BA to rescue after Lufthansa blues

You either like air travel or loathe it. For me, the mystique wore off many years ago and now I fly only when I have to.

I had watched the scenes from Heathrow over the weekend and felt sorry for those caught up in the chaos. Little did I expect that I would similarly be involved after snow and ice paralysed Lufthansa's main Frankfurt hub, forcing the cancellation of the first leg of my flight home. A text from the airline to my mobile phone as I was on the bus to Berlin's Tegel Airport broke the bad news. A call to them followed, and alternative flights were booked for yesterday. Their agent said there would be no hotel accommodation - the weather was a natural disaster and they didn't need to put me up overnight.

I booked and paid for my own hotel, but four of my international journalist colleagues who faced Lufthansa cancellations to Brussels and Kiev were given hotel rooms, dinner and their breakfast.

Tegel was a disaster area when I arrived yesterday. A string of flight cancellations had already created a snake-like queue to the Lufthansa ticket desk. I joined it at 11am and was finally dealt with at 3.55pm. Lufthansa's man at the ticket desk was very apologetic and assured me he would get me back to Aberdeen. He eventually found a seat on the last British Airways flight north from Heathrow. The cost was well in excess of what he could authorise himself so permission from his supervisor was required. Approval was given and a Lufthansa service to Heathrow and then the BA flight were booked. My inbound flight arrived just 75 minutes before BA departed for Aberdeen.

I got to Terminal One at Heathrow 15 minutes late, and to Terminal Five with minutes to spare, but BA staff were very helpful and rushed me through check-in and security. The onward flight to Aberdeen was running late, but the atmosphere at Heathrow couldn't be more different to Frankfurt.

All is calm in Terminal Five, it's not nearly as busy as I thought it might be and no one is bedded down for the night. BA's assistance and desire to help also contrasted with Lufthansa's couldn't care less attitude.