johan rebel

Yes, but in most recent instances where I've experienced schedule changes, I've been informed by e-mail by the operating carrier, even though the tickets were purchased directly from another airline or through a travel agent. Obviously the airlines concerned had access to the contact info in my PNR.

Johan

brunos

But this is not a schedule change.

The flight has been transferred to airport control and got canceled 2 hours before departure because a pilot is ill and cannot make the flight (and AF does not have spare pilots in Vancouver).
The automatic rebook system was probably activated a few minutes before the airport screens showed the canceled status and the OP was already in the lounge. That's when the lounge dragon walked to the OP to notify him.
I have had my share of longhaul canceled flights and the airline tries to arrange alternative routings quickly and preferably before pax start hammering agents ( so a short while before the flight is shown as canceled). Once the IT has chosen the "best" automatic reroute, then each pax can try to get it changed.

Frankly, I fail to understand the interest of discussing whether AF should have also sent a text or message to pax who had already been checked in at the airport; and calling it a "complete customer service blunder" seems inappropriate.

What is really bad is that AF had to cancel the flight at the last minute (or last two hours). From that point on, it sounds as if the OP got good, normal service:
- the system automatically rebooked him the next day
- he is immediately advised by the representative in the lounge
- he calls and get offered a more attractive rebooking that he accepts. He gets in ZAG over an hour before his original schedule in the same class.

I can fully understand the désappointement of getting an old seat instead of afully flat one as expected. Unfortunately, this is a common happening when flying AFKL.

johan rebel

Well, KQ managed the trick last month, so how difficult can it be?

I was on a KL-issued ticked booked via a TA, had OLCI'd, was in the lounge, and the departures screen showed nothing untoward, so I had no idea the flight was delayed and that I would therefore not make my connecting flight.

That I then failed to check my phone for incoming messages was entirely my fault. I thus missed the alternative flight KQ had wanted to put me on, and had to call the Platinum line to get rebooked on a less convenient connection.

Johan

Ditto

Good for them, but good luck trying to get someone from KQ on the phone to actually make the change

neflyer13

It actually sounds to me like OP is due compensation for cancelled flight under standard EU regulations. This wasn't weather--this was Air France staff not being available, so flight was cancelled. He may thus be entitled to cancelled flight compensation, though perhaps reduced if he arrived with minimal delay.

brunos

The OP is not due any compensation for cancellation. Article 7 (c) iii of EC261 clearly state that no compensation is due as his flight left no more than one hour before the original departure time and arrived less than 2 hours after the original arrival time. Actually, he arrived one hour earlier than the original arrival time.

As said before, I fully sympathize with the OP and I would be equally furious. But there is no legal ground for any compensation. He traveled in J and arrived on time in ZAG.

btonkid12345

Yes. If that means that you are blaming yourself.

Again, you have nobody to blame but yourself. DL is NOTORIOUSLY good with reroutes, especially due to cancels or delays. They literally would have put you on ANY of their own flights in J - which are all in fully lie-flat seats not made in the 1990s - or tried to get you on AF/KL flights you would have wanted.

You were in a lounge and could take a moment to search. Then call DL with a proposed reroute - one that you liked for whatever reason.

Instead, you left it up to the agent to pick an alternative routing for you. Sounds like they picked the one that was most efficient - getting you out of the airport quickly and to your destination sooner than you were originally ticketed - and your thanks is to yell at them for picking a poor long-haul seat? The agent probably didn't know or really care about the seat type!

It sounds like you had the foresight to research options prior to initial booking, when you said you specifically picked the AF flights and not this KL routing. So why you didn't take a moment to pick your alternatives when you literally could pick ANY without any extra charges - and then accepted the routing you said you previously knew you didn't want - how are you then turning around and blaming the airlines?

At some point, you have to be willing to take some responsibility. Plus, save all this time complaining after the fact. You could have been a total DYKWIA and gotten off the KL flight and asking for an alternative with lie-flat seats on KL/DL/AF - maybe that would have left you more satisfied.

brunos

Remember that there was also a good chance of an AF equipment swap, as the 772 retrofit is far from complete. That is a risk you took in taking AF and I guess that you would have been equally furious to get an old NEV.
And if every pax that expected to get the flat bed but got swapped to the old angled seat requested a 1,000 compensation, AF might be bankrupt by now.


PS: for those posters lacking humour, let me stress that my last statement is tongue-in-cheek.

Edgerfly

I've just been sitting backs watching the responses, but I have to respond to this one because it's so egregiously false, and a total mis-characterization of what happened and transpired.

I was never notified the flight was cancelled. I was never contacted by any airline. Nobody helped me rebook anything. The flights status was not displayed anywhere until close to departure time. The only reason I happen to find out what was going on is because I had an electronic boarding pass and the lounge agent needed a copy and I sent it to her via email, and she told me the flight said tomorrow. She didn't even know what was going on either. She thought I had made a mistake, and showed up a day early. The lounge agent did not do any re-booking. I called DL myself.

When I got on the phone with delta I did not have immediate access to their schedule for the flights to ZAG at that moment. All I knew at that point was I was stranded and needed to get to ZAG. The agent told me this KLM flight, and I would get in around the same time and that was that. I'm not "blaming" anyone or crying about the downgrade. It's unfortunate and it happens obviously.

I'm NOT feeling any entitlement. This was a question I posted because I'm unfamiliar with these situations since this was the very first time it's ever happened to me in 20 years of flying. That's what FT is for, getting answers to questions you are unfamiliar with. I'm not on here trying to get people to feel sorry for me.

But the important point and valid complaint is there was a total lack (actually zero) of communication on the part of the airline and the status of the AF flight. In addition, I WAS delayed over two hours as the KLM flight left just over 2 hours later than the AF would have.

CyBeR

It's not about delay leaving, but arriving.

Edgerfly

A delay is a delay. I already had a 4 hour layover.

The worst part of all of this is that the communication to the customer about the flight was horrendous. If the agent hadn't noticed the days, I probably would've gotten stuck.

Ditto

So now you instead had 2hrs wait for your flight, and 2hrs connection, so where is the delay?
Would you mind sharing how did you checkin and not notice that your ticket is for a different day?

Edgerfly

The delay is that the flight was suppose to leave at 1:30, and was rebooked on KLM to 3:40. Connection in AMS was tight at only an hour. I checked in online at 9:00am, and everything was fine and on-time. As I said above it wasn't till I had to email the plaza premium lounge lady my BP did she notice it. AF/KLM/DL or whoever you want to blame, did zero communicating as to the cancellation. And then they just decide to put me on a flight tomorrow without contacting me. And it's not as if this was a weather delay where they had a massive amount of people to contact. There was one cancelled flight. All they had to do was contact the people that they canceled the flight on and rebook them. I've never had an airline cancel a flight and not contact me or a contact number I have in my reservation.

CyBeR

A delay is a delay only if it is a delay upon arrival. If a rebooked flight leaves four hours later but gets you there sooner than the original flight with a connection, you weren't delayed.

I believe you stated earlier that you actually got in at around the same time after some rerouting, so you weren't delayed by very much.

I agree AF should've contacted you but you weren't, in fact, delayed after everything was said and done.

Ber2dca

I like how there was neither a delay nor a downgrade in this case yet that's the title of the thread.