Air France

Hello Rod,

Deepest sympathies! The last time I used Air Chance was in October 2005, when I flew out to South Korea for a 2 1/2 month posting in a shipyard. My bags were lost in transit, and I eventually received them 8, yes 8, days later. A rather large inconvenience I can tell you. How much help/assistance did I receive from them? Zilch. I vowed at the time never to use them again (much like KLM who are just as bad, but that's another story) and have stuck to my word. I'd rather swim/walk.

Mark

Aren't Air France and KLM the same company now?

Is it really different with any airline?

We quit flying a few years ago. Several reasons but included amongst those was the fact that flying anywhere seemed to have become a universally unpleasant experience. Horrible over-crowded airports, strikes, late services, surly staff and atrocious communication if things go awry. I'm not talking the real budget carriers either.


Bruce

Tell me about it...

If you're off to the Carribbean, it's difficult to find an alternative to flying. By the time you have reached there by sea, it's time to come back.
Ken

Bruce - If you fly business class you can minimise the queues and get good service on the plane

Rod,

very useful post. reminds me to never go back to flying Air France. Its years now and there was a chance I amy have just tried a flight to see if there was any change.

David

quote:

Originally posted by Derek Wright:
Bruce - If you fly business class you can minimise the queues and get good service on the plane

Perhaps it would improve things a bit, but it does not make them run on time or improve the airport experience (from getting there to getting away). I don't want to be pampered on the plane I just want to get there reliably.

Frankly you should not need to fly business class to get a basic standard of service either.

Rod
I hope you have reached your destination by now! I think all the airlines with whom I have travelled in recent years have been pretty dire. At least AF were never any use, whereas there was a time when I would always opt, where I had a choice, to fly BA, but our most recent round trip with them was dreadful.

Here in the UK the flying experience is made infinitely worse by the preposterous "anti-terror" measures being mindlessly enforced by minimum wage jobsworths. It is bad elsewhere (Munich springs to mind)but the carry-on restrictions here are utterly stupid. Then when you finally get through to airside there is inadequate seating and huge over-supply of retail opportunity.

Grrrr indeed!

I flew once to Bombay with Air France. I can tell you that Air India, itself not a great airline either, is already far better and that's an understatement. And the fact that my flight took place during a strike of Air France didn't help in terms of politeness of the staff.

quote:

Apology have I received not.

Do I not like that?

quote:

didn't help in terms of politeness of the staff

Cheese,
One of the funniest announcements I used to hear was from the Swiss airline, when we were wished a very good evening from "your Cross Air crew".....or maybe your cross aircrew.
Ken

quote:

your cross aircrew

Kinda frightening really... CrossAir has simply been renamed Swiss by the way.

CdeG must be up there with Heathrow as the lousiest airport in the world.

quote:

Originally posted by nap-ster:
CdeG must be up there with Heathrow as the lousiest airport in the world.

Then don't go to Orly, unless they have rebuilt it you would never think that it is situated in the western world. Wonderful 1964 charm.

Some airlines are better than those reported above, including budget airlines.

My wife and I travel to/from Calgary quite a lot and we always travel with Thomas Cook (through Canadian Affair). We have probably done the trip 20 times or so in the past 7 years.

OK, its a budget airline, so the seat pitch is a bit cramped; and the meals are adequate rather than good. But the cabin crew are friendly, helpful and efficient and on 19 of these trips we have departed on time and arrived on time (or within 5 minutes on a 9-hour flight).

On one occasion the flight back from Calgary was delayed 24 hours. Two aeroplanes had touched wings whilst taxying at Gatwick and were taken out of service for repair. One of them was ours. The (Portugeese) wet-lease replacement incomming to Calgary was late arriving, obviously, (equally obviously we weren't on this flight)and the crew needed about 18 hours rest before making the return trip with us.

At our initial check-in for departure from Calgary, TC explained what the problem was, how long the delay would be and put us on busses within 20 minutes, bound for a first-class hotel in the centre of Calgary. We were provided with good (not gourmet) lunch, dinner, breakfast and lunch plus virtually unlimited phone cards to call world-wide. We spent a very pleasant extra day in Canada - ok we weren't on business but I did miss work on the Monday (busman's holiday!)

TC provided clear, concise documents to sent to our travel insurance company from whom we received compensation.

We would have prefered not to be delayed. But TC handled their problem superbly, IMHO. They retained our custom.

Cheers

Don

Got here in the end!

The delay in replying is that Caribbean broadband is a near contradiction in terms, but as soon as island life has permeated your being (along with mosquito-borne Denge Fever of course), you kinda no longer care.
I have almost even forgiven Air Farce, although in all honesty that may be the gin.

On the flight over - finally - the crew on the plane could not supply me with a drink because they were surprised - I quote - that the plane was full with four hundred passengers. I would have thought that the last people to be surprised that a plane was full should be the staff running it (surely some fuel implications apart from anything else?) But not very surprised with Air Fright for sure.

Anyway, it's 30 degrees and sunny so I have nothing really to complain about.

Cheers

Rod