UrbaneGent

A couple of weeks ago, I was on an LH flight from SIN to FRA. I flew to SIN on SQ in F Class and returned on LH in F Class. Besides regretting flying LH back, something happened that troubled me tremendously.

For the exception of the first window seat on the left side of the upper deck being available, the cabin was full. My seat was the last row, aisle, on the RIGHT side of the cabin. (FACING THE COCKPIT)

Upon take off, the person next to me started to have mechanical problems with his seat (it wouldn't recline). Rather than immediately move him to the empty seat, the flight attendants didn't want to because the passenger sitting next to the empty seat was a HON and requested the seat next to him to be empty.

Now, for those of you who don't know what HON is, it's LH's passengers that travel over 250,000+ miles a year...

However, when a passenger is on an F Class ticket, assuming he/she's paid thousands of dollars for a seat...who gets a seat blocked next to them in First Class (unless you BOUGHT two seats to block the seat next to you).

I've traveled a handful of times on LH, almost 99% of the time in their premium cabins and most of the times LH has done some questionable things to their passengers.

Finally, after I complained about this poor man, they did move him to the empty seat next to this HON pax. Of course, then my entertainment system and my overhead light went on the blink for roughly 9 hours of the flight. I was given a bottle of wine for my troubles.

Two hours later, they upgraded someone from C class to the empty seat next to me (yes, the one that didn't work).

What's up with these people? What would you have done if you were me? Should I write a letter? LH staff has always had this arrongance about them and I don't want to waste my time.

Any thoughts,

UG

Happy New Year!

Counsellor

It has been my experience that if one has a broken/nonfunctional seat (won't recline, IFE busted, etc.), US airlines (e.g., United, American, not sure about Delta) will give you a voucher for $100 or $200 flight credit on a future flight.

If you write to Lufthansa (since you're from Chicago, I'd write to their US address) mentioning the defect and noting that other airlines would provide such a travel credit, they may do likewise. They did for me a couple years ago when a full FRA-JNB flight I took left me in a business class seat with a nonfunctional IFE.

As to their treatment of another passenger, I'm not sure why one would write. You weren't harmed, and the person what was may or may not complain. I suppose you could couch it in "What should I expect if the same happens to me on a future flight?" but such hypotheticals tend to get the rather meaningless "don't worry" answer.

GWH

I think the incident in F raises the issue of you get the standard of service for what you have paid, whether in Y C or F.

If there is a broken seat in Y, and a spare place is available, you would expect to be moved.

As in C and F.

The status of the person in the seat adjacent to the spare seat is irrevelant.

The class of seat is irrevelant. Which is more important, the fare you have paid for a service, or the honoured status of the person of the person next to the spare seat?

MrMillion

The point that the UrbaneGent would raise appears to me that, while it is certainly the intent of the company and maybe even its cabin staff to provide adequate or good service, ultimately you, the passenger, are to accept what they ladle out. In any class of service. The LH giveth and the LH taketh away.

I would have to add that I find this to be of recent vintage and will tell anyone who wants to hear (or not), that I would *gladly* (!) trade in my 1K Million Miler status *and* my LH Senator status for the way I was treated as a lowly FTL on LH in the early Nineties, before M&M. Those were the days. Pass me the rum bottle, Eileen...

eMailman

You said it all. The last year + has been so disappointing that I am even looking a AA flights, which is something that I said that I would never do back in 1997.

Steve Fenton

If you need to be reminded how good LH can be, try flying KLm for say 3 months, you will love them to bits when you come back.

LonLH

Or fly RG, and you will wonder who they will add to *A next- Air Zimbabwe perhaps