dinbangkok

So I checked in for the 911 daytime flight from LHR yesterday am and this time was flying Y. Surprised to see the familiar team in Thai colours had been replaced by an outsourcing company. At the checkin they told me that I wasn’t a Gold card member (I have been for over 10 years and had only just arrived in London 4 days earlier!) They insisted I wasn’t and then said that Fast track was only for biz and first anyway (which it isn’t of course at LHR). They asked to see my card and then after multiple calls and attempts at data entry it transpired that they didn’t know how to input FF flyer details properly. Any chance of decent seating clearly out the window as they clearly had no idea what they were doing. Now sitting on my connecting flight (on a half empty plane but someone sitting next to me). Experience completely redeemed when the inflight manager introduced himself, asked the passenger next to me to sit in another row and then presented me with a blanket and amenity kit (knowing that I’d connected from London). Hostess also introduced herself and said to let her know if I needed anything. So from rubbish ground crew to amazing cabin crew.

Noppasit

LHR ground staff especially those in Terminal 3 has very indecent manner.

BinSabai

can't this statement been generailized if we compare European and American airports with the ones in Asia?

Flyingbiker

At LHR it really depends on the day, we have had outstanding ground service there and awful disdainful attitude,

UAuhoh

Flew TG first class to LHR last week along with 4 other passengers. Two were VIP's who sat in the front of the cabin and their two minions sat in the last row of first class. Five of us were led downstairs to the tarmac on a very cold and drizzly morning. Limo pulls up, collects the 4 of them, leaving me standing alone until buses shows up 10 minutes later where I had the privilege of joining hundreds of others for the ride to the terminal. Stay classy Thai!

dinbangkok

Have you flown with TG from LHR within the last 3 weeks? The new subcontractor only started then. While the original lot were a mixed bunch they at least could achieve things. This lot couldn't get the basics right and came across as real amateurs.

KenJohn

TG does not provide a limo for First Class passengers at LHR. No airlines does. LHR only operates buses.
However, anyone can book a limo service from the plane to a private lounge by-passing all public spaces. Immigration and custom formalities will be handled at the private lounge. This is the Heathrow VIP Black service https://www.heathrowvip.com/#about/service
It is very pricey at Heathrow - around Ł3,000-Ł4,000 for a group of 2 persons. It the main way celebrities avoid the paparazzi at LHR.

A similar service at Frankfurt Airport is more affordable at €330 per person. I have done this when flying TG a few times to/from FRA. Usefully when a connection is required between FRA's two terminal. A similar service is even cheaper in Prague at €180 per person. Similar service (limo tarmac transfers) are also available at Vienna airport and Munich airport.

I flew out of LHR on 1 Feb. Good service for the TG First Class check in desk. Just confusing to work out the check-in area since premium check-in desks are in a different row from economy check-in desks.

Check-in agent was excited to see my Malaysia passport having just moved over from handling MH at Terminal 4. There was a supervisor hovering to handle issues at the premium check-in desks.

UAuhoh

[QUOTE=KenJohn;29414335]TG does not provide a limo for First Class passengers at LHR. No airlines does. LHR only operates buses.
However, anyone can book a limo service from the plane to a private lounge by-passing all public spaces. Immigration and custom formalities will be handled at the private lounge. This is the Heathrow VIP Black service https://www.heathrowvip.com/#about/service
It is very pricey at Heathrow - around Ł3,000-Ł4,000 for a group of 2 persons. It the main way celebrities avoid the paparazzi at LHR.


Thanks for the useless advice. The agent led the 5 of us down the stairs to the tarmac and a limo picked up the other 4 first class pax, leaving me in the rain til a bus showed up 10 minutes later. The least they could have done was ask me to wait inside the plane especially as I was not allowed to go back up the stairs.

BinSabai

"Thanks for the useless advice. The agent led the 5 of us down the stairs to the tarmac and a limo picked up the other 4 first class pax, leaving me in the rain til a bus showed up 10 minutes later. The least they could have done was ask me to wait inside the plane especially as I was not allowed to go back up the stairs."you are of course right! a non acceptable mishappening. Likely a misunderstanding or non-communication between cabin and ground staff

KenJohn

For the first time I saw the first bags coming off the luggage carousel had extra large TG VIP tags as opposed the Royal Silk or Royal First tags. The party of 4 men were met in Bangkok by Thai police as opposed to airport staff. The group had use of the private lounge area in the TG lounge at KUL and were allocated front row seat by TG. They were the last to board the flight.

TG clearly have a separate service for VIPs

BinSabai

usually we call them TIP in this Forum!

sometimes I wonder who get this TIP treatment and who not. Was once with the General secretary of the ASEAN states and another time with the governor of Bangkok on the same flight. there was no visible preferential treatment. The governor was not even upgraded from Biz to F. Maybe some do not want as they would like to keep a reputation to stay clean

paolo64

1. Good ground staff are critically important for ROP G traveling in Y. The good ones, and they are reasonably common, fortunately, will try hard to get the best seat within the booked cabin. So any reports like this are alarming.
2. Some TIPs are very wary these days after the case of the auditor lady who was notorious for pointing the finger at others over corruption ( but came a cropper herself when a TG staff member blew the whistle on her demands to have her kids given free flights or upgrades).

JVPhoto

I would have just got in the limo.
To quote Bunny on Sex & The City “Don’t hustle me out of here, this is Chanel!”

BinSabai

you are kidding, right? could easily get you arrested and banned!

dinbangkok

It was atrocious. And as you say it's especially important on occasions when you're flying Y. The disdainful, unhelpful attitude was absolutely the antithesis of what I'd experienced before. Yes, before there had been some grumpy staff at times, but they knew what they were doing and if you asked politely about seating they'd normally be helpful and respond well. But to be told that I don't even have a frequent flyer card (because it's not on their system) and even if I did only C & F can use Fast Track... with absolutely no care in the world to explain what seating is available for the 18 hour journey back to Jakarta was poor. Even the supervisor didn't know what he was doing and he took several attempts to work out how to enter my FF number properly. Incompetent and unbecoming of Thai but thankfully saved on the last flight by the absolutely outstanding cabin crew BKK-CGK who cleared the row for me (I didn't ask for any of this), presented me with an amenity kit and a blanket from C, recognising that I was utterly exhausted.

I'd be keen to hear other experiences from LHR on the ground staff specifically.