FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Adding insult to injury (caused by somebody else)
Old Oct 14, 2024 | 8:41 am
  #5  
HEhatesusall
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: A3 gold
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Originally Posted by KLouis
Last Thursday I had a bad experience with an AF CDG-ZRH flight! In brief, after a long weather delay, a pilot's error in the calculation of the flight time (too long to describe) being denied landing, flying back to CDG, then 90 minutes (!) of meandering in an empty 2F terminal, until the situation was "solved" by AF agents. I finally arrived in the hotel bed provided around 3:30 a.m. for a three-hour long sleep. The next 48 hours were uneventful, except for some ensuing health issues, so let's get to the insult by "our" Aegean. Two days later, upon arrival in ATH (connecting to HER on the last flight of the day), I went to the lounge to ask whether they could change my connection to an earlier one. The very friendly agent phoned somebody and she looked dumbstruck when told that the additional price to pay for that would be 190€! . Yes, almost 4 times the full price of the original return ticket, for changing the departure time by a little more than one hour. Needless to say, I said no and I spent the time solving crossword puzzles and Sudoku.

I never before complained about A3's pricing policies but 190 € plus "half the price" of the original ticket (i.e. more than 200 €) for a 35 minutes long flight in coach would have been described by Mark Twain as being slightly exaggerated like the reports of his death.
I've had similar experiences.... For example connecting XXX(schengen)-ATH-SKG . My initial flight arrives 20mins early, and I arrive in ATH during boarding of the previous ATH-SKG flight.
I go to the gate agents and politely ask "Look, I am A3 gold, in a flex fare, hand luggage only, can I board this flight please? You clearly arent selling any more seats". I got told 3 times already "no" , which is a bit irritating. I mean, you clearly wont sell the seat, I will cost at least 10eur or so to A3 if I go to the lounge to wait for my flight, and A3 misses the (slim) opportunity to sell my seat in the next flight to someone else. It is a win-win for me, and I am still clueless as they dont accept such changes.

Out of the 2 times I got told "OK", in 1 I had a comfortFlex fare, and it the other I had a flex fare but possibly I got lucky and/or my flight was overbooked
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