Today (11/27), our AF flight from JFK to CDG got cancelled after long waiting in the airplane.

It, AF023, was scheduled for departure at 5:10pm. It was pushed back for take off around 5:40pm and soon after there was announcement that we were going back to the gate to check the problems on right engine.
Around 6:05pm there was announcement that it would take 45 minutes to fix it. Fine. Then long waiting... Some pax got an information from FA that they did not have parts to replace and they were bringing them from EWR. Give me a break. AF has more and more daily flight from JFK than EWR. Didn't they simply refill the parts or did they have too many mechanical problems and run out the parts? It is thanksgiving holiday!! You can imagine it would take a long time. Then around 7:30 or 7:40pm (3 hours since we got boarded) they said the problem was too complex and everyone had to once get off the plane.
No announcement of cancellation. No instruction. Some pax even stayed in the plane. No FA said if the flight got cancelled or not. It was total mess.
AF told us to go immigration, but immigration officers told us to go back to the gate. We had no idea what was going on.
Again no explanation from AF agents.
Everybody was talking something different.
Around 8:30pm, we finally went through the immigration (no check). No instruction.
We went to the ticketing ccounter. They were not willing to help us at all.
No word of apology. No respect for the customers. They just kept telling us no flight until tomorrow. I really doubted if they checked other airlines. They did not listen us at all. They did not answer to our questions. They just said they are going to take us to hotel and they tried to rebook the flight for tomorrow.
Come on! Don't they at least need to explaine what they could do and what they could not?
We luckly confirmed tomorrow's flight but we never know. Most likely the flight is overbooked like today. Then are we going to get bumped??
They did not even care about Rule 240. They just ignored. Isn't this rule applied to foreign airline?

Should we write a letter to AF CS to ask some compensation? Again there was no clear explanation. No instruction. No information. No apology....
Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

You should certainly write and complain, if only to cause them some hassle in return. But you will probably only get offered a voucher against future travel on AF. There are other airlines out there.

This one is tough. I am Canadian and like the French, living among them, but you get no respect absent two strategies. You need to either make the person behind the counter understand that you understand, and that you understand that he or she understands, that the company not the person is the problem. He or she will be much more helpful at finding solutions and bending rules henceforth. Remember it is now a conspiracy against the company. Or you need to explode. The French generally respect what they cannot push around and what pushes back. But you need to speak French for the latter. Not necessarily good French. Indeed perfect French might be a disadvantage. The problem is exaggerated by the fact that the French consider Americans just now to be some what below uneducated brutes. So the explosion should most definitely not include references to America and needs, as they would say, some French flair. Mislead them into thinking you are Canadian or something. Slandering Bush wouldn't hurt or your best British accent. Start out politely even with a slight forced professional friendliness but with ill-concealed bad humour and ennui bubbling just beneath the surface, suggesting in effect that you have no problem with the agent but might shortly should your situation not be dealt with to the mutual happiness of all.

If you purchased your tickets with a card that has flight interupt insurance then you have some sort of claim for meals, hotel etc. But it sounds like AF covered that.

Raise hell!

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[This message has been edited by Canista (edited 11-28-2002).]

Please continue to follow the thread in the Air France forum.

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Craig6z
Buzz & United Moderator
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