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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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 Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 2:51 am Post subject: Avoid air france |
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i'm heading off to dublin for my wedding reception and then honeymoon in paris tomorrow.
got an urgent email from expedia that air france had changed out departure time to 20 mins later. they'd already changed out connecting flight departure time previously (from paris to dub).
as a result, we have 40 mins to transfer in the same terminal - 2E - at charles de gaulle.
despite it being the same place and no further passport/security checks, air france will not confirm the flight as it's less than an hour for connection.
i spoke to their customer services and they were a bunch of useless, arrogant c****. offered not a single alternative except 'see in the airport tomorrow for alternatives' and then simply cut off the phone during mid conversation.
avoid these useless cretins at all costs |
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thrylos
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 3:36 am Post subject: |
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If you're booked thru to your final destination from ICN (with a 2nd boarding pass or the instructions to pick it up at a transfer station in Paris), like they said, work it out there, they'll have ground crew to walk you to your next gate if necessary on the little golf carts. Don't worry. You're booked into their system for the connecting flight.
If it's 2 separate flights (you have to re-check back in), then look for alternatives.
Staying away from Air France becuase they're French, now that's a good enough reason.  |
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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:29 am Post subject: |
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| thrylos wrote: |
If you're booked thru to your final destination from ICN (with a 2nd boarding pass or the instructions to pick it up at a transfer station in Paris), like they said, work it out there, they'll have ground crew to walk you to your next gate if necessary on the little golf carts. Don't worry. You're booked into their system for the connecting flight.
If it's 2 separate flights (you have to re-check back in), then look for alternatives.
Staying away from Air France becuase they're French, now that's a good enough reason. |
you would think that but apparently not. i spent some time on the phone to expedia and then air france and those lovely french will not allow a flight booking with less than an hour between connections, despite my protests that it was the same damn terminal.
they've now booked me on an alternative flight (lufthansa/aer lingus), which is about the same time overall, but leaves and arrives later (10pm).
i used to like the french until i had to deal with their (lack of) customer service. on the other hand, the indian call centre people for expedia were very nice indeed
think i'll be giving air france an earful when i get to the airport or on my return |
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_RainBoWs_
Joined: 20 Feb 2011
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 3:46 pm Post subject: |
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40 minutes is enough time for you to get on the next plane. Usually the gate closes 15 minutes before the departure time. So thats 25 mins. The problem is your bags.
They cant guarantee to locate your bags and get them onto the next plane in time. If you were an important person, then they could do this. For this reason they cant allow you to board the second flight. Ever since the Lockerbie bombing, bags have to be taken off planes when passengers are no shows....so i am guessing a similar rule applies to allowing passengers to board a plane, and allowing their baggage to follow. This is a completely different situation to lost luggage which follows afterwards. It is an obvious security concern.
Its a pain that you have to re-check in, but they put you on another flight so no big deal. Re-checking in will kill some time at the airport.
If you have a long wait now at the airport, complain...and you might get a reward. Even if your wait is 5-6 hours....if you complain in the right manner you can get put in a hotel with free breakfast/lunch buffet. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:09 pm Post subject: |
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| _RainBoWs_ wrote: |
40 minutes is enough time for you to get on the next plane. Usually the gate closes 15 minutes before the departure time. So thats 25 mins. The problem is your bags.
They cant guarantee to locate your bags and get them onto the next plane in time. If you were an important person, then they could do this. For this reason they cant allow you to board the second flight. Ever since the Lockerbie bombing, bags have to be taken off planes when passengers are no shows....so i am guessing a similar rule applies to allowing passengers to board a plane, and allowing their baggage to follow. This is a completely different situation to lost luggage which follows afterwards. It is an obvious security concern.
Its a pain that you have to re-check in, but they put you on another flight so no big deal. Re-checking in will kill some time at the airport.
If you have a long wait now at the airport, complain...and you might get a reward. Even if your wait is 5-6 hours....if you complain in the right manner you can get put in a hotel with free breakfast/lunch buffet. |
Nope (except maybe in the States).
If YOU are on the plane and your luggage is checked through with you but misses the flight they will simply load it onto the next one.
If you SKIP/miss the flight and your luggage gets through they will off-load it.
In most cases (outside of the US) you can get your boarding pass for all connecting flights at the time of your first check-in and check your bags through to the destination country (not necessarily the destination airport - if there is a domestic flight you have to clear customs and recheck the bags).
. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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| fezmond wrote: |
i spent some time on the phone to expedia and then air france and those lovely french will not allow a flight booking with less than an hour between connections, despite my protests that it was the same damn terminal.
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But it wasn't less than an hour between connections at the time you made the booking before they had amended the flight times, right?
In that case, I'd say your protests should be that they've accepted your money for a booking that was within their rules and then unilaterally moved the goalposts to make it outside their rules and inconvenienced you as a result. And if that's the case, they ought to be doing something to make it up to you. Can you claim that you're going to miss some other travel connection or other important event as a result of them getting you to Dublin later than the time they advertised and which induced you to make the booking?
I also wonder if it would've made any difference if you'd booked through Air France's website rather than Expedia?
Whatever, thanks for posting about this as Air France is one of small number of airlines I could use to fly with only one transfer to my home town airport in the UK. I had heard a few other bits of various anecdotal evidence suggesting I'd be better off avoiding them and I'll add yours to the list.
Incidentally, Air France are now owned by KLM and I've heard a number of similar complaints about them and their customer service.
Oh and btw, congratulations!! |
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_RainBoWs_
Joined: 20 Feb 2011
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| Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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OK.
Did not know some airlines allowed you to go ahead of your baggage. I flew with Emirates during the winter transfering at Dubai. My intial flight was delayed (Both flights were Emirates) cutting it tight to board the second plane. I figured we had enough time to board the planes, but there would not be enough time to get the luggage on the plane too. So perhaps this was not the reason (luggage issue) they did not let me board the second plane.
Air France/KLM have been alliance partners for a while. If KLM have taken over Air France dont expect their customer service to improve. From what i know, KLM are the only major airline which refused to compensate passengers for the volcanic ash cloud in 2010. |
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thrylos
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
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| Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:31 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="b-class rambler]
Incidentally, Air France are now owned by KLM and I've heard a number of similar complaints about them and their customer service.
[/quote]
Actually, other way around, FWIW... |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 8:09 pm Post subject: |
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| thrylos wrote: |
[quote="b-class rambler]
Incidentally, Air France are now owned by KLM and I've heard a number of similar complaints about them and their customer service.
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Actually, other way around, FWIW...[/quote]
Yeah, fair shout. "Owned by" was a poor choice of words on my part and should, strictly correctly, have been "merged with". And it is true that Air France shareholders owned well over half of the newly merged company at the time of the merger. In some countries, however, it can appear that KLM is nevertheless the more dominant of the two airlines. KLM certainly serves the UK, for example, more extensively than Air France does.
Whatever, the original point remains the same, they're both widely considered to be crap for customer service. |
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fezmond
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2012 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
| fezmond wrote: |
i spent some time on the phone to expedia and then air france and those lovely french will not allow a flight booking with less than an hour between connections, despite my protests that it was the same damn terminal.
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But it wasn't less than an hour between connections at the time you made the booking before they had amended the flight times, right?
In that case, I'd say your protests should be that they've accepted your money for a booking that was within their rules and then unilaterally moved the goalposts to make it outside their rules and inconvenienced you as a result. And if that's the case, they ought to be doing something to make it up to you. Can you claim that you're going to miss some other travel connection or other important event as a result of them getting you to Dublin later than the time they advertised and which induced you to make the booking?
I also wonder if it would've made any difference if you'd booked through Air France's website rather than Expedia?
Whatever, thanks for posting about this as Air France is one of small number of airlines I could use to fly with only one transfer to my home town airport in the UK. I had heard a few other bits of various anecdotal evidence suggesting I'd be better off avoiding them and I'll add yours to the list.
Incidentally, Air France are now owned by KLM and I've heard a number of similar complaints about them and their customer service.
Oh and btw, congratulations!! |
exactly right - when the booking was made, there was an hour and a half between connections and they were the ones that made the two changes to the flights.
i'll be writing a letter soon to try and get something from them. don't expect much if anything, but a simple apology would be nice. |
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motiontodismiss
Joined: 18 Dec 2011
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| Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:15 am Post subject: |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
Incidentally, Air France are now owned by KLM and I've heard a number of similar complaints about them and their customer service.
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I'm pretty sure Air France owns KLM, not the other way around. Still doesn't excuse the bad service though. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:37 am Post subject: |
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| motiontodismiss wrote: |
| b-class rambler wrote: |
Incidentally, Air France are now owned by KLM and I've heard a number of similar complaints about them and their customer service.
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I'm pretty sure Air France owns KLM, not the other way around. Still doesn't excuse the bad service though. |
Keep reading to the end of the thread!  |
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pegasus64128
Joined: 20 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 3:54 am Post subject: Re: Avoid air france |
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| fezmond wrote: |
i'm heading off to dublin for my wedding reception and then honeymoon in paris tomorrow.
got an urgent email from expedia that air france had changed out departure time to 20 mins later. they'd already changed out connecting flight departure time previously (from paris to dub).
as a result, we have 40 mins to transfer in the same terminal - 2E - at charles de gaulle.
despite it being the same place and no further passport/security checks, air france will not confirm the flight as it's less than an hour for connection.
i spoke to their customer services and they were a bunch of useless, arrogant c****. offered not a single alternative except 'see in the airport tomorrow for alternatives' and then simply cut off the phone during mid conversation.
avoid these useless cretins at all costs |
I think you're being a bit premature with this. Some airlines wouldn't tell you if there was a problem with the itinerary.
I flew with AF once. The pilot checked the manifest personally and saw that I was going to miss a connection. He arranged to have me diverted from the regular passenger flow to a comfortable station wagon that brought me over to the other terminal. I could even see him smiling down at me from the top of the cockpit stairway to ensure his orders were followed  |
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travellingwilly
Joined: 19 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:15 pm Post subject: Re: Avoid air france |
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| fezmond wrote: |
i'm heading off to dublin for my wedding reception and then honeymoon in paris tomorrow.
got an urgent email from expedia that air france had changed out departure time to 20 mins later. they'd already changed out connecting flight departure time previously (from paris to dub).
as a result, we have 40 mins to transfer in the same terminal - 2E - at charles de gaulle.
despite it being the same place and no further passport/security checks, air france will not confirm the flight as it's less than an hour for connection.
i spoke to their customer services and they were a bunch of useless, arrogant c****. offered not a single alternative except 'see in the airport tomorrow for alternatives' and then simply cut off the phone during mid conversation.
avoid these useless cretins at all costs |
So, because you had one bad experience, you reckon that everyone else should now avoid flying Air France? I am sure that the millions of passengers that use the airline will continue to do so, regardless of your boring complaint! |
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ratslash
Joined: 08 May 2003
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| Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:40 am Post subject: Re: Avoid air france |
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| travellingwilly wrote: |
| fezmond wrote: |
i'm heading off to dublin for my wedding reception and then honeymoon in paris tomorrow.
got an urgent email from expedia that air france had changed out departure time to 20 mins later. they'd already changed out connecting flight departure time previously (from paris to dub).
as a result, we have 40 mins to transfer in the same terminal - 2E - at charles de gaulle.
despite it being the same place and no further passport/security checks, air france will not confirm the flight as it's less than an hour for connection.
i spoke to their customer services and they were a bunch of useless, arrogant c****. offered not a single alternative except 'see in the airport tomorrow for alternatives' and then simply cut off the phone during mid conversation.
avoid these useless cretins at all costs |
So, because you had one bad experience, you reckon that everyone else should now avoid flying Air France? I am sure that the millions of passengers that use the airline will continue to do so, regardless of your boring complaint! |
Lol! |
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