Lufthansa Express Bus Frankfurt-Strasbourg vv
Jun 27, 2017, 2:14 pm
#31
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Never took that bus personally. But, from reading around the forums, it sure seems they do know. They do check off people in their list and look at boarding passes or IDs. And certainly, that info is passed on. Over the years, I've read several cases of expired tickets due to the pax missing the first (bus) leg. Very different story from air rail segments.
Jun 28, 2017, 1:32 am
#33
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
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The bus driver has a list and checks you off the list. The list is handed to an agent in FRA who makes sure no one skips the bus. The background here is that LH publishes some pretty low fares ex France and skipping the bus was a lucrative way to get cheap C/F tickets in the past.
Jun 28, 2017, 2:49 am
#34
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Can't you just turn up and take an earlier bus? Surely that wouldn't be too much of an issue, because it's a bus, not a flight? And it's a reasonable concern, not having enough time to make the connection. For such a connection, I would be looking at two to two and a half hours to be sure. Maybe a quick call to the call center?
Jun 28, 2017, 3:37 am
#35
Join Date: Apr 2010
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I called Lufthansa customer service again, not possible to take an earlier shuttle. However this time they were a bit more helpful an proposed a passenger assistance service (low mobility = wheelchair or golf cart) from the Lufthansa counter to the gate...
My wife still has to make her way from the shuttle to the Lufthansa counter (with the 3 kids and luggage) by herself tough...
My wife still has to make her way from the shuttle to the Lufthansa counter (with the 3 kids and luggage) by herself tough...
Jun 28, 2017, 4:25 am
#36
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
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Book a LH family guide for 75€, they will meet you at the bus and take you all the way to the gate.
http://www.lufthansa.com/de/de/Lufthansa-Guide-Service
http://www.lufthansa.com/de/de/Lufthansa-Guide-Service
Jun 28, 2017, 9:13 am
#37
Join Date: Apr 2010
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Book a LH family guide for 75€, they will meet you at the bus and take you all the way to the gate.
http://www.lufthansa.com/de/de/Lufthansa-Guide-Service
http://www.lufthansa.com/de/de/Lufthansa-Guide-Service
I called them again and asked about this, but they said this this service is not intended for helping families move around with kids (they wouldn't be able to hold a child or help out with the luggage...).
They say the service is meant for people who cannot speak the language or that need guidance in finding their way around the airport.... Furthermore they say that the service must be booked until 48h from departure (my wife is flying tomorrow)...
I told them that their website is misleading, and read them an extract:
The Lufthansa Guide Service is for families who travel too
The Lufthansa guides from the Lufthansa Guide Service ensure a relaxed start to a holiday by helping families, who are boarding or transferring at Frankfurt or Munich, to find their way around the airport.
Parents travelling alone with children, in particular, find this a huge help. For example, the guides take them to check-in, where they explain the security regulations, accompany them to their gate and, on landing, to baggage reclaim, but also to restaurants, hotels or car rental companies.
The Lufthansa Guide Service is also very happy to help older members of the family. If the passenger can only walk slowly, the guides gauge the time needed to change flights or if required, accompany the elderly person to the chemist or to a seat.
The Lufthansa guides from the Lufthansa Guide Service ensure a relaxed start to a holiday by helping families, who are boarding or transferring at Frankfurt or Munich, to find their way around the airport.
Parents travelling alone with children, in particular, find this a huge help. For example, the guides take them to check-in, where they explain the security regulations, accompany them to their gate and, on landing, to baggage reclaim, but also to restaurants, hotels or car rental companies.
The Lufthansa Guide Service is also very happy to help older members of the family. If the passenger can only walk slowly, the guides gauge the time needed to change flights or if required, accompany the elderly person to the chemist or to a seat.
http://www.lufthansa.com/online/port...956853346&l=en
It didn't seem to bother them that much.
Anyway, I guess that drive alone to the airport with the luggage... and then wait for my wife at the baggage drop off counter. This will give her enough time to go from the shuttle to the counter with the 3 little ones without stress...
It is just too bad that companies (both ANA and LH) cannot understand the needs of customers and force them to go trough all this hassle... IMHO not good policy/publicity....
To be noted that we purchased our tickets from ANA because they offer a family service/assistance at the airport for this kind of situations, but unfortunately they say they cannot offer it because it is a code-share flight... After we booked our flight and complained about this they now updated their website and specify that "family support" is only available on ANA operated flights (https://www.ana.co.jp/serviceinfo/in...upport/family/)
On their end Lufthansa say they cannot help us because it is an ANA ticket (if it was a LH ticket they say they would have allowed us to take an earlier shuttle)...
We could not even get/bock a bassinet for our baby, neither from ANA nor from Lufthansa for the same reasons (one says "can't do code-share, not our plane", the other says "cant do not our ticket")... It is all just shameful, they both get their share of the money that we pay for the tickets, but none of them offers a proper service...
Last edited by Plancktos; Jun 28, 2017 at 9:26 am Reason: typo
Jun 28, 2017, 9:54 am
#38
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We booked a ticket via ANA, but flights are operated by Lufthansa. The first leg is actually a shuttle bus from Strasbourg to Frankfurt, and the problem is that there is only 1h05 between the expected time of arrival at Frankfurt airport and the departure of the flight to Tokyo.
Taking into account that the shuttle bus can be late (traffic), and because my wife has to make it from the bus stop to the baggage drop-off counter with all the luggage and the 3 kids (one baby, a 4 year old and a 6 year old), the 1h05 connection time may not be sufficient...
Taking into account that the shuttle bus can be late (traffic), and because my wife has to make it from the bus stop to the baggage drop-off counter with all the luggage and the 3 kids (one baby, a 4 year old and a 6 year old), the 1h05 connection time may not be sufficient...
There is a flight at 20:45, on which they can be rebooked, in case the original connection is missed:
[KVS Tool 8.5.5/Diamond - Timetable]
Code:
XER (Airport Code) TYO Tokyo Metro JP = NRT HND THU 29 Jun 2017 - 05 Jul 2017 Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Frequency | Dur'n | Dep T | Arr T | Meals | Miles Kms | Codeshare --------- ------ ---- -------- ---- -------- --- -- ------------------------------------------------------------------- LH 3755 XER 08:15 FRA 11:00 BUS 0 1234567 15:20 - 1 None 107 172 -> NH 204 FRA 12:10 HND 06:35 +1 77W 0 1 I M 5823 9371 LH 3759 XER 14:15 FRA 17:00 BUS 0 1234567 15:00 - 1 None 107 172 -> NH/LH 5854 FRA 18:05 HND 12:15 +1 74H 0 1 I M+M 5823 9371 LH 716 LH 3761 XER 17:00 FRA 19:45 BUS 0 1234567 14:55 - 1 None 107 172 -> NH 224 FRA 20:45 HND 14:55 +1 77W 0 1 I M 5823 9371
Jun 28, 2017, 10:13 am
#39
Join Date: Apr 2010
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However my concern is that, even if the bus is on time, she cannot make the transfer on time because she has the 3 kids and the luggage (2 big bags and 3 small bags), and only 35 minutes to get to the baggage drop off (it closes 30 minutes before departure of the flight). If she misses the flight because she cannot move fast enough, I am not sure that LH or ANA will put her on the next flight without applying a re-booking fee or perhaps even forcing her to buy a new ticket (her ticket is non modifiable and non refundable).
I specifically asked this question on the phone to LH customer service and they could not give me a straight answer. So I guess that if she cannot move fast enough and make it on time (and if the bus was not late) LH will indeed claim that it is her fault she if she lost the flight and apply re-booking charges...
You will probably ask: "why did you book the flight with such a short connection time to start with?"
The answer is that we thought she could get ANA family support (at the time there was no information on restrictions for code-share flights)...
Last edited by Plancktos; Jun 28, 2017 at 10:25 am Reason: typo
Jun 28, 2017, 1:15 pm
#41
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As long as she does not act in a clearly unreasonable manner (like stopping at a duty-free shop for 3 hours), there is no requirement for her to "move fast enough".
Jun 28, 2017, 3:32 pm
#42
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Eurozone
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However my concern is that, even if the bus is on time, she cannot make the transfer on time because she has the 3 kids and the luggage (2 big bags and 3 small bags), and only 35 minutes to get to the baggage drop off (it closes 30 minutes before departure of the flight). If she misses the flight because she cannot move fast enough, I am not sure that LH or ANA will put her on the next flight without applying a re-booking fee or perhaps even forcing her to buy a new ticket (her ticket is non modifiable and non refundable).
But if you and/or your wife are truly so worried that you feel you must drive to the airport, why don't you drive by yourself with the luggage to the airport and then wait for her at the baggage dropoff when she arrives calmly with only the children for her to tend to? And if this scenario is still scary to you, with all respect I'm not sure anyone can provide the reassurances you seek.
Jun 29, 2017, 5:21 am
#43
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 45
I used this service before for my wife arriving alone in FRA with infant, stroller and luggage. She's been in FRA several times, so didn't need help with directions, but mainly someone to help with pushing either stroller or luggage cart from baggage claim through the exit where I was waiting.
When I booked the service, I mentioned this to the phone agent through some chit-chat, and she told me that the guide is not supposed to help with baggage, strollers or kids. She almost got reluctant letting me book, but proceeeded when I backpedaled and promised we wouldn't need help with baggage. I guess the key phrases in OP's quote are:
"... the guides take them to check-in, where they explain the security regulations, accompany them to their gate ..."
In our case, the guide was nice enough to push the luggage cart through the exit while my wife pushed stroller with baby, but he didn't miss telling me that he wasn't really supposed to do that.
So depends what you expect "help families" to mean. The service is intended to help with orientation and guidance, offer reassurance for people who don't travel much and stress out, but not much more. That said, those folks are still human and how much of an a$$hole would you have to be to NOT help a mother with a baby push a cart the short distance from the bag belt to the exit? I took a bet on it and it worked out - but I guess it doesn't have to.
That said, the Lufthansa guide service is not the only option. If you want to spend a bit more, there is this offered by the airport:
https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/en...e-service.html
And I seem to remember there was also another company offering such services. Just search around a bit!
When I booked the service, I mentioned this to the phone agent through some chit-chat, and she told me that the guide is not supposed to help with baggage, strollers or kids. She almost got reluctant letting me book, but proceeeded when I backpedaled and promised we wouldn't need help with baggage. I guess the key phrases in OP's quote are:
"... the guides take them to check-in, where they explain the security regulations, accompany them to their gate ..."
In our case, the guide was nice enough to push the luggage cart through the exit while my wife pushed stroller with baby, but he didn't miss telling me that he wasn't really supposed to do that.
So depends what you expect "help families" to mean. The service is intended to help with orientation and guidance, offer reassurance for people who don't travel much and stress out, but not much more. That said, those folks are still human and how much of an a$$hole would you have to be to NOT help a mother with a baby push a cart the short distance from the bag belt to the exit? I took a bet on it and it worked out - but I guess it doesn't have to.
That said, the Lufthansa guide service is not the only option. If you want to spend a bit more, there is this offered by the airport:
https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/en...e-service.html
And I seem to remember there was also another company offering such services. Just search around a bit!
Jun 30, 2017, 1:45 am
#44
Join Date: Apr 2010
Programs: AF Gold | LH SEN | Hertz #1 Gold | PCR Plat | IC RA
Posts: 96
That said, the Lufthansa guide service is not the only option. If you want to spend a bit more, there is this offered by the airport:
https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/en...e-service.html
And I seem to remember there was also another company offering such services. Just search around a bit!
https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/en...e-service.html
And I seem to remember there was also another company offering such services. Just search around a bit!
https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/co..._rz_04_WEB.pdf
Any way my wife was flying yesterday. I drove her to the shuttle bust stop at Strasbourg and drove with the luggage to the airport. I left pretty much at the same time as the shuttle but arrived to the airport 40 minutes earlier.
I waited for her at the bag drop counter, the shuttle as 20 minutes late, she got to the bag drop counter at 17h30... it was really last minute, her luggage almost didn't make it to the plane (departure at 18h05).
Then Lufthansa staff accompanied her to the gate, they put our little daughter (who doesn't walk very fast) in a wheel chair, and managed to get them to the plane on time. The lady pushing the wheel chair was not very happy since it is not supposed to be used for kids, but under the circumstances they made an exception.
Note: If I had taken a copy of the boarding passes I would have been able to drop the bags as soon as I got to the airport (apparently this can be done by someone other than the passengers), and this would have saved some time and stress... Lesson learned for next time...
But I guess that in the future I will just book the gate to gate family service.
(I still can't believe that I wasn't offered this by the customer service, after all I called 4 or 5 times and explained the problem...)
Jun 30, 2017, 2:31 am
#45
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 45
I wouldn't be too offended that an LH phone agent somewhere in a call center doesn't know every third-party service offered at the various airports LH flies to. Even if they know, they may not want to promote a competitor.
Now, of course you can argue FRA isn't just any airport, but LH's main hub, so they should at least know that one. Or that referring to a competitor's offer *outside of your core business* that solves a customer problem, which you can't solve yourself, would still be good practice. That it makes the difference between la-la-ok and excellent customer service. That it creates good word of mouth and makes for happier and more likely to return customers in the long run. All true, but that would be going beyond my expectations and I wouldn't be shocked if it didn't happen.