Unfortunately, in my first-ever experience to try this airline (bmibaby) I had a horrible experience at the Schiphol airport. At that time, it was pretty foggy so I was expecting possible delays. The check-in went smoothly and the gate said H6. The lady in the check-in counter warned me that the walk would be long because it is at the end of the Terminal. It was indeed a long walk. I waited patiently and looked at the information monitor and it says "gate information will be available in xx minutes". Then I went back at the specified time and found that my flight was deleted from the monitor. It was gone! And no one was there to tell me where to go or what to do. So we stood there in front of the monitor waiting. I saw a lot of us leave. I decided to leave and ask where to go. First I went to the lady in the information desk and she told me to go down to the check-in counters. But as soon as I went down an officer asked me why I am going down out and I told him what happened. He took out his notebook which seemed to be a directory and then he told me to go instead to a Transfer desk -- right at the D section.
I didn't expect that it was a very long walk. So long that I thought I have seen the whole airport! And worse, when I arrived there exhausted and all, there was a long line. I took a seat first and rested while I called my husband asking for advice. When I found someone who seemed to be helping out with the queue I asked him if bmibaby was also served here. He said no and told me to go to another Transfer desk. This time I am beginning to get totally frustrated. Upon arrival to that other Transfer desk, the lady told me to go back to H7-- and that is where I was! Can you imagine how frustrating that was! I was half-crying then already.. Because I had this fear that she was not really sure of what she is saying and that there is no one there. And I was right when I reached the end of the H section all I saw was a janitor. No passengers were there except for those who were about to use the toilet which was next to it. And there I sobbed. I was very tired and I was lost ! I have used this airport several times before but today it felt like a big city and I just came from a small village in the countryside and clueless. But anyways, my husband was also calling for information and he finally gave me the correct solution: which is what the lady in the information desk told me which is to go out and back into the check-in desk area at the departure level. It was actually not in the same check-in desk but in the one right next to it.
It was the same lady where I asked for directions a few hours ago who repeatedly said "hello may i help you, hello may i help you" or something like that until I finally said the magic word. I would almost think she is a robot waiting for the right combination of words. Ok but anyways this time, she seemed to have understood me and she gave me a new flight which was at almost 7 in the evening! My original flight was at 9:40 in the morning! At least she gave me a 4.95 meal voucher. And guess where I spent it. I found a burger king meal for 5 Euros complete with soda, fries and a burger. All I gave them was 5 cents. I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing the net with my laptop. I paid 16 Euros for 24 hours since at 14 Euros I only get 90 minutes. Oh well, it was worth it. Because of this time flew by quickly and before I knew it I was on the check-in line all over again. This time, the guy was more strict in the sense that he noticed that my carry on luggage failed the size and weight test. I was not ready for that. I did not bring the laptop bag and was hoping to just put it there. Based on past experience of losing valuable stuff, checking-in electronics was a big no-no!
Fortunately, I was able to use my handbag as a makeshift laptop bag. But this proved to be very awkward later on. But I had no choice. He was about to charge me for the checked in luggage when I told him : "You cancelled my flight and gave us no information at all and made us spent the whole day waiting for this flight and now you are charging me for this?!!" In the end, he seemed to get the point and gave in. He didn't charge me for the checked luggage.
But anyways, the moral lesson for this is with cheap airlines you get what you pay for. The airfare was quite low, after all, they advertise themselves as the "the airline that has tiny fares" but it would mean they would be cheap with their service. My airfare was like 120 Euros roundtrip from Amsterdam to Birmingham. But the hassles may outweigh the savings at times. They had almost no staff right there to guide us when the flight was cancelled. Getting information is pretty much a huge deal for a lost passenger. And so, now I am pretty convinced to use the train instead for closer cities such as this. I don't mind up to 12 hours of travel if it would mean having a relaxed experience.
Many tourists after all travel to relax and unwind but they fail to see that to get to their destination they have to endure the stress of airports and queues and luggage to carry. With this trip I was attending a conference but for those whose goal is just to have a nice restful holiday-- think again. Maybe just staying at home and having a lazy day is all you need. Or maybe a short 1 hour drive a nice countryside resort is enough.
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