigration and security controls, so I had to leave plenty of time for these -a landside lounge would be much more useful. First Class passengers were called at the same time as Economy. Once on board, there was a reasonable amount of space for this 5-hour flight on a newish 737. Seats upholstered in vinyl, with lots of pen marks on the back of the seat in front -should be cleaned up. Printed menus were handed out, although one of the main course options had run out by the time the FA reached me in row 3. The salad starter was dull, but the chicken and okra main course quite pleasant, and accompanied by champagne throughout. I thought this was a reasonable short-haul flight, and slightly better than the return which I flew in Air Jamaica's First Class.

BWIA - by David Voas

18 May 2005

When we checked in for Barbados at Manchester Airport on the morning of Saturday 19 February we were not told that there was any problem with our return booking. It subsequently emerged that the return flight had by that point already been cancelled. On Friday 25 February we went to the airport in Barbados. We queued for an hour to check in; no sign was posted to inform passengers that the flight had been cancelled, nor were any announcements made, nor was there any effort to extract those in the queue going to Manchester. Not until we reached the desk were we told that the flight had been cancelled (a week earlier). To add insult to injury the local supervisor maintained that there was no point in providing any information to people queuing because the flight had been cancelled so many days earlier! By this time it was too late to be transferred to any other flight to the UK. The airline did, of course, send us to a hotel. This hotel (the ‘Grand Barbados’) is a shabby place on the edge of Bridgetown that seems to be used at the moment by no one except those involuntarily staying after a BWIA cancellation. The food allowance was insufficient to have a reasonable dinner; we were charged an additional $27 even though my partner had no main course and we both drank water! We arrived in Manchester one day and three hours later than scheduled, and then because it was Sunday needed an additional few hours to make it home on public transport. All in all a bad experience made a great deal worse by the failure of BWIA to let us know what had happened. Needless to say a detailed letter to customer services produced nothing meaningful in response.

BWIA - by Sarah Bernardes

21 April 2005

I took a return flight from London to Antigua. The outward journey was alright although I couldn't see any TV screen from my seat. The return journey turned into a nightmare when I was told that due to a computer error I could not be given a seat number- half an hour later they admitted that there was no such error - they had simply chosen to bump me off the flight because I was travelling alone. I missed important things I needed to do in London and spent 24 hours being very stressed with no certainty they would be able to get me on a flight the next day. I will never travel with them again.

BWIA - by Mike Smitheson

6 April 2005

MAN-POS-MAN Service air staff at MAN need to be a bit more polite, but I guess that is not the airlines fault. Outbound flight left and arrived on time. Was not looking forward to the extra stop in Prestwick. This addition is recent and adds two hours on to the flight. However it was not as bad as I anticipated as the turn around in Prestwick was very short. Inflight service was up to mark. Return flight was just as good. This time only one stop in B'dos. Ground crew at POS were good and there was no line. Arrived into MAN 50mins early. I had no wait in immigration and by the time I got down to baggage claim the bags had just started coming out.

BWIA - by P Sheppard

3 March 2005

I booked my New years Holiday and used miles to upgrade to First Class on the Port of Spain to Toronto Route. Northbound 26Dec and Southbound 6Jan. In each instance BWEE used the airbus widebody which is the reason I chose those dates. Northbound we were 9 hours delayed due the late arrival of the aircraft from another flight. We were not informed, I had to call to check if it was on time before leaving for the airport. Now departing at 1:15am we were seated in First Class and my TV screen did not work. I was able to change seats. Then we were handed menus and decided on Dinner at 230am - only to be told by FA's who displayed low morale, that the meals on the menu were not loaded and they had a special meal for us....more turkey. Once the meal was served, the cabin crew hybernated in the galley chit-chatting for the remainder of the 6 hour flight without concern for their First Class Passengers. To ask for Coffee or Water was like a huge inconvenience to them. On my Southbound trip, we never even got menus. We were already airborne over an hour before a drink was even offered in First Class. A bland breakfast was served by 11am which should have been a lunch service and they ran out of champagne before the flight even began. The reason given was 'they must have used it out on the London Flight - but we have wine or Passion Fruit. There was only one movie shown unlike the choice of several movies to choose from on the flight up. This aircraft with only a BWEE tail seemed to be a very old Virgin Plane with Red and Purple interior. No effort had been made to spruce up the cabin and it was certainly the worst First Class Experience I have even endured. I felt robbed of my miles for the pathetic level of service and no apologies. Nor has anyone responded to my letter to BWIA on the matter. I cannot imagine somebody paying for a full First Class ticket to be treated this badly. The gentleman seated next to me who did exactly that was really annoyed. BWEE's fleet needs a complete redo in keeping with today's aviations trends. This airline seems to be living in an era of about 20 years ago as far as inflight convenience go. Where is the pride BWEE once displayed. Sad to see her go this way. PS: I used this aircraft a few weeks later on another trip and was seated in 20A in Economy and again, a flashing tv screen, like a strobe light that was disturbing and did not work. The crew was unconcerned.

BWIA - by Ruth Bland

3 March 2005

Yet again another victim of BWIA. Having booked and planned a luxury break to St Lucia flying out on Sunday 27th Feb 05 from Heathrow for the hope of a stress free weeks holiday. We walked up to the desk to be told by a moody check in agent - "read this". We were given a highly used letter informing us of a 24 hour delay. After questioning about the flight for the following day - we were told there was no guarantee that we would indeed travel the next day ! There is no level of customer service with this airline and a real feeling that the passengers are an inconvenience rather than a reason for there existence. When my partner and I should be in St Lucia we are both still I this country with stress of an insurance claim, no holiday and a real feeling of huge disappointment. I would not recommend anyone to expect this level of treatment and to seek an alternative airline when going to the Caribbean.

BWIA - by Gregory Hoosein

2 March 2005

I recently travelled to Trinidad for the Carnival Celebrations with the BWIA. I am really disappointed that after all these years of service that this airline does even offer a complimentary drink to its passengers. I travelled from Beirut via Paris to Toronto (11 flying hours one way), the cost of this part of my ticket was around $830.00 USD return. The last leg of my travel from Toronto to POS return cost $780.00 USD(5 flying hours one way). It is really disgusting to know that you are charged $2.00 USD for a drink of rum punch which is synonomous with this country and the Caribbean as a whole. I, my spouse and a few colleagues all suffered some disgusting delays on our return flights and even though they requested contact numbers in case of these events they did not contact anyone. It appears that all the delays were planned and they simply did not have the courtesy to inform passengers. My flight was delayed from 14.00 to 17.00, my spouse from 17.00 to 20.00 and colleagues from 17.00 to 24.00. No explanations were offered by staff and no meals were provided.

BWIA - by Kellie Hudson

2 March 2005

Without doubt the worst airline I have ever travelled with. Outbound Manchester to Barbados on 12th February, 3 hour delay, Captain said due to essential maintenance works ! FA's were rude and surly when we said our TV's weren't working, we were told "tough". Food was dreadful. Return flight on 25th February was cancelled, but despite them having our contact details they did not inform us, it took them 2 hours to sort anything out and then we were put up in a dreadful hotel. We were never given a reason for the cancellation, the next day when we eventually got a flight, they had cancelled the Heathrow flight so the plane was to Manchester was packed with people going to London! Reading other peoples comments I think all this airline do is maintain their planes!

BWIA - by Sharon Mansfield

22 February 2005

BWIA to Tobago from LHR 21st Jan. Flight delayed outbound due to fuel truck breaking down at LHR. Staff were pleasant and food was ok. You do get a lot of legroom and the seats are quite comfy. Entertainment is very limited but I guess they are a cheap airline. 12 hour flight was good but very boring. Returned 28 Jan Tab -LHR, flights in Tobago on the Tobago Express are a complete joke from an organisation point of view, Each flight is allocated a number but that does not seem to matter, they are called out of sequence and then staff had a massive panic as there were still people in the tiny departure lounge that needed to get across to Trinidad to get the flight to LHR. Do not know why they panicked as the plane was delayed an hour with technical problems in Trinidad. When we boarded the plane and it headed towards the runway it was making a very strange noise from the wheels. No one seemed to be bothered. The toilets are a bit of a mess too. Taps do not work and they smell awful. No hand towels either. The doors are taped up. I am concerned about this airline from a safety point of view and it is purely on this matter that I would not fly with them again. If they cannot fix taps and sound systems what does it say for the rest of the plane.

BWIA - by Alan Whitmill

15 February 2005

We were booked on flight BW900 London Heathrow to Barbados on 20th January 2005 with a return date of 3rd February. We had pre-booked our seats and allocated row 46 A/C. The in flight entertainment was very limited and on the outward flight the sound failed to work. I advised the flight attendant and the attitude was indifferent to say the lest. On our return flight we had the same aircraft and the same allocated seats and once again no sound was available. As the fault had been reported on the outward flight I assumed that some remedial action would have been taken "how naive can one be". The in flight entertainment was very limited consisting of a choice of two films on the outward journey and one film on the return trip neither of which were recent films. After reading the comments of other passengers on this web site we feel lucky that we only had one hour delay at London. We have travelled with many carriers in the past and BWIA was by far the worst. We will not be using this airline again. I was going to write a letter to the customers services department but this would be a waste of time if the others complainants are to be believed.

BWIA - by Richard Forth

30 January 2005

Booked to go to Barbados from Miami. The flight was cancelled 1.5 hrs after departure time after they had spent the previous 3 hours telling us the plane needed a small repair. In the end they told us that the plane had been flown in from Barbados with wing parts missing but they considered the missing parts not to be important! The FAA in MIA disagreed with them and grounded the plane. I refused to travel and have waited more than 2 months for my refund. The organisation after the cancelling was a farce. I was near the front of the queue and it still took an hour to get information. People at the back probably waited until the next day.

BWIA - by Sylvana Saunders

11 January 2005

We arrived on Dec 24 2004 at Dulles airport at 10.30 am for a 1.50 flight. The rude women at the counter didn't say anything, we found out on our boarding pass that the flight was delayed till 6 pm. Well, we left at 8 pm. Nobody at the counter could give us any info re our connecting flight to Suriname. We only got a $7.00 lunch voucher. When we finally got to Trinidad, we were handled like animals by the Transit personnel, had to wait forever for a code to get an elevator to go upstairs to the gate, which had no departure info. From the people in line, we found out that the plane was going to Guyana and Suriname. When we finally arrived in Suriname, only 10 pieces of luggage rolled out and we were told that this was all the luggage that had arrived. None of our luggage was there. Since it was Christmas, everything was closed and we had to borrow clean clothes! On december 27, 2004 at 9 am, we went to the BWIA representative office, to encounter a disorganized mess nobody who knew anything or could give any info re the luggage. December 28, 2004, we received a phone call that the luggage had arrived and we could pick it up at Zanderij airport, 60 miles out of town. During this whole ordeal, no explanations were given to us and the only person who apologized was the pilot out of Dulles .On the return trip, the flight from Trinidad to Dulles was delayed from 9.20 am to 2 pm without any explanation or apology. What way is this to run a business? The staff we encountered throughout had a nasty attitude and customer service is something not in their vocabulary.

BWIA - by Richard Gaston

10 January 2005

MAN-POS-MAN with one stop in Barbados either way. Had a significant deylay out of MAN but I had ensured they had my telephone number to inform me of the delay.The flight was quite good. Comfortable and clean cabin on the A340, flight attendants and inflight service were on par with other carriers. The return left POS 30 mins late and B'dos 50mins late due to terrible weather. Again a very comfortable and clean cabin on the A340 and cabin crew good.

BWIA - by Melanie Herzfeld

6 January 2005

We will never book on BWIA again. We booked in February 2004 for a flight in Dec which meant that BWIA had our money for a long period of time. The night before the flight, BWIA called to tell us the flight would be delayed by five hours and that we should arrive three hours before the new flight time. We arrived five hours in advance and yet we were told that they gave away our tickets to other passengers because of overbooking. So they had our money for all that time, yet we were not guaranteed the very seats we paid for. We wound up losing two days at the front of our limited vacation, while we stayed at the airport waiting for a flight...which finally left 35 hours after our originally scheduled flight; needless to say we also missed our connecting flight. If that wasn't bad enough, on the return leg, they called our hotel to say that our first leg which was scheduled for 2 PM was cancelled so we had to take a 9 AM flight. There were alternative flights during that morning and afternoon, but they insisted we take the 9, which meant we then had to spend a full day at the Piarco airport waiting for our final flight which departed at 6:30 PM. Three vacation days lost, at our expense.

BWIA - by Andrew Symmons

18 November 2004

We used BWIA in Nov 2003 to fly LHR to Barbados. Whilst waiting to check in at LHR we were handed a piece of paper saying that the aircraft we were due to fly on had been "unexpectedly been called in for servicing" ("unexpectedly" - excuse me!) and we would be flying on an Air Canada aircraft operated by BWIA, and it would be about an hour late. Annoying, but we could live with that. About 10 mins later we had another missive telling us that we would now be flying on a LOT aircraft, that it would now depart 5 hours late, and Oh by the way we would now be flying via Port of Spain. In Port of Spain we learned that Business Class was full of passengers going back to LHR, so we spent that leg in row 38! The return journey 2 weeks later was in the same LOT aircraft and again went via Port of Spain. How long does it take to service an Airbus? Throughout the experience BWIA management was distinctly unhelpful and unapologetic.

BWIA - by Christine Thorne

2 November 2004

Like others before - I read the comments before flying with BWIA to St Lucia - thought the journeys would be horrific. I would like to report that check in was quick and easy, staff on the planes helpful and efficient. My only criticism would be lack of blankets and yes it was cold on the return journey. Overall the service was comparable to all other major airlines.

BWIA - by Allan Darwent

20 October 2004

Flew from LHR to POS in June POS to MAN in September. Check in LHR was smooth. We took off only 10minutes late due to typical traffic delays at LHR. The flight was fantastic. Friendly flight attendants, comfortable cabin, good food (as far as airline food goes), informative captain. Stopped in Barbados and that was on time and smoothly done, finally arriving in POS dead on time. The return was just as good. Left POS 30mins late but arrived in MAN spot on time. quite a few of the screens were not working but the cabin crew were helpful in finding me a seat that had a working screen. No complaints with BWIA and look forward to my next flight.

BWIA - by John Bell

17 September 2004

I recently travelled BWIA London Antigua. The outbound aircraft was 25 hours late and business class check-in took 3 hours. Return flight we were airborne for over an hour before I was offered a drink - Business Class! Will never use them again.

BWIA - by Neil Rothwell

14 September 2004

We will not be using BWIA again following a recent return trip from Manchester to St Lucia via Barbados. The outward flight was delayed (no fault of BWIA) which led to us missing our planned connection. One would have thought they could have easily radioed ahead to try to make arrangements to get us on a later flight - but no - and indeed no help was given by BWIA staff as we tried to find our luggage (which had been booked straight through,) find the link airline and just get on the last flight of the night via standby having almost run round to ensure we would be at the front of the queue. Others were not so lucky. We lost one piece of luggage in the process which stayed on the original flight and went to Trinidad and halfway (or more) round the world till we got it 3-4 days late. I have never been on aeroplanes with so many toilets, seat back TVs and the sound for the TV's out of order or missing. It is to be hoped mechanical maintenance is rather better!! St Lucia was wonderful but as we arrived 5.5 hours late after shed loads of hassle and a 22 hour journey from home we all felt inclined to holiday in the UK in future - then perhaps not. I would certainly suggest anyone avoid BWIA as the experience may well take the gloss off a wonderful trip!

BWIA - by Sharon Buckerfield

27 July 2004

Myself, husband and two young children arrived on 11th July at Manchester airport for our dream holiday to Barbados. We were asked to check in downstairs, which seemed unusual. After joining a long queue of people that included passengers that should have flown two days earlier but had had a flight cancelled. We waited for about an hour with lots of confusion, no help at all from the BWIA rep, to find out that the flight would carry only the passengers from the cancelled flight. We had to leave the airport and find our own accommodation, as we had travelled from London. We left our mobile no and was promised a call that evening regarding out travel plans the next day. No call! After telephoning Manchester airport the next morning and finding flight details we eventually departed at midday on a Belgium charter plane. Our return journey 10 days later was not much better, a six hour delay and another charter flight to carry two plane loads of people to Manchester, half of who should have been flying to London. Never again will I fly or recommend BWIA. Customer service was dreadful.

BWIA - by Kelly Walkes

15 June 2004

I am a frequent traveler and very often used BWIA with no complaints about the quality of service received, however, the last few times I have been making reservations, I have been experiencing some difficulties. I called BWIA this morning to inquire about my travel dates as I forgot to write them down last week when I made the reservation. May I add that I also needed to get this information to advise my counterparty overseas in an effort to arrange for their return from Washington with myself. I was met by a lady who, when I asked if I could just receive confirmation on my travel dates abruptly advised me that she was in the middle of printing a group tour and could not assist. What irritated me however, is when I asked if anyone else could she assist she was quick to say “NO” and advised of a 1-800 number I should call. I then told her that I was at work and could not dial that number from my office to which she then advised that I call back later. By this time now I am totally irritated and thinking “if the request cannot be accommodated now, why must I call back later to have someone give me the same brush off”. This is the third and might I add final time that I will allow the staff of BWIA to treat me in this manner. I have been traveling for many years and quite often will book travel arrangements for my entire family and friends. I even insisted last year that my organization use your carrier when we were taking a group on an Easter Tour. I am disappointed that I have always insisted that we use BWIA as it is or was, in my opinion, the "International Carrier of the Caribbean". I have to say that this treatment has now turned my mind completely from BWIA and I will now have to seek out another carrier for my travel to Washington in about 12 days, which means I will now have to run around and stress myself out in an effort to have myself organized by today.

BWIA - by Rosie Durham

15 June 2004

I recently flew LHR-Antigua-LHR with BWIA in economy and had a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Check-in at either end was very smooth, especially Heathrow, the cabin crew couldn't have been more friendly and personable and the food was delicious. Legroom was great and a nice quiet cabin. My outbound flight arrived ahead of schedule and the return was on-time. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending BWIA.

BWIA - by Neil Henderson

11 June 2004

When checking in at Terminal three at Heathrow my heart sank. In the queue they were handing out leaflets asking for people to move their flight to the following day due to overbooking and they'd be paid 200 US dollars. We didn't go for that option thank goodness. The check in staff were surly and when we boarded the flight the on board cabin staff were less than helpful. We were seated in a row of four and although the seat pitch was good... the screens for the in- flight movies were tiny and there was no sound for the entire flight. I complained to the stewardess and she said what do you want me to do about it. On Singapore airlines recently this happened and I was given £140 in compensation. Then the drinks trolley came around and I asked for a beer - surprise surprise it cost me £1.50. The food was surprisingly good for BWIA but the cabin air conditioning was on low and I had to ask them to turn it up as it was boiling hot. On the way back from Barbados airport which was like a bomb site we were asked to check in three hours before to an airport with only three shops where a newspaper like the Times or the Daily Mail cost £10. On boarding the plane we were seated next to the toilets despite asking when we pre-booked to be well away from them. We asked for blankets as it was a night flight and they'd run out. On this plane there were no screens in the seat backs and our nearest screen was in the middle of the row of four seats about 40ft away. For breakfast they almost ran out of food and the attitude of the staff was appalling. I will not travel with BWIA ever again they are truly appalling and should be a 2 Star airline

BWIA - by Mike Smithson

7 June 2004

I fly BWIA frequently between LHR, Barbados & POS. I am happy with their service and will continue to fly with them. Yes I have had problems at times, but I have had the same problems with many other major carriers. BWIA is above the rest with their inflight crew who are, most of the time, pleasant, well presented and willing. I would recommend BWIA, and please, let's not down an airline because of one or maybe even two bad experiences.