Pregnent Wife - no travel
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Cardiff, UK
Programs: KLM FD Gold, LH Sen
Posts: 45
Pregnent Wife - no travel
Hi all...
I would like to know if FD can allow for circumstances where I am unable to travel (all my travel involves long haul) throughout the past 9 months due to my wife being pregnent.
Since she has been pregnent I have opted out of any overseas travel until the baby is born. This is will this effect my FD status points as I need another 30,000 to stay at Gold. Is there anyway in appealling for this??
Missing out on Gold will/might mean missing out on Skyteam Elite Plus
I would like to know if FD can allow for circumstances where I am unable to travel (all my travel involves long haul) throughout the past 9 months due to my wife being pregnent.
Since she has been pregnent I have opted out of any overseas travel until the baby is born. This is will this effect my FD status points as I need another 30,000 to stay at Gold. Is there anyway in appealling for this??
Missing out on Gold will/might mean missing out on Skyteam Elite Plus
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,210
I doubt it very much. Infact i have heard of people missing out on qualifying for PE or GE status by a few hundred miles and not getting any help from them.
Maybe someone else might have had better luck? What ever you do don't bother calling the FD helpdesk unless you want to waste your time
Maybe someone else might have had better luck? What ever you do don't bother calling the FD helpdesk unless you want to waste your time
#3
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 7,560
Every year a certain percentage of members of every FF programme will find themselves in situations where, for reasons outside their control (illness, family illness, bereavement), they are unable to travel as much as they normally do. I was in that situation myself four years ago when my father was terminally ill.
The old FD scheme made allowance for this, in a way, by allowing members to carry points forward to the following year - I managed to hang on to my Royal Wing status in 2000 because I had enough points in the bank from previous years. One of the things many of us criticised when the new scheme was brought in was the fact that it does not allow for any carry-forward at all, and a point that was frequently made was the very point that is being made again now - "How about people who have to temporarily cut down on their travelling for reasons such as illness?"
I can't see how an airline could make a special case for every FF member who suffered illness or bereavement (it would take hours of staff time to check through all the doctors' notes, death certificates etc), but a system which allows some limited carry-forward would be an easy and unbureaucratic way of allowing frequent flyers to maintain their status when they have to cut down on their travelling for limited periods.
The old FD scheme made allowance for this, in a way, by allowing members to carry points forward to the following year - I managed to hang on to my Royal Wing status in 2000 because I had enough points in the bank from previous years. One of the things many of us criticised when the new scheme was brought in was the fact that it does not allow for any carry-forward at all, and a point that was frequently made was the very point that is being made again now - "How about people who have to temporarily cut down on their travelling for reasons such as illness?"
I can't see how an airline could make a special case for every FF member who suffered illness or bereavement (it would take hours of staff time to check through all the doctors' notes, death certificates etc), but a system which allows some limited carry-forward would be an easy and unbureaucratic way of allowing frequent flyers to maintain their status when they have to cut down on their travelling for limited periods.
#4
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Germany
Posts: 201
Sorry I can't give you any advice on this, but I'm a bit curious, because I did it exactly the other way 'round. I have travelled a lot while my wife was pregnant in order to be there and have more time for her and the child after the birth. That worked quite well for me (two times), especially as I also got away from those typical mood changes during pregnancy .
Cheers,
Torsten
Cheers,
Torsten
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2000
Posts: 14,352
Originally Posted by Aviatrix
I can't see how an airline could make a special case for every FF member who suffered illness or bereavement (it would take hours of staff time to check through all the doctors' notes, death certificates etc),
johan
#6
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 7,560
Originally Posted by johan rebel
I had to cancel half a dozen flights after my father's death earlier this year. KL gave me a full refund on a nonrefundable ticket, and FD refunded the miles for an upgrade on this ticket, including the 2,500 cancelation fee. Both KL and FD required copies of the death certificate.
johan
johan
I wasn't really talking about ticket refunds, though - I was talking about FD members asking to retain their status for compassionate reasons when they haven't flown enough to re-qualify. Who is going to decide what is or isn't a deserving case? Who is going to sift through all the supporting evidence that people would have to supply? Where would one draw the line?
Very sorry to hear about your father, Johan.
#7
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Co. Durham, UK
Posts: 217
Originally Posted by rodondo4
Hi all...
I would like to know if FD can allow for circumstances where I am unable to travel (all my travel involves long haul) throughout the past 9 months due to my wife being pregnent.
Since she has been pregnent I have opted out of any overseas travel until the baby is born. This is will this effect my FD status points as I need another 30,000 to stay at Gold. Is there anyway in appealling for this??
Missing out on Gold will/might mean missing out on Skyteam Elite Plus
I would like to know if FD can allow for circumstances where I am unable to travel (all my travel involves long haul) throughout the past 9 months due to my wife being pregnent.
Since she has been pregnent I have opted out of any overseas travel until the baby is born. This is will this effect my FD status points as I need another 30,000 to stay at Gold. Is there anyway in appealling for this??
Missing out on Gold will/might mean missing out on Skyteam Elite Plus
Exraf
(Sorry couldn't resist)
#8
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 6,790
Well, I guess one can't judge by what happened last year (KLM renewed all PEs, even those without a single flight, and all GEs that had taken one flight), but it's always worth asking if you fall short. Even if they won't give you a full year more as GE, perhaps they will offer you some sort of "challenge" (e.g., fly 12,500 miles during the first quarter or some such).
As with last year, I've fully requalified for PE, so the odds are they will again give the status to anyone who has not set foot on a KLM flight this year.
Ah yes. At least with PMS the mood changes only hit a few days a month.
As with last year, I've fully requalified for PE, so the odds are they will again give the status to anyone who has not set foot on a KLM flight this year.
Originally Posted by Torsten71
. . . those typical mood changes during pregnancy . . .
#9
Suspended
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Taiwan(Taichung) and UK
Programs: ANA PLAT,CI GOLD,LH SEN,Hyatt Gold.
Posts: 3,165
Please note that to say nothing is the best policy as they encourage non revenue spenders to enjoy all the best perks of FD and thos high revenue spenders get nothing regardless of what they have done in the past
#10
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Philippines
Programs: CebGo 5J, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum, Alaska 100K
Posts: 4,696
Sounds like an old LH policy. As far as I now Lufthansa was the only airline that allowed for preganancy to be an excuse to not drop status. KLM . . . . .well!
#12
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 6,790
I believe either, although it may apply only when the person takes some sort of formal leave from work.
Discussed in the below thread (as well as others):
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67116
Lufthansa Senatoren und Frequent Traveller im Erziehungsurlaub/Elternzeit: Lufthansa Senatoren und Frequent Traveller können ab sofort ihren Vielfliegerstatus trotz Babypause aufrecht erhalten. Ein entsprechender Nachweis reicht für eine Verlängerung um jeweils ein Jahr. Dies gilt natürlich sowohl für Mütter als auch für Väter, jedoch jeweils nur für ein Elternteil.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67116
#14
Join Date: May 1998
Posts: 6,790
Originally Posted by Aviatrix
So it's not pregnancy, but parental leave (i.e., time off work AFTER the baby is born) that will make LH extend a passenger's frequent flyer status.
#15
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 7,560
but in some countries maternity leave can start during pregnancy, i.e. BEFORE the baby is born.
Lufthansa's rules refer to Erziehungsurlaub - i.e., time off to look after a young child rather than maternity leave.
Last edited by Aviatrix; Sep 14, 2004 at 12:59 am Reason: Typo