What would you do & expect, what's the worst you have encountered ?

[RolandRat]

We all have our airline stories and have all probably experienced issues at one time or another, depending on your flight frequency etc.

I was wondering what sort of "issues" you have encountered, did you report it, what was the outcome, or what did you expect as a result.

Probably the most common moan is cramped seating ?

Poor or non-existent entertainment ?

Horrible food/service ?

lay-overs ?

delays ?

lost baggage etc etc.

What about more serious issues, passenger aggression, drunks,

On a recent flight from LHR - Bkk my worst experience to date was a "broken seat" , actually broken so was unable to achieve "locked upright position", for landing and take-off, also slightest pressure and the seat would release backwards effecting the person behind, also causing a safety risk in the event of an incident as they would not have free access to get out.

So what would you have done with this ? what would you expect from the airline as a result of 12 hours in that seat ? (full flight no moving option)

Please give comment and your story if you have one.

Edited November 9, 2015 by RolandRat

[steven100]

Some passengers are difficult or near impossible to please...........

They buy the cheapest ticket they can find on a budget airline and expect 5 star service.

I just accept it for what it is and enjoy the flight without the moaning and b**ching ..

Edited November 9, 2015 by steven100

[RolandRat]

Should not the service and standard be the same no matter when you bought the ticket ?.

[AlexRRR]

I think if you payed your fare and have a broken seat you have good reason to complain....it is a safety concern.

My gripe is when purchasing a ticket....seems the airlines I've been using now charge you for a seat....one price for a ticket then a price for a choice of seat, most airlines now you can't avoid paying something....what happened to the days when you just picked your seat and it was all inclusive?

[RolandRat]

I think if you payed your fare and have a broken seat you have good reason to complain....it is a safety concern.

My gripe is when purchasing a ticket....seems the airlines I've been using now charge you for a seat....one price for a ticket then a price for a choice of seat, most airlines now you can't avoid paying something....what happened to the days when you just picked your seat and it was all inclusive?

I think they do it to minimise the ticket price, its an old marketing ploy, offer what appears to be a low price, then build it back up with "extra;s", when in fact those "extra's" should be fundamentals.

Bottom line they are just playing with numbers.

[steven100]

Should not the service and standard be the same no matter when you bought the ticket ?.

yes Ronald, your right that it should be the same standard, but some are never happy with the standard. I just altered my post to budget airlines although I guess you mean all airlines..

All I'm saying is some people are more intolerable than others ........ some expect better food, some don't.

In 30 yrs of flying 200 times or whatever, I've never encountered a problem worth whinging about.

Edited November 9, 2015 by steven100

[smokie36]

The only "extra" I would pay for would be a smoking cubicle at the back of the plane....I'd happily shell out 500 Baht to use it a couple of times on a 12 hour flight.

[smokie36]

On a charter flight from Goa to London many moons ago three of our four engines failed resulting in an emergency landing at Athens airport.

We spent two days there being ferried back and forth to the most disgusting hotel in All of Athens where it appeared the catering consisted of an apple on a plate served with the weakest glass of white wine in existence.

Two ten hour sit ins in the airport with one feta cheese puff for lunch and I'd had enough....walked up to the KLM desk an hour before its departure to Amsterdam and they got my bags from the incompetent Britannia Airways people and loaded me up in Biz class....I left the other 300 passengers sitting on the floor and spent my evening in Liedseplain.

The upshot of my complaint was an offer of a free flight....which I never took....in fact I never got on a charter flight ever again.

[gjoo888]

On a Chinese domestic flight in the mid-80's, we were on an old Russian transport flying in rainy conditions that leaked so badly during the flight that we were given umbrellas to try and keep ourselves dry. After that flight, nothing bothers me much on flights anymore.

[Pacificperson]

Coming over the East coast of the Philippines, I was sitting in the rear restroom when I felt the plane descend and the return to your seats light came on. It took a couple of minutes to finish the job. When I opened the door all of the oxygen masks were down and everyone was masked up and looking at me. The Filipino flight crew were in their masks and screaming at me to get in my seat. It was quite a commotion. We flew the rest of the way across the RP at 8,000 feet and landed without incident.

One time we landed in Honolulu hot and without working flaps. The runway was lined with fire trucks as we landed. Again we landed without incident.

One time we landed 5 hours late in Narita. The ground crew rushed me through security saying that I could still make the flight. Yes, because the plane was broken down in the back of the airport. We sat in the plane for another 4 hours until the airport closed for the night at 10pm.

[NoshowJones]

Some passengers are difficult or near impossible to please...........

They buy the cheapest ticket they can find on a budget airline and expect 5 star service.

I just accept it for what it is and enjoy the flight without the moaning and b**ching ..

If you pay for a seat then that seat should be fit for purpose, if their were no other seats on the plane

then you should be entitled to a partial refund.

Nothing to do with moaning and whatever.

[NoshowJones]

I think if you payed your fare and have a broken seat you have good reason to complain....it is a safety concern.

My gripe is when purchasing a ticket....seems the airlines I've been using now charge you for a seat....one price for a ticket then a price for a choice of seat, most airlines now you can't avoid paying something....what happened to the days when you just picked your seat and it was all inclusive?

It's a capitalist world now, fleece the customer for as much as you can get, and give as less as you can in return.

[pennine]

A few years ago I flew with Air France from Jhb to Lyon with a plane change in Paris. I was told to wait on one side before boarding plane to Lyon and was eventually told, sorry flight is full, but you can get a flight from Orly airport. I was of course, being met at Lyon at the time my booked flight arrived. Not life threatening, but I would never fly Air France again.

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

I have one:

My daughter recently took a flight with Qantas from Auckland to Sydney and then BKK. At Auckland airport the boarding system broke down. She complained that she will miss her flight if they don't give her priority boarding. They ignored her pleas and after the system came back on they continued to give boarding passes down the line, she missed the Sydney and BKK flights. We all then missed our flights to Europe and missed hotel bookings etc etc. Not even a sorry from them.

[mogo51]

The only "extra" I would pay for would be a smoking cubicle at the back of the plane....I'd happily shell out 500 Baht to use it a couple of times on a 12 hour flight.

Thankfully there is no hope of that ever happening. We put up with you lot blowing smoke over us for decades!!!

[owenm]

In the late 80s, I was on a Bangladesh Biman flight from Rangoon, Burma to Kathmandu with a bonus 3 night stopover in Dacca, Bangladesh. The take-off from Rangoon was uneventful but landing at Dacca, I remember the plane ricocheting off the runway 3 or 4 times, and when stationary on the tarmac, many passengers jumping for joy with the jubilant chant of Allah, or the clapping of hands or both..

On arrival at Dacca about 10 passengers were shunted between 3 hotels at about 12.00am because nobody would accept us. Eventually at about 1.30am we were off the bus and in the foyer of a hotel. Apparently Bangladesh Biman had a reputation for being extremely slow paying their hotel bills.. The hotel wasn't finished, and the top 2 floors weren't carpeted or with windows, but were concrete shells. These were luxury, because a few of the rooms had cockroaches breeding in them, crawling on the floors, under the carpets, walls and beds.. My bed was moved up to a shell of a room upstairs. A hell hole. And finally getting on my flight to Kathmandu, having the landing refused because of the the weather conditions and the aircraft size, then returning to Dacca. Peeved off totally I managed to get my flight changed to a Nepalese Airlines flight leaving in 60 minutes. The others were stuck in Dacca for 24 hours for the next flight. Not my favourite destination, but I notched an extra country with my travels.

[MrBrad]

I, too, endured a broken seat back during a long flight over the Pacific. I complained to the airline, and they gave me a nice allotment of frequent-flyer miles as well as a discount on a future flight. I appreciated and made good use of both.

[cruisemonkey]

I've experienced everything bad that can happen when flying... and all can say is I hate EVERYTHING about the experience:

The airlines

- their shitty service

- their crapy seats

- their horrible food

Airports

- long lines

- 'Security'

- their rip-off prices

Flying has become just something to be endured. It's necessary. The airlines know it's necessary... so they don't care.

[worgeordie]

Yes experienced many dodgy flights,but the best one was on a Braniff Airlines flight from Bogotá

to either Dallas or Miami,in economy,big leather seats,the perfect meal,Prawn cocktail,Fillet Steak,

and Creme Caramel,with proper knifes and forks,cloth napkins,just glad I did all my traveling before

all this security ,made life very difficult.

regards worgeordie

[mulder12345]

Worst:

Baby diaper being changed next to me.

Talkative drunk being seated next to me.

Back in the bad old days of smoking flights.

Girls next to me popping and cracking chewing gum for 8 hours.

Ignorant man (trying to be PC and not saying chinese) refusing to let me out to aisle to go to bathroom until i got up and stepped on his underseat baggage and legs.

Just wanting a nice quiet ride home and having the flight attendant place an unescorted child next to me to entertain for 10 hours.

I can't remember the rest.

[Aussieroaming]

Worst delay...stuck in J'burg for 30 hours after our flight left 48 hours earlier and struck a flock of birds.

Broken seat on Thai airways flight, wouldn't recline...got a business class upgrade for a future flight

Business class over booked...had to accept a voluntary downgrade to economy to fly as I changed the flight day

First class flight to J'burg...they changed the plane and downgraded the flight to business class only, which was a bummer as it was the first time I ever got to try the front of the plane.

Flew first class with Emirates ( free upgrade) then they lost my luggage. I was so stoked about the upgrade I forgave them.

Touch wood, all flights have been safe

[Thongkorn]

The only "extra" I would pay for would be a smoking cubicle at the back of the plane....I'd happily shell out 500 Baht to use it a couple of times on a 12 hour flight.

And there should be outside toilets too.

[smotherb]

Every three months I would fly KLM first class from Riyadh, KSA to Myrtle Beach, SC, USA and return. Since KLM did not fly into Riyadh, I flew Saudia first class to Jeddah, where I was put up in the five star Red Sea Palace meals included. The next morning it was off to Amsterdam first class on KLM with a night-over at the five star Krasnapolski meals included. The next morning it was first class on KLM to Atlanta at the five star Peach Tree Plaza meals included. The following morning, it was first class Delta to Myrtle Beach. Three weeks later I would return with the same stop-overs. I could have caught connecting flights, but enjoyed the stay-overs visiting friends in Jeddah, A-dam and Atlanta. Twice, on the Jeddah to A-dam route, the oysters were not fresh. What a pain to have to endure. I enjoy my dozen oyster shooters in flight.

[ozyjon]

Ahhhh yep, the smoking thing, on a Singapore flight Syd to London

the seats behind me were smoking, when the plane stopped in Sing

i got off violently ill from the smokers behind me (may you all die soon)

and asked to be transferred to another seat, they said no, i fly long

haul 4 times a year, i have never after flown Singapore, stuff you.

[MauiSteveBKK]

I've got hundreds of crappy stories -- after 30 years of business travel on American Airlines and have over 4.2 Million Advantage Miles earned and used.

Now -- I get my mind & body ready to enter a "coma" upon entering the airplane --

and if I land at my destination safely, it was worth the money.

We all have our stories -- but we're on TV to tell them.

So we're alive! That's the best news!

[northernphil]

Nothing serious I suppose but a few years back coming in to land at BKK or CNX we heard " This is your flight Officer Somchai ( possibly ) hoping you have had a pleasant flight we are landing ABORT ABORT " anyway up and back round we went , never found out what was on the runway.

[Andrew65]

A few years ago I flew with Air France from Jhb to Lyon with a plane change in Paris. I was told to wait on one side before boarding plane to Lyon and was eventually told, sorry flight is full, but you can get a flight from Orly airport. I was of course, being met at Lyon at the time my booked flight arrived. Not life threatening, but I would never fly Air France again.

Neither would I. Or fly through their bloody awful CDG Airport!

[The manic]

On a Chinese domestic flight in the mid-80's, we were on an old Russian transport flying in rainy conditions that leaked so badly during the flight that we were given umbrellas to try and keep ourselves dry. After that flight, nothing bothers me much on flights anymore.

These days they would charge you for the umbrellas.

[sandyf]

A couple of years ago myself and about 20 others were offloaded at Doha on a Qater flight to Manchester from Bangkok. We were sent to Paris and told that we would be on BA to Manchester. When we arrived in Paris at Treminal 2 there was no staff or any information. BA was in Terminal 1 so we made our way over there only to be told that we would be flying with Fly B from Terminal 2 and the flight was showing as boarding. It took half an hour to get a bus back to Terminal 2 and by the time we got there the flight had been delayed, apparently waiting on some passengers from Doha.

The flight had been delayd 3 hours and there were no Qater staff available. About 20 minutes before the flight was due to leave a member of staff turned up and when she found out that none of us had boarding cards, panic set in, they quickly drafted in some other airline staff to get us on to the aircraft. As they were prepping to move off I looked out the window and saw a luggage trolley that looked suspiciously like ours, it was.

We ended up in Manchester about midnight, 6 hours late and no luggage, took a further hour and a half to get through lost baggage. One guy in the party had been travelling with his gf and they split them up at Doha, she was sat waiting at Manchester.

I wrote to Qater and complained but there was no response. I wrote again and accused them of the "ignore it and it will go away policy", no letter of apology just a voucher for $250.

[RolandRat]

Thanks to everyone who took time to give their story.

Interesting that few mentioned little about what they did about it ? what was the eventual outcome, seems most just sucked it up , took on the chin and moved on.

Accepted the circumstances/incident but actually did nothing about it.