Planning a trip abroad. Little time to book the tickets .... you will most probably end up with one Airlines - Lufthansa German Airlines. Well, think of the aftermath. I had booked my tickets with Swiss Air for my vacation trip to India and back in December, 2001. Swiss Air got busted. So I floated my bookings to Sabena. Sabena got busted. I had just a month to make my bookings.
After a lot of assessments, Lufthansa turned out to be the best option though the most expensive. My friends had warned me about this airline - known for flight delays, baggage delays, baggage damage and baggage losses. Little did I care for them. I had no other alternative by the time I was influenced by them. Well, my flight from Brussels to Frankfurt was delayed. I was highly tensed as I could have missed my connecting flight from Frankfurt to Mumbai. I arrived at the Frankfurt airport about 5 minutes before my flight to Mumbai was to take off. I thought I had missed it but thanks to their customary delays in Lufthansa, the connecting flight was also delayed and I was saved. On the way back, my flight from Mumbai was delayed and as a consequence I had missed my connecting flight from Frankfurt to Brussels. Lufthansa booked me on another plane after 4 hours which was delayed by another 3 hours. To top it all, when I reached Brussels, I realized that my baggage was missing. I reported this at the baggage office and then demanded some monetary help ( which I know is the right of every traveler) but I was denied any kind of monetary help and was also told that for baggage delays you do not get any money from the Airlines at all . This was told to me by a ’Globe Ground’ personnel who are the contracting company taking care of Lufthansa baggage. I went around the entire airport trying to look for a Lufthansa office and get an amount to buy my toiletries and basic clothings. But I could only find an address where I could write and claim compensation.
There were counters of Lufthansa handled by Globe Ground Persons or some counters strictly for reservation purposes.That was a Christmas day - 25th of December, 2001. I could not visit my friends as the gifts were inside the suitcase. I was wearing soiled clothes , so I did not want to pay them a visit either. My CHRISTMAS was ruined - thanks to Lufthansa. I had to go the office the next day in the same clothes. It was a humiliating experience. At the airport there was no one who helped me but nearly all of them had very formally apologized (without feelings). I went home . Called up several times to follow up on my missing baggage. It finally arrived the next day. I was so happy to see it but my happiness was short-lived. One of the wheel was missing and there was a dent at the corner. It took me a few days to get in touch with a Customer Relation person after scores of telephones and faxes. I am fighting for the compensation amount. They say that if I had bought something on that day and can show the invoice they can would reimburse ( again please note that toiletries, medicines (prescribed by doctors) and under garments are 100% reimbursable where as clothes are reimbursed at 50%. Since it was a Christmas day ( a holiday ) I could not purchase any clothes ( and little do you want to do that when you are not sure if you will be reimbursed or not). If you have a damage baggage and want to claim the compensation for it, you would have to take it to the airport to get a certificate (please bear in mind, the airlines is not going to pay you the taxi fare to the airport - for that amount I can buy a new suitcase) and then you need to repair it and send the invoice to the Customer Relation Dept. So many hassels ..... and that too for the most expensive flight.
I am still arguing with the local Customer Relation personnel out here. Now, they have agreed to pay 44$ which is more or less what I would have spend in calls, mails and faxes. The argument continues ......