A330Fan1 From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 856 posts, RR: 12 Posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 6221 times:
Yo everyone
My dad recently got back from a trip to Jordan, and he was telling me an amazingly terrible story of an Air France segment from CDG-Amman. So he said, it was raining - no, it was pouring in Paris on the day he was there, connecting to Jordan from the USA. So, after a huge lack of help from Air France staff in finding his gate, they told him to go on a tram/train/bus thing, that just took him around all the terminals and brought him back to point A again..and he was short on time, had only an hour or so between flights. So, he finally found hte gate anyways, and he found out the plane was out on the tarmac and that they needed a bus to get there. So he got on the bus, and they got to the plane - keep in mind it's still raining REALLY hard, pouring, almost hurting. So they got off the bus - and guess what, the bus didnt even park next to the stairway to the plane, but pretty far from it...and guess what also? there was no covering about the staircase. So unless you had an umbrella or raincoat, you were screwed. He said, everybody was SOAKING wet when they got on the plane, after having to walk a ways from the bus to the stair,s and the stairs not being covered (all the Air France people had coats and umbrellas, hmmm). So everybody in the plane was drenched, dripping water all over. Not just a little wet, a LOT wet. He said the first class passengers were FURIOUS and so were all the other passengers. Then the plane was delayed from departing one an d a half hours because of unidentified baggage. Then when they got to Jordan, 3 passengers were complaining about having not received their bags (......). And, on the flight, he said the flight attendants didnt offer any towels, nothing to compensate for the WET WET WET and extremely uncomfrtable passengers!!! WOW! just WOW. oh yeah and the airline didnt give those people whose bags didnt show up, any compensation - like clothes, or even an upgrade. SHAME ON U AIR FRANCE!!!
What do u all think of this? i think i'll try to stay away from Air France
Airbus3801 From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2004, 1089 posts, RR: 5 Reply 1, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 6098 times:
That is terrible, when I went through LHR in April it wasn't raining but still all of the stairs had covers on them. That is very poor judgment by Air France not to even offer towels and made the first class passengers very angry. Has AF even had an apology to the passengers?
DfwRevolution From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 3, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 6031 times:
When I was in the Boy Scouts a decade ago, we had this saying "Be Prepared." It has often served me well
But I'm sorry your friend had a bad experience. When I prepare to fly, I expect to be treated like crap, have my bags lost, not recieve any complementary service, and just be lucky to arrive in one piece. Once you are in this mindset, the flight can only improve from there...
Daumueller From Germany, joined Nov 2003, 677 posts, RR: 7 Reply 4, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5969 times:
anyway, I have to say:
1. bags get lost every day and there's usually no compensation if they show up in time (within some hours) so that's nothing to blame AF
2. well, if it's raining, why not wait in the bus while the crowd is on the stairway? nobody will push you out so: if everybody runs out of the bus to be stuck on the stairway cause some other guys need to keep standing in the aisle to take their time while taking of their jackets, they deserve it to get wet
Steph001 From Germany, joined Oct 2003, 315 posts, RR: 1 Reply 5, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5904 times:
Hi A330Fan1!
Why don't you or your father write a trip report on that subject? I guess it would have more impact than putting your thread in the General Aviation forum. This forum is so big, I guess someone searching on Air France won't be able to find your thread in a couple of months or so. If you write a trip report, there is a big chance that you find your trip report even in years with a search on Air France and I guess that people who are interested in traveling with a certain airline will look under trip reports for information about the airline quality.
B777fa From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 246 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5882 times:
Hell, why don't you sue Air France for the rain and getting wet!!
Like Daumueller said, If it was raining that hard wait on the bus for a while until it lightens up then you wont get soaked or ask the bus driver to pull up closer to the aircraft!
SW733 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6072 posts, RR: 10 Reply 7, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5864 times:
Does Air France having stairs a common thing and CDG? All the times I have flown out of CDG, on both Delta and Air France, we were on one of those buses that lifts up to meet the door.
A330Fan1 From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 856 posts, RR: 12 Reply 8, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5790 times:
hey everybody thanks for your responses
my dad couldnt wait on the bus for the rain to subside, everybody had to get off fast because the plane was leaving really soon (it was supposed to leave soon...but didnt, b/c of that huge bag ordeal thing), and the bus wouldn't get any closer - that's just where it stopped.
Zrs70 From United States of America, joined Dec 2000, 2872 posts, RR: 10 Reply 9, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5763 times:
How does your father know about the lack of compensation for those with lost luggage? Did he stick around to find out? What were the reasons given for the lost luggage?
A330Fan1 From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 856 posts, RR: 12 Reply 11, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5672 times:
Zrs70 - he was talking to them and all he said, is that they were complaining a LOT at Amman airport, yelling at the Air France staff, and that the Air France staff were saying they wouldnt do anything about their lost luggage. dont know what reason the staff gave them.
Aviationman - no umbrellas given to the passengers. i mean, at least ponchos should have been handed out right? but actually nothing!
WearyBizTrvlr From Netherlands, joined May 2004, 58 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5605 times:
Buses and stairs happen too often as far as I am concerned. I don't know about CDG specifically, as I don't fly there very often, but the CDG-GVA flight I was on did use the bus and stair method of boarding. One CDG-AMS flight did too. Not enough data points to come to a firm conclusion.
However, as far as buses and rain go: I refuse to get off a bus in the rain until I can go straight into the plane or under covered stairs. That doesn't help in very heavy rain or long distances though.
ANX4fishing From United States of America, joined Nov 2003, 168 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5578 times:
DFW,
That sums it up. Flying monkey class a lot, I never expect anything anymore, just to arrive alive in one piece. Being prepared with carry-on snacks, water bottle, and a wind breaker/rainjacket/sweater/whatever has come in handy over the years. Everything above and beyond the seat I sit in becomes a bonus.
Still, AF should have offered towels to the drenched pax.
TriStar500 From Germany, joined Nov 1999, 4685 posts, RR: 47 Reply 14, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5578 times:
What do u all think of this? i think i'll try to stay away from Air France
Well, it would be your loss. IMO one should always give an airline a second try if the first impression or one incident was a screwup. I had a very bad flight experience with IB in 1998, however, after some hesitation, I flew them again a couple of years later, and all my following flights with the airline have been just fine.
Maybe you should stay away from central European weather instead.
Homer: Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!
Sebolino From France, joined May 2001, 3667 posts, RR: 5 Reply 15, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5538 times:
Sorry that your father had this experience, but let's be realistic:
- I don't think any airline has got 150 umbrellas abailable anytime anywhere just in case.
- I don't know if the stairs are coverable, but anyway I don't think they are the property of Air France anyway.
- The bus is a service of ADP, not Air France.
- Very hard rain like you describe is very rare in France, and is always sudden. So they were probably not prepared.
- Perhaps they didn't have towels (just a thought) ?
Aviationman From Canada, joined Dec 1999, 634 posts, RR: 0 Reply 16, posted (9 years 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 5505 times:
A330Fan1 may have a point. It's very common that airlines will have umbrellas available for pax when boarding a flight with no JetBridges. It's common sense guys.
Adriaticus From Mexico, joined May 2004, 1112 posts, RR: 21 Reply 17, posted (9 years 6 days 4 hours ago) and read 5458 times:
It's hard to judge an old, large, legacy airline for a mishap like this. I've traveled AF in several occasions, and it has always been a pleasant experience.
Intercontinental service between Mexico and France is better in AM, though.
ElPelon From Mexico, joined Jul 2003, 127 posts, RR: 0 Reply 18, posted (9 years 6 days 4 hours ago) and read 5319 times:
Here is my story on AF..
Last March I took a flight from CDG to MEX with AF. The flight was delay for about 2 hrs, because the company that cleans and put new food on the plane were in strike.. At the beginning the delay was understandable because this situation was out of AF control, and the crew had to clean the plane (the plane was just arriving from MIA so it was all dirty). Finally we board the plane, and there was a tuna salad in every seat. The F/A asked us to keep it, because that was the only food that we were going to have in all the 10:30 hrs flight. I also tried to understand this, because it wasn't AF fault that the company that load the plane with food were in strike.
The problem with AF began after we took off from CDG. The F/A just left the drinks cart on the aisle so the PAX could serve themselves, and ALL of the flight attendants went to sleep, leaving the PAX alone.. Suddenly the flight was a REAL mess.. All the passengers were crowded in the aisle around the beverages cart. The F/A also left the alcoholic drinks there, so MANY of the passengers got REALLY drunk. They were REALLY out of control. Ladies couldn´t enter to the restroom because there were a lot of drunk men out there. The situation just got out of control. I mean I don´t have a problem with drunk people, but a lot of drunk people inside a plane, during a long haul flight, with nobody to control them, I think that is a BIG safety problem.
I wonder where the F/A were during all the flight!! I guess they were sleeping somewhere.. Actually some of the F/A had to wake up to go to the toilet, and saw this situation, and didn´t do ANYTHING at all. they just took a pis, and went back to sleep. Even when a lot of the F/A where men (I mean, it´s easier for a men to control a drunk men), they didn´t do anything at all..
Finally, after almost 11 hrs, we arrived MEX... I wonder if these people were allowed to board their connecting flights that drunk..
So this is my story, and even if I have gotten drunk many times, I have never done that in plane.. I think AF people should learn the flight safety concept, before they continue fliying..
Airbus Lover From Malaysia, joined Apr 2000, 3248 posts, RR: 10 Reply 19, posted (9 years 6 days 4 hours ago) and read 5255 times:
I remember in the Kai Tak days I once flew CX from HKG to SGN and it was raining so they gave all passengers a disposable plastic rain coat (of very good quality which I did not use and kept it; i still have it somewhere at home) to wear as we had to take a bus to the plane...
Goes to show what quality airlines are and every single detail they care...
Jumbolino From Germany, joined Mar 2001, 490 posts, RR: 20 Reply 21, posted (9 years 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 4878 times:
Guys !
I had flights with several airlines around europe sometimes with big players sometimes with LCC or smaller one
and exactly ZERO of them handled their PAX out an umbrella or a coat when it rains cats and dogs which is very usual in central part of europe and
I didn't see a covered staircase very often (some airports have still a few of them and try to use it in such days but mostly they are uncovered)
and the best thing is stay in the BUS until the crowed is gone smaller or run like it's your life to be the first one entering the plane ( I tried both depending which place I had in the bus and never got wet like described above
Mrniji From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 22, posted (9 years 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 4797 times:
There were a number threads on this, Michael - and many criticized the same... some Americans then explicitly opened threads to distance themselves from AF-hating statements, what I really appreciated this, that was a nice initiative (search for "thank you air france" or so)
DfwRevolution From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 24, posted (9 years 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 4660 times:
I´ve noticed that most yanks are more or less hateful to AF and France. Is it b´cuz you are Bushbabys/war in Iraq or Airbus/Toulouse??????
Maybe it's because we Americans love our jetways
In terms of this being AF's fault, I keep a rain jacket/sweater, a basic change of clothes, tolitries (minus shaving kit), basic medicines, a decent first-aide kit with CPR breathing mask, two drinks, enough snacks to make a light meal, cellphone, and book in my carry-on. It usually fills a typical bookbag and fits into an overhead bin.
I do this when I fly to HOU or LHR. It's half-paranoia and half-preperation, but I've never regretted it.
25 Sabena332: I had flights with several airlines around europe sometimes with big players sometimes with LCC or smaller one and exactly ZERO of them handled their
26 AF330: Every large airline has its "bad service stories". AF Isn't the only one. Its just a sign of the time... What were your Dad expecting? A XXL towel to
27 DeFalla: I am a FQTV on AF, I love AF, I travelled First and Business class most of the time, inflight service is excellent. When there is a problem, they put
28 Jwenting: Nor merger, murder. 2 letter difference, whole world of difference. One of the best airlines in the world raped and murdered by one of the worst. The
29 AF330: AF Uses an A320 to Amman. No way would they have 140 towel on a narrow body. Jwentig. The flight is over 4h, if the seats are still wet upon arrival I
30 Flpuck6: I am outraged at all of your complaining. If only you could be on the other end of it, as I am 5 days out of 7 days of the week, not only with passeng
31 Jm017: I might be inclined NOT to fly Air france after an incident such as the one a330fan described. But to be fair, I would give them a second chance. If y
32 Sabena 690: Oh Jwenting, what a typical bullsh*t as usual... What a frustrated type you are. What do you actually expect... that whenever an aircraft has to use s
33 TriStar500: The horrorstories about Air France are extremely frequent it seems,... Maybe in your little frustrated world, but how comes that Air France is both pa
34 Andreas: Hmmm..pouring rain...does that mean the aircraft was squeaky-clean? Sorry couldn't resist!
35 JGPH1A: Re airlines keeping umbrellas for pax in case of rain... JNB is renowned for the frequency and sometimes the ferocity of its thunderstorms during the
36 Ushermittwoch: Well as some members have already stated, it's not the airline's fault that passengers are ill prepared. Do you want to complain about the airline tak
37 MAS A330: Very unprofessional. I remember back in 94 in Subang i arrived on a CX flight and there was no covered staircase and raining heavily, the airport staf
38 Biggles20: I had a bad similar experience like that with AF from CDG-MAN, but this time it was snowing, minus 10 degrees and i was wearing a T-shirt and shorts h
39 FoxBravo: First of all, let me say that Air France is one of my favorite airlines, and I am not about to judge them based on somebody else's experience. That sa
40 Starlionblue: I bet my €0.02 most of the complainers would fly AF again if the price was right. It's just rain. You won't melt. It's just a flight. What did you e
41 Flpuck6: P.S. I flew NCE-CDG-BOS the other week, and the flight from NCE ended up at a remote stand - with all the millions of gates now available at CDG2, why
42 Iberia340600: This is really a silly post. I mean...c'mon what do you expect...AF to yell out...RAIN STOP...and it magically stops? IF I were you, next time you tra
43 PanAm747: This will be my last post on airliners.net. I cannot in good conscience pretend that this is an adult forum anymore. I am saddened to my very core tha
44 Ezycrew: I love this thread : a bunch of spoiled brats complaining about absolutely nothing. If your dad didn't get off the bus and stayed for the full CDG tou
45 9V-SPF: All I want to say to this topic is that I´m surprised how people can judge an airline (in this case one of the major players that must have establish
46 Andreas: EZYCrew: You're one of the reasons why we, airline employees, find most passengers brainless. I just hope this statement was made under stress and wit
47 Ezycrew: I didn't say we don't like or job or passengers. However we often joke about how "passengers usually leave their brains at the checkin desk". Which is
48 Kilavoud: http://www.blarg.net/~dr_z/Movie_Posters/Singing_Rain.html Umbrella is a must sometimes to remain happy in the rain. Cheers. Kilavoud.
49 9V-SPF: You're one of the reasons why we, airline employees, find most passengers brainless. Yeah, absolutely right. Stupid people tend to fly much more often
50 A330Fan1: Ezycrew - no need to get all hostile and attack my dad! he actually travels a good amount and knows his airlines - and he'd never had this happen to h
51 JGPH1A: Flpuck6 - je vous ai ecrit avec mon adresse email - a bientot ! J.
52 Heavierthanair: G'day After such a horrendous downpour Air Chance must have at least some fairly clean planes. To avoid any misunderstanding, I am talking about exter
53 Taca: I strongly recommend you to check the weather forecast before taking any AF or any other airline. Definitely this is one of the most ridiculous commen
54 SW733: Iberia340600, I must defend my age bracet! . Air France, along with Cathay Pacific, are my favorite airlines for long range travel, and I wouldn't dre
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