Can't Speak English? You're off the flight!
Nov 18, 2018, 3:50 pm
#46
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: Flying Blue Plat, Air Europa Silver, IHG Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,010
This is not remotely comparable.Long-haul flights will have a complement of between 10 and 15 crews for each flight and typically one flight or at most two per day.
On intra-European flights, there will be typically between 3 and 5 crews. Those crews will make several rotations to multiple destinations in different countries during the day. Ensuring that crew speak the relevant language on intra-European destination, even if you just keep it to the main destinations in the large countries (i.e. Germany, France, Spain and Italy) would introduce a degree of complexity in the design of crewing rotas which is on a completely different scale to having a Mandarin speaker on flights to China. Secondly, the problem of indviduals being unable to communicate in English is also on a different scale on flight to/from the Far East and to/from Europe. Thirdly, the likelihood of needing to communicate with the crew also increases with the length of flight. For all those reasons, a relatively short-hop between AMS and MAD is a different kettle of fish to an AMS-PVG flight and it does not seem to me unreasonable for there not to be the same expectations.
On intra-European flights, there will be typically between 3 and 5 crews. Those crews will make several rotations to multiple destinations in different countries during the day. Ensuring that crew speak the relevant language on intra-European destination, even if you just keep it to the main destinations in the large countries (i.e. Germany, France, Spain and Italy) would introduce a degree of complexity in the design of crewing rotas which is on a completely different scale to having a Mandarin speaker on flights to China. Secondly, the problem of indviduals being unable to communicate in English is also on a different scale on flight to/from the Far East and to/from Europe. Thirdly, the likelihood of needing to communicate with the crew also increases with the length of flight. For all those reasons, a relatively short-hop between AMS and MAD is a different kettle of fish to an AMS-PVG flight and it does not seem to me unreasonable for there not to be the same expectations.
I still think KLM needs to reassess its language policy though. Don't let crew claim they speak Spanish unless the competency level is very good. Spanish people have a habit of telling learners of their language that "your Spanish is excellent!" , even if it isn't, which results in some learners having an inflated sense of their abilities. As mentioned, I saw KLM crew members who did a two-week course in Ecuador claiming to be "Spanish speaking" and even going as far as to make announcements in (comically poor) Spanish, so somebody needs to make an honest assessment of crew's abilities before allowing to claim they speak a language.
Nov 19, 2018, 10:54 am
#47
Join Date: May 2012
Programs: KA "The Elite"
Posts: 195
As for my remark on IB and VY, unfortunately their crew's language ability mirrors that of the general Spanish population, which means, poor English if any, not even to mention French, German or Dutch, and for the younger people in certain areas, even poor Spanish).
Risking to be OT, I do regard IB and VY as second tier airlines service and comfort wise compared to CX, SQ, KA, QR or any non European airline. VY in particular is atrocious no matter how you look at it. But as you said, this is a matter for a different forum.