lightwalker

Dear Swiss Lurker,

for my xmas holidays I took a flight from ZRH to HAJ. Everything went normal on the outbound flight from ZRH.

When I tried to check-in the return-flight online, I couldn't with an obscure error message and the note to check-in at the counter. When the lady a the counter in HAJ tried to check me in, she said: you can't check-in, because you didn't take the outbound to-flight from ZRH to HAJ.

This is clearly a mistake in the Swiss IT systems, since I am 100% sure that I took the flight. Now, I had to pay over 100 EUR to buy a return-ticket. (at a third-party counter with a completely swamped clerk, who had to deal with 3 other SWISS problems at the same time, but that's another story).

I then called (no one was responsible for that - please write an email) and wrote to Swiss ([email protected] as per contact form on the website) and no response until now - it's been nearly a Month now.

My general question is: Do I really have to prove that I was on a flight when the systems made a mistake? How in the name of the flying lord shall I do that? Not only is there no stamp on my iPhone-Walleted-Boarding Pass, but even a paper boarding pass is not stamped or marked anymore.

Disclaimer: They didn't ask me for a prove, but they also didn't answer me at all! If you can give me a number or mail address with people behind it, that would be helpful as well

JamesMcGill

Use the tracking of your iPhone courtesy of Google. You should see the check-ins in ZRH before the flight and in HAJ after.

scottishpoet

EU261 denied boarding claim?

ajeleonard

Credit card chargeback will get their attention

lightwalker

Thanks for your suggestions, guys.

Today, I finally got a reply from SWISS. And as I feared, I really would have to prove that I was on the flight... ...?

Here the original text (in German):

"Zunächst möchte ich mich bei Ihnen in aller Form für die lange Bearbeitungszeit entschuldigen.
Nach eingehender Prüfung Ihres Anliegens und Ausschöpfung aller Ressourcen, müssen wir Ihnen leider mitteilen, dass wir keine Informationen finden konnten, die darauf hindeuten, dass Sie sich an Bord von Flug LX816 von Zürich nach Hannover am 23. Dezember 2016 befunden haben.
Auch wenn ich Ihrem Wunsch nach einer Rückerstattung der Kosten nicht entsprechen konnte, hoffe ich, dass wir Sie unter günstigeren Umständen bald wieder an Bord von SWISS begrüssen dürfen."

In short: After thorough examination and exhaustion of all resources (how many Swiss working hours did they spent on my 100 EUR?) we could not find any information that indicated that you were on board Flight LX816 from Zurich to Hanover on 23 December 2016.

I mean, even if law says that I have to prove it, they could check my customer data with them and find that I am a good customer and that the possibility that I am a con artist doesn't seem that high and just re-imburse me already.
Flying Swiss is also paying a premium for better service and this situation would have been a possibility for them to prove that.

Anyway, anyone with access to surveillance cameras in ZRH? That would help a lot.
(If I can't find myself entering the plane on those vids, I am either crazy or there is a conspiracy going on. Hmm, do we have a movie here? )

hugolover

Its more concerning that LX's record keeping is so poor. Who else did they not know was on their flights when the authorities come knocking for a name check? How many criminals, terrorists could slip through, not by intention, but negligence?

Unless they have ordered a Halal meal!!!

KLouis

Rather than negligence, have you thought of a simple disfunction of the scanner at the gate?

After today's events at Quebec City, I guess they would have ordered pork chops! Isn't it better if you left prejudice at home?

klausa

I think this was a reference to something some higher-up from LX said about sharing informations like "unusual" meal choices with authorities, not a prejudiced remark.

airoli

Something here is very wrong. No flight is allowed to depart without a finalized passenger manifest and a matching head-count.

If for some reason, the boarding gate reader malfunctioned when lightwalker got on the plane, then there would be a mismatch between the pax on board and the number of names on the passenger manifest.

If his name was on the passenger manifest, that is obviously proof that he was on board.

I would insist LX check the passenger list, and indicate to them the specific seat you occupied.

SwissCircle

So, if the plane had crashed you would have been a John Doe. Wo r how they would explain that to the authorities.
They are improving on their general customer service experience, me thinks (yeah, that's sarcasm)

LXboy

I am wondering what kind of proof would be appropriate and accepted by LX.

CheckInPeach

I'm pretty sure this will not hold up on in front of court. The rule alone, that you have to fly all segments is questionable and I even think there are rulings against the airline. Sue them, the only way to move a dinosaur.

Zorro

Your miles did not post either, I assume.

As many other posters I have the continual battle of missing miles. After reclaim the mysterious "Name nicht auf Passagierliste" comment appears on the account.

Maybe some connection?

PS: The last case was on a flight to the US, I wonder what Homeland Security would make of this?

YuropFlyer

Wow, I'd have expected everything from Swiss (from a simple refund to a big "We're sorry, here have some serious amount of miles") but definitely not this answer.

IT systems can fail. LX IT isn't known for the best results overall (I remember the infamous problem when you booked something like ZRH-XXX-GVA or BSL-XXX-GVA that they couldn't fix in half a year..) - but something like that? WOW! Just unbelievable..

We're not talking about a silly problem with M&M - but about a case where basically the system auto-cancelled a RT flight that OP was on, doing nothing wrong. I don't even want to know how many times this happens to "regular" (non-FT) travellers, and if they ever get their money back..

Now the question is, how to go on?

Apparently, a "human being" already has denied your claim. That means that usually the LX Lurker (or other LX social media staff) can't do much to help your case. They might try to re-open it, but apparently "the computer says no".

Basically, you're left with four choices:

a) Accept that LX scamed you. I think that wording is about right..

b) Get a lawyer. Make sure to get a good one. That still means PLENTY of work for you, which you probably can't claim (You can claim your lawyers cost, but not your own one's imho)

c) Charge back of your credit card for the amount charged in HAJ. If you've a good bank behind it, that will "back you up".

d) Try writing them again, slightly less polite. Did miles post on your account? I assume not.. but if they did, that would be a strong prove for your side.

In short, if I'd be from Swiss, I'd now do a BIG push to set things right. Including a massive "sorry" compensation (Significant amount of miles or a travel voucher) - they've not just failed at proper IT systems, but their customer service has shown their very miserable side.

televisor

Oh yeah. All those dangerous people... slipping around _within_ the Schengen zone.

No one cares, it makes no difference whatsoever. Stop being paranoid please.


To OP: as others have advised, do a chargeback, and submit the BP scan.

Even better: do you have any credit card charges or receipts from Hannover on the day of arrival? That's extra proof.