jongar
Dec 29, 00, 9:55 am
Bit different this, this is the letter I sent to Lufthansa upon my return, the next post is my letter to Austrian
19th December 2000
To whom it may concern:,
As I sit here in the Senator lounge at Frankfurt I have time to reflect on what can only be described as the worst flight I have ever taken. I have just returned from NYC on flight LH401 and as I said, without doubt one of the worst flights ever. It is a pity as my flight to NYC was wonderful, I flew with your partner Austrian Airlines, from Vienna to JFK. I have included my letter to them, congratulating them on a superb flight and service, sadly something I can not do for yourselves. To begin with there was the lounge, At the time of the flight I was still in possession of a FLT card, I should of become a senator some 3 weeks previous however for some unknown reason, it takes a long time for flights with your partner British Midland ( a company I think you part own) to post. However I still have a valid British Midland Gold card. The women on reception refused to accept it, saying and I quote. ‘British Midland cards are not valid in the Senator Lounge’. I showed her my then current statement and the photocopies of the boarding passes that I was waiting for to post, and finally she relented and allowed me access to the lounge.
Subsequently it would appear she was not the valid agent, only the cleaner/help for the lounge.
The flight was full, in Eco, C and F class. I was shown to my seat and I settled in, The first thing I noticed was the amenity kits, they are well below the quality set out by Swissair, British Airways, and Austrian, all airlines I have flown similar routes with before in Business Class. I was also amazed at how crowded the cabin was, this I was not expecting. Please do not get the wrong idea, I was not expecting wide open spaces with a herd of wildebeest passing unnoticed through the cabin, but after flying Business Class mainly on Airbus aircraft it was something of a shock.
I settled in, for the flight. This was when the shortcoming appeared. The seat, was not a patch on that of any of the airlines. Its mechanics ( no electrics ) were failing. It took a good ten minutes before I had the top half comfortable and the bottom half almost comfortable, true comfort it would appear would allude me today. Our order for dinner was taken, and drinks served. The meal was fine, although not outstanding, the award for best meal was awarded 3 days previous for the venison on the Austrian flight. I watched a little of the film on the entertainment system, which while adequate, I must say the screens are far to small for a Business service. Again you would do well to look at the offerings from your competitors and partners alike. With dinner finished, sleep was a priority, in fact upgrading myself was 90% due to the need for good quality sleep, as I had to conduct a full days training for one of our partners. I did not get a single wink of the forty I was hoping for. The seats are to close together, when the passenger adjacent to me went to sleep with his seat in the as ‘flat as it will go’ position, I was unable to get out without jumping over him. During the course of the flight the cabin attendants never turned out the main lights, I asked if they would, however I was told they would stay on because of the number of people working on the flight (passengers). I was under the impression that, that was the intended use for the personal light situated above the passenger. Anyway, I am here in the Senator lounge and can only say that I am sorely disappointed. I will bullet point my main issues and hopefully, at some point in the future they will be addressed.
· Education. Gold is Gold, regardless of Star Alliance partner, please ensure your agents are educated in this, particularly the one at JFK and at FRA Hall B
· Seats. Please take into consideration and look at the quality of the Grande Classe offering of your partner Austrian Airlines. Passengers should be able to move between seats even when ‘flat’.
· Cabin Lights. Please turn the main cabin lights off on red eye flights.
· Amenity Kits. Please look again at your partners and competitors put something genuinely useful in these kits, such as a moisturizer, refresh spray, toothbrush.
I have taken the liberty of posting this letter to a website called Flyertalk, it is a virtual meeting point for all those people that fly on a regular basis, allowing them to compare and advise others. You can find them at http://www.flyertalk.com/ I urge you to take a look.
Enjoy the New Year
Jon Garside
Business Technologist,
Computer Associates EMEA
[This message has been edited by jongar (edited 12-29-2000).]
19th December 2000
To whom it may concern:,
As I sit here in the Senator lounge at Frankfurt I have time to reflect on what can only be described as the worst flight I have ever taken. I have just returned from NYC on flight LH401 and as I said, without doubt one of the worst flights ever. It is a pity as my flight to NYC was wonderful, I flew with your partner Austrian Airlines, from Vienna to JFK. I have included my letter to them, congratulating them on a superb flight and service, sadly something I can not do for yourselves. To begin with there was the lounge, At the time of the flight I was still in possession of a FLT card, I should of become a senator some 3 weeks previous however for some unknown reason, it takes a long time for flights with your partner British Midland ( a company I think you part own) to post. However I still have a valid British Midland Gold card. The women on reception refused to accept it, saying and I quote. ‘British Midland cards are not valid in the Senator Lounge’. I showed her my then current statement and the photocopies of the boarding passes that I was waiting for to post, and finally she relented and allowed me access to the lounge.
Subsequently it would appear she was not the valid agent, only the cleaner/help for the lounge.
The flight was full, in Eco, C and F class. I was shown to my seat and I settled in, The first thing I noticed was the amenity kits, they are well below the quality set out by Swissair, British Airways, and Austrian, all airlines I have flown similar routes with before in Business Class. I was also amazed at how crowded the cabin was, this I was not expecting. Please do not get the wrong idea, I was not expecting wide open spaces with a herd of wildebeest passing unnoticed through the cabin, but after flying Business Class mainly on Airbus aircraft it was something of a shock.
I settled in, for the flight. This was when the shortcoming appeared. The seat, was not a patch on that of any of the airlines. Its mechanics ( no electrics ) were failing. It took a good ten minutes before I had the top half comfortable and the bottom half almost comfortable, true comfort it would appear would allude me today. Our order for dinner was taken, and drinks served. The meal was fine, although not outstanding, the award for best meal was awarded 3 days previous for the venison on the Austrian flight. I watched a little of the film on the entertainment system, which while adequate, I must say the screens are far to small for a Business service. Again you would do well to look at the offerings from your competitors and partners alike. With dinner finished, sleep was a priority, in fact upgrading myself was 90% due to the need for good quality sleep, as I had to conduct a full days training for one of our partners. I did not get a single wink of the forty I was hoping for. The seats are to close together, when the passenger adjacent to me went to sleep with his seat in the as ‘flat as it will go’ position, I was unable to get out without jumping over him. During the course of the flight the cabin attendants never turned out the main lights, I asked if they would, however I was told they would stay on because of the number of people working on the flight (passengers). I was under the impression that, that was the intended use for the personal light situated above the passenger. Anyway, I am here in the Senator lounge and can only say that I am sorely disappointed. I will bullet point my main issues and hopefully, at some point in the future they will be addressed.
· Education. Gold is Gold, regardless of Star Alliance partner, please ensure your agents are educated in this, particularly the one at JFK and at FRA Hall B
· Seats. Please take into consideration and look at the quality of the Grande Classe offering of your partner Austrian Airlines. Passengers should be able to move between seats even when ‘flat’.
· Cabin Lights. Please turn the main cabin lights off on red eye flights.
· Amenity Kits. Please look again at your partners and competitors put something genuinely useful in these kits, such as a moisturizer, refresh spray, toothbrush.
I have taken the liberty of posting this letter to a website called Flyertalk, it is a virtual meeting point for all those people that fly on a regular basis, allowing them to compare and advise others. You can find them at http://www.flyertalk.com/ I urge you to take a look.
Enjoy the New Year
Jon Garside
Business Technologist,
Computer Associates EMEA
[This message has been edited by jongar (edited 12-29-2000).]