The ill-fated, and aptly named, Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport cost £4.3bn. With so much money spent on the project, the opening was supposed to be somewhat of a spectacle. And indeed it was.
No sooner had the Queen cut the ribbon when passengers started pouring in, unsuspectingly handing over their luggage to a baggage system already riddled with inadequacies.
Since opening last week, more than 400 flights have been cancelled and a backlog of nearly 20,000 bags is currently on its way to Italy to be sorted by a Milanese courier company. The delays, cancellations and expense of transporting the luggage is set to cost BA somewhere between £20-50m.
BA reckons 92% of flights will be taking to the skies by Thursday, but for the thousands of passengers already affected, and the 8% who still won’t get to take off, that’s little consolation.
There is of course, a valuable lesson to learnt from this spectacular aviation cock-up. Launching before you’re ready can be absolutely ruinous for your new company. BA has taken quite a few reputational knocks over the past year, but the company’s global presence should see it through. Your fledgling company won’t have a 70-year proven track record to defend itself with.
It’s tempting to rush the launch of a new business, especially when there’s no revenue stream to pay for escalating overheads. However, if you’re not ready, the cracks can show, and failing your customers on first attempt won’t encourage them to come back.
It may be a cliché, but in this instance it certainly rings true: You only get one chance to make a first impression. Get it right, and you'll be winging your way to success.
