LH flight compensation
Dec 14, 2018, 4:24 am
#16
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Netherlands
Programs: A3*G
Posts: 132
- HKG-MUC direct flight takes 12h25m.
- Netflix rate is EUR 13.99 per month (I took the most expensive plan)
- Your A3 miles valuation: 1.2c per mile
So:
- compensation in EUR: (12h25m / (31 days * 24h)) * 13.99 EUR = 0.235 EUR
- compensation in A3 miles: ~20 miles
You got offered 400x more, so I think you should be happy.
- Netflix rate is EUR 13.99 per month (I took the most expensive plan)
- Your A3 miles valuation: 1.2c per mile
So:
- compensation in EUR: (12h25m / (31 days * 24h)) * 13.99 EUR = 0.235 EUR
- compensation in A3 miles: ~20 miles
You got offered 400x more, so I think you should be happy.
Dec 14, 2018, 5:38 am
#17
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: ARN
Programs: A3*G, SK*G
Posts: 336
- HKG-MUC direct flight takes 12h25m.
- Netflix rate is EUR 13.99 per month (I took the most expensive plan)
- Your A3 miles valuation: 1.2c per mile
So:
- compensation in EUR: (12h25m / (31 days * 24h)) * 13.99 EUR = 0.235 EUR
- compensation in A3 miles: ~20 miles
You got offered 400x more, so I think you should be happy.
- Netflix rate is EUR 13.99 per month (I took the most expensive plan)
- Your A3 miles valuation: 1.2c per mile
So:
- compensation in EUR: (12h25m / (31 days * 24h)) * 13.99 EUR = 0.235 EUR
- compensation in A3 miles: ~20 miles
You got offered 400x more, so I think you should be happy.
This type of reasoning takes us nowhere. IFE is primarily there so that pax can pass/kill their time in a pleasant way while onboard. One does not fly C/F class on long-haul just to watch the latest releases on a larger screen than Y... Each service should be valued at the time and context within which it is provided. People pay 38 euro at a restaurant for the very same bottle of wine that they can buy for 8 euro at the store, and seldom complain about that. And a drink at a pub often costs close to what a whole bottle of that drink would cost at the liqueur store. By the same token, one can argue that watching a film while stuck for 10+ hrs on an armchair within a metal cylindroid (a fancy and comfortable one arguably, but you're still stuck there...) at 36,000 ft has a higher value than watching it at home or at a movie theater when there are so many alternatives to spend your free time on.
That said, I believe that the compensation received by OP is more or less fair. Perhaps a couple of thousand more mile would be more appropriate, but 8000 miles is IMHO decent for the inconvenience caused. Personally I very much agree with @KLouis. I always bring along a book, or some puzzles, or have some ebooks/magazines or movies on my tablet when travelling long-haul or even medium haul... And if travelling for work, I definitely use a large amount of this otherwise wasted time to do some things that save me time that I later spend while on land in more productive or entertaining ways. F and even C class seats on most airplanes nowadays can be easily used as mini-desks; sufficient room to have a small laptop or tablet, notes, and coffee/drink on the side
Last edited by East_and_West; Dec 14, 2018 at 5:43 am
Dec 14, 2018, 9:51 am
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: YYZ, HKG, MFM
Programs: AC35K, AS MVP, WS Gold, ITA EP, Marriott Plat, Hyatt-Explorist, IHG Diamond
Posts: 2,019
- HKG-MUC direct flight takes 12h25m.
- Netflix rate is EUR 13.99 per month (I took the most expensive plan)
- Your A3 miles valuation: 1.2c per mile
So:
- compensation in EUR: (12h25m / (31 days * 24h)) * 13.99 EUR = 0.235 EUR
- compensation in A3 miles: ~20 miles
You got offered 400x more, so I think you should be happy.
- Netflix rate is EUR 13.99 per month (I took the most expensive plan)
- Your A3 miles valuation: 1.2c per mile
So:
- compensation in EUR: (12h25m / (31 days * 24h)) * 13.99 EUR = 0.235 EUR
- compensation in A3 miles: ~20 miles
You got offered 400x more, so I think you should be happy.
I can do so much more things when I am on the ground compare to on the plane.
From your example, You can also substitute YouTube an example, where the cost is close to 0, meaning that the compensation should be close to 0.
Similarly, if one does not get a meal on the flight in J, are you saying the compensation (if any) should be equivalent to the price of the menu at a restaurant?
Doesn't sound right to me.
Dec 14, 2018, 9:53 am
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: YYZ, HKG, MFM
Programs: AC35K, AS MVP, WS Gold, ITA EP, Marriott Plat, Hyatt-Explorist, IHG Diamond
Posts: 2,019
I think you've got a more than fair settlement here.
If I contrast with British Airways, with whom I also hold Gold status, the very most I could ever expect for a faulty IFE is 5,000 Avios, perhaps 10,000 at a push if travelling in First and going down the line of serial complaining via the Gold status line. That's effectively a BA to BA internal transaction, so cheaper for the airline than buying another 'currency', on which BA would value an Avios at 0.6p - so somewhere between £30 and £60.
Now the reality is that most people would value an Avios at around 1p for redemptions, but that still only amounts to somewhere between £50 and £100.
To put it in further perspective, how many movies could you reasonably have watched over the course of the flight? Four, maybe? Five at an absolute push, I'd suspect. In the UK it typically costs about £6 to watch a film at the cinema, so if you put it in monetary value terms you really shouldn't have got more than $40 worth of miles.
If I contrast with British Airways, with whom I also hold Gold status, the very most I could ever expect for a faulty IFE is 5,000 Avios, perhaps 10,000 at a push if travelling in First and going down the line of serial complaining via the Gold status line. That's effectively a BA to BA internal transaction, so cheaper for the airline than buying another 'currency', on which BA would value an Avios at 0.6p - so somewhere between £30 and £60.
Now the reality is that most people would value an Avios at around 1p for redemptions, but that still only amounts to somewhere between £50 and £100.
To put it in further perspective, how many movies could you reasonably have watched over the course of the flight? Four, maybe? Five at an absolute push, I'd suspect. In the UK it typically costs about £6 to watch a film at the cinema, so if you put it in monetary value terms you really shouldn't have got more than $40 worth of miles.
Dec 14, 2018, 10:45 am
#20
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
I'm surprised that LH is willing to buy miles from a different FFP as a service gesture. Are there any other reports of this happening (with any airline)?
All the talk about hypothetical valuations is irrelevant. You may think fair compo is $150 and an A3 mile is worth 1.2 cents (American??); meanwhile, LH of course works in euros and may think fair compo is €60 and an A3 mile is worth 0.75 euro cents. What exchange rate is appropriate?
The price of cinema tickets in the UK seems even less relevant to a flight involving Hong Kong and Germany. For one thing I get 12 free UK cinema tickets per year from my Lloyds current account. A cinema screen (shared with up to 100-200 others and with the 30 minutes of pre-show ads in the UK!) is in no way comparable to on-demand personal TVs. However, BA should pay me compo for the lousy 7" screens they still have on the 772 in CW...
All the talk about hypothetical valuations is irrelevant. You may think fair compo is $150 and an A3 mile is worth 1.2 cents (American??); meanwhile, LH of course works in euros and may think fair compo is €60 and an A3 mile is worth 0.75 euro cents. What exchange rate is appropriate?
The price of cinema tickets in the UK seems even less relevant to a flight involving Hong Kong and Germany. For one thing I get 12 free UK cinema tickets per year from my Lloyds current account. A cinema screen (shared with up to 100-200 others and with the 30 minutes of pre-show ads in the UK!) is in no way comparable to on-demand personal TVs. However, BA should pay me compo for the lousy 7" screens they still have on the 772 in CW...
After all, one of the reasons these gestures are paid out in miles, not cash, is that the breakage rate is fairly heavy. Lots of people never use their miles.
Last edited by Often1; Dec 14, 2018 at 3:51 pm