Argus Car Hire

Over 400 volunteers have come to the assistance of British Airways, who have been desperately trying to amend the luggage backlog at Heathrow’s Terminal 5.

Their efforts follow the nightmarish opening of the airport’s terminal 5 building last Thursday which saw severe baggage problems and flights cancelled or delayed over the weekend.
There are further problems still ahead for the airport as passengers lodge compensation claims at the likely loss of £20 million due to the cancellation of over 200 flights.

Some of the delays have even dragged on into this week, with 50 flights from T5 today and tomorrow expected to be cancelled. 

Meanwhile, rival airline bmi is making efforts to carry passengers stranded by BA’s problems at Terminal 5.

Commenting on their attempts, a bmi spokesman said:

“Already a significant number of travellers heading to and from destinations including Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Belfast City, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester are switching to bmi flights operating normally to and from Terminal 1 after an agreement was reached by the two airlines.”

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Every car hire company displays a number of vehicles with the disclaimer “or similar” and you would be amazed by the number of unsatisfied customers who do not get the vehicle they thought they had specifically selected.
All car hire suppliers fill their fleets with many different makes of car, of course some more than others (Europcar for example had a large proportion on VW cars when they where owned by Volksawagen).
Vehicles are split into categories that are defined by their SIPP codes.  These are supplier and broker codes that identify the type of vehicle.  The first description refers to the size of the vehicle and this usually goes from Mini to Economy and upwards to Full Size or Special.
Inside these categories lie many types of vehicles grouped by their capacity, engine size and type.
Take for instance a vehicle that is being rented in Paris - 2 or 4 doors with air conditioning.
The example car on our site is a Ford Fiesta or similar. If you click on the car name it will bring up a pop up that details the other vehicles in the fleet such as the Renault Clio, Peugeot 207, Hyundai Getz and other economy vehicles.
If the station has many vehicles available at pick up you will have the choice and even if they don’t offer it you can always ask! The customer’s preference is always taken into consideration and even in some circumstances you will be upgraded for free if the size of vehicle you have requested is not available.
Next time you’re booking, take note of “or similar” and understand that the vehicle you choose is not necessarily the vehicle you will get, but you are guaranteed the classification or better. So if you choose a compact 4 door with air conditioning you are guaranteed to get at least a compact sized vehicle with 4 doors and air conditioning guaranteed.

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If you’re an Argus Car Hire customer flying into or out of London’s Heathrow Airport today, prepare yourself for prolonged delays following the cancellation of more than 30 flights yesterday due to baggage problems at the airport’s brand new Terminal 5 building. 

Some passengers were even forced to sleep overnight in the hope of catching a flight today. 

British Airways, the airline based at Terminal 5, was forced to apologise to passengers for the disruption.  Just 80% of the airline’s flights will operate from the terminal today, with delays affecting most short haul services.  However, long haul flights are not expected to be disrupted today. 

Yesterday 34 flights were cancelled and passengers had to wait up to four hours to collect baggage. 

Commenting on the backlash from yesterday’s Terminal 5 disaster, British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh had this to say:
“We sincerely apologise to those customers who have suffered disrupted journeys or baggage delays during the first day in Terminal 5.
We always knew the first day would represent a unique challenge.  A number of early problems grew during the course of the day which led to significant disruption for our customers.  I would like to thank our colleagues at BAA who are working alongside us to resolve the issues.”

 Concerned passengers are advised to check the Heathrow and British Airways websites for updates.

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