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We traveled on a 737 I think, between London and Bucharest (with Tarom) and booked window seats in row 7. But in row 7 there was no window, just cabin wall! At that point the gap between windows was wider and so just at that point we could not see out! Can the Guru give advice on where NOT to book window seats if you want to see out of the plane and not be over the wing?
Recently, I traveled with a KLM-ticket from Antwerp. The first part to Amsterdam was by train (the Thalys). When I showed my KLM-ticket in Antwerp I received my train ticket in a few minutes. I was late and if it had taken more time I had missed my train, so that someone should have taken me by car to Amsterdam.
At check-in the KLM agent in Amsterdam asked me to show my train ticket. Fortunately, I had not yet thrown it away and could show it. When I asked why, the agent said that she could not have checked me in without showing the train ticket.
You may find yourself in trouble if the name you use for booking a flight does not exactly match your name as it appears on your passport.
Suppose that Michael John Barton does not like his first name and makes a reservation as John Barton. He will encounter a problem if John Barton appears to be on a terrorist watch list.
He may be delayed for additional screening or even barred from the flight.
gday,just wondering if any one out in the world could tell me why airbus a320 engines make that odd noise during the take off run , goes away after takeoff. cheers murray.
Airline Passenger Guru asked Airbus Industries for comments and has added an epilogue to this article.
Posted by murray.egan, on Saturday, 05 September 2009 at 05:08
Do you retain your current elite status if you switch to another airline’s frequent flyer program? Often you do not, but sometimes you can.
Status match is little known outside the ranks of very frequent flyers. Therefore, Airline Passenger Guru surveyed 29 airlines that are members of 1 of the 3 airline alliances (Star Alliance, Oneworld and SkyTeam) and that we could contact by email.
A photographer for a magazine has an assignment to take pictures of a great forest fire. He has been advised that a small plane would be waiting to fly him over the fire.
The photographer arrives at the airstrip just an hour before sundown. Indeed, a small Cessna airplane is waiting. He jumps in with his equipment and shouts: "Let's go!"
The tense man sitting in the pilot's seat swings the plane into the wind and soon they are in the air, though flying erratically.
When a Lufthansa passenger arrives in Kiev, his bag is missing and he has to complete 4 forms at the lost & found department. The agent says his bag will arrive in the evening, but will be delivered on his address 2 days later.
He needs to give her the combination lock’s code (“for customs"). She tells him he can buy necessities like toiletries and underwear, which Lufthansa will reimburse at departure.
My bag was damaged after a long haul flight with Lufthansa. However, I did not notice it before I arrived in my hotel. When I notified Lufthansa about the incident through their web site, the response was that I should have reported it immediately on arrival. I explained why I did not notice the damage at the airport, but Lufthansa did not respond anymore. Not very customer friendly, I would say.
Posted by Peter, on Saturday, 10 October 2009 at 14:03
When I flew Swiss my bag was damaged. No agent was present at Swiss baggage services, so I sent an email. Swiss responded the same day by asking for details that I sent the next day. The loss amounted to only €30. Three weeks later I asked for the state of play and received a similar message: Swiss asked me to send the details. One week later I made inquiries and Swiss asked for the details again. Swiss precision was far away, but this time it worked out. Two weeks later I was reimbursed. If you deal with Swiss you need to be persistent.
Posted by Bernd, on Monday, 07 December 2009 at 21:53
A passenger flies a number of times between Amsterdam and Milan Linate (code share with KLM). The flights KL3416 (Milan-Amsterdam) and KL3417 (Amsterdam-Milan) appear on his Flying Blue account, but with 0 miles. Therefore, he asks Airline Passenger Guru whether this is another change for the worse.
Below is the English translation of a comment that Henk added to the Dutch web site:
I have the same experience with an Alitalia codeshare flight from Milan Linate to Amsterdam. The miles for the outbound flight operated by KLM have been credited to my Flying Blue account. The inbound flight with Alitalia did not appear on my miles review, so I did not earn the miles. I sent evidence to Flying Blue in France, but there was no follow-up. Next, I called Flying Blue. The agent said he would solve the problem, but the miles have never been credited to my account. Thus, if you book a codeshare flight operated by Alitalia you render the risk you will not earn any miles.
Posted by Henk, on Sunday, 02 August 2009 at 22:20
Below is the English translation of a comment that Piet added to the Dutch web site:
I faced the same problem with a flight Milan-Amsterdam operated by KLM and a Alitalia flight number in my ticket. The flight appeared on my FB miles review, but with zero miles. Eventually, I received the miles after a lot of fuss. Obviously, you need to be very persistent in dealing with KLM. However, it is very strange that it takes so much trouble to get the miles you earned.
Posted by Piet, on Wednesday, 26 August 2009 at 20:01
Below is the translation of a comment that Frank has added to the Dutch web site: I have the same problem with a flight Taipei-San Francisco. When I observed that the flight had not been registered, I claimed the miles by sending the documents to Flying Blue in France. Initially, I did not receive any response. When I called Flying Blue the agent promised to register the flight as she could see it in the system. She confirmed by email that it would be done within 48 hours. However, the flight was not registered. I contacted Flying Blue again several times by phone and email. Each time they promised to register the flight, but they never did. VERY unprofessional!!!!
Posted by Frank, on Friday, 11 September 2009 at 12:25
I have also had problems with Alitalia miles and the Flying Blues program. Last year I sent boarding tickets, itinerary email copy etc. to F.B. headquarters in France in order to claim miles from an Alitalia flight from Barcelona to Florence.
They acknowledged receipt of the letter by email, but a week later or so they denied my claim and wrote '...please note that for the registration of an uncredited flight you need to provide us the original boarding pass'. Which I did include in the same envelope.
Now I am about to do the same procedure again and wondering if I should bother.
Posted by Bruno, on Friday, 09 April 2010 at 13:17
Most travelers who need to change planes would like to through-check their bags. This is not possible for travelers to the USA. They must pick up their bag and declare it at the point of entry. Thus, if they have a connecting flight they must check their bag again for that flight.
For most other destinations, however, through-checking is possible.
Not exactly true. Delta offers through checkin of bags if all your flights are Delta flights. You can fly Copenhagen - Atlanta - Cancun a just pickup your bag in Cancun. No problem at all. You'll be given a speciel form to show the customs officer in Atlanta.
Posted by Jesper Markussen, on Wednesday, 02 September 2009 at 15:12
Jesper, you refer to flying several segments with one airline (Delta). However, my understanding is that the article pertains to flying several segments with different airlines. Therefore, the article seems exactly true to me. Perhaps Airline Passenger Guru can clarify this.
Posted by Werner Keppl, on Thursday, 03 September 2009 at 14:51
The passengers of US Airways Flight 1549, which ditched into the Hudson River in New York City on January 15, 2009, were saved from sudden death. But a number of them suffered injuries and losses.
The airline is insured and most passengers will also have some form of insurance, so they will be compensated. Or is it not that simple?
An Air France flight has gone down into the Atlantic Ocean on its way from Brazil to France. It had 228 people on board, 216 passengers and 12 crew members. An electrical storm may have been to blame for the disaster although this would be extraordinarily exceptional.
Lightning usually stays on the outside. Pilots and passengers should not experience anything more than a bright flash and loud noise. But if lightning finds a way into an airplane, it can destroy electronics and ignite fuel. Watch the video of a lightning striking a Qantas plane.
Over 90,000 bags are mishandled on any given day. This is 1.4% of all checked bags. However, only 0.03% fails to show up at all.
Nearly half (49%) of all mishandled bags are in transfer from one aircraft to another. Thus, by choosing a non-stop flight you can considerably reduce the chance your bag will go missing.
Your story about baggage encouraged me to share my experience. I was booked on a Northwest Airlines flight from Dallas via Memphis to Atlanta. However, the flight to Memphis was delayed. Therefore, the gate agent rebooked me on a nonstop Delta Airlines flight to Atlanta. She said she would reroute my bag, but it did not arrive in Atlanta. An agent at Delta's baggage service center said my bag had followed the original route. As a result, it was in Memphis and would arrive the same evening on Northwest. She promised it would be delivered to my hotel. The next morning I called the front desk, but my bag had not been delivered. Next, I called Delta‘s baggage information line three times. The first time an agent disconnected. The second time another agent said my bag had not been found and disconnected. The third time yet another agent said my bag had arrived, but was still at Northwest’s baggage service center. I considered that Northwest should hand it to Delta, which should deliver it to my hotel, while my bag had already arrived last night. If I left it to the airlines, it may cost another day to get my bag. Thus, I went to the airport and picked up my bag myself in half an hour. My experience gives rise to two lessons. First, do not take for granted what an airline agent tells you. Second, take the airlines’ plans for end-to-end self service very seriously.
Posted by Richard Freer, on Wednesday, 27 May 2009 at 10:49
Few things are as annoying as needless security checks. Yet, most of the 325 million people that connect every year at hub airports (one quarter of the passengers) are screened twice: at departure, and again when they change flights.
The obvious solution is “one-stop security”: screening people at the beginning of their journey only, resulting in faster, hassle-free connections for passengers and lower security costs.
The majority of the EU countries already allow one-stop security for passengers arriving from another EU airport. France does not do so.
In the airline industry there is no relationship between the fare you pay and the distance you fly. However, there is a close relationship between the fare and the amount of competition. Keep that in mind if you want to reduce your business class fare.
European carriers offer nonstop flights from their home base and charge high fares. From other cities they only offer 1-stop flights via their home base. To compensate the inconvenience of a plane change they offer lower fares in particular to business class passengers.
As a Mileage Plus member I usually fly United Airlines. Sometimes, however, I fly US Airways. Both airlines are Star Alliance members, so I can claim each airline's miles with the other.
If I want to earn 100% of the miles, I need to book the right class. Unlike United’s web site, however, I cannot find the booking class on US Airways’ web site. Where can I find it? Maxwell Stewart
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