Would you risk it?

[English Muffin 59]

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

[Rubycon 0]

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.

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 name 1]

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

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.

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

[britty 1]

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?

[JenT 0]

Short term loss, long term gain.

[kins 0]

Depends on the airline -- some are very reliable.

Which one's that then?

[Boiler 43,588]

Depends on the airline -- some are very reliable.

Which one's that then?

United, never had a problem.

Ditto BA.

[RosemarieL 0]

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.

[essjay 0]

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

Am I paranoid or what?!?

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

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!

[essjay 0]

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????

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

United, never had a problem.

Ditto BA.

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.

Edited August 3, 2007 by elmcitymaven

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

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????

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.

[C and J 1]

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.

[Converse34 1]

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.â€

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.â€

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.â€

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

Edited August 3, 2007 by Converse34