LAN - Very Unimpressed
Mar 8, 2014, 6:16 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Toronto - YYZ
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Posts: 5,899
LAN - Very Unimpressed
First booking with LAN and a less than stellar experience.
Easter trip to Easter Island MEX-SCL-IPC & return. Initial glitches with their website/I.T and the inability to manage booking or select and change seats. The infamous spinning wheel. 2 hour connection on the outbound which has now been reduced to 1 hour, due to their incompetence in not originally adjusting arrival times to reflect daylight savings time which has now resulted in a less than acceptable MCT. As such, they have now imposed an 11 hour pitstop @ SCL. Instead of departing at 0750 now departing at 1740
. Certainly an in-transit connection of 1 hour is doable at SCL, but they have steadfastly refused to reinstate the original flight, and in the worst case scenario take the afternoon flight should the connection not be possible. Had to call SCL direct as the "866" number was completely inaudible, it was like talking to a wall. Spoke to 2 agents and a supervisor, and basically was given the "sorry Senor" treatment. Spending the entire day at SCL is not something I'm looking forward to, they've already declined providing a hotel/day room caused by their forced involuntary rebooking. Very tempted just to pull the plug on this trip. LAN has not lived up to their reputation and all of the wonderful things I've heard about this airline. Is this typical?
Easter trip to Easter Island MEX-SCL-IPC & return. Initial glitches with their website/I.T and the inability to manage booking or select and change seats. The infamous spinning wheel. 2 hour connection on the outbound which has now been reduced to 1 hour, due to their incompetence in not originally adjusting arrival times to reflect daylight savings time which has now resulted in a less than acceptable MCT. As such, they have now imposed an 11 hour pitstop @ SCL. Instead of departing at 0750 now departing at 1740
. Certainly an in-transit connection of 1 hour is doable at SCL, but they have steadfastly refused to reinstate the original flight, and in the worst case scenario take the afternoon flight should the connection not be possible. Had to call SCL direct as the "866" number was completely inaudible, it was like talking to a wall. Spoke to 2 agents and a supervisor, and basically was given the "sorry Senor" treatment. Spending the entire day at SCL is not something I'm looking forward to, they've already declined providing a hotel/day room caused by their forced involuntary rebooking. Very tempted just to pull the plug on this trip. LAN has not lived up to their reputation and all of the wonderful things I've heard about this airline. Is this typical?
Last edited by ACYYZ/SD; Mar 8, 2014 at 6:29 am
Mar 8, 2014, 10:33 am
#2
Moderator, Argentina and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: MIA / EZE
Programs: Lord of Malbec & all Wines Argentine. AA EXP / Marriott Lifetime Silver / Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 35,681
First booking with LAN and a less than stellar experience.
Easter trip to Easter Island MEX-SCL-IPC & return. Initial glitches with their website/I.T and the inability to manage booking or select and change seats. The infamous spinning wheel. 2 hour connection on the outbound which has now been reduced to 1 hour, due to their incompetence in not originally adjusting arrival times to reflect daylight savings time which has now resulted in a less than acceptable MCT. As such, they have now imposed an 11 hour pitstop @ SCL. Instead of departing at 0750 now departing at 1740. Certainly an in-transit connection of 1 hour is doable at SCL, but they have steadfastly refused to reinstate the original flight, and in the worst case scenario take the afternoon flight should the connection not be possible. Had to call SCL direct as the "866" number was completely inaudible, it was like talking to a wall. Spoke to 2 agents and a supervisor, and basically was given the "sorry Senor" treatment. Spending the entire day at SCL is not something I'm looking forward to, they've already declined providing a hotel/day room caused by their forced involuntary rebooking. Very tempted just to pull the plug on this trip. LAN has not lived up to their reputation and all of the wonderful things I've heard about this airline. Is this typical?
Easter trip to Easter Island MEX-SCL-IPC & return. Initial glitches with their website/I.T and the inability to manage booking or select and change seats. The infamous spinning wheel. 2 hour connection on the outbound which has now been reduced to 1 hour, due to their incompetence in not originally adjusting arrival times to reflect daylight savings time which has now resulted in a less than acceptable MCT. As such, they have now imposed an 11 hour pitstop @ SCL. Instead of departing at 0750 now departing at 1740
. Certainly an in-transit connection of 1 hour is doable at SCL, but they have steadfastly refused to reinstate the original flight, and in the worst case scenario take the afternoon flight should the connection not be possible. Had to call SCL direct as the "866" number was completely inaudible, it was like talking to a wall. Spoke to 2 agents and a supervisor, and basically was given the "sorry Senor" treatment. Spending the entire day at SCL is not something I'm looking forward to, they've already declined providing a hotel/day room caused by their forced involuntary rebooking. Very tempted just to pull the plug on this trip. LAN has not lived up to their reputation and all of the wonderful things I've heard about this airline. Is this typical?
Mar 8, 2014, 11:01 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Toronto - YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan/Hilton Gold/Marriott Bonvoy Titanium/Accor/Hyatt Gold Passport
Posts: 5,899
Mar 8, 2014, 11:19 am
#4
Moderator, Argentina and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: MIA / EZE
Programs: Lord of Malbec & all Wines Argentine. AA EXP / Marriott Lifetime Silver / Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 35,681
I have a little over 500,000 LANPass Kms in two accounts and am still trying to make sensible use of them.... trust me I know the pain.
Mar 8, 2014, 11:19 am
#5
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Small town near RNO
Programs: Delta 1MM/PM, BAEC GGL, Asiana Diamond Plus(Lifetime), AC *Tangerine
Posts: 899
Welcome to the "fun" of dealing with the Back "Orifice". This sounds like more of the typical LAN customer "service" at it's finest. Hopefully it hasn't got to the flight crews yet.
ACYYZ/SD you might want to try a post on the LAN Facebook page with a description of your current "fun." The social media people seem to be able to get the Back Orifice to come up with a solution that they just can't be bothered to do without encouragement. They seem to be fairly sensitive to non happy postings hanging around very long without a resolution. Good luck and hope you get a reasonable resolution.
ACYYZ/SD you might want to try a post on the LAN Facebook page with a description of your current "fun." The social media people seem to be able to get the Back Orifice to come up with a solution that they just can't be bothered to do without encouragement. They seem to be fairly sensitive to non happy postings hanging around very long without a resolution. Good luck and hope you get a reasonable resolution.
Mar 8, 2014, 11:57 am
#6
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: world
Programs: all
Posts: 1,422
First booking with LAN and a less than stellar experience.
Easter trip to Easter Island MEX-SCL-IPC & return. Initial glitches with their website/I.T and the inability to manage booking or select and change seats. The infamous spinning wheel. 2 hour connection on the outbound which has now been reduced to 1 hour, due to their incompetence in not originally adjusting arrival times to reflect daylight savings time which has now resulted in a less than acceptable MCT. As such, they have now imposed an 11 hour pitstop @ SCL. Instead of departing at 0750 now departing at 1740. Certainly an in-transit connection of 1 hour is doable at SCL, but they have steadfastly refused to reinstate the original flight, and in the worst case scenario take the afternoon flight should the connection not be possible. Had to call SCL direct as the "866" number was completely inaudible, it was like talking to a wall. Spoke to 2 agents and a supervisor, and basically was given the "sorry Senor" treatment. Spending the entire day at SCL is not something I'm looking forward to, they've already declined providing a hotel/day room caused by their forced involuntary rebooking. Very tempted just to pull the plug on this trip. LAN has not lived up to their reputation and all of the wonderful things I've heard about this airline. Is this typical?
Easter trip to Easter Island MEX-SCL-IPC & return. Initial glitches with their website/I.T and the inability to manage booking or select and change seats. The infamous spinning wheel. 2 hour connection on the outbound which has now been reduced to 1 hour, due to their incompetence in not originally adjusting arrival times to reflect daylight savings time which has now resulted in a less than acceptable MCT. As such, they have now imposed an 11 hour pitstop @ SCL. Instead of departing at 0750 now departing at 1740
. Certainly an in-transit connection of 1 hour is doable at SCL, but they have steadfastly refused to reinstate the original flight, and in the worst case scenario take the afternoon flight should the connection not be possible. Had to call SCL direct as the "866" number was completely inaudible, it was like talking to a wall. Spoke to 2 agents and a supervisor, and basically was given the "sorry Senor" treatment. Spending the entire day at SCL is not something I'm looking forward to, they've already declined providing a hotel/day room caused by their forced involuntary rebooking. Very tempted just to pull the plug on this trip. LAN has not lived up to their reputation and all of the wonderful things I've heard about this airline. Is this typical?
Mar 8, 2014, 8:44 pm
#7
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Flew over the Equator 55 times last 3 years
Programs: LANPASS Comodoro (Emerald), others
Posts: 2,957
As for LAN following the rules... they do. There are upsides to this as well as downsides. But we can tell you it is a rare bird to find a LAN employee who move off a rule once found.
PS You might have a fun read on how Chile historically handles announcing daylight savings time changes and then decide where you want to point the finger of incompetence.
Last edited by bingocallerb22; Mar 8, 2014 at 9:19 pm Reason: ps
Mar 8, 2014, 10:45 pm
#8
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: NUE
Programs: *G (TK elite+), OW sapphire (QR), ST elite plus (AF). LA black
Posts: 3,676
Mar 9, 2014, 6:24 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Toronto - YYZ
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Say what? Don't know how you got there, but LAN has never had a good reputation for on the ground service, actually quite the opposite! Its has been a well reported PITA and continues to be so. Sounds like cancelling might be a good option, karma for you doesn't seem good at this point. (Warning: Even that will be an adventure).
As for LAN following the rules... they do. There are upsides to this as well as downsides. But we can tell you it is a rare bird to find a LAN employee who move off a rule once found.
PS You might have a fun read on how Chile historically handles announcing daylight savings time changes and then decide where you want to point the finger of incompetence.
As for LAN following the rules... they do. There are upsides to this as well as downsides. But we can tell you it is a rare bird to find a LAN employee who move off a rule once found.
PS You might have a fun read on how Chile historically handles announcing daylight savings time changes and then decide where you want to point the finger of incompetence.
I just find it a bit bizarre that for a reservation booked a few ago, the time adjustments were not accurately reflected in the published connections.
And so here's where I rely on your recommendations
For my unanticipated 12 hour pitstop @ SCL (and I know the city well) Arrival time 0650 departure time 1740 what are your recommendations?
>Grab a hotel near SCL (Options being Holiday Inn or Hilton Garden Inn) and try to negotiate a day rate
>Buy a day access pass at the AA Lounge (Not Sure if LAN has similar arrangement)
>How flexible is LAN in allowing stand-by for the original flight that was involuntarily changed space permitting> I firmly believe that with carry-on, that this connection is doable.
Thanks!
Mar 9, 2014, 9:35 am
#10
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Flew over the Equator 55 times last 3 years
Programs: LANPASS Comodoro (Emerald), others
Posts: 2,957
I quite like Santiago and a few hours there sounds nice... but I'll let more experienced others answer that part.
For the flights part... there is a chance that things might change again, it is LAN after all. But if not, yes standby is quite doable. Not sure exactly when you fly but Easter exact is a busy travel time here. Playing it by ear at the airport might be quite a good plan.
For the flights part... there is a chance that things might change again, it is LAN after all. But if not, yes standby is quite doable. Not sure exactly when you fly but Easter exact is a busy travel time here. Playing it by ear at the airport might be quite a good plan.
Mar 9, 2014, 11:49 am
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Over the Bay Bridge, CA
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Posts: 38,630
Not necessarily defending LAN here, but a domestic to international connection is not a "doable" one hour connection, even though one might be able to make it.
Mar 10, 2014, 12:31 am
#12
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: NUE
Programs: *G (TK elite+), OW sapphire (QR), ST elite plus (AF). LA black
Posts: 3,676
Mar 10, 2014, 1:12 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Coast
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Posts: 11,970
First booking with LAN and a less than stellar experience.
Easter trip to Easter Island MEX-SCL-IPC & return. Initial glitches with their website/I.T and the inability to manage booking or select and change seats. The infamous spinning wheel. 2 hour connection on the outbound which has now been reduced to 1 hour, due to their incompetence in not originally adjusting arrival times to reflect daylight savings time which has now resulted in a less than acceptable MCT. As such, they have now imposed an 11 hour pitstop @ SCL. Instead of departing at 0750 now departing at 1740. Certainly an in-transit connection of 1 hour is doable at SCL, but they have steadfastly refused to reinstate the original flight, and in the worst case scenario take the afternoon flight should the connection not be possible. Had to call SCL direct as the "866" number was completely inaudible, it was like talking to a wall. Spoke to 2 agents and a supervisor, and basically was given the "sorry Senor" treatment. Spending the entire day at SCL is not something I'm looking forward to, they've already declined providing a hotel/day room caused by their forced involuntary rebooking. Very tempted just to pull the plug on this trip. LAN has not lived up to their reputation and all of the wonderful things I've heard about this airline. Is this typical?
Easter trip to Easter Island MEX-SCL-IPC & return. Initial glitches with their website/I.T and the inability to manage booking or select and change seats. The infamous spinning wheel. 2 hour connection on the outbound which has now been reduced to 1 hour, due to their incompetence in not originally adjusting arrival times to reflect daylight savings time which has now resulted in a less than acceptable MCT. As such, they have now imposed an 11 hour pitstop @ SCL. Instead of departing at 0750 now departing at 1740
. Certainly an in-transit connection of 1 hour is doable at SCL, but they have steadfastly refused to reinstate the original flight, and in the worst case scenario take the afternoon flight should the connection not be possible. Had to call SCL direct as the "866" number was completely inaudible, it was like talking to a wall. Spoke to 2 agents and a supervisor, and basically was given the "sorry Senor" treatment. Spending the entire day at SCL is not something I'm looking forward to, they've already declined providing a hotel/day room caused by their forced involuntary rebooking. Very tempted just to pull the plug on this trip. LAN has not lived up to their reputation and all of the wonderful things I've heard about this airline. Is this typical?
Mar 10, 2014, 6:39 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Toronto - YYZ
Programs: Aeroplan/Hilton Gold/Marriott Bonvoy Titanium/Accor/Hyatt Gold Passport
Posts: 5,899
I quite like Santiago and a few hours there sounds nice... but I'll let more experienced others answer that part.
For the flights part... there is a chance that things might change again, it is LAN after all. But if not, yes standby is quite doable. Not sure exactly when you fly but Easter exact is a busy travel time here. Playing it by ear at the airport might be quite a good plan.
For the flights part... there is a chance that things might change again, it is LAN after all. But if not, yes standby is quite doable. Not sure exactly when you fly but Easter exact is a busy travel time here. Playing it by ear at the airport might be quite a good plan.
While I'm familiar with the procedures at MEX, in your opinion is a 1 hour connection doable at Mexico City with carry-on luggage for an arrival time of 0635?
SCL-MEX(LA)-MEX-YYZ(AC).
Mar 10, 2014, 6:47 am
#15
Join Date: Jan 2000
Programs: Latinpass Million Miler. BA Gold.
Posts: 3,544
I can understand you are not happy about the experience with LAN so far. But I'd ask whether you make this trip to fly on LAN, or whether you want to go and visit Easter Island? It's a pretty unique place to visit, and perhaps you could take the flight for what it is - a way to get there, and just enjoy the island.
Your inflight experience should be fine, btw - and perfectly ok if you are in business class.
Your inflight experience should be fine, btw - and perfectly ok if you are in business class.