Coming and Going

Heathrow Update

FIASCOES

Heathrow Update

Some of the kinks apparently are being straightened out at London Heathrow's spiffy but now- infamous Terminal 5 : An on-the-ground spot check Wednesday revealed that British Airways was operating full service. However, the airline acknowledged that it is still "bedding in" the new baggage system, which was at the center of the chaos that enveloped T5 after its March 27 opening.

Potential good news: Although transcontinental flights from New York, Washington and Baltimore airports were slated to be moved from Terminal 4 to the troubled T5 by the end of April, that plan is being revisited . An announcement is expected soon about whether the move will be postponed.

Despite the canceled flights and baggage losses at T5, operations were proceeding normally at T4 last week. That's not to say things were perfect; in fact, bad weather disrupted operations. But none of BA's 14 daily flights from T4 was canceled because of the shambles in T5.

Oh, and one more glitch : The Heathrow Express train from London's Paddington Station now goes directly to Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 5, skipping Terminal 4. Two options: Ride the slower Heathrow Connect train, which takes 25 minutes from Paddington, or choose the more convoluted option of catching the Heathrow Express, which takes about 15 minutes, then waiting for another train between terminals.

MORE FIASCOES

Stranded. Now What?

Last week's stranding of thousands of American Airlines passengers raised anew a critical question: Since the problem was caused by the airline as it scrambled to make sure its planes met FAA standards for airworthiness, what are passengers owed ?

Not much. FAA rules state that passengers are entitled to refunds if flight schedules change "substantially," but that doesn't get you where you want to go.

Other than that, an airline owes you only what it promises in its contract of carriage . American's contract states: "American will endeavor to carry you and your baggage with reasonable dispatch, but times shown in timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed. . . . American is not responsible for or liable for failure to make connections, or to operate any flight according to schedule, or for a change to the schedule of any flight . Under no circumstances shall American be liable for any special, incidental or consequential damages arising from the foregoing."

On its Web site last week, American said it was "actively working to re-accommodate our affected passengers," adding that customers stuck overnight"may email American Airlines customer relations to request information about compensation."

UPRIGHT AND LOCKED

Maybe Worse Isn't So Bad

Airline service has been on the decline for years, so it's no surprise that statistics show it was worse in 2007 than in 2006 . But does that justify all the hand-wringing by the media last week at the release of the 2008 Airline Quality Rating? Here are three ways of looking at it:

1. Complaints to the Department of Transportation increased by about 60 percent.

2. The rate of complaints increased from 0.88 per 100,000 passengers to 1.42 per 100,000 passengers.

3. Using average daily passenger numbers, that means a passenger at Washington Dulles was angry enough to complain to the DOT about once every day and a half .