Can't Speak English? You're off the flight!
Nov 10, 2018, 2:18 pm
#16
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Sweden
Programs: Flying Blue, EuroBonus
Posts: 156
You can't compare Dutch to Spanish. It's super easy to find people that speak Spanish and in countries with languages that no one else speaks everybody speaks English. Dutch is also closer to English than Spanish.
Nov 10, 2018, 2:22 pm
#17
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Sweden
Programs: Flying Blue, EuroBonus
Posts: 156
After seeing the video I have some doubts. I can't hear what he's saying but his body language and the famous "come here" finger-move tell me a different story than a poor elderly couple this story tries to paint them as. Add that to the fact that apparently no one on the entire flight was willing to translate for him and I'm pretty sure KLM will have a different story to tell about this incident.
Nov 10, 2018, 3:03 pm
#18
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: mostly not far from AMS, otherwise NUE
Programs: FB Silver, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,381
But your argument was that KLM should have cabin crew speaking Spanish on routes to Spain - by the same token one could expect Vueling or Iberia to have Dutch-speaking crew on the flight to Amsterdam.
Nov 12, 2018, 12:31 am
#19
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: Flying Blue Plat, Air Europa Silver, IHG Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,011
With the greatest respect to Dutch, Spanish is among the top three most natively spoken languages on the planet; the number 1 language in Latin America and the number 2 language in the U.S. It's reasonable that at least one crew member should be fluent in Spanish on flights to Spain, to be able to communicate with the pax. Some of the KL crew feel they are fluent in Spanish because they once did a two week course in Ecuador. Misunderstandings happen. Instructions given in broken Spanish can be perceived as rude/aggressive. I wonder how "fluent" the crew on board the flight in question really were?
Last edited by HalconBCN; Nov 12, 2018 at 12:39 am
Nov 12, 2018, 3:53 am
#20
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,051
With the greatest respect to Dutch, Spanish is among the top three most natively spoken languages on the planet; the number 1 language in Latin America and the number 2 language in the U.S. It's reasonable that at least one crew member should be fluent in Spanish on flights to Spain, to be able to communicate with the pax. Some of the KL crew feel they are fluent in Spanish because they once did a two week course in Ecuador. Misunderstandings happen. Instructions given in broken Spanish can be perceived as rude/aggressive. I wonder how "fluent" the crew on board the flight in question really were?
Is it reasonable that Iberia and Vueling crews should speak French? German?
Nov 12, 2018, 5:08 am
#22
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: Flying Blue Plat, Air Europa Silver, IHG Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,011
Look, Spanish plays in the premier league of languages of the world. If KLM can allocate a Chinese crew member on China flights or a Jap to Tokyo, I fail to understand why it cannot put a fluent Spanish speaker on flights to Spain. The resources are there. Some KLM crew members even live in Spain - I see them on my connecting flights.
All too often, I hear KLM pursers attempt to make announcements on flights to Barcelona in their high school Spanish - it's almost comical. It should be possible to allocate at least one competent crew member per flight to Spain.
All too often, I hear KLM pursers attempt to make announcements on flights to Barcelona in their high school Spanish - it's almost comical. It should be possible to allocate at least one competent crew member per flight to Spain.
Nov 12, 2018, 5:29 am
#23
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 115
And yet in Europe Spanish is only the 7th language. It is a pretty useless language anywhere in Europe, except in Spain. There are more native Italian speakers. Should all carriers now have fluent Italian speakers on all their flight to Italy?
Nov 12, 2018, 7:26 am
#24
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: Flying Blue Plat, Air Europa Silver, IHG Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,011
Number of native speakers and global ranking as of 2010*:
1. Mandarian: 905m
2. Spanish: 405m
3. English: 360m
11. German: 95m
23: Italian: 59m
56: Dutch: 21m
I know I'm biased as I live in Spain but the numbers don't lie: Spanish has a global reach that deserves special attention.
*Source: Wikipedia
1. Mandarian: 905m
2. Spanish: 405m
3. English: 360m
11. German: 95m
23: Italian: 59m
56: Dutch: 21m
I know I'm biased as I live in Spain but the numbers don't lie: Spanish has a global reach that deserves special attention.
*Source: Wikipedia
Nov 12, 2018, 8:45 am
#25
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,051
Nov 12, 2018, 9:51 am
#26
Join Date: Nov 2011
Programs: FlyingBlue Plat
Posts: 500
Flew Vueling only twice in my life, but in the crazy days of the previous corporate travel agent, I've done a more than few Iberia flights across the pond: a good starting point would be for IB FA's to speak some English.
Nov 12, 2018, 9:59 am
#27
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,409
Nov 12, 2018, 11:41 am
#28
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: Flying Blue Plat, Air Europa Silver, IHG Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,011
Nov 14, 2018, 2:07 am
#30
Join Date: May 2018
Posts: 757
Look, Spanish plays in the premier league of languages of the world. If KLM can allocate a Chinese crew member on China flights or a Jap to Tokyo, I fail to understand why it cannot put a fluent Spanish speaker on flights to Spain. The resources are there. Some KLM crew members even live in Spain - I see them on my connecting flights.
All too often, I hear KLM pursers attempt to make announcements on flights to Barcelona in their high school Spanish - it's almost comical. It should be possible to allocate at least one competent crew member per flight to Spain.
All too often, I hear KLM pursers attempt to make announcements on flights to Barcelona in their high school Spanish - it's almost comical. It should be possible to allocate at least one competent crew member per flight to Spain.
Plus, there was a fluent captain on this flight plus other crew members that had sufficient knowledge of Spanish albeit not fluent.
I don't think you can ask for more from KLM.