British Airways suffered from a day of computer problems today, although not as much as its passengers. The glitches in its check-in systems caused delays and missed flights.
Although the initial problem was fixed, BA apologized to passengers and warned that check-in could continue to be slow, including at its big Heathrow hub. A similar problem happened in July. BA finished installing new check-in systems earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Delta, which suffered a computer week from hell in early August has added up the cost in lost revenue and vouchers to passengers affected by its 3-day nightmare after a computer outage and figures the total at over $100 million. Over 2300 flights were cancelled before schedules returned to normal.
Maybe the time has come for us to think about airlines the way we do about software: Wait a few months to see whether the upgrade is full of glitches.
