Good morning,
I'm writing on behalf of my mother, Gan Chooi Lian, who flew to New York recently via a booking I had made for her. As my mother had undergone surgery to her spine as well as her ankle (she has titanium rods and screws embedded in her body), I had a 'wheelchair' request for her when I made the booking. She is 73, weighs around 105 pounds and unable to walk long distances due to this condition.
She started her trip on July 2, taking flight MH 2 from Kuala Lumpur to London. For the entire Malaysian sector, her trip was uneventful; our wheelchair request was seen to.
Her nightmare began when she arrived at Heathrow. She informed the ground staff that her daughter had requested a wheelchair for her and she told me, they just brushed her off. Obviously, a frail old lady from Malaysia was not worth bothering with. My mother trekked all over the airport trying to get to her departure gate; asking for directions all the way - getting right and wrong ones; hence the trekking. It took her close to the entire duration of her transit (close to 3 hours) to finally reach her departure gate.
When she arrived at New York, there was a wheelchair waiting for her but then another problem - British Airways had lost one piece of her luggage. It was later located and sent to us the following evening.
This was the last straw for her. My mother was bent over and limping when she arrived, and started to cry when she saw me. She had gone through a terrible time. I had begged her to visit me and after much persuasion, she had agreed. I regret it with all my heart; thinking of what she had gone through. She flew Cathay Pacific when she visited me last year and had no problems whatsoever. This time around, she developed a fever which lasted for 3 days after she arrived, due to the overwhelming stress to her body.
I am beyond appalled at this treatment of a human being and a senior at that. When I paid for her ticket, I made a specific request for a wheelchair. If a wheelchair was not available, they should have informed me at the time of purchase, or that it was subject to availability, although I know this to be false. Wheelchairs are ALWAYS available for the infirmed or elderly. In all the airports we've travelled to, they are all over. It has never been an issue, which is why this is even more appalling that it happened, and in an airport like Heathrow.
My mother will be traveling home in September and I dread, as does she, what will happen to her in London Heathrow. I had written to complain about what had transpired but till today British Airways has not bothered with a response. I had been told by friends, relatives and have also read blogs and discussion sites, that British Airways has a terrible reputation, with absolutely no customer service. They don't bother because they thing they are too good. They are the oppposite.
All I want is to ensure that my mother has wheelchair assistance for her entire journey home in September. Needless to say, no one in our family will ever fly BA again. I have also taken the opportunity to share my mother's experience with all our relatives, friends and acquaintances, social media etc to ensure everyone knows how BA treats seniors and how they respond to complaints.
I wanted to log my complaint down anywhere I can in the hopes that something will be done and other passengers will not have to suffer the way my mother did.
Sincerely,
Ambika Muscarello
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