DUSFRA

As I travel almost twice a week DUS-FRA and back it realy depends on the cabin crew. Some are very professional, start the small service quick after the seat belt signs had been turned off and they have enough time for smooth and friendly service and even for a refill. Others start a coffee party and then start to panic because they have wasted too much time.
When you catch a flight operated by eurowings or cityline it becomes worse.
Last friday I also forgot about my jacket in the wardrobe and nobody took care. So I had to pick it up next day at the lost and found

flamboyant 1

Yes, LH found the jacket in the closet and will send it home.

The crew was rather old and after serving for more than 10 years one should know that the jackets taken from pax before takeoff should be returned.

Only two pax gave the FA their jacket. My father only gave the jacket away because the FA offered to hang it. He, I and most others agree that it is not worth it to hang the jacket.
However it was very warm on the plane and that's why he took it off and my mother sat next to him => no empty seat.

Any FA taking a jacket must also return it.

"Starting into the right direction this is hardly a 20 minute flight with a lot of stuff to do for the FA`s...."

Handing out one sandwich package and one drink to about 5 customers in C is not much to do in 20 minutes.

Think about serving a 3 or 4 course menu with several drink servings in F on a 70 minute flight to 18 pax on e.g. SIN-CGK on a B773, there much work is involved.

berenike

You are kidding, right?

berenike

Where did you find that rule??? People should take care of their own stuff. Flying is not a nursery.

This attitude is really getting annoying: Let's just find anything to complain about. And maybe I'll even get compensation, which I can boast with here!

Seems to become an attitude in turism, generally, that a trip without something to complain about is disappointing.

I have flown with 30 odd different airlines and Lufthansa is doing a pretty good job in comparison.

And no: I am not from Lufthansa...


Christian

nomad1974

Well said; also, how much stuff was he carrying, exactly:
Come on, people...

Axelerator

As a FF I don't have to chat with ground staff to make me feel welcome so bring on the machines and I am happy to use them if that speeds up my check-in process. If I need to change something on my boarding pass I can still do so at the lounge desk. Though as I am flying almost exclusively internationally the machines will probably not work for me due to immigration regulations.

However people that are not flying that much are rather scared off by the machines and need help with the check-in procedure.

So I see machine check-in as an improvement for FF's and not as a money saver on Y. If LH wants to bring down their service level to the ones of Ryan, Southwest, .... (which on short haul flights they already did) LH will also be measured by the same rules meaning dirt cheap fares in Y and I doubt that LH will be able to keep up with the cheap airlines!

I can't stand LH's focus on C and F passengers anymore and I am sure it will fire back one day! Most companies are saving on airfare and are happy to go for the cheaper fares = traveling in Y (yes, even for executives and VIPs). We all know that we find lots of SEN and FT's in Y. Of course most of the time we're not on vacation hence we're not on the dirt cheap fares as most of us don't know their itineraries months up front. So money is coming in for LH! Nevertheless LH's Y product simply s**ks!

Flying SFO / LAX - TXL a lot I am always stunned that LH still doesn't offer in-seat entertainment in Y. When traveling in C and especially in F I always see the FA's hanging out while their colleagues in Y are working like crazy as they are severely understaffed in the main cabin.
Comparing their Y-product with AF, BA, Virgin and UA (on non-Germany bound flights) puts LH rather in the category of third world airlines.

I really appreciate changes to the lounges. Maybe they should introduce dedicated non-smoking lounges as well. Getting off the plane in FRA or MUC and being greeted by a smoke filled lounge in simply not nice. I understand and respect the urge to smoke but I have the urge for smoke free air and I would like to have that respected as well.

All in all I think the biggest need for improvements are in Y and training the ground staff to get rid of their attitude.

Just my two cents.

Axel

oliver2002

Of course I am. Note the 'rolleyes' icon, indicating a sarcastic tone.

Regards Oliver

DUSFRA

Hi Christian,
itīs not just complaining about anything. I have never asked for a compensation nor did I recieve a compensation.
I just wanted to state that there are wild fluctuations regarding the service level, depending on the cabin crew. You easily get used to good or perfect service, once you became pampered for six or more flights in a row. On the next flight for the same price with a service below average you will recognize that and that is what I want to mention.
By the way, as I pay round about 460 € for a 30 minute flight I expect, that they take care about my jacket. Same for an expensive (paid!) intercontinetal flight in first.

regards,
Karsten

flamboyant 1

Thanks DUSFRA for such a nice explanation. Once you get used to something you do not want to move a notch down. And berenike, I still think the FAs should return the jacket without being asked for it. The FA forgot about it as did my father, but the FA was not awake for the last 22 hours I guess. My father is used to jackets being returned without asking. This is not about compensation, he will never ask for it and never got anything form an airline.

My father was tired, because for him it was 6:30 AM and he is not the youngest anymore. He did some work on SQ 326 and did not get much sleep. Other handluggage I was referring to was one Rimova cabin trolley, one laptop case and one smallish briefcase. And yes, he was on a paid First Class ticket.

If it was about compensation I would have posted what happened on LH 776. Poor cabin crew attitude, lot of chatting among them, inconsistent service, aweful menu in First, slow service, main course at 1:30 AM and then it took the crew 30 minutes to get a knife and fork for me and my seat neighbour. Also we were woken up much too early.

tcswede

Sorry - I was merely responding with a similar tale to the one Hon Hunter posted, it was not my intention to complain - nor here nor did I at the time do so towards LH - it was embarrassing enough. And sometimes things can go wrong - I got on the plane and to my destination. Admittingly it would have been a diffrent story if the plane would have left without me.

Again I agree fully with you that LH is doing a fairly and especially consistant job compared to others and they do take good care of me when needed.

Cheers

Thomas

nomad1974

Couldn't agree with you more. Or AT LEAST no smoking zones in the existing lounges! People seem to smoke everywhere, which decade do we live in?!

txl

Especially since Y-fares are often almost as expensive as even C-fares (at least on domestic routes) LH should be very careful about treating their Y-customers badly.
OTOH, LH has been announcing to make significant changes to their Y-product again and again for ages - and I donīt think there has been much of a change at all (still letting me check in 25' before take-off (still grumbling, of course), still serving drinks, still letting me reserve seats in advance (transcon)) - pure marketing, trying to add an exclusivity to their inner-european C that simply doesnīt exist. So, there probably (again) isnīt too much to worry about.
I am also surprised that the IFE is still the same, but I guess (hope) that upon introduction of the A380 LH will gradually change it.
I agree, that the attitude of some of their staff is uncalled-for - but then I couldnīt care less about a GA who is unfriendly, he simply chose to show me that he is having a bad day, and Iīm the one who gets to walk away . With FAs, of course, itīs a different thing. Travelling in Y during the holiday season in summer can be quite an experience - in-flight service does seem to be somewhat reduced at that time, and Iīve heard LH FAs talk to passengers very condescendingly (kindergarden-style). [A particularly gifted FA once tried to pull a club-hotel-like animation thing with a Y cabin that had to wait for three hours at JFK without a/c, food or drinks - mutiny was tangible ] It is saddening, though, that service starts to work just fine once you act arrongantly towards an unfriendly FA... but also a truism.
IMO, one of the most important things would be for LH to lose the oppinion that is was their duty or right to try and educate their customers - such a fatal misconception can do nothing but harm. Besides, it is very revealing...

Happy landings!

berenike

Oliver, Karsten, Thomas,

Apologies! I did't get the irony in your post, Oliver, and I didn't want to insinuate that any of you were out for compensation. I am regularly visiting this forum and I am really tired of the "Is this something I can complain about? How much compensation can I expect?"-posts.

Crews that are not delivering the same high service levels as others are a disappointment, I agree. Regarding jackets I still would expect everybody to take care of their own stuff. I gave my coat to a PA in the FCT and forgot it. The purser tried 15 mins to get it delivered to the plane to no avail. But he gave me the phone no of the FCT and they sent it to the lounge in A where I picked it up the following week. I thought this was excellent service after all.

But then: it is all about meeting and exceeding client expectations....

Regards

Christian