GRUflyer

Dear Gianrico,

I just flew LX 92 yesterday and I was surprised by the fact that the cabin lights were left on in the C Cabin, while they were dimmed in F Class - I could not see Y from my seat.

After the seat belt sign went off, I asked to speak to the Purser about that, because I have been in emergency situations (engine failure) before during the night and I could definetely say that the lights being dimmed did speed up everybody's response to the fact that the cabin went pitch black afterwards.

So, my question is:

1 - Is it really LX's policy to take off with lights on? After I mentioned that to her, she threw a fit, went to her station, brought her Ipad to me, saying that she had highlighted the part I should read before criticising her - Note: I asked, not demanded. Later, she loudly told the whole C cabin that she was sorry for me now, because I could not complain about her behaviour.

2 - Being so strict on her policies, and after she mentioned not politely to me that "you must have taken some drugs, because you were sleeping without moving that I thought you were dead", she went on to dim ALL the cabin lights for landing. She then came to my seat and said "Since you wanted it so bad, I did it for you". So, after my initial questioning it is OK to brake the rules?!

3 - Two other Flight Attendants came by my seat to apologize for her behaviour. They told me not to let her ruin my day. While I usually careless if the FA is having a good day or not, I DO have an issue with them trying to embarass me in front of everybody.


Side note: because of diet restrictions I cannot eat pasta or meat in the night and that is all they had during the dinner service, so I did not eat anything. She said "It is your fault, now you will remember to ask for a special meal next time" Maybe she is right on the intention she had, but that is hardly the way to put it, no?!

I had never seen such strange behaviour from LX crew. If not for her flawless German and French (well, French, because I hardly speak German) I could swear she had been outsourced straight from Iberia or American Airlines.

GRUflyer

Dear FTers,

What are your experience flying LX on this matter?

djjaguar64

I would care less if the lights were on or off, as long as the inflight service is excellent!!! Also I would have remembered to order a diabetic meal!!!

hugolover

I've flown LX92 in C (mini-cabin) and the lights were dimmed for t/o as is SOP on all airlines! I can't think of a flight I've taken at night where the CC didn't dim the lights for t/o or landing at night.

It's a pity this crew member was so hell-bent is covering up her mistake and took it out on a rev pax. You should report this to LX using the proper channels.

GRUflyer

Have you ever been in an evacuation?

If you have not, trust me, you would start paying attention to all details.

It does sound too "American Airlines" to say it, but the Crew's priority is our safety. For me that was a basic mistake.

And her explanation as to why she did not dim the lights in C was the best EVER.... "Some passangers are afraid of the darkness". Really? So we should keep the lights on throghout the flights because mommie might not be close to the very young, bald, fat European types that fly this route...?

And congrats to people in F for being so brave and not afraid of the darknesss...

And sadly, I am not making ANY of this up....

milesfixed

On LX flights, my experience shows that the lights are usually on but dimmed, except on rare exceptions. They used to switch off the light completely in the past but just dim it now. Am not sure why. But I give you right, bright light for take of is not good. What was written on that Ipad as she showed you some highlighted parts ?

You say you care less if the FAs have a good day or not (not very civilized of you - excuse me the side note..) but don't like them trying to embarrass you in front of everybody. Because they came to apologize for her behavior ? I don't get it.

I would love to have the other side of the story. I can hardly imagine a LX purser acting like this.

For the meal option, the flight to Brazil leaves just before midnight if I recall correctly. LX has always a reduced food choice at this time. If you cannot eat meat or pasta, you should order a special meal to make sure you will have something proper to eat, as the choice is often Beef or Pasta (at least on flights to Far East).

djjaguar64

As usual there is more to it then what we hear on FT.

swiss_global

I started reporting safety relevant issues (in my case galley not secured for take off) not only to LX but also to FOCA, the Federal Office of Civil Aviation of Switzerland. While I received a boiler plate response from LX, FOCA actually called me to discuss the incident. The caller from FOCA was extremely professional, confirming the relevancy of the incident, but also questioning the level of risk involved. He also promised to discuss with LX.

Obviously, food choice and behavior of FAs is not within the remit of FOCA ...

SwissInternationalAirLines

Dear GRUFlyer

First of all, I'm sorry for the negative impression your flight from Sao Paulo to Zurich left to you.

Unfortunately, I cannot elaborate on safety procedures, as this is a field I have no knowledge in and any answer I could give you would be bound to be incomplete due to lack of knowledge of all appropriate rules, exceptions etc. Therefore I cannot judge the actions of the M/C on your specific flight. Also, I unfortunately do not know which rules/chapters the M/C of your flight referred to, so I cannot comment on this. Thank you for your understanding.

Regarding the behaviour of the crew, I would invite you to write an official complaint via the usual Customer Service channels. I'm very sorry for this negative experience, which of course is not what it should be.

Regarding the meal choice: Once again, I'm very sorry we could not meet your dietary requirements. I would encourage you to order a special meal in these circumstances for future flights, as pasta tends to be a very frequent component of our vegetarian options. Therefore, the only way we can meet your requirements is by providing you with a special meal you would need to specifically order in advance.

Once again, I'm very sorry we did not live up to your expectations on your flight this week, and I hope you will give us a chance to rectify this impression in the near future.

Kind regards,
Gianrico

GRUflyer

Dear Gianrico,

Needeless to say I will not write to LX because they will give me the lalalala.... We are sorry, move on thing. If you could not answer any of my questions, why would somebody sitting in a office?!

Sticking to SQ from now on then. Or Iberia, if I want cheap service and a flat bed.

The note in the MC Ipad said "For take off lights should be dimmed, but not completely off" which needless to say leave a LOT of room for interpretation.

The oddest part, which everybody seems to be missing, is the fact that she dimmed the lights for some parts of the cabin and not for others. Which basically mean she broke the rule EITHER way?!

And people, the food issue was just the icing on the cake. I was more shocked to the fact that she did not try to come up with anything - but hey she offered me Salad for breakfast! Like, lettuce and tomatoes! 10 hours late anyone?! Other than the poker face, she did little to try to get me an economy meal, a cheese plate, ANYTHING.

I use LX often on the GRU-ZRH-PVG run. Will move to LH F now. Bad service, but better seats?! And I eat in the FCT....

I have been flying Air France quite often lately. And when AF food and service is better than yours, it is time to raise the red flag.

GRUflyer

I actually liked that they apologized for her behaviour, which I think further proves she was over the top with her reaction.

I said I did not like to be emberassed BECAUSE of her attitude. Everybody else was great. Unfortunately she was the one with more power (and less kindness) though.

SwissInternationalAirLines

Dear GRUFlyer

I'm sorry I could not satisfy you with my response.

The passage about lights having to be dimmed, but not completely off, for take-off also is the only official text I found on cabin lights (and since I am sitting in an office too, just like my colleagues at Customer Service, that's the only source I have), and that's exactly why I cannot answer your question: I do not know why the M/C interpreted this passage the way she did, and why she chose to dim lights differently in different parts of the cabin.
If you want us to officially look into it, talk about it with the crew member involved etc., then you will have to file an official complaint. There is nothing I can do here on this channel.

The same goes for crew behaviour: All I can do here is say I'm sorry. But I do not have any further powers here. If you would like this properly followed up, please write an official complaint. If you prefer, I'll gladly PM you my e-mail address and will forward this complaint for you, but it will eventually land on the same desk as if you write it through the usual channels.

Once again, I'm sorry I cannot do more here on FlyerTalk. If there is anything else I can assist with, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,
Gianrico

GRUflyer

Unfortunately I have 4 RTs with LX F and C booked for the upcoming 2 months. The good thing is that I have her name and card with me, and will reserve the right to ask her to refrain from faking nice to me because I am in F.

Like I said, I have always had excepcional service at LX.

But I will follow the trend and fly QR and EY now if SQ is fully booked (which they always are in C ex GRU).

With all the cost cutting going on in LH group, I have a great idea to them: the less passangers you carry, the less fuel you burn.

And Dear Gianrico, while I appreciatte your kindness I fail to see any realaction taken by LX. They cannot even fix the Internet Issue that has widely infuriated people, let alone a bad apple among good ones. They will feel it harder when they go with one empty seat per month in F for GRU-ZRH and ZRH-PVG.

DEAR SWISS LURKER, one more question: do you think that LX might make some record for me, so I can cancel all my future flights without penalty, claiming this bad service to be the reason? If so, I might fill in the forms.....

RTW1

Come on, you encountered one FA that didn't agree with you..... you must live an otherwise sheltered life.

GRUflyer

Have you ever been in an Emergency landing, evacuation?

If so, don't you think safety issues are VERY RELEVANT as to which carrier you fly. LX do not even know what dimmed lights is supposed to be!