Cayman travellers call for nonstop flight to UK amid British Airways woes

Passengers fed up with frequent delays on the Cayman to London flight are calling for a nonstop route from the islands to the UK.

Late departures and unscheduled overnight stops in the Bahamas are not the only complaints about British Airways’ ‘direct’ route to the UK, which includes a stopover in Nassau.

Travellers have critiqued everything from the quality of the food and the attitude of the staff to the age of the planes and the slow handling of compensation claims.

They are now pressing government to investigate alternative options to link Cayman to the UK and Europe. British Airways has defended its performance and says its direct service has an almost 90% on-time record.

A group of around 300 people – largely made up of parents of university students and younger schoolchildren who travel frequently to the UK, and business travellers – want government to push for a nonstop route. They cite concerns ranging from child welfare to the competitiveness of Cayman as a place to do business.

Possibilities include diplomacy with British Airways to improve service or introduce a direct route, negotiating with other airlines to bring in direct service or establishing code-share agreements through the US with Cayman Airways that can offer same-day travel.

There are various challenges with a nonstop route, however. Travel industry insiders point to the five-times-a-week service as a relatively robust airlift for the size of the Cayman market and question if it is commercially viable, given the amount of tourists that exit the plane in Bahamas. There are also concerns over the length of the runway in Cayman and its capacity to support larger, long-haul aircraft.

And it is questionable that a nonstop service would run with the same frequency as the current route, something that could impact connectivity to the wider world via London.

Compass analysis of publicly available flight data suggests the amount of delays are in line with other routes, though the British Airways flight is impacted by occasionally far lengthier overnight delays, with an added layer of inconvenience because of the lack of available hotels and ground transportation in Nassau.

Frustration mounting

Nonetheless, frustration is mounting with what passengers perceive as increasingly frequent mechanical issues with an older plane contributing to delays on an already long journey.

The British Airways flight was delayed overnight in the Bahamas twice this month. 

Some of the main headaches highlighted by writers to the Compass include:

• Frequent delays, including significant inconvenience when overnight stays in Bahamas are needed.
• Perceptions of poor quality of customer service and communication around delays.
• Low quality of accommodation and transport options in the Bahamas, which exacerbates the impact of delays.
• Quality and age of the plane (perceptions that an older plane is used on the Cayman route).
• Quality of business class section and service.
• Quality of the food and lack of consideration for allergies.
• Challenges getting compensation for expenses accrued when planes are late.

In response to these complaints, British Airways issued a statement through its press office.

“We’re committed to providing a great service for our customers and the investment we’ve made as part of our business £7bn transformation is delivering positive results. Our latest figures show that 89 per cent of our flights operating this route were on-time and the number of cancellations has significantly reduced,” the statement said.

“On the rare occasions issues do occur, we work hard to support our customers and limit any impact on their travel plans.”

Passengers cite bad British Airways experiences

By far the biggest complaints cited were around delays in the Bahamas. 

Michelle Lewis said she and her family had given up using the BA service and now travel through the US after a nightmare journey back from Scotland. The plane made an unscheduled and chaotic overnight stop in the Bahamas.

“You would think after this happening over and over again, there would be a process. However, there is not,” she said.

It took more than two hours to summon taxis and buses to transfer the passengers and all their baggage to a hotel.

“We stayed at Breezes Super Club, which saw its heyday in the ’90s,” she added.

Several other passengers cited the quality of the Breezes hotel and the timing of transfers as a challenge.

Ally Artuch had to wait in line with 150 others to check in at the resort, which she described as “mouldy and unclean” when her trip to Rome from Cayman on the British Airways London service was delayed overnight in the Bahamas.

On that occasion, the plane lost power and the air conditioning was turned off. Passengers sweated it out for a couple of hours and transferred on and off the plane before the flight was eventually cancelled. By the time she arrived at Breezes, it was 4am and it took another two hours to check in. The passengers were ultimately re-routed thorough the US, which created new challenges for those without visas.

“We missed our first day in Rome and a Colosseum tour that we weren’t able to get a refund for,” she said.

Another passenger, who was on the same flight on a trip to watch Cayman’s touch rugby team compete in Nottingham, said the situation had been frustrating and chaotic. Others on the flight were in danger of missing important events because of the delay, including a passenger who had missed his son’s birthday and a handful of others who were on their way to Germany to watch England in the European Championships final.

“This year we have decided to do a different route for our vacation and avoid having to use BA because this experience was bad and I cannot imagine having to go through this with kids,” she added.

Those who have experienced the delays with children testify that it is a challenge.

One mother, who was travelling with her two children last week, said the forced overnight stop in the Bahamas was simply what she expected at this point, so she packed pyjamas and swimsuits in anticipation of a delay.

“Those of us travelling with kids, we end up needing to take so much carry on onto the plane as you never know how long you might be stuck for,” she said.

Others criticised the quality of the plane and, in particular, the business-class section and service – something that they say is made worse by the lack of a business-class lounge in Cayman. Considering the expense of the tickets, one regular business traveller said, the quality is not on par with other routes.

Time for action?

Others have urged government to take action. Suggestions coming out of a WhatsApp group for more than 150 students and their families cited concerns about the welfare of young people travelling to school in the UK. Frustrations over the flight reached a peak last year when unaccompanied teenagers were stranded in the Bahamas for two days on their way back to school.

In the aftermath of that incident, a group of parents got together with frequent business travellers to compare notes and look at solutions. Their research also highlighted an account where a flight full of passengers was kept in a holding room at Nassau overnight on New Year’s Eve without food or water. They compiled a log of the various experiences on the flight where “technical issues” had meant a lack of meal service, air conditioning, functioning toilets or seat power.

At the time, the group concluded the route was no longer a safe option for sending students back to the UK. Members also highlighted fears that the lack of a genuine direct route to Europe was putting Cayman business at a disadvantage compared to competing jurisdictions like Bermuda.

They drafted proposals to campaign the government to ask British Airways to run a direct service or negotiate with other carriers like Virgin over a direct route.

Alternatively, they suggested seeking undertakings from BA to ensure adequate contingency arrangements for unscheduled stops in the Bahamas.

The Compass will look in more detail at some of the challenges and solutions around improving airlift connectivity to Europe in a future article.