So Conrad is visiting me in Chicago this week. His interview is on London on Wed 8.8. We had planned this trip before we got our interview date and I have him returning on Aug 7th which lands the morning of 8.8. His flight gets in at 6am and our appointment is 10:30. Should I have him go back a day earlier and spend a night in a hotel or should I risk it and go as scheduled? What would you all do?

I should also mention we are in no real rush to travel. Planning a late Oct early Nov wedding so he just need to be here in Oct.

Personally I would have to go home the day before no way I could risk it. If the flight got delayed or worse canceled you can still do something about it. I would just be a quivering wreck especially given all the grief to get to this point and then find you missed your appointment, the embassy are pissed that you didn't show so throw in a ridiculous date for rescheduling.

However after saying all that it's easy for me to say with a clear head. If it were me with my clouded loved up judgment I would risk it for just that one more day with my honey.

So all in all a really unhelpful post that I thought to share with you.

Hmm.. its possible if ALL modes of transport run to timetable! I assume he's getting into Heathrow? Remember that if the plane lands at 6am you should give yourself anything up to an hour to get through immigration and collect baggage. Add about an hour to get into central London (possibly longer as it will be a weekday rush). So - with a bit of luck - he could be where he needs to be by about 8-8:30am.

Because getting there is out of my control I wouldn't risk it. Of course I am one of those 'be early' people so it would be driving me nuts worrying if the airline schedule was on-time or not

I would go back a day early for piece of mind - who knows what could happen? Strikes, terror alerts, bad weather, etc.

I agree with everyone who suggested an earlier arrival. There are to many variables out of your control with respect to air travel these days... is it worth the risk and hassle to you if he misses the appointment?

Jen

Definately would not risk it. Would return a day early (at least). Good luck.

I would go back a day earlier if possible. You want your fiance to be in a good mental/physical state when they arrive to their interview. For most of us, even if the interview turns out to be a non-stressful event, the time immediately leading up to it is quite stressful. I would imagine that your fiance's nerves might be somewhat on-edge if they're worried about being late to the interview. And, I imagine that anticipation of the interview itself will also have your fiance nervous. If they go back a day early, then they are relieved from worrying about possible flight delays etc. And, they can get a good night of rest before they go in for this important inteview.

Peace to all,

Mark-N-AAm

O'hare is nototious for delayed flights, I'd go back early!

Whats one of them then?

I had a total of 1.5 hours sleep the night before my interview, does anyone sleep well the day before with all the what ifs firmly embedded in your brain?

Depends on the airline -- some are very reliable.

So there are flights to LHR at 4pm, 6pm and 9pm. I have him on the 4pm - and although there are often delays at ORD, longhaul flights are usually given priority. Hmmm. I am still undecided. I will think about it over the weekend.

What is the worst that happends - we miss the interview and have to reschedule. Hmmm.

Yeah....well even with his loved up clouded judgement, I'd send his cute little butt back a day early becuase I am a worrier. We've had WAY too many delayed/cancelled flights between the 2 of us these past couple of years.

i would definitely leave a day or 2 earlier. peace of mind is a great thing and i know if i arrived in london at 6am from a trans-atlantic flight i would be in no fit shape to be fully alert for an interview that very morning!
Good luck though!

Sounds like he is flying United.

I have only ever arived early, I sued to go straight to the City and be there by 9.30.

So should not be a problem, and you have two later flights if there is.

Obviously nothing is guaranteed, but what is?

And not as if you have to be at your best for the limited interview.

I'd also send him back a day earlier, but I'm an anally-retentive control freak!

You don't want to miss the interview without informing the consulate - I'm sure they won't take kindly to it! No, really, missing your interview leaves you entirely in their hands as to if - and when - they would re-schedule your interview. I can imagine them claiming some kind of abandonment of the case if you missed the interview (I do not know this for sure - but it doesn't sound outside the realms of visa possibility).

...I can imagine that he doesn't want to leave Arlington Heights in a hurry though!

By the way in my experience any delays on the return leg are not usually at O'Hare, they're coming back into Heathrow - and I've flown BA, AA and United.

No kidding! This is about your future, I wouldn't be quite so nonchalant about it.

what difference does it make to send him back a day early? I think you would be crazy to even consider sending him back the day before. Its so important so why take such a risk when the alternative is so much better?

Short term loss, long term gain.

Which one's that then?

United, never had a problem.

Ditto BA.

I would go back early too. I would be worrying about delayed flights, bad roads and rail problems. I like to have a lot of contingency for important appointments like that.

I'm worried about getting there on time and I live SIX whole miles away......

Am I paranoid or what?!?

Nope -- we're less than five miles away and we were on our way to the Embassy 2 hours before the interview. It must have been the fastest Archway-Selfridges bus journey I had ever taken -- 40 minutes at 6.30am. Never seen Oxford Street that empty!

So you didn't take a tent and camp out in Grosvenor Square the night before????

Okay, I used to be a big fan of BA (got the air miles to prove it) but punctuality has tailed off dramatically, in my opinion. This is not just the transatlantic routes, but also the shorter-haul destinations. I flew BA last week JFK-Heathrow and we were delayed by 40 minutes before we even got on the plane, then spent another 40 minutes on the ground.

Heathrow was its usual misery on the other end -- I'm grateful I only had a carry-on bag. I was going straight to work off the flight and I ended up walking in to the office at 10.30 instead of 9am. Heathrow is a major part of the BA problem and I avoid it like the plague if at all possible. That's why when we emigrate in a couple of weeks we're flying out of Luton!

I can't fault the BA check-in staff or flight attendants -- as always, they're fantastically friendly and helpful. But I have just about given up on BA as a carrier unless I'm not in a hurry. See also this report, released today:

BA named 'worst performing' airline

Press Association
Thursday August 2, 2007 6:38 AM

There was more bad news for British Airways as it was named the worst performing of all Europe's major airlines.

A report compiled by the Association of European Airlines (AEA) showed that BA passengers were more likely to encounter delays than people travelling on any other airline.

Between April and June, 35.7% of short or medium haul flights did not arrive on time and 32.7% were delayed on departure.

The airline's performance on long haul flights was even worse with 44% of these arriving late and 36.6% departing later than scheduled.

The figures come after BA was fined almost £270 million for price fixing after colluding over fuel surcharges with Virgin Atlantic.

For every 1000 passengers travelling in the three months between April and June, AEA found that an average of 28 bags were delayed on BA flights compared with around three bags for every 1000 Air Malta travellers.

Air France and Lufthansa also performed significantly better than BA in this category.

A continued baggage crisis at Heathrow is expected to exacerbate the problem further during the summer holiday period and travellers were advised not to check in their bags and to carry them as hand-luggage instead.

Simon Evans, the chairman of the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) told the Telegraph that the situation was unlikely to improve before Terminal 5 opens next March and admitted that British Airways was in "a bit of a mess at the moment".

He said: "There is no doubt that Heathrow is a big part of the problem. Questions have to be asked of BA's management which is squeezing too much out of the airport and those crowded terminals."

Copyright © Press Association Ltd. 2007, All Rights Reserved.

If the boy had had his way, we would have definitely had a kip there the night before! At one point, he actually wanted to head out at 5.30am for an 8.30am interview. Unbelievable.

I wouldn't chance it... it'd be just bad luck, the one time you need everything to be on time, to get a delay somewhere along the line. You would also want to be refreshed before such an important interview, not worn out from a long plane journey and stressed out through immigration etc.

I am generally very conservative with getting to places ontime, etc. Often too much - where I have hours of waiting around as I have built in so much delay. He is indeed flying United, and most likely in business class - so he should be able to sleep if he wanted to.

Anyways, I will probably suck it up and just send him back the day earlier. Interestingly, BA is in serious Hot Water - they need to stop thinking they are above the law!


British Airways fined over price fixing
U.S., U.K. regulators impose nearly $550 million in penalties for collusion

Updated: 1:39 p.m. CT Aug 1, 2007

LONDON - British Airways was fined almost $550 million on Wednesday by U.S. and British regulators after the airline acknowledged colluding with rival Virgin Atlantic over fuel surcharges.

The carrier was fined 121.5 million pounds ($246 million) by Britain’s Office of Fair Trading and $300 million by the U.S. Department of Justice after parallel trans-Atlantic investigations.

In May, British Airways PLC set aside 350 million pounds ($710 million) in preparation for such penalties from regulators.
In a statement, the airline said that between August 2004 and January 2006 it colluded with Virgin Atlantic over the surcharges added to fares in response to rising oil prices. Under the Office of Fair Trading’s leniency policy, Virgin Atlantic is not expected to face a fine because it reported the alleged misconduct to authorities.

British Airways Chief Executive Willie Walsh said passengers had not been overcharged. He said a “limited number of individuals� in the company had broken competition rules.

“Anticompetitive behavior is entirely unacceptable and we condemn it unreservedly,� he said.

Authorities in Britain and the United States have been investigating allegations of price-fixing on fuel surcharges since June 2006. A criminal investigation is ongoing.

During the period under investigation, fuel surcharges rose from about 5 pounds ($10) to about 60 pounds ($120) per ticket for a round-trip long-haul flight on British Airways and Virgin.

Two British Airways executives — commercial director Martin George and head of communications Iain Burns — went on leave after the inquiry began, and later resigned.

OFT Chairman Philip Collins said the fine — the largest ever imposed by Britain’s competition watchdog — “will send an important message to corporate boards and business leaders about our intention to enforce the law, and serves to remind companies of the substantial risks involved if they are found to engage in such behavior.�

The office found that British Airways and Virgin discussed fuel surcharges on at least six occasions over the year and a half to January 2006. Soon after that, Virgin went to the authorities.

In a statement, Virgin said it had informed regulators “as soon as our legal team was made aware of the nature of contacts that had occurred between some individuals at British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.�

Deborah Jones, deputy director of cartel investigation at the Office of Fair Trading, said it was just to treat Virgin differently because it had come forward first. She said that did not mean Virgin would not be penalized.

“Virgin are still facing the censure, the publicity that they have engaged in this behavior,� she said. “They are not immune from customers who may seek some form of compensation.�

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20065386/

Virgin grassed BA

Converse...add me to the 'send him back early' vote....and CONGRATS on the upcoming interview!

Haha, I was the same - I lived all of three miles away, and was panicking because I'd only allowed myself an hour to get there - and even that wasn't remotely necessary at 7am, but never mind. The bus journey took 10 minutes - I think that was the first (and last) time a bus journey from home to Marble Arch ever took me less than an hour!

(edited)

Oh yeah, sorry... forgot to answer the question. Duh.

SEND HIM HOME A DAY EARLY!! Definitely... even if all went according to the plan with the flight the day before, there's no way the poor boy would be in any fit state for endless hanging around outside and inside the embassy. He'd be a gibbering wreck by the time the CO was ready for him!

Most people find the interview to be a non event.

I have had delays with United, but not on Internatonal flights.

Ditto BA.

Probably because the planes are not on such a short turnaround.

I agree with the others, have him go home a day early.

Yeah...see we've had awful luck with BA on international flights, and they're always non-stop so can't use the short-turnaround excuse. It's very rare that they are on time, and Dan actually had one flight canceled due to weather, but luckily AA took on as many of the BA passengers as they could accommodate as they were still operating their Gatwick - DFW route. Once I had them charge my credit card double the fare...they did back it out about 3 days after the fact, but thank God it wasn't my debit card. I don't generally keep that sort of spare change in that account! The service seems to be pretty good - friendly and all. They just give the impression of being severely disorganized from our experiences.

Has anyone else tryed this on a Mac in Safari. I place the pin, click it to add my name, click the blue x box. Then I hit save. Nothing. Sorry too fustrating

sorry wrong thread going back and forth between two windows. Can a mod save confusion and delete my post from here.

Last time I flew Manchester to New York on BA they didn't load enough fuel to get us there so we had to stop and refuel in Connecticut. Made us two hours late which meant we missed our connecting flight.

On our flight home we had to take a BA shuttle from Heathrow to Manchester. Should've been a 35 minute flight... it arrived three hours late because of a malfunctioning warning light, followed by a passenger collapsing due to the air conditioning not working.

Never flown United but I'd be deeply impressed if they've never had a plane arrive late somewhere?

I wish this were true, but sadly not.

OK. So I gave in to peer pressure and sent him back yesterday. I have confirmed Conrad is in London and managed to find the hotel I booked. Interview tomorrow!!