taipeiflyer

we both had a couple pieces of luggage and it is a service offered. the same as plenty of people that shower at home yet still make use of the shower facilities at the lounge, or that eat at home and then eat an hour later in the lounge.

cxfan1960

I see. Can the buggy go from the F lounge level down to the departure level? Is there a special elevator for it?

YuropFlyer

Well, seems you do nevertheless - after all, it was you reaching the gate too late, wasn't it?

It doesn't matter when they announce flights in the lounge - most lounges nowadays - especially those at hubs of an airline - don't announce any flights at all. As a frequent flyer, you should know not to trust any announcements.

Requesting a buggy ride - which is an option to choose, but not a guaranteed benefit (like the car service at the First Class Terminal in FRA for LH F passengers, or the buggy ride in BKK for F pax) - they don't have someone in the lounge monitoring your flight and telling you exactly when to leave - was your own choice. And doing so just 25 minutes before departure is cutting things very close.

Not too close yet if you know the airport well. Assuming gate closure is a fixed 15 minutes before departure, and you have 5 minutes to walk to the gate, that would be reasonable as Plan A, with Plan B being to walk there yourself.

When they announced "in 5 minutes" most definitely it shifted to be their problem. They should simply have told you "Sorry Sir, it might take some time to get your buggy and since your gate is closing in 10 minutes, you should walk there instead". But, you as a frequent flyer should have realised that their "5 minutes" was cutting things too close. The lounge staff isn't the Gate agent. They don't really know whats going on with the flight. There was a good chance of a tight slot, ie a timely departure being highly important, and the pilot would ask the gate to close exactly on T-15min. Even when calling the Gate in this situation, there is absolutely no security the pilot won't overrule.

Because, simply spoken, you were too late.

The blame obviously can be splitted here - and let's be honest, by rebooking you on the next flight, CX admitted they had their fair share of it (unless you were on a fully flex ticket anyway)

So, I hope you learned your lesson. Unless it's a service that is sold as "nanny service to gate" (aka TG F), it's your ultimate responsibility to reach the gate on time.

taipeiflyer

i don't know- when we asked for it from the lounge agent, we were upstairs and she told us to wait where we were seated and she would come get us once she received notice that the buggy had arrived.

taipeiflyer

if you can please point out where i have denied being ultimately responsible for reaching the gate on time, i would appreciate it. i recognize that it is ultimately my responsibility- which is why in about 600+ flights, i have reached the gate in a timely fashion in all but one of them. it is a responsibility i take seriously.

QRC3288

curious, did they offer the buggy benefit from the lounge? I've never actually requested / been offered a buggy from the lounge before. While I have heard of more proactive service being offered to consistent cash customers, I've never gotten this myself (presumably like other DMs, I am offered buggies when the gate is in the 40s or 60s). Was the ex-lounge buggy something they proactively offered you?

Would be curious about your status and ticket type, if they indeed offered the ex-lounge buggy (or any buggy) proactively. Are you still AA EXP (as per your profile)? Any chance you're also possibly CX DM? And were you on cash tickets, AM awards or partner awards?

Until now, I've only heard of buggies going to CX DMs, and consistent cash pax in premium cabins that CX flagged as high value customers internally, regardless of status.

cxfan1960

I asked because I wan't sure you did that before. I was puzzled by the lounge agent's response too. I am not sure if that can be done. Moving a buggy from the departure level to the F lounge level probably requires a few minutes even if a buggy is available. I don't know if there is any elevator to move a buggy with passengers back to the departure level (perhaps that is). Even if that is doable, it will likely take quite some additional time before you can get to the gate.

cxfan1960

The poster indicated that they were on revenue tickets.

I presumed they paid for the buggy, as the gate was only 3-minute walk away. CX would not offer buggy service for such a short distance even for DMs.

taipeiflyer

paid F ticket, sfo-hkg-tpe. we requested the buggy. anyone can- i normally don't, but we were both carrying a couple pieces of luggage.

taipeiflyer

did not pay for the buggy- did not receive the buggy so nothing to pay for.

cxfan1960

When you requested for the buggy, were you planning to pay for it, or did you and your friend already got buggy vouchers?

If my departure gate is at 40+, I usually receive buggy voucher when I check in. If there is a gate update to 40+, I may request a buggy voucher in the lounge. I do not have any experience getting on a buggy at the lounge. I always go to the buggy station to wait for a buggy.

taipeiflyer

I was not expecting to get ON the buggy in the lounge. I merely asked the lounge agent to request one for me, and she would inform us when it had arrived. the only other time i have taken a buggy at HKG, it was offered voluntarily. When we requested it, no discussion of vouchers or payment was mentioned, so in my experience, it is a service provided to anyone on a Trans-ocean F ticket. YMMV

YuropFlyer

Then I don't see why you got loud in the lounge, or were angry at all, when you agree that it was (ultimately - CX certainly has some blame to take too as spelled out) your fault to be too late.

I mean, let's face it, you (and your friend) obviously disturbed the lounge atmosphere after you missed your flight. Obviously, you shouldn't have been physically attacked by another passenger over that (however, I think most people wouldn't have asked for the police over that, consider you're in Asia, not the US, and nothing really bad happened) but I'm talking about what happened before that incident.

The lounge staff realized they acted wrongly by telling you a buggy will come shortly. They should have told you to hurry to the gate. Their fault, clearly.

Thus, they were apologising for what happened, as it was partly their fault too. However, at THIS point, you should simply have calmed down, let them rebook you, and be happy nothing more happened. That could have been the end of the story.

No assault on you would have happened, the lounge staff would probably have realised not to call for a buggy when time was tight anyway and rather tell pax to use their legs. A buggy ride you're asking for just 10 minutes before gate closure is most certainly NOT a "TG Nanny service".

But it was you that decided to continue to complain albeit there was absolutely nothing they could have done at this point - they won't call the pilot and tell him to turn around - and just accept what happened.

Considering you're a frequent flyer, you really should have known better about how to react. Acting like a DYKWIA - even if there are reasons why you could be upset - should never ever be happening.

taipeiflyer

like i said, you are free to draw your own conclusions. based on your comment, i can draw the conclusion that if you are ever assaulted in Asia, you have no reasonable expectation of involving the police. cheers.

sxc

I am not making any judgement on the way the OP handled this situation, but the agent in the lounge seems to have been grossly incompetent. The buggys don't come to the lounge, they give you a voucher and you have to go down from level7 to level 6.

If you were entitled to a voucher, they should have given it to you and told you to head off. It sounds like this agent didn't know what the buggy was and was probably in a holding pattern trying to work out what your request was.