thijsseh
Oct 27, 09, 8:56 am
Mrs t and I recently flew CPT/LHR/MXP/LHR/CPT. The CPT/LHR/CPT legs in C (I booked a D fare and she got a companion ticket courtesy of the Voyager credit card). LHR/MXP vv in Y (on LH Italia).
The service on the SA sections was excellent on both legs. On the LHR/CPT leg, the FA (the inflight coordinator actually, as I had booked seats in the front left section of the C cabin where the most senior person always seems to operate) consistently addressed us by name (even when we disembarked). So a well deserved ^ for the training the FA's are getting, as I have noticed this improvement also on an earlier international C flight this year as well as several CPT/DUR vv flights in Y.
But now the ground staff, in this case the check-in in CPT: I have an EU passport, but Mrs t is South African. So that means that she now requires a visa for the UK. On the way out, we were connecting directly to MXP, but on the return leg we were spending some time in London. So we got a visa (what a process.., at least it was at no charge as the spouse of a EU citizen). When checking in in CPT, the agent said: "you are transiting and you only have a normal visa, so you cant just transit, you need to enter the country. I will have to check your luggage to LHR, not MIL (she did not know that there was an MXP and a LIN), you need to collect it in London and then check in again. I argued that an entry visit surely also allows a transit (I did not even try to explain that the entire 'transaction' would be done airside and that no passport would e shown at any stage), but even after conferring with lots of other people she insisted that this was the case. I made her book all luggage on my ticket so that it could be booked to MXP (as I of course dont need any visa). Of course, after landing at LHR (T1), we went to the Flight Connection Centre, collected our BP's for MXP and no passport was asked for or shown. So please SA, make sure that your check-in agents know what they are talking about, especially the ones working the Premium check-in counters!
The service on the SA sections was excellent on both legs. On the LHR/CPT leg, the FA (the inflight coordinator actually, as I had booked seats in the front left section of the C cabin where the most senior person always seems to operate) consistently addressed us by name (even when we disembarked). So a well deserved ^ for the training the FA's are getting, as I have noticed this improvement also on an earlier international C flight this year as well as several CPT/DUR vv flights in Y.
But now the ground staff, in this case the check-in in CPT: I have an EU passport, but Mrs t is South African. So that means that she now requires a visa for the UK. On the way out, we were connecting directly to MXP, but on the return leg we were spending some time in London. So we got a visa (what a process.., at least it was at no charge as the spouse of a EU citizen). When checking in in CPT, the agent said: "you are transiting and you only have a normal visa, so you cant just transit, you need to enter the country. I will have to check your luggage to LHR, not MIL (she did not know that there was an MXP and a LIN), you need to collect it in London and then check in again. I argued that an entry visit surely also allows a transit (I did not even try to explain that the entire 'transaction' would be done airside and that no passport would e shown at any stage), but even after conferring with lots of other people she insisted that this was the case. I made her book all luggage on my ticket so that it could be booked to MXP (as I of course dont need any visa). Of course, after landing at LHR (T1), we went to the Flight Connection Centre, collected our BP's for MXP and no passport was asked for or shown. So please SA, make sure that your check-in agents know what they are talking about, especially the ones working the Premium check-in counters!