YYT82

300rwhp

i thought the outstation emails were gone?

ridefar

They are very definitely still responding and I find it is the most effective way to contact them proactively. Just use the usual format for the email address.

canadiancow

Once again, I booked the one hour SFO-YYZ-MUC connection.

Except this time, there was a bit of a delay leaving SFO.

At T-40, we had not been let off the plane yet, so I called the concierge. There was a bit of a wait, but I got through, and asked to make sure they don't offload me. He left notes. Two minutes later, when I was walking off the plane, I noticed a woman holding an iPad with my name on it.

She mentioned Munich, at which point, other passengers started talking to her. When she (we?) managed to evade them, she made a comment about hating when other passengers approach her when she's only there for one person.

Of course, the escort slowed me down, because ITI is trivial in YYZ, and I took away a concierge from someone who could really use it.

If I'm going to misconnect, meet me at my inbound. Otherwise, send me a text/email/voicemail/ACARS/whatever to tell me what to do.

CharlieL

Arrived 45min before a flight from yyz to fra. had 2 suitcases to checkin, I was way pass the 60min limit. The concierge took them called the dispatch and personnally made sure they make the flight. The plane was held back 10min and the pilot said in the intercom that the flight was held back because we were waiting for a passenger bags....

yyznomad

@CharlieL
Are you SE or was this paid J, or both?

Nitehawk

45 mins should be long enough for the bags to be loaded without delaying the flight. Could have been someone elses bags that caused the delay, like a late connecting passenger.

CharlieL

Paid J

ajcopley

Like what? What more should a concierge team be doing?

(editing post. replying to the "Great service but sounds like they need more to do" comment)

canadiancow

I'd argue that escorts are a huge drain on resources. We can all appreciate when that stuff happens, but on ex-DEL flights, there are going to be dozens of concierge-eligible passengers, some of whom may need actual assistance.

I once expressed discontent at a concierge who met my LHR-YYZ and said she was going to walk us to the MLL and WAIT WITH US until standby was processed (there was an issue with the standby list that required intervention). I made a comment along the lines of "we don't need a babysitter - this is why there's never a concierge available when I need one" (it was a bit more polite than that).

As for 3 concierges meeting someone about a delayed bag, how about just taking better care of priority bags?

It's exceptionally rare I interact with a concierge when AC hasn't screwed up (bad IT, iRROPS, etc.). I'd love to never feel a need to interact with them.

ajcopley

yup understand and agree. but considering there are only four (or two now with the YYZ flight being suspended?) AC flights into / out of Delhi to be dealt with daily, perhaps they really do have the bandwidth to provide such personal service? Dunno...

canadiancow

For the dozens of eligible passengers? It sounds more like they're fixating on a few, providing feel-good but useless interactions, at the expense of anyone who actually needs assistance.

ajcopley

define "eligible"? not trying to be confrontational....I'm actually curious who is "eligible" for AC concierge service. So on my return flight, there seem to be only two SEs in biz class (only basing that on the service director's interactions with the 20 or so biz class passengers). Of course many could be in PE or Economy...just noted what I personally witnessed.

And not sure I'd agree with the "useless" comment. Who says I didn't need a personal escort to the Singapore lounge...I could have gotten lost forever without it! :-)

canadiancow

Everyone booked in paid business (JCDZP) are eligible, as well as SEs on any fare.

And then there are the situations where AC's system screws up and your SE status will not show up anywhere, so the concierges aren't even aware of you unless you can find one and tell them about your issue. Which is impossible of 3 of them are escorting someone with a missing bag.

ajcopley

OK let me clarify....."3 of them" never escorted me anywhere at any time upon landing....and "3 of them" never escorted me anywhere on my return leg. Upon landing in DEL, one of them showed up at baggage claim, with the other two coming over about 5 minutes later (those two very well could have been assisting others for all I know). The first one told me my bag was not on my flight, took down my info (what airline I was traveling on 6 hours later, etc), and done. Didn't see any of them again until 1 of them appeared with my bag at the Vistara check-in counter 6 hours later. Hardly excessive...they were doing exactly what I would have expected them to do with a delayed bag.

Return flight...I have no idea what this one concierge could or should have been doing differently while she was assisting / escorting me. Never before has that happened to me (personal escort), so I wasn't going to complain. Which is why I posted my original "kudos" post...to publicly thank them. Guess I didn't realize that they likely had more important things to attend to, so my bad.