Differences between SEN phone line vs HON
 

Will be crossing the threshold soon. :)

These last few days even the SEN line ( calling from the US I got the Canada call center I believe) can get testy. I asked them a simple question and the agent almost barked at me and ate me alive. :roll eyes:

Aside from the Limo etc, which is nice, having someone nice to call would be the biggest plus. Are there material difference between SEN vs HON on the phone?

I was told they always talk to Germany.

HONs are supposed to get their own number to call. In the first wave the Germany based HONs got personal PAs assigned, now they are rolling it out in Europe. But they do have a separate general HON number that has supposedly better agents.

In Germany there is a dedicated HON line ( I know what it is, but can't use it as I am not HON), hold times are short, naturally. I know a few HON's (US based) , I don't think they have a PA but rather a more skilled agent, empowered to solve problems with a higher degree of authority, so I was told.

These last few days, even the SEN line can get testy / mean.

If anyone care share what the HON line has done, this would be nice. Thanks

It makes a huge difference. OS has a dedicated HON team that in my short experience has been fantastic - no waiting times on the phone and very responsive on e-mail as well. They were able to handle the LH strike very efficiently for me.

Those "PAs" only work 9-5 which proved to be useless during the last strike...

Same for LX !
Absolutely top notch. Never waited more than 10 seconds to get an agent on the phone. Everything was made to have my trip as smooth as possible.

And one example for excellent irrop. management:
Recently I was informed via cockpit and Maître de Cabine (we were just 30 minutes into the flight towards GVA) that I would probably miss my connection in GVA (bad weather turned up there) and LX HON team proposed alternate routes via the telex into the cockpit and they waited until they got my OK to rebook. Arrived in GVA, a lady from FCL was waiting for me at the aircraft door, she brought me to the FCL, organized my new boarding pass and I was escorted to the gate for my new flight (which was on KLM), pre-boarding included.

that's Truely first class. The people I speak to who are LH HON don't speak so highly of the program. I don't think such a service would be provided to LH HON, honestly. I would like to be surprised.

LX and OS are different breeds.

I am waiting for the flights to post, hopefully in time for the next strike.

Differences between SEN phone line vs HON
 

Yup, LX HON Circle Service is great.
When I was SEN, I heard about it from fellow HONs. And as I mainly fly LX, I arranged myself to get a postal address in CH.
A few days after I passed the 600k, I got a call from Ms D. E. from LX HON Circle Service in order to welcome me among the LX HONs.
We arranged a meeting in ZRH FCL a few days later where I was handed over the HON kit and got lots of explanations about the status. She also wanted some feedback from me about my experiences with LX. Was a nice meeting lasting more than 1 hour.
After she left, I was approached by a LH HON who had observed this and he said a bit jealously: "WOW, LH does not do this. They just send the kit out to me."
A few weeks ago, after I had sent a mail to LX, one of the LX managers (I personally met him at a HON event last year) did call me and we discussed several things on the phone for over nearly 2 hours.
LX Cabin crew also take good care of me on the flights and make me feel welcome.
At LH they are - let's say - more distant...

LH HON hotline is the same as SEN hotline. The call processing queue is shorter though.

If you are lucky you will be put through to the Berlin call centre. If not you get the same abysmal service the other call centres provide (Turkey, South Africa,etc).

LX HON line is much better as stated above. (However, they recently did screw up one of my tickets I tried to rebook with them. It was full fare business and they still messed it up so that my TA had to re-issue it correctly.)

In general, I have given up calling LH at all and ask my TA to do everything.

Now that this has come in I am somewhat disappointed.

The LH HON line is nothing special. This will probably be the only time I ever qualify for HON and not really motivated to try again. My main frustration really has to do with the way LH is run. Its a German company that follows the rules by the book, even though in some situations, the rules don't really make sense sometimes. And the phone agents / real life agents at the airport are not motivated to even question the rules of seek help on getting exceptions made for extraordinary circumstances, sometimes due to LH's own fault. Anyway.....that's my main frustration with LH. Its great if all runs smoothly, but thats not the way life works.

The usual HON perks are nice, first bags off the carousel to be delivered as quickly as possible. In some airports this can get quite interesting. The escort from the gate can be a bit disconcerting esp if you are flying with clients / colleagues who are not HON.

I suppose I would value this more if I was FRA or MUC based. I'll enjoy it while it lasts, but from what I have gathered LX HON seems way better. Different clientele I think.

Yep, utterly useless to me. Nothing ever came of it after the initial call.
Don't know what value they have looking at things from the background.
I have not noticed any difference. This imho not much more than marketing like the status stars thing... If it's not - I apologise, I just did not notice any improvement or benefit.
LX is superb. AUA I cannot judge, not flying them.

I was really, REALLY, hoping HON will give me access to agents who are more empowered to make decisions, and try to escape the by the rulebook German philosophy which sometimes ( as an American) strikes me as silly / stupid in the case of disrupted travel due to LH's own doing. At the airport and over the phone.

As mentioned previously its basically the same SEN agents with shorter hold times.

Basically, if its not in the manual, LH staff won't do anything or even try.
Even if you're HON it doesn't make a difference.

By comparison other programs I know of, i.e EK IO for example, ( which I am not a member of but know who are) they will jump hoops to get you want you are looking for, within reason of course. The same with SQ PPS program. The coordinator is empowered to make decisions.

Anyway, well see what happens when the next strike rolls along. My TA proactively told me NEVER to book LH anyway if the strike is pending, and they are still pissed off over the $20 fee fiasco. Anyway......

no, it was wonderful. Since you were forwarded with higher priority to the General HON line AND After line accidentally dropped i landed with the same Agent within seconds After dialling again.

For me (not so much recently, as I hardly fly LH), about 75% of the Canadian-based agents were testy/mean. Sometimes if you stand up to them and/or be sweet to them, you can change their attitudes.

This comparision is quite correct - as my experience with UA as a 1K has shown call center agents frequently bending the rules and making exceptions - which has kept me flying them - despite the Smisek-induced problems recently.

However, on the ground at Newark - one would think that they were run in the same manner as what you guys are *perceiving* as Germanic.

LH employees are mainly German, but if you are willing to bend a bit and be nice - one can indeed reap rewards there - especially on the ground in FRA... (My experience with LH in FRA is 10x better than with UA in EWR or some other airports!)

The onboard LH service has almost always been exemplary, except when flying as a SEN - sometimes *G works wonders, incredibly!

I hate those Canadian agents based in Ontario. AWFUL. Eep during the last strike, they were not only RUDE, and extremely unprofessional. They should be ashamed for representing Lufthansa.

Now that I have access to the HON line and PA, I just call Germany directly, why bother with he Ontario call center. A waste of my time. One of them flatly out refused to rebook, another outright cancelled my ticket, and other fiascos. I finally had to call Germany to sort it out.

The best thing though is to have your TA do all the work, but my TA basically hates LH Group, esp after the $20 fiasco.