[ahluwaliah]

Hello,

Below you will find the letter that I wrote to AIR FRANCE regarding my complaint. I also received a letter from their customer service, saying they are not liable. Please advise on how I can escalate this issue.
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My sister XXX and I, YYYY, had a confirmed tickets from Delhi, India to Paris, France, via Air France, and then from Paris to Montreal, Canada via Air Canada. My ticket number was #057 218 411 0547. Our flight AF 225 was scheduled to depart at 1:25am on Jan 9th 2010 and it was then delayed to depart at 3:30am on Jan 9th 2010. I found out about this delay around 9pm and therefore arrived at the airport 2 hrs before 3:30am. When we reached Delhi Airport, the Air France representatives at the counter told us that it was too late to board this flight. I was very surprised as we were early enough to board the plane. They told us that the counter opened at 9pm and that we should have been at the counter then. I told them, that I checked up on the status of the flight and it was delayed to 3:30am. They were not willing to listen to me, and told me to contact the Air France office the next morning and to get another ticket. We were extremely disappointed, and told them that we need to speak with the supervisor. We were speaking with a man named Mr. Kamaljit (or Kamaljeet) We asked him many times to talk to the supervisor and he kept informing us that the supervisor was on the flight. After asking for the supervisor multiple times, he said the counter supervisor is Ms. Renu Dutt, and she was sitting there the entire time. After talking to her, she was extremely unhelpful, rude and treated us with disrespect. I was shocked to be treated like this. Their behaviour was so passive and they were not concerned about the trouble we were going through. They simply did not want to hear anything, they assumed that we would just accept that we missed the flight and obtain another ticket on our own. The staff should be better trained on how to treat passengers and help passengers the best they can. Mr. Kamaljit was misinforming us the entire time and was giving us the run around. Sometimes he said the supervisor was a man named Jeff and was on the flight and at other times he said the supervisor was not in that day. He never gave a straight answer. We have flown with Air France on multiple occasions and have never been in a situation like this. My family of 4 people has flown with Air France to India on this trip in December 2009 and on other years as well. I had to argue with all the representatives at the counter and then they finally admitted that Air France overbooked the flight and sold my and my sister’s ticket to other passengers that were on the waiting list. When we learned this, we were adamant about issuing us another ticket for a flight on the same day. The representatives did not want to look for a ticket. They kept telling us that the counter is closed and that they do not have any such access. We spent about 3 hrs arguing with the representatives until they agreed to find us another ticket. Coincidently, they were able to get their system to find us a ticket after arguing with them. It was crucial for us to get back to Montreal on Jan 9th, as originally scheduled. I was supposed to be into work for important meetings, I am also taking a course and I needed to be there for the 1st class of January. My sister XXXX, was also supposed to report to work back on the 10th. It was a huge inconvenience for us, and it was not even our fault. We lost 2 days worth of pay, and had to cancel meetings that were crucial for business. We were forced to spend another day in Delhi at the expense of losing out on important business in Montreal. I don’t think it was fair to sell our tickets to other passengers. I had even requested them to put us in business class for that flight, and they did not want to make any effort to help us. We had to argue with Air France for 3 hrs, and then scheduled us for the next day. Initially, they were not even willing to look for the tickets, and we had to argue with them in order for them to do some work. Air France, should have been more cooperative and help us find a ticket the minute they realized it was their fault. I do not see the point in arguing, adding frustration and then getting some result. They should have not overbooked the flight to begin with. Initially, Air France disagreed to overbooking the flight and blamed us (XXXX and I) and told us that we were late and therefore we could not board this flight. After arguing with them they agreed that they over booked the flight. This is just unacceptable behaviour and disrespect to the passenger. I have never been mistreated so badly by an airline.
Air France, gave us a non refundable voucher for 300 Euros per person. We did not want to accept this as we thought it was too less. They told me to write to the service department mention the issue. Again, they did not want to make any effort to help us. My sister and I are planning to go to India again in December 2010 for a friend`s wedding. 300 Euros will not cover our trip to India. I am extremely dissatisfied with the service that I received at the counter and would consider other airlines after learning that my friends who have encountered a similar situation with Emirates Airlines, received a free return ticket to a destination of their choice. For all the headache, arguing, inconvenience that Air France put us through, 300 Euros is simply not a good enough compensation. Therefore, I request you, to give us a better compensation for my sister XXX and I in order for us to continue flying with Air France.
Sincerely,

YYYY and XXXX


AIR FRANCE'S RESPONSE
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Thank you for your detailed letter, telling us of the difficulties you and your sister encountered during your flight out of Delhi, in December 2009.

Although we do apologize for the flight delay, we must respectfully confirm that travellers must have their check-in formalities completed before time limit.

Once check-in counters are closed, the carrier will assume no liability if a traveller arrives later. Conditions of travel are linked to the fare basis of the ticket purchased, and depending on the kind of tickert hold, travellers may loose the value of the ticket, or may pay a fee to change the date.

You are referring to passengers on a waiting list.

In case there are passengers on a waiting list, such travellers will be taken in consideration only if they have pre-checked before time limit, and will be given a boarding pass later, only after time limit, depending on how many seats will be available.

Late arriving travellers do not hold reservation after time limit, and indeed, their seat may be given to a traveller in waiting list, who pre-checked on time and who waited until check-in closure, to know whether he could fly or not.

While we can fully appreciate your position, Air France denies any liability in the facts you have reported.

You mention that, after a long discussion, you obtained some travel vouchers. It seems that these documents were remitted to you as a gesture of goodwill, and we regret that our office cannot consider any other form of gesture of goodwill.

We hope that the amount you received under the form of travel voucher, valid for one year on Air France, will enable you to travel in the near future.

Best regards,

Rémi COUTURIER

[mars6423]

to be honest i can understand why you had so many problems

last flight of the day delayed to 3 30 no one is gonna want to work at those hours and most likely there is a shut off time on the check in comps

did you check in online prior?

personally when its the last flight out and even if it does say delayed (at any time of day) i would still go to the airport just in case the delay is shortened or they do take off on time, than people who take into account the delay will be complaining that they left without them that it is the airlines fault and they should be compensated for being late

im not defending AF as their customer service is not upto par, but it may have been an computer time limit issue where they cannot get you on that flight due to the limitations

3 hours of argueing is too long and if it is true that they couldnt have done anything (as i believe the system is different for getting tickets on a different flight than checking in) than you should have taken their word and be more understanding and taken the loss and made sure that you had a confirmed ticket for the next flight, as 3 hours is way to long to be argueing, as it sounds it seems that you were the only one there as they wouldnt hold the line up for so long otherwise

[jimworcs]

This illustrates a situation is which the terms and conditions imposed on a customer are one sided. However, all airlines insist that you check in as normal, even if the flight is delayed. This is because they may switch equipment and bring the flight back to normal time. I do believe "over booking" of flights is wrong, however, their explanation of the action they took was at least reasonable, if they did not fill the seats until after the cut off time. It is also commendable that they did actually read your letter and respond to the issues you raised. In the US, you would have got a standard letter that didn't actually relate to your complaint.

If you had been on a US based airline like Delta, not only would you not have got the €300 gestures of goodwill, but you may well have lost the entire value of the ticket. I do not think you can escalate this and get anything more out of them.

Just to be clear, you may have friends who got a free roundtrip ticket after an overselling situation. This would apply where you arrived at the airport at the stated time. This is not the same as your situation, because legally, you were late.

It is irritating when events like this happen. You clearly thought that you were being sensible in checking the status of the flight and getting to the airport 2 hours ahead of the actual scheduled time. However, it was a mistake and you will never do that again.. and have learned a lesson. You have done well to get compensation and my advice is to let it go.

[kattouss]

is there some who can give me please contacts of M. Rémi Couturier ? I must talk to him about my reimbursement not received since 3 mounths. My e-mail is ghalinizar@yahoo.fr