Unhelpful BA

Well my meeting finished early (2:30pm) so as I was booked on the 7:50pm flight I thought I'd chance it and see if I could get on the 4:15pm flight. I got to the airport at 3:15pm and the international terminal concourse was completely dead - probably less than 15 people for all the airline desks! I asked the agent if there was space on the earlier flight and she said neither flight was full. However when I asked if I could change my ticket she insisted on going through the T's and C's and determined that to change my flight I would have to pay £112. I reasoned with her and the supervisor that it looked like the entire terminal was pretty empty and that there was a chance that they could re-sell my seat on the 7:50pm for more money (and that in any case the cost of me going now compared to the cost to BA of me going at 7:50 was the same). However they point blank refused to negotiate even when I suggested that BA wasn't exactly doing that well right now and delighting customers would be in their interest rather than have me sitting around for hours. I also pointed out that £112 was extortionate change fee for a flight that cost £456 return. In fact given its only one leg then it is £112 / £228 = almost a 50% premium on the already paid fare! I realise that airlines sell tickets at prices and fee structures to balance traffic and enable forward planning but when it's one person on the off chance it seems off. If it had been £30 I would have taken it but they refused to negotiate even on this. Result: BA doesn't get the extra revenue + annoys a customer who then tells everyone about their poor experience.

ps. At 4:05pm They "paged" 10 missing passengers - even more space on the plane!

More bridge photos

Fortunately I was constantly being asked to take folks photos so there were lots of folk willing to return the favour.

This crow followed a guy with his dog - it was as if the crow was a pet as well! Every time the dog barked, the crow flew two fence posts.

The Marina with Golden Gate in the background

Thanks to a very unhelpful BA (more on that later) I now have 4 hours to wait here in San Francisco Airport. Fortunately I've found a bar that seems to have free wifi :-). In fact I was amazed that SFO didn't have free WiFi throughout this being the heart of the internet/web industry etc etc but it doesn't! It seems the Swiss are way ahead on this one with Geneva airport having free WiFi.

Anyway, here's some more bridge photos. As Uncle A suggested I did walk across the bridge and up the hill on the other side. In total I walked more than 15 miles in around 5 hours. The views from the other side of the bridge were amazing as there was no fog. In fact I overheard several people saying it was very unusual to be able to see the city in the background. Anyway here's the photos.

The Bridge

Just one last post before i go to sleep. More to follow in 10 - 12 hours. By the way I walked at least 15 miles today! Good training for WHW. :-)

Alcatraz

Well here's were I went on Saturday morning. It was a very good tour and great for taking photos. I'll tell you more about it later but right now i need to go for dinner. Just back from an all day walk to photograph the Golden Gate bridge but more on that tomorrow.

Photo 1 - I got an early release for good behaviour.







Photo 1A: It's grim inside Alcatraz. Even razor wire obscures the Golden Gate!






Photo 2: The exercise yard.




Photo 3: The cell block.

Photo 4: Not sure what this is but it looked good for photos. :-)

Photo 5: Alcatraz island.

San Francisco from the top

I thought this would be an easier way to share my experiences when on trips. So here we go. Although I've been here for 4 days now I've only got round to creating this and posting some photos. I took these shots yesterday evening from the 46th floor of the hotel in the centre of San Francisco. The 46th floor is a function room / ballroom but it was empty at the time. After about 10mins of shooting a security guard popped out of the lift - obviously I was being watched on CCTV! She was ok about it though.

Anyway, hope you enjoy these. Uncle A - not sure they're up to scratch but are they better than my Dad's? ;-).

ps. If you comment please don't mention my name - this is a public webpage.


Photo 1: San Francisco at night - The "Transamerica Pyramid" on the left of the pic.


Photo 2: San Francisco by day. (Do you see what I've done here!) Ok, yes it probably should be the other way round but I'm only learning this blogging stuff being an old non facebook user.


Photo 3: After 4 days finally i spot it!