LTU- how to avoid being bumped?
Oct 3, 2003 | 11:23 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA LT Gold; BA Silver; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,103
LTU- how to avoid being bumped?
We made it to St. Petersburg (thanks again to all who had helpful answers and reassurances). Great place, love the Radisson although their restaurant prices rival Manhattan's so we eat elsewhere!
One bad hitch getting in here was that LTU bumped us involuntarily from our FRA-LED flight. OK, we did check in 45 minutes prior which was our fault, but they turned away 6 people, including a woman who sat next to me on the later flight who said they arrived 2 hours early. Yeah, we got vouchers, but at this time in my life I'd rather have had 4 more hours in St. Petersburg than the money.
OK, now that my worry engine is overdrive (I'm very good at that) how can we avoid being bumped on the return? It's a 7 AM flight and already we plan to get there 2 hours early (yuck) but this CANNOT happen on the return. We have to get a CO flight to EWR out of FRA 3.5 hours after we land. I booked the 2 segments separately since neither airline seemed set up to do the whole thing, so neither CO nor LTU has our entire itinerary in their record. We have no status on LTU. I'm a bit shaken since in 20+ years of fairly steady flying, I have never been bumped, voluntarily or otherwise.
Will we get any sympathy from LTU of they're overbooked again and I tell them (a) they already pulled this with us last week, (b) we have to connect to Brand X airlines in FRA and (c) we're on our honeymoon? (No, I am NOT making the latter up although we're beyond traditional honeymon age.)
Thanks for your help.
One bad hitch getting in here was that LTU bumped us involuntarily from our FRA-LED flight. OK, we did check in 45 minutes prior which was our fault, but they turned away 6 people, including a woman who sat next to me on the later flight who said they arrived 2 hours early. Yeah, we got vouchers, but at this time in my life I'd rather have had 4 more hours in St. Petersburg than the money.
OK, now that my worry engine is overdrive (I'm very good at that) how can we avoid being bumped on the return? It's a 7 AM flight and already we plan to get there 2 hours early (yuck) but this CANNOT happen on the return. We have to get a CO flight to EWR out of FRA 3.5 hours after we land. I booked the 2 segments separately since neither airline seemed set up to do the whole thing, so neither CO nor LTU has our entire itinerary in their record. We have no status on LTU. I'm a bit shaken since in 20+ years of fairly steady flying, I have never been bumped, voluntarily or otherwise.
Will we get any sympathy from LTU of they're overbooked again and I tell them (a) they already pulled this with us last week, (b) we have to connect to Brand X airlines in FRA and (c) we're on our honeymoon? (No, I am NOT making the latter up although we're beyond traditional honeymon age.)
Thanks for your help.
Oct 4, 2003 | 4:06 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: UK
Posts: 7,566
The statistical likelihood of being bumped twice on the same itinerary is probably fairly low - though I'm sure SOMEONE will now post a response saying that it happened to them!!!
If you can, I would contact LTU beforehand and ask them to put a note in your booking record to say that you have a 3.5 hour long-haul connection at FRA - this won't guarantee that they won't bump you, but it'll make it less likely that they will.
The other thing is that you should perhaps try to get to the airport MORE than two hours before departure (hard, I know - especially at that time of day!), so that you are not at the back of the queue. My experience with overbooked flights is that those at the front of the queue will get asked if they would like to volunteer to travel later, but if they all say "no" then those at the back of the queue will be TOLD to travel later. So make sure you're at the front!
If you can, I would contact LTU beforehand and ask them to put a note in your booking record to say that you have a 3.5 hour long-haul connection at FRA - this won't guarantee that they won't bump you, but it'll make it less likely that they will.
The other thing is that you should perhaps try to get to the airport MORE than two hours before departure (hard, I know - especially at that time of day!), so that you are not at the back of the queue. My experience with overbooked flights is that those at the front of the queue will get asked if they would like to volunteer to travel later, but if they all say "no" then those at the back of the queue will be TOLD to travel later. So make sure you're at the front!
Oct 4, 2003 | 6:03 am
#3
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: London, England.
Programs: BA
Posts: 8,773
Athena53:
Congratulations on your honeymoon! And on spending it amid the architecture of St Pete.
It is surprising for LTU to overbook at all in the traditional sense, let alone in this quantity, as they are effectively a charter-type operation with non-changeable tickets, and the issue may have been something other than a standard "overbook". Did they have an operational problem maybe; was an A320 substituted for an A321? Or a blunder by reservations? (not unknown). I think it is extremely unlikely they would have the same problem on return.
Also many travellers on your outward journey may have checked in much earlier than you on connecting inward flights, say from Munich. That won't apply on your return leg, where you are all starting at St Pete. And don't worry about the time taken for the check-in at St Pete (known as "registration" in Russia), where you line up at the terminal entrance for security first, before reaching the check-in desks in the "sterile" part of the airport. It's just a different way.
So don't worry. Enjoy your trip. Further recommendations for it in addition to the standards like the Winter Palace, courtesy of Ms WHBM, who comes from St Pete, are:
Yusupov Palace, downtown, for the architecture inside. Also this is where Rasputin met his end.
Smol'nyi Cathedral, on the inside of the bend in the Neva.
Peterhof Palace, out of town. Get the hydrofoil from the Neva embankment, takes about 30 minutes across the bay.
Go up to the top of St Isaac's Cathedral.
Mariinski Theatre for ballet.
Restaurants:
Idiot, themed after the Dostoyevsky novel of the same name and in the area it was set in. Moika river embankment 82.
Sunduk. Furshtatskaya str 42
Sladkoezhka cafes for tea and a cake, several about town, eg Marata str 1, just off Nevsky, close to your hotel.
It's a bit cold and unromantic this time of year for boat trips around the canals.
There's a photo exhibition, "Reality of St Pete, myths and illusions", on this week 3-10 October, at Manezh, Isaakievskaya square 1.
I'm sure that like all St Pete wedding couples you have had your picture taken in front of The Bronze Horseman statue of Peter the Great.
Enjoy the city. Leave that worry engine behind!
PS - what on earth are you doing, posting on FT during your honeymoon ??!!!
(Edited becaue all my painstaking Cyrillic transliterations of names were messed up at the FT end!)
[This message has been edited by WHBM (edited 10-04-2003).]
Congratulations on your honeymoon! And on spending it amid the architecture of St Pete.
It is surprising for LTU to overbook at all in the traditional sense, let alone in this quantity, as they are effectively a charter-type operation with non-changeable tickets, and the issue may have been something other than a standard "overbook". Did they have an operational problem maybe; was an A320 substituted for an A321? Or a blunder by reservations? (not unknown). I think it is extremely unlikely they would have the same problem on return.
Also many travellers on your outward journey may have checked in much earlier than you on connecting inward flights, say from Munich. That won't apply on your return leg, where you are all starting at St Pete. And don't worry about the time taken for the check-in at St Pete (known as "registration" in Russia), where you line up at the terminal entrance for security first, before reaching the check-in desks in the "sterile" part of the airport. It's just a different way.
So don't worry. Enjoy your trip. Further recommendations for it in addition to the standards like the Winter Palace, courtesy of Ms WHBM, who comes from St Pete, are:
Yusupov Palace, downtown, for the architecture inside. Also this is where Rasputin met his end.
Smol'nyi Cathedral, on the inside of the bend in the Neva.
Peterhof Palace, out of town. Get the hydrofoil from the Neva embankment, takes about 30 minutes across the bay.
Go up to the top of St Isaac's Cathedral.
Mariinski Theatre for ballet.
Restaurants:
Idiot, themed after the Dostoyevsky novel of the same name and in the area it was set in. Moika river embankment 82.
Sunduk. Furshtatskaya str 42
Sladkoezhka cafes for tea and a cake, several about town, eg Marata str 1, just off Nevsky, close to your hotel.
It's a bit cold and unromantic this time of year for boat trips around the canals.
There's a photo exhibition, "Reality of St Pete, myths and illusions", on this week 3-10 October, at Manezh, Isaakievskaya square 1.
I'm sure that like all St Pete wedding couples you have had your picture taken in front of The Bronze Horseman statue of Peter the Great.
Enjoy the city. Leave that worry engine behind!
PS - what on earth are you doing, posting on FT during your honeymoon ??!!!
(Edited becaue all my painstaking Cyrillic transliterations of names were messed up at the FT end!)
[This message has been edited by WHBM (edited 10-04-2003).]
Oct 4, 2003 | 7:44 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA LT Gold; BA Silver; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,103
WHBM-
thanks for the great ideas. We're here through Tuesday (leaving Wed. AM) and theer aren't going to be enough days!!
I like the idea of going to the LTU office on Nevsky and telling them of our schedule constraints. Can't hurt. And I'm especially glad that LTU isn't known for overbooking. They did ask- repeatedly- for volunteers in FRA. It appeared to be mostly business people and tour groups so maybe the former had to get to their meetings and the latter didn't want to leave the group.
And I'm e-mailing on my honeymoon because it's a disease! My husband knew it before he married me. But, he's 15 years older so he catches a little extra sleep in the AM and has himself a pre-dinner martini in the PM while I catch up.
thanks for the great ideas. We're here through Tuesday (leaving Wed. AM) and theer aren't going to be enough days!!
I like the idea of going to the LTU office on Nevsky and telling them of our schedule constraints. Can't hurt. And I'm especially glad that LTU isn't known for overbooking. They did ask- repeatedly- for volunteers in FRA. It appeared to be mostly business people and tour groups so maybe the former had to get to their meetings and the latter didn't want to leave the group.
And I'm e-mailing on my honeymoon because it's a disease! My husband knew it before he married me. But, he's 15 years older so he catches a little extra sleep in the AM and has himself a pre-dinner martini in the PM while I catch up.
Oct 4, 2003 | 10:37 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Nashua, NH USA
Programs: Seashore Trolley Museum "flight attendant"
Posts: 2,015
Almost always, if you are bumped involuntarily, the airline has to give you cash if you wish. However they are likely to offer vouchers that are worth more.
Since your connections are not all on the same itinerary, you are not protected from missing your second flight if you are bumped from the first.
Also, if you are with a tour group all on the same plane and all checked in at about the same time, are you immune from bumping unless the entire tour group is bumped?
Travel tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm
[This message has been edited by AllanJ (edited 10-04-2003).]
[This message has been edited by AllanJ (edited 10-04-2003).]
Since your connections are not all on the same itinerary, you are not protected from missing your second flight if you are bumped from the first.
Also, if you are with a tour group all on the same plane and all checked in at about the same time, are you immune from bumping unless the entire tour group is bumped?
Travel tips:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/travel.htm
[This message has been edited by AllanJ (edited 10-04-2003).]
[This message has been edited by AllanJ (edited 10-04-2003).]
Oct 4, 2003 | 11:31 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA LT Gold; BA Silver; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,103
Allan-
thanks for the tips, but the lady sitting next to me (as well as her husband) was definitely separated from her group. It makes sense- what would LTU do otherwise? Hold the whole tour group back and get tham all angry? Send the whole group and bump business people or their beloved Frequent Flyers instead?
The more I think about it this sounds like a change of aircraft. I know the flight was running late when we got there and it was a pretty foggy morning, so they may have taken what they could get and ended up with a smaller plane.
Yes, the vouchers are worth 300 Euro (each) towards LTU travel and 150 each in cash. They're legally transferrable and we're wondering if we can get something in between that amount on E-Bay.
Thoughts?
thanks for the tips, but the lady sitting next to me (as well as her husband) was definitely separated from her group. It makes sense- what would LTU do otherwise? Hold the whole tour group back and get tham all angry? Send the whole group and bump business people or their beloved Frequent Flyers instead?
The more I think about it this sounds like a change of aircraft. I know the flight was running late when we got there and it was a pretty foggy morning, so they may have taken what they could get and ended up with a smaller plane.
Yes, the vouchers are worth 300 Euro (each) towards LTU travel and 150 each in cash. They're legally transferrable and we're wondering if we can get something in between that amount on E-Bay.
Thoughts?