fsharp
Jul 2, 12, 10:08 pm
I took my mother to Dubai airport last night to catch a flight to Paris with Air France. Unfortunately, only passengers can go to the check-in area at T1 so I couldn't go with her.
She was flying business (thanks to a paid upgrade) but as there was a big queue at the business check-in counter and only a couple of people at one of the economy check-in desks, she decided to use that desk instead.
My mother only has basic english and had to deal with truly useless check-in staff who couldn't speak French. The check-in lady refused to allow her the two pieces of luggage (max 32 kg each.) which are standard in "Affaire" Class. They put her luggage to side and called Air France to check about her luggage allowance. Check-in staff was arguing that since it was an upgrade, she was only allowed the weight she had on her initial class of booking. :mad:
Anyway, my mother got me to talk to the check-in lady from her mobile and despite me arguing, it took them 40 minutes to accept my mother's luggage. Once everything was ok'ed, the check-lady decided to still keep my mother's suitcases off to the side. So my mother asked her to send her suitcases through. Still she wouldn't do it! So she had to wait another 10-15 minutes and try to explain to her in her poor english that she wanted her luggage sent through. Eventually she did it, but another wasted of time....
Then my handed was handed out a piece a paper in English only (well done Air France!) which she tried to read to me over the phone. This was to inform her that the business class lounge was closed for refurbishment and that she had to go the Marhaba Lounge. This lounge is a small very basic lounge which anyone can access by paying a small fee. Anyway, my mothers walk to that lounge and then gets told that the information she had was wrong. Air France had setup a temporary lounge and she had to go that lounge instead. What a waste of time? Eventually she arrive to that lounge. I understand that Airlines need to keep their lounges up to date and eventually close them for refurbishment but the temporary lounge at DXB was less than adequate. Hardly any food, and you couldn't even get a glass of wine, only spirits apparently..
The lounge is closed until the 20th of July apparently, so anyone traveling via Dubai, beware! You might want to pay for Marhaba lounge access, which might be better the temporary Air France picnic area.
I'm hoping she will get treated better when she lands in Paris. She has another internal flight connection.
Terrible service, I'm glad I don't have to fly Air France. The only reason, we use this airline for my mother is to facilitate the connection with her luggage going through to Nantes (her local airport in France).
She was flying business (thanks to a paid upgrade) but as there was a big queue at the business check-in counter and only a couple of people at one of the economy check-in desks, she decided to use that desk instead.
My mother only has basic english and had to deal with truly useless check-in staff who couldn't speak French. The check-in lady refused to allow her the two pieces of luggage (max 32 kg each.) which are standard in "Affaire" Class. They put her luggage to side and called Air France to check about her luggage allowance. Check-in staff was arguing that since it was an upgrade, she was only allowed the weight she had on her initial class of booking. :mad:
Anyway, my mother got me to talk to the check-in lady from her mobile and despite me arguing, it took them 40 minutes to accept my mother's luggage. Once everything was ok'ed, the check-lady decided to still keep my mother's suitcases off to the side. So my mother asked her to send her suitcases through. Still she wouldn't do it! So she had to wait another 10-15 minutes and try to explain to her in her poor english that she wanted her luggage sent through. Eventually she did it, but another wasted of time....
Then my handed was handed out a piece a paper in English only (well done Air France!) which she tried to read to me over the phone. This was to inform her that the business class lounge was closed for refurbishment and that she had to go the Marhaba Lounge. This lounge is a small very basic lounge which anyone can access by paying a small fee. Anyway, my mothers walk to that lounge and then gets told that the information she had was wrong. Air France had setup a temporary lounge and she had to go that lounge instead. What a waste of time? Eventually she arrive to that lounge. I understand that Airlines need to keep their lounges up to date and eventually close them for refurbishment but the temporary lounge at DXB was less than adequate. Hardly any food, and you couldn't even get a glass of wine, only spirits apparently..
The lounge is closed until the 20th of July apparently, so anyone traveling via Dubai, beware! You might want to pay for Marhaba lounge access, which might be better the temporary Air France picnic area.
I'm hoping she will get treated better when she lands in Paris. She has another internal flight connection.
Terrible service, I'm glad I don't have to fly Air France. The only reason, we use this airline for my mother is to facilitate the connection with her luggage going through to Nantes (her local airport in France).