Some people are happy with KLM......
Mar 11, 2005, 11:20 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Programs: KL Gold, SQ KF Gold, CX Green
Posts: 9,398
Some people are happy with KLM......
On http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2
there is a thread called: "Any airlines that have done a GOOD job handling problem situations?"
Here are some of the replies:
Reply 1:
KLM is tops in my books when problems occur.
At Amsterdam the flight to Venice was delayed for hours as the Italian flight controllers had gone on strike. The KLM staff knocked themselves out to communicate and keep us all up to date.
Another time a KLM flight out of Venice was delayed due to fog. I could not believe it, they had staff at Amsterdam meeting us at the airport shuttle bus, they commincated with the gate and we actually got on our flight to SFO.
In Bologna I fell and hurt my knee. When I flew home two days later my knee was badly swollen and it really hurt. A KLM staff member got a first aid person to take me to the front of the long security line and took me through security. They then rearranged seats (fortunatly the plane was not completely filled up) so that I could have all three seats in order to elevate my leg. They brought me pillows and blankets and could not have been kinder.
Nonnafelice you had a good idea with this thread. We all love to complain about companies that do not give proper service but we often fail to acknowledge companies that do.
And I agree, the true test is how they deal with the problem.
Reply 2:
LoveItaly, thanks for reminding me of a situation my late grandmother had with KLM. She went on a trip to Africa with a tour. On the third day of the trip, the bus driver was driving like a maniac on a dirt road, and she was thrown out of her chair and broke a vertebrae (sp?) in her back. She had to return home immediately.
The tour company didn't care and did nothing for her, but she couldn't say enough about how KLM took care of her on her trip home. The FA's went out of their way to make sure she was comfortable and ground staff assisted her at the airport during her layover in AMS. Although I haven't flown w/KLM, I still think of this story when I hear about KLM and I am still grateful for their care of her.
there is a thread called: "Any airlines that have done a GOOD job handling problem situations?"
Here are some of the replies:
Reply 1:
KLM is tops in my books when problems occur.
At Amsterdam the flight to Venice was delayed for hours as the Italian flight controllers had gone on strike. The KLM staff knocked themselves out to communicate and keep us all up to date.
Another time a KLM flight out of Venice was delayed due to fog. I could not believe it, they had staff at Amsterdam meeting us at the airport shuttle bus, they commincated with the gate and we actually got on our flight to SFO.
In Bologna I fell and hurt my knee. When I flew home two days later my knee was badly swollen and it really hurt. A KLM staff member got a first aid person to take me to the front of the long security line and took me through security. They then rearranged seats (fortunatly the plane was not completely filled up) so that I could have all three seats in order to elevate my leg. They brought me pillows and blankets and could not have been kinder.
Nonnafelice you had a good idea with this thread. We all love to complain about companies that do not give proper service but we often fail to acknowledge companies that do.
And I agree, the true test is how they deal with the problem.
Reply 2:
LoveItaly, thanks for reminding me of a situation my late grandmother had with KLM. She went on a trip to Africa with a tour. On the third day of the trip, the bus driver was driving like a maniac on a dirt road, and she was thrown out of her chair and broke a vertebrae (sp?) in her back. She had to return home immediately.
The tour company didn't care and did nothing for her, but she couldn't say enough about how KLM took care of her on her trip home. The FA's went out of their way to make sure she was comfortable and ground staff assisted her at the airport during her layover in AMS. Although I haven't flown w/KLM, I still think of this story when I hear about KLM and I am still grateful for their care of her.
Mar 12, 2005, 5:16 am
#4
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Malaga, Spain
Posts: 1,077
I think it's significant that the Good News stories come from leisure travellers to whom the flight itself is part of the holiday experience. Most (all?) members if these forums are business travellers who want a A~B ASAP with some recognition of their commercial value to the airline.
KLM's FD was constructed in the days before LCC's where a privileged elite (us) were paid to travel by employers who bore the cost without complaining too much.
Different game, now! The cabin crew are under pressure - how many aircraft now in service were designed to be flown full? The European legacy airlines are between a rock and a hard place with LCC's and unfair support from the US government of Chapter 11 carriers.
I only hope KLM's management really read forums like Flyertalk as, amongst the *****ing, are themes which will help them into the next golden age.
Here endeth the lesson...
KLM's FD was constructed in the days before LCC's where a privileged elite (us) were paid to travel by employers who bore the cost without complaining too much.
Different game, now! The cabin crew are under pressure - how many aircraft now in service were designed to be flown full? The European legacy airlines are between a rock and a hard place with LCC's and unfair support from the US government of Chapter 11 carriers.
I only hope KLM's management really read forums like Flyertalk as, amongst the *****ing, are themes which will help them into the next golden age.
Here endeth the lesson...
Mar 12, 2005, 7:08 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Programs: KL Gold, SQ KF Gold, CX Green
Posts: 9,398
The stories get better and better
From the same thread:
I work for a company that has offices in Athens and for years I have travelled there from Edinburgh via London. Usually always with British Airways.
For the first time I had been ticketed to Athens with KLM via Amsterdam. The journey out was great and on time. Coming back we left Athens a little late but the captain explained in detail the reasons (he had been asked to delay the flight home due to seriously bad weather over the Netherlands).
The flight itself was fine until about 20 minutes out of Schipol when an announcement was made that it was going to be a bumpy landing. In my years of flying I had never had an experience as bad as this. During the final descent I was convinced that we were not going to make it as the aircraft seemed to be losing the fight against the atrocious weather. Also, for the first time ever I heard passengers screaming.
Just before the wheels touched the runway a gust of wind lifted the plane violently and it felt we were about to be turned over. I remember closing my eyes and thinking 'this is it'.
Thankfully it wasn't 'it' and when we rolled forward to the docking area I watched KLM bring in service that was simply fantastic. After the flight crew went round to everyone on the aircraft to check they were OK we were met in the arrivals area by a large number of KLM staff who took fantastic care of everyone but particularly those who were so visibly shaken. I have no idea where all those KLM staff came from but for each two or three passengers there was a member of staff there to help them. That help was a chat, coffee and arranging onward connections. They walked with us to our individual departure gates and checked finally that we were OK.
Our onward flight staff must have been told about our bad landing as they sat with an elderly couple on my own flight to Edinburgh who were badly affected and had initially refused to get on the aircraft for the last part of their journey. Oh and there were a good few extra glasses of whisky passed to me on that final segment.
From that day, each and every flight to Athens I have taken has been with KLM.
I work for a company that has offices in Athens and for years I have travelled there from Edinburgh via London. Usually always with British Airways.
For the first time I had been ticketed to Athens with KLM via Amsterdam. The journey out was great and on time. Coming back we left Athens a little late but the captain explained in detail the reasons (he had been asked to delay the flight home due to seriously bad weather over the Netherlands).
The flight itself was fine until about 20 minutes out of Schipol when an announcement was made that it was going to be a bumpy landing. In my years of flying I had never had an experience as bad as this. During the final descent I was convinced that we were not going to make it as the aircraft seemed to be losing the fight against the atrocious weather. Also, for the first time ever I heard passengers screaming.
Just before the wheels touched the runway a gust of wind lifted the plane violently and it felt we were about to be turned over. I remember closing my eyes and thinking 'this is it'.
Thankfully it wasn't 'it' and when we rolled forward to the docking area I watched KLM bring in service that was simply fantastic. After the flight crew went round to everyone on the aircraft to check they were OK we were met in the arrivals area by a large number of KLM staff who took fantastic care of everyone but particularly those who were so visibly shaken. I have no idea where all those KLM staff came from but for each two or three passengers there was a member of staff there to help them. That help was a chat, coffee and arranging onward connections. They walked with us to our individual departure gates and checked finally that we were OK.
Our onward flight staff must have been told about our bad landing as they sat with an elderly couple on my own flight to Edinburgh who were badly affected and had initially refused to get on the aircraft for the last part of their journey. Oh and there were a good few extra glasses of whisky passed to me on that final segment.
From that day, each and every flight to Athens I have taken has been with KLM.
Mar 12, 2005, 8:58 am
#8
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Lincoln UK
Posts: 363
My good experiences:
1. Overslept when I should have been on the return leg of a huy-ams ticket. Was an action fare of 68GBP (gone are the days...) - according to KLM regulations I should have had to pay for a single or new return (@400GBP!). When I arrived at ams and spoke to a lady from the ticketdesk I was moved to another flight absolutely free of charge AND I got a seat upfront (wasn't an Elite member).
DD
2. Linda P. - KLM FD Supervisor. She corrected a year's worth of FD mess in a few days and compensated me fully for the hassle.
3. Before I was an Elite member, I was given a business class boarding pass, supposedly so I could take my laptop + carry-on on board.
Bad experiences:
Too many too mention, but the above made up for it.
1. Overslept when I should have been on the return leg of a huy-ams ticket. Was an action fare of 68GBP (gone are the days...) - according to KLM regulations I should have had to pay for a single or new return (@400GBP!). When I arrived at ams and spoke to a lady from the ticketdesk I was moved to another flight absolutely free of charge AND I got a seat upfront (wasn't an Elite member).
DD2. Linda P. - KLM FD Supervisor. She corrected a year's worth of FD mess in a few days and compensated me fully for the hassle.
3. Before I was an Elite member, I was given a business class boarding pass, supposedly so I could take my laptop + carry-on on board.
Bad experiences:
Too many too mention, but the above made up for it.