“Don’t worry about it, it’s only water!”
In the early ’80s, while on shift with British Caledonian, I was asked to go to Nice to fix a private jet – a BAC1-11, operated by a Saudi Arabian owner. I and three others flew from Gatwick to Nice to investigate the defect. After arranging security clearance, we went to where the aircraft was parked. The defect stated that the number two generator was inoperable. As we had no spares, we swapped the number two with the number one to see if the defect was with the generator and not another component. The swap worked just fine so we knew we had to keep searching. Our next step was to swap the CSDS (constant speed drive & starter), which drives the generator. The CSDS weighs about 40 kilos, so it took all four of us to remove it and put it on the other engine. Normally we would have had a winch, cradle, and many tools at our disposal but in the middle of Nice Airport we had none of that, so we had to rely on ingenuity, elbow grease and most importantly – teamwork! This swap proved that the CSDS was the issue, and we needed a new one. We called HQ so they could arrange a replacement. It wouldn’t get to us till the following day, so we had to overnight in Nice. I can think of much worse places to be stranded!
The next day, the replacement unit arrived, and we installed it on the aircraft in the number two position, whilst the other CSDS was put back in the number 1 position. After starting both engines all systems were fully operational, and we could declare that the aircraft was ready to depart. We then spoke to HQ to organise a flight home for the team. This was booked for the following day which meant another overnight in Nice, what a shame!
On the day of our return flight, the plane home was not a BCAL but was operated by British Airways, this was my first ever flight with this new airline. At the time, British Airways had earned itself a bit of a bad reputation and a popular rumour was that the abbreviation of BA stood for ‘Bloody Awful’. After that hour and twenty-minute flight, I could certainly attest to that negativity as the service was abysmal.
During the descent into Heathrow, water started dripping from the ceiling above me and my colleague, and onto our shirts and trousers. I called the cabin attendant, who came over to me and I told her the problem, which was dripping onto us as we spoke.
She simply responded, ‘Don’t worry about it, it’s only water!’ Then turned her back and walked away.
As customer care goes, this experience was up there! But seeing as we were about to land, I didn’t bother calling her back. I vowed there and then that this was the first and only time I would use this airline. Little did I know I would soon be working for them!
British Airways was formed in 1974 with the merger of BEA (British European Airways) and BOAC (British Overseas Aircraft Corporation). It was not a marriage made in heaven as there were many conflicts between the two companies, and the people that suffered were the customers and staff. The management team of Lord King (Chairman of BEA) and Sir Colin Marshall (CEO of BOAC) realised they had a colossal problem to overcome. Staff numbers were in great decline since the merger and morale was even lower. So, they organised a series of training programmes for all staff called ‘Putting People First’. This was where a representative from each department would attend so that their experiences could be shared amongst the group and every department head would know more about their colleague’s role in the company. As a result, BA managed to shake off its ‘bloody awful’ reputation and began its journey to becoming a well-respected and customer-focused airline.
In 1988, B CAL was absorbed into the BA brand and that is when I became a member of British Airways. I had many job titles within the company over my 14-year service including, project manager, engineer, and marketing manager, before I left in 2005 to join Etihad Airways. I can personally attest to the levels of professionalism, dedication, and quality of work from everyone I worked with at British Airways.
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