[valeriaaloe]

Is LAN the best airline in South America? really?

For a frequent flyer like myself, Customer Service is key. Americans take pride in our Customer Service, and I have to say we are probably right. American corporations understand that attracting a client and keeping him/her loyal will drive value for the company.

I guess LAN Airlines has not understood that yet.

I visit my family in Argentina ...
for the Holidays, almost every year. We usually fly with American Airlines but this time we came across a price promotion to fly LAN, which we found in Orbitz.com. What a mistake!!!!!!

To make a long story short, we got our tickets and paid $1,500 dollars per person (we are a family of 4). Which most people will agree is a LOT of money to pay for tickets, and for us, it is, but...it's the price we pay to see our family during the Holidays.

The original itinerary included a connection in Chile, which was just 1 hour, so we thought "no problem". LAN was also offering a later flight which was $200 dollars cheaper per person, but the connection demanded 6 hours in Chile. With a 3 year old and a 5 year old coming with us, we said "no way"! Most parents will understand that...we were starting our trip in New York, thus by the time we got to Chile, little kids cannot wait around for 6 hours!! That's crazy!!! I'm sure mane travellers, even if they have no kids, will understand this as well: there is nothing more exhausting than a little kid screaming in your ear for hours, out of exhaustion, when you have nowhere to hide and nowhere to run to.

So this is how the story goes on: out of the blue, LAN decided to change the time for the original connecting flight, therefore my connection became a 50 minute connection instead of the original 1 hour connection. As I painfully learned, they do not allow to make connections which are shorter than 1 hour. What did LAN do? They changed us to a later flight, that dreaded flight that now requires us to wait 6 hours in Chile! I instantly envision my kids crying until getting sick in that airport, or jumping from one sit to another during the flight Chile-Argentina. And what is an equally (or more) exhausted parent to do? as other fellow travellers in the flight, I will have nowhere to hide and nowhere to run to.

We called LAN at least 9 times (called Orbitz as well). We spent at least 8 hours on the phone. We emailed them at least 10 emails in the last week. We even used Twitter...and....LAN says they cannot do anything.

What would an American company do?

1- They would understand they screwed up, and given that we are travelling with kids, AND that it's our FIRST time flying with them, they would probably assign us to a direct flight. At least as a strategy for an angry customer to shut up and stop using Social Media to vent against LAN. In this case LAN offers a LAN ARGENTINA direct flight from JFK, but...that is not available for my family, apparently, although my screen shows there are at least 20 empty seats in that flight.

2- They would offer the angry customer the difference in fare between the short connection and the ling connection, which at $200 per capita, accounts for $800 dollars.

What is LAN doing?

They are having me call multiple numbers, just to offer excuses and tell me there is nothing they can do. Changing flight schedules is "something that happens, and you should have been alerted about it when you got the ticket". They also blame Orbitz. Apparently the fact that LAN changed the flight times is Orbitz' problem to solve.

So, next time somebody tells you LAN is so great...think twice. You are better off using your time to work and generate income, than using it to call Customer Service, if "that" even deserves that name.

THANKS LAN!! It will be such a pleasure flying with me!!!

(case number 99906)