RobertS975

I know that I have seen Delta employees in AMS that seem to have the ability to solve "Delta" problems in that station even though KLM people handle all the routine functions. What about CDG? With over a dozen daily flights ex-CDG, I assume that even though almost all check-in and gate functions are handled by AF people, there must be DL supervisory employees (?redcoats?) on the scene. On a recent check-in for DL 119 back to BOS, there was some kind of issue that would not allow the agent to print our assigned seats on our boarding passes. She isssued SBY BPs that got us through securiuty, did check our luggage to BOS. She said the seats would be assigned at the gate. (Seat assignments had been secured for months on this flight.) She tried making some phone calls, but eventually just told us to get seats at the gate. Called the Diamond Line who said everything was confirmed etc.

Long story short, after several tries, the agent at the AF lounge eventually handed me BPs with our original D1 seat assignments. Never did find out what the issue was. But are there DL front line employees to oversee DL ops at CDG?

speede racer

I flew through CDG on Saturday. There was indeed a person in a red coat at the gate, and he seemed to be very effective and with access to a competent and fast support line. He was busy handling boarding when I got there, and the other individual was definitely less experienced and enabled. The transit desk had great difficulty helping me; I don't know where the lounge ranks on the helpfulness scale. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/29974394-post2973.html

jamiestr

I would love it if Delta would re-take over their operations at CDG. In AMS, never had a problem with KLM ground handling.

SDQBound

Short answer is No. There are AF agents who have additional training and are supposed to handle complex situations, but they are not DL employees. 99% of the time a regular FTer would know the policies better than the redcoats at CDG.

Calling DL or the DM line is useless when the flight is under AF departure control.

RobertS975

Well, as I said, I had no idea what the issue was at my check-in. We were upgraded to D1 months ago using GUCs with seats 4B and 4C clearly in the system. Their computer showed the seats, showed confirmed status, but still wouldn't allow the printing of a BP that didn't have big bold letters SBY on it. I'm sure there was an extra keystroke or menu that they needed to click through, and although it all worked out, it still causes some angst before your flight.

A DL ombudsman presence would be very helpful, given approximately 14 DL metal flights a day out of CDG.

pvn

I'm not sure what a DL ombudsman is going to be able to do that AF can't handle already. The joint venture has been in place for a long time, AF and DL routinely handle issues for each other. OP got the seats he thought he was supposed to get, everything worked out. What is going to be improved by inserting another person into the mix?

flyerCO

Also everything is done DoD in Air France's systems. Having a DL employee would be useless. Whatever the issue, it wasn't something a DL employee would be trained on, nor be able to fix. I've seen the screen they use. Instead of DL405 they work the flight as AF3628 within AF systems, reverse of how a codeshare flight is normally handled.

thibderoc

This could also perfectly happens in BOS : the check-in agent is not able to issue the correct BP and let the Gate/Lounge Agent sort it out... I'm pretty sure, you'd call DM line also and would feel some anxiety...

Mats

They used to do this.
Air France, for example, used to handle Delta at Buenos Aires/Ezeiza. Maybe they still do.
But there was always a uniformed Delta employee at check-in then up at the gate.

The same is true for United at Tel Aviv. Most everything is handled by QAS, but there is always at least one United employee there.
There are only three flights per day.

My guess is that they do have Delta staff on site, but they're elsewhere in the airport.

Delta/Air France is also the only alliance in which I have run into check in snags: missing ETKT numbers, mysterious downgrades, etc. It always involves having the Air France agent call Delta in the States. I've not run into this with Star Alliance codeshares.

flyerCO

The person in uniform is rarely an actual DL employee. Instead they're also an AF employee who is dressed as a DL redcoat or a QAS employee dressed as an UA employee. Gives the impression they have an actual presence and allows people to recognize someone to ask a question.

MSPeconomist

OT but at EZE, there are some DL uniforms at the DL check in counter, but some AR or airport contract employees seem to work the flight also. I've never noticed AF employees around, even before the new terminal and new larger AR lounge.

SDQBound

This has been my experience at EZE as well.

ClipperDelta

CDG, NCE, MAD, BCN, FCO are a few of the stations in Europe that still have 'real' Delta employees; at CDG, check in, and gate duties are handled by AF staff using AF systems, but the ticket desk has DL employees, and the Red Coats are real Delta employees.

At other stations, including AMS, most of the 'Delta' agents are contract staff, even those dressed in Delta uniforms. In ZRH for example, only the station manager and the assistant station manager are Delta employees, all others are Swissport staff, including those in the 'Red Coat' uniform. FRA is also pretty much all contract staff, etc.

kthomas

Are you kidding?

If I address AF employees in my three-semesters-in-Phonetique-a-la-Sorbonne+SciencePo French, sure, they'll snap to attention and do somethign if I tell them how. Absolutely. There's a cultural heirachy here, after all, and I might complain to Macron over cocktails at Brasserie Lipp. after all.

If I tend towards a provincial accent much less English? Good luck getting any response at all other than "Delta handles that" or "use the app."

On this one: my position is, Delta needs to step in, demand control, and force the AF socialists to do something.

Weet u niet?

3Cforme

Too bad you didn't learn any culture and history.

Delta employees aren't going to tell AF staff to do anything with AF systems.