johan rebel

So how many of these were canceled due to conditions at AMS?

Johan

irishguy28

I have no insight into any of the listed airline's systems, and cannot therefore confirm the multitude of other sins causing cancellations being passed off as "weather related".

Therefore, you will have to assume that all flights cancelled are due to weather at some or all points on the routes affected.

johan rebel

Any airline that considers its customers as people who pose difficulties needs to have its head examined.

Keeping pax from stranding at AMS may well be in KL's finanacial interest, but it is not necessarily and always to the pax' advantage. Especially when their rebooking and customer care in general suck to the power of ten or so.

A colleague has now had four flights in a row canceled (not only due to a couple of centimeters of snow or a wind gust or two, but also due to pilot shortage, I suspect). On three of the four flights he was rebooked on they then lost his checked luggage. Good luck getting anything out of Customer Care, such as a response.

IST is bursting at the seams, has far fewer runways than AMS, yet does far better in delay rankings. Latest figures are for November 2017. IST ranked 8th (only non-US airport in the top ten), AMS came a lousy 32nd.

AMS used to be a great airport, and KLM a great airline. I go back to the days of Schiphol Oost and Royal Class, I figure I ought to know.

Johan

irishguy28

Then I say we go immediately back to those less-challenging days.

How easy it must have been to run an airline back in those glamorous days, when markets were closed, fares were priced so as to be out of reach of a far greater proportion of travellers, and any shortfalls despite the huge prices could be ignored due to government largesse.

Cap the airport's capacity back to the 1960 number of 1.35 million pax per annum and 51,000 plane movements; do this by turfing out every airline that was not already in-situ by 1960 and by reverting to the destinations served then. With only 140 planes per day to handle, neither rains, nor winds, nor ice, nor de-icing, will be able to prevent any of each day's 4,000 passengers from taking to the skies.

EricVdb

Come on, it's never good enough for you, is it? Of course people being stranded in airports are a problem, both for the airline as the airport. And, judging from the responses during the snowpocalyps at the end of last year, also for the passengers involved. Having them away from the region where problems are expected is, usually, a good thing. Granted, rebooking can be a hit or miss thing (not having too many negative experiences with it myself).

Besides that, I do believe KLM has been announced as the most punctual airline for more then a few times now. Allthough you might debate about the used metrics, turkish isn't that punctual as KLM seems to be, judging by those lists. The airport however isn't KLM, as you must know. You also must know both the airline and airport are bound by agreements made either long ago or with more restrictions any other country will impose.

jb2008

Concerto

Two days ago I got an sms saying my GVA-AMS flight on Monday 8th was cancelled. This is surely not due to weather, maybe the pilot shortage? I just had a look at my booking and see they have rebooked me on AF via CDG, which gets me where I’m going at 22h30 (original arrival 14h05). This is too late, I need to be where I am going at a specific, earlier time (like most people do). I sure hope I can get them to change it again, maybe even a day earlier.

EricVdb

Pilot shortage? I do know certain cabin staff plan to strike on that day. I assume the cancelling is more due to that.

CyBeR

Lots of delays yesterday but I didn't see too many cancellations. I was delayed exactly an hour on AMS-BCN, supposed to leave at 20:55, actually left at 22:08, supposed to arrive 23:05, actually at gate 00:05.

Xandrios

This is likely due to the strike(s) that were announced by the cabin crew. However they finally reached an agreement last night and it seems that the strikes are off. You may want to check if your flight is reinstated.

In any case, as long as it is not weather, I'd say you have some grounds for 261/2004 compensation. Especially if the flight was canceled due to strikes which where subsequently canceled.

KLflyerRalph

The VNC union has reached an agreement with KLM, while it was FNV who called for a strike. They are deliberating whether or not to scrap the strike.

Concerto

Actually, I was rebooked on AF leaving at exactly the same time, arriving in DUS 20 minutes earlier (forgot to mention my final destination is DUS). Quite happy with it because I ended up in Y class! It’s funny how none of that will be important any more in 3 months time.

wxman22

While I've flown KLM since the mid-'80's, and generally have liked the service. The KLM labor unions seem more militant than most.
On the AMS-Toyko flight, that stopped at ANC,(before Redoubt) where we were getting off, our bags were purposely (as we were told by KLM in ANC) packed to not allow them to be off-loaded in ANC.
We got them two days later after they had gone to Japan and back.

KLflyerRalph

Strike has been called off.

pjhartog

Another major storm on its way - expected on Thursday - Jan 18. Scheduled for a PM AMS-GVA flight and GVA is known to be cancelled preemptively...