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KML stuff up list below relates to three passengers travelling together, and all are equally appalled by the experience.
1 July 2010 - KLM Flight KL 0810 on the second leg of our journey (Melbourne - Kuala Lumpur - Amsterdam): all air hosts grumpy and unhelpful. Have to ask for water, up to three times, being totally ingnored. Annoyed by request, one of them apparently deliberately spills the water on the lap of the guy sitting next to me. Must have thought we were related!
2 July 2010 - we stand in a very long queue at the KLM desk to confirm our return flights. The seats for all three of us are confirmed. We ask if we need to confirm again before the flight and are told that it is not required.
15 July 2010. KL 0809. Upon attempting to check in, we stand in a long queue, then we are diverted to machines, wait again, the machines do not work, we are redirected back to an even longer queue. We are told that we do not have a seat, as due to overbooking we had been put on standby by random selection which had taken place the night before our flight. We are told to go to the gate and hope that someone does not turn up.
About 15 people are on standby. Only a few of them get seats. 7 of us, including a lady with a small child, are sent to the airport lounge to wait for further instructions. We are given a rude lecture about the necessity to check in on-line the day before the flight. This was NOT what the KLM desk had told us. This is not what the "random selection" story was about. Who is lying, and who is telling the truth?
We are given food vouchers and sent to look for supper. Most outlets are already closed. Coming back to the lounge area at the indicated time, we wait for another hour. Two of the seven do not get a booking for an alternative flight the next day at all.
One of the passengers questions the right of the airline to break their contract with us, and she is told that KLM overbook their flights all the time, and that, as far as KLM is concerned, their obligation is to take us from Point A to Point B. The time and manner does not matter. She says she has the right to put us on a boat back to Australia, if that is convenient to KLM.
We get the food vouchers for next day, the boarding passes, the ATM card for the compensation, and are told to go and catch the shuttle bus to the hotel they have booked us in. The ATM is only in Dutch, and we have great difficulty in guessing how to get the cash out. There's no assistance and no help anywhere. The last bus of the day arrives late. In total, we waste about 5 hours in the process.
Next morning, a KLM representative rings up my daughter in the hotel saying that there are not enough seats on the next flight, and would we consider staying back. Only after I tell her we have boarding passes confirmed, she apologises and hangs up.
16 July 2010 (25 hours later) we are on KL 889 to Hong Kong, with the connecting flight CX135 to Melbourne. Arrive at Melbourne at 6.20 am on 18 July. My luggage does not turn up.
Apparently, my luggage has been miss-labelled during the check in, and my bag sent to Kuala Lumpur. Furthermore, it also has been incorrectly labelled with my daughter's surname. It takes me until 7 pm on 19 July to recover the bag. Melbourne airport is very helpful, and the bag is delivered to my home, however, having different surnames on my own tag, and the airport tag, causes lots of unnecessary confusion.
Conclusion: we will NEVER EVER travel with KLM again.
Adele
Because my son, who lives in London, was retrenched, we tried to change his ticket, which he purchased in South Africa. Being on promotion, both SA and UK have refused to do this. The flight is from London to SA and return. Considering it is through no fault of his, he is without a job and I am sure most will agree this is no time to be on your own, apart from the fact this is over Christmas. Furthermore, KLM must be aware of the worldwide financial crisis, and be a little forgiving. Should they require proof of his retrenchment, I am sure he would be able to furnish the necessary documentation. This is not the first time he has flown with KLM but if I have anything to do with it, it will be the VERY LAST. I called KLM asking for details about the baggage allowance for my flight, KL878 from Taipei to Amsterdam, and the representative told me that an extra piece of luggage could be brought for $50. When arriving at the airport, I was told that the baggage allowance is only 20kg and that each additional kg costs 30 euro!! That makes for a total of 800 us dollars! This is absurd! I would have planned accordingly if I had known about the weight limit and the cost of additional baggage!!! What can I do? Dumitri |
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missedconnection in Amsterdam for Moscow due to delay in first flight Brussels-Amsterdam, he took following flightthis meant he missed another flight in the evening to Magnetagorsk, as he had a press conference, a presentation and a Master class, where he was the speaker in all of these events, therefore he had to take the only available alternative flight to Cherliabinsk a city 400 km away followed by a 4hr Taxi drive in Siberian December weather & temperatures, he arrived at destination a day after leaving Brussels.
Baggage did not arrive in Moscow with him, three flights after his arrival, at this point he was already in Magnetagorsk, In Moscow they inform him that they cannot forward it because he is a foreigner and must pick up himself in Moscow, by the time he is back in Moscow he will no longer need his luggage or have time to look for it as he will be returning to Italy The Inconvenience that has come from this is enormous, the unhelpfulness found in Amsterdam at transit desk where he didn't speak English and the gentleman representing you refused to talk to me on mobile was very disappointing, he therefore was unable to explain that he could only go onto Moscow if he was sure to reach final destination otherwise he would return home, the gentleman behind the desk just kept repeating in his face Moscow or Italy, not being able to communicate meant he had no choice but to fly to Moscow and hope for the best! I therefore require that at least in this final part of his journey back to Italy you will avoid him having to miss work to go and find his luggage in Moscow and then have to re-check it in (if he finds it). he had to buy clothes for the three days of business meetings, he had to hold a conference without any sleep and travelling for about 30 hours and in clothes bought in 30minutes, He had to buy a new flight to Cherliabinsk, He had to pay a four hour Taxi drive. The stress and as a result the quality of the press conference, presentation and master class all to be calculated. Customer service on phone:We have contacted Aeroflot 10 times in the last 3 days, but have not resolved, KLM customer service tells us all they can do is advise to contact Aeroflot !, surely KLM is responsable??! Allison |
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On Wednesday, April 15 at 3:00pm (Rome time) Me and my wife checked in at KLM counter in Rome Airport (Fiumicino) for flight KL1604 (FCO-AMS) and KL809 (AMS-CGK). On Thursday, April 16 at 5:15 pm (WIB) we finally arrived at CGK – Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta Airport). Felt very exhausted after long hours flight, we have waited for all our luggage only to find out that they did not show up. Felt desperately and anxious we reported our problem to the airport staff. Then we found out that our luggage data were input wrongly by KLM staff in Rome Airport’s check in counter. The names was stated Baldini, the gentlemen who we assume checked in before us and our flight was stated KL 1604& KL 753 and was sent to country/ state of UIO which it suppose to be KL 1604& KL 809 to CGK.<br /> Dr Kurniavan |
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Dear KLM Authority, Dr Lobera Ning |
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On Sun 18th Jan I booked a ticket from Bahrain to Glasgow UK to enable my daughter to travel home for an interview for University. For some reason I made the departure date the 18th February instead of the 25th of the following week. As I had booked this in the late evening and the office would be closed I left it until the following day (Mon) to phone my local office in Bahrain for help.I explained my problem to a young gentleman who asked me to ring again, or call in the following day as he would need to speak to his supervisor.I called in (Tues), gave my details again and was told I would be contacted once she had spoken to the office manager. She duly did phone (Wed) but the news was not good. It's not as if I want to cancel my booking altogether and I have checked on the website and have been given the same price for flying out on the 25th! I did contact them within 24hrs to advise them of my error.
In today's age of modern technology I cannot believe that they are unable to enter the booking facility of the company to alter the date of departure. Karen Purdie |
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KLM have no regard for their customers.
My son was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Aberdeen via Amsterdam on a late night flight. We got him to the airport in good time, he checked in in good time, he was at the departure gate - in good time. But there was a message on the TV monitor at the gate saying a KLM flight to Amsterdam had a change of gate. All a bit confusing apparantly so he spoke to a member of staff who said yes, he should go to this other gate a train ride away, which he did. Turns out KLM have two flights going to Amsterdam at much the same time and it was the other one that had a gate change, not his, staff person wrong. My son missed his flight. KLM could not have done less if they had tried. Total disinterest. Best airport KLM staff would offer was to say he should turn up for tnext day's flight which was fully booked - if there was a cancellation they would let him on for 400Euros. All KLM staff then disappeared for the night. He phoned us so we called KLM trying to work out how to get him home. Staff on the phone not interested, said their records showed he had not even checked in and just said we'd have to buy a new ticket. Very unhelpful made no suggestions, no 'how unfortunate, let's see what can we do to help, ' Because of work commitments, my son needed to get back to the UK urgently. According to the internet there were seats on the other KLM flight for the next night. It turns out that flight is operated by Air Malaysia which is probably why KLM staff never mentioned this as a possibility. My son had been told the KLM office opened again at 8.30am so he decided to stay at the airport to either bag a cheap cancellation seat or, as they were saying he would have to do, purchase a new ticket. KLM office did not open at 8.30! Not open till 3pm. Thankfully I had gone to the airport to fetch him. And fortunately the airport information desk were quite helpful and gave us number for KLM office in the city. So we went there and at first they just said tonight's flight fully booked so nothing they could do - again no hint of human compassion for a very upsetting situation. In fact, the woman made sneering comment that Ross's original ticket was the cheapest possible, so they could not help in any way. I explained Ross needed to get home urgently but they still didn't mention the other flight. Only when I said there were seats on the other flight she said yes there were but he would need to buy a new ticket costing 5, ooo RM /£1000 not a penny less! Perhaps KLM had no part in my son being sent to the wrong gate, but as a young man who could become a valued customer, he was shown no customer care whatsoever. Meanwhile, Malaysian Airline staff did their very best to be helpful while he was at the airport - tried hard to find a routing that would get him back to the UK on time, allowed him to recharge his phone at their desk, were sympathetic and kind. J Mcintoch |
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| On March 25 I travelled through KLM from Sandefjord (Norway) to Amsterdam where I was supposed to catch the connection flight to Lisbon. The flight numbers were: KL1218 at 17h30 from Sandefjord to Amsterdam and KL1697 at 21h from Amsterdam to Lisbon. The plane that should depart from Sandefjord at 17h30 only arrived at 19h, which by itself made it impossible for me to catch the connection flight. We got on the plane at 19h30 but only departed 2 hours later. After 1 hour waiting on board of the plane the captain announced as an explanation that we were overweight (shouldn't they have noticed that during the check in of all passengers more than 3 hours before?) and that they had to take off fuel and also due to bad weather planes were not departing (we could see through our windows planes landing and departing at that exact time) and that Denmark had closed their airspace to our plane (strange...). Finally we got to Amsterdam and arrived there at 23h. Having lost my connection I went to the transfer desk. The only alternative I was given was the next day flight to Lisbon at 12h20 and although I asked for accommodation for the night (we were missing 13 hours for the departure I was told it was not possible and I could have a 10€ voucher de 10€ to use at some (not all) restaurants of the airport and a 5 minutes call from a single phone that in fact did not work properly as you could hear the person you were talking to. Despite explaining to them it was not correct to just leave me like that especially since the cause of the delay was a delay from KLM departing from Amsterdam to Sandefjord (this flight arrived over 2 hours late) that caused me to lose the connection flight to Lisbon they did no more. I stayed 13 hours at the airport by myself without any support from the company that caused it. Also they didn't agree in finding an earlier flight (even from another company) and when I asked for a note to present at work as I was going to lose a day's work explaining the reason they denied to give such note. I already knew that delays at this company are constant, always putting at risk connections, but I find this kind of treatment and lack of respect unacceptable. |
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| mean, if we pay high fees and or penalties when we change our flight and or when we change our date, or and when we get sick and we cant travel and or when one of our family members is sick ..WHY WHY WHY AIRLINES DOESNT PAY ANYTHING WHEN THEY BRAKE OUR PLANS ??? I MEAN IF THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO PAY EUROS 100 PER EACH PERSON FOR A DELAY FLIGHT, OR 100 EUROS PER DAY FOR DELAYEd BAG ..SURELY COMPLAINTS AS SEEN IN THIS PAGE WOULD NEVER HAPPENED ...WHO WILL HELP PASSENGERS ?? ...HUMAN RIGHTS ..?? |
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| I've had a similar experiance as you. KLM managed to totally ruin me and my family's holiday in Paris. We were supposed to be there for 4 days.. due to KLM it ended up in only being in Paris for 1 full day. They denied us any kind of reimbursement for the expenses we had with our hotel in Paris which we could not use due to KLM. I for one will never travel with this air-line company ever again and I advice you all to not do it neither. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hee 1333sl, Alles goed? (sorry for the english speaking people here!!!) I have flown on KLM and China airlines to Bangkok, and if the KLM service on that flight was with "Dutch Flair" I am not so proud to come from Holand!!!! I never had worse service then on that flight!!!!! No way , this boy is never going to fly long-haul stretches on KLM again!!!! The China Airlines flight was much better!!!! KLM sucks!!!!!! |
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Why KLM sucksI’m not a stranger to flying by airplane, and I have a passport to back up these claims. When I returned home from Amsterdam, last Sunday, I was less than impressed with the new modus procedendi of the Dutch Royal Flight Company (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij) KLM. Queues, queues, queues…First of all, they’re trying out a new system for checking people in, which leads to tremendous queues, but let this not stop you from visiting Holland, of course, because you’ll only experience these queues when you’re back on your way out, and you’re probably too tired to react anyway. I was still awake enough to be utterly annoyed by them, because after you’ve queued up for an hour, they make you go and check in your luggage separately. So…you have to check in your luggage after you have officially received your seat number, etc, thereby probably officially forfeiting your right to any kind of complaint (but I’m not so sure about this last part - I’d have to check it out to be sure. I won’t, though, and you’ll find out in a while why not). LuggageAfter having queued up for another while (yes, Dutch people like to think they’re organized) it’s your turn to check in your luggage. Glad to be able to get out of the queue, you happily present your boarding pass to the person behind the counter, and you put your suitcase on the conveyor belt. Of course you have to wait, first, because now that they make all the people check in their luggage at the same time, the belt gets stuck all the time. No problem, however, people at KLM have time. As it turned out, my luggage was over 25kg. For as long as I have been flying, this has never been refused. The Pride of Holland saw things differently, though: according to their regulations, I could have 20kg, and not more. I was offered 2 choices: either unload, or pay 20 euros per kilogram extra. Since I had just over 26kg (26.2), they gladly made that 27, and I was asked to cough up 140 euros. (”Thank you very much in advance,” I guess.) Well, it was obvious that I wasn’t going to let them rip me off like that, I unloaded my suitcase and I proceeded to unload. I moved everything that was heavy in my laptop bag, and after going back 4 (!) times, I finally had 22.1kg, and (since they had indicated that they’d let me go with 22kg, I asked them if they’d round this up, too, or if they’d let me go. They’d let me go. But…guess what: I was weighing this suitcase on a counter which was not in use, right next to the one where the lady was sitting. Even though that one said 22.1, when I returned to the lady (after queueing up again, of course), the scales indicated 23.1kg. So…they’re telling me that stuff is too heavy, using scales that don’t even measure things equally. Now, how many people have they made pay 20 or 40 euros, when in fact maybe the total weight was all right in the first place? We will never know, of course. After having complained substantially to everyone around me, and after finally having been checked in, my flight was already busy with the boarding procedure. I had to run to get there in time, otherwise my plane would have been gone, too! At least, while sighing and sweating and trying to calm down again, I was thinking about the why behind all of this. Befehl ist BefehlThe boys and girls behind the counters are only doing their jobs, of course, and when some honcho tells them that 20kg is the limit, they’ll tell you exactly that. When they’re told that 22.2 is 23, they’ll gladly tell you that, too - another fine sample of Dutch Arithmetics (Hollandse Rekenkunde). But…why? I’m sure it all has to do with oil prices. To stay competitive in the price lists, KLM doesn’t increase the prices of their flights like most companies do, they just take some extra euros when you’re already with your back to the wall (because that’s what I call it when you’ve checking in, and you have a plane waiting for you). So you have 23kg? No problem, pay us 60 euros, and we’ll call it quits. That’s one hell of a way to earn some extra bucks. It’s also an extremely invisible way (when you’re booking your tickets) to turn that 250 euro ticket into a 300 euro ticket. What I really don’t understand is what difference it made, in the end. I was on the plane with exactly the same weight, only now it was all in my laptop bag. Why choose KLM?So, why should you choose KLM, then? Well…once you’re on board, they offer you a very nice 6 x 2.5 x 3 cm sandwich, which you can eat together with a fine selection of delicious celery & courgette salad (proudly offered by Van Oers). Oh yes, you get a tiny bit of French garlic cheese to boot. Anyone whose game for a culinary feast will appreciate the trouble KLM has gone through to make you one with nature again, by making you feel like a rabbit on a diet. New business model for KLMSince weight is becoming so important for the KLM, I have a suggestion for a new business model for them: instead of charging people for a ticket, charge them for how much they weigh. Say… 3.5 euros per kilogram. You weigh 80kg? Your plane ticket will cost you 280 euros. Same as it is now, but people who really make the plane weigh more (and if 5kg of luggage is already worth 140 euros in gas, I’m sure all those 100+kg people cost a lot more). You weigh 120? Sorry, but that’ll cost you 420. That way, KLM will be working on (inter)national health, and they won’t have to discriminate between 20 or 25 kg of luggage. Of course these ideas sound a bit…discriminating. I’m sure the KLM won’t have a problem with them, though, since they seem to be common practice already. Advice for every one elseAvoid KLM like avian flu. Customer care is a taboo word at KLM, and by the looks of it, I’m not the only unhappy ex-customer. Never again will anyone at KLM see me on one of their flights, that’s a fact. |
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I have a very sad experience with KLM in Dec 2007. I have booked my itineray from New delhi to United states with a break at Amsterdam. I am a pure vegeterian and booked my journey with clear choice of "Asian vegeterian" and even got my tickets with that printed on it. However from Asmterdam to United states, the airhostess said they do not have any asian vegeterian meal and so i need to travel empty stomach. When i reported the problem to their customer care, surpsisingly instead of getting some nice response, the customer care person clearly said that they do not serve asian veg food from amsterdam to US but they can sell tickets with that criteria. On my reply to that i got a response that pls do not bug us with such emails. They do not serve such foods. I think it is illegal also as they sell their tickets with such commietments. Pls suggest me how can i take it further. A.Rejah |
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KLM - by Peter Green DMM-AMS-ROME flying economy. My son was traveling with family friends while my wife used frequent flyer points on BA to meet them in Rome. The flight from Dammam was overbooked, so the ground staff tried to bump my son (13 year old) off the flight. Luckily, our friend put up a fight and yelled enough to get him on the flight. I've learned from others here in Saudi that KLM has often bumped children without their parents here, as they don't tend to put up much of a fight. I've contacted KLM about this (in person in Vancouver and in Amsterdam, and on the web) and have had no response. It may just be the ground staff in Saudi Arabia, but I have little trust in people that will prey upon children. |
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This just confirmes my view on KLM. Since I had to "security land" with the dutch flag carrier in Frankfurt on a flight scheduled to fly from BLQ-AMS in November 2003, and experienced the worst kind of service ever, I decided never ever to fly KL again. The frustration actually made me buy the domain www.KLMsucks.com (not active)! |
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Why KLM sucksI’m not a stranger to flying by airplane, and I have a passport to back up these claims. When I returned home from Amsterdam, last Sunday, I was less than impressed with the new modus procedendi of the Dutch Royal Flight Company (Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij) KLM. Queues, queues, queues…First of all, they’re trying out a new system for checking people in, which leads to tremendous queues, but let this not stop you from visiting Holland, of course, because you’ll only experience these queues when you’re back on your way out, and you’re probably too tired to react anyway. I was still awake enough to be utterly annoyed by them, because after you’ve queued up for an hour, they make you go and check in your luggage separately. So…you have to check in your luggage after you have officially received your seat number, etc, thereby probably officially forfeiting your right to any kind of complaint (but I’m not so sure about this last part - I’d have to check it out to be sure. I won’t, though, and you’ll find out in a while why not). LuggageAfter having queued up for another while (yes, Dutch people like to think they’re organized) it’s your turn to check in your luggage. Glad to be able to get out of the queue, you happily present your boarding pass to the person behind the counter, and you put your suitcase on the conveyor belt. Of course you have to wait, first, because now that they make all the people check in their luggage at the same time, the belt gets stuck all the time. No problem, however, people at KLM have time. As it turned out, my luggage was over 25kg. For as long as I have been flying, this has never been refused. The Pride of Holland saw things differently, though: according to their regulations, I could have 20kg, and not more. I was offered 2 choices: either unload, or pay 20 euros per kilogram extra. Since I had just over 26kg (26.2), they gladly made that 27, and I was asked to cough up 140 euros. (”Thank you very much in advance,” I guess.) Well, it was obvious that I wasn’t going to let them rip me off like that, I unloaded my suitcase and I proceeded to unload. I moved everything that was heavy in my laptop bag, and after going back 4 (!) times, I finally had 22.1kg, and (since they had indicated that they’d let me go with 22kg, I asked them if they’d round this up, too, or if they’d let me go. They’d let me go. But…guess what: I was weighing this suitcase on a counter which was not in use, right next to the one where the lady was sitting. Even though that one said 22.1, when I returned to the lady (after queueing up again, of course), the scales indicated 23.1kg. So…they’re telling me that stuff is too heavy, using scales that don’t even measure things equally. Now, how many people have they made pay 20 or 40 euros, when in fact maybe the total weight was all right in the first place? We will never know, of course. After having complained substantially to everyone around me, and after finally having been checked in, my flight was already busy with the boarding procedure. I had to run to get there in time, otherwise my plane would have been gone, too! At least, while sighing and sweating and trying to calm down again, I was thinking about the why behind all of this. Befehl ist BefehlThe boys and girls behind the counters are only doing their jobs, of course, and when some honcho tells them that 20kg is the limit, they’ll tell you exactly that. When they’re told that 22.2 is 23, they’ll gladly tell you that, too - another fine sample of Dutch Arithmetics (Hollandse Rekenkunde). But…why? I’m sure it all has to do with oil prices. To stay competitive in the price lists, KLM doesn’t increase the prices of their flights like most companies do, they just take some extra euros when you’re already with your back to the wall (because that’s what I call it when you’ve checking in, and you have a plane waiting for you). So you have 23kg? No problem, pay us 60 euros, and we’ll call it quits. That’s one hell of a way to earn some extra bucks. It’s also an extremely invisible way (when you’re booking your tickets) to turn that 250 euro ticket into a 300 euro ticket. What I really don’t understand is what difference it made, in the end. I was on the plane with exactly the same weight, only now it was all in my laptop bag. Why choose KLM?So, why should you choose KLM, then? Well…once you’re on board, they offer you a very nice 6 x 2.5 x 3 cm sandwich, which you can eat together with a fine selection of delicious celery & courgette salad (proudly offered by Van Oers). Oh yes, you get a tiny bit of French garlic cheese to boot. Anyone whose game for a culinary feast will appreciate the trouble KLM has gone through to make you one with nature again, by making you feel like a rabbit on a diet. New business model for KLMSince weight is becoming so important for the KLM, I have a suggestion for a new business model for them: instead of charging people for a ticket, charge them for how much they weigh. Say… 3.5 euros per kilogram. You weigh 80kg? Your plane ticket will cost you 280 euros. Same as it is now, but people who really make the plane weigh more (and if 5kg of luggage is already worth 140 euros in gas, I’m sure all those 100+kg people cost a lot more). You weigh 120? Sorry, but that’ll cost you 420. That way, KLM will be working on (inter)national health, and they won’t have to discriminate between 20 or 25 kg of luggage. Of course these ideas sound a bit…discriminating. I’m sure the KLM won’t have a problem with them, though, since they seem to be common practice already. Advice for every one elseAvoid KLM like avian flu. Customer care is a taboo word at KLM, and by the looks of it, I’m not the only unhappy ex-customer. Never again will anyone at KLM see me on one of their flights, that’s a fact. August 22nd, 2008 |
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This guy is head of KLM marketing for Northern Europe, and when I read his comment in Norwegian daily Aftenposten today I nearly spilled my coffee. Anko van der Werff is certainly in need of some PR training! It's a feature on a single mom whose credit card was charged twice by KLM for the same flight. Her original flight was booked and paid August of last year. Then in May this year, it was charged again to her credit card. Cost was NOK 5822 (ca. 750 Euro). So naturally she complained. It took KL a month to pay back the money. Aftenposten newspaper is asking van der Werff for comments, he's saying there is no issue with KLM system, but if anyone has any similar problems they should contact KLM customer service. Fair enough. And now for the kicker, when the woman asks for compensation: "It's compensation enough that she got such cheap tickets in the first place Unbelievable comment made to a newspaper reporter. |
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| Madison, WI 53726 US Dear KLM Authority, I want to describe you what I have experienced during my flight with your airline 5 weeks ago. I had a flight from Chicago to Istanbul through Amsterdam on December 20th, 2007 (KL 612 from Chicago to Amsterdam and KL1613 from Amsterdam to Istanbul). My first flight from Chicago to Istanbul was delayed about an hour and after a long trip, I arrived to Amsterdam on December 21st, 2007 at 09:20AM. I had a seat next to the exit and when the door was opened, a KLM representative announced that Istanbul passengers should not waste their time in the airport and should immediately go to their gate because the plane was waiting for them. Meanwhile, the original flight time of Istanbul plane was 09:05AM. After that announcement, I ran to my gate but I realized that the plane has already left the gate more than 15 minutes ago which meant that the previous announcement was completely wrong. Following, I went to the transfer point in the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to reschedule my flight. However, due to delays, there were more than 200 people in line before me. I waited in the line more than 2.5 hour and finally, I requested a ticket to Istanbul. However, your representative was so rude and he tried to give me a ticket next day although I have explained that I came from a long trip (from Chicago). In addition, I knew that your airline had a flight on that day at 9:00PM. She, your representative, did not rebook me to that plane. I was given a ticket next day at 6:45AM. Following, I realized that no hotel reservation was made for me. Then, I wanted to talk with the director of her whose name was M.J. Schot and he was also rude and told me that they could not make a reservation because I missed the plane due to weather conditions. But that was completely a lie because my flight was not canceled and there was not even a delay for my flight. Although I discussed with him and your representative on the desk, they did not make a reservation for me and finally, they told me that I had to wait in the airport for the next day flight, exactly 21 hours. I was so irremediable and started to find a comfortable chair to sleep after coming from Chicago. After 13 hours in the airport, I wanted to check my ticket for the next day and realized that ticket was to Paris, France and from Paris to Istanbul. But I could not fly to Paris because I did not have a Schengen Vise. I am a Turkey citizen and your representative and Mr. Schot saw my passport and they did not even asked if I have a vise. I am sure that that behavior was intended and it was not a mistake. Because I definitely believe that your representatives know that a passenger without Schengen vise may not fly to Paris. Then, I went to your desk about 09:00PM, as I said before after I waited more than 13 hours in the airport. Then, I waited in the line 2.5 hours, again and an announcement was made by your representatives. They stated in the announcement that they would close the desk and would open at 6:00AM next day. After 13 hours, I had no ticket because Paris ticket was not valid for me without a Schengen vise. I stayed overnight in front of the desk during night because there were hundreds of people. Of course, I could not sleep in front of the desk on the floor. Next day, at 6:15AM I was talking with another representative from your company and was stating that I had been waiting more than 21 hours in the airport and I wanted to change my ticket because I could not fly to Paris. After her answer, I was shocked again because she told me there was no available place for me in the Istanbul flight at 9:00AM. Thus, she gave me a piece of paper and I had to give that paper to another stewardess in the gate and he/she may give me a seat if someone else would miss that flight. At that time, I was so tired, their behavior was discreditable. Then, I waited more than 2 hours in front of the gate and gave that paper to the stewardess and again, waited an hour more. Finally, after all passengers went aboard, I was told that I could also enter to the plane because there was an available seat for me. Could you imagine how it was stressful and burdensome to wait an additional an hour in the gate after exactly 24 hours in the airport without knowing whether I could fly to Istanbul in that plane. I request you to compensate that terrible story and your faults in the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. I will be waiting for an immediate answer for my letter. |
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We understand that airlines find it difficult to make ends meet with ever increasing fuel prices. This however is much less of an excuse to exploit clients than a hungry person who steals a goat to survive. We as consumers must not tolerate it. If you have any experience, whether negative or positive, with KLM Air France, or any other airline, we want to hear from you.. I will publish all letters regardless of the contents thereof and whether we like it or not.. You can also join the group KLM-sucks on Facebook if you so wish. There you can publish your opinion without our intervention. Only letters with full names and adresses will be published and photo's are also most welcome. Send to andries@temba.co.za You can also send your e-mail to KLM directly. Click on the link at say your say. fares@af-klm.co.za |
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On 4th October 2007 i was scheduled to fly KL 1674 from Barcelona to Amsterdam and to connect with KL---that should have left Amsterdam for Nairobi at 10.15 the same evening. As fate would have it, this plane delayed due to what was explained as bad weather. We therefore arrived at Amsterdam at 10.30 pm. At this point an announcement had been made that those who were to connect with flight to Nairobi would not make it. Verdict: go to KLM desk at schiphol and get attention. At this desk (desk 2?) I was scheduled to fly to Nairobi the following day 5th October 2007 at 10.15 am via KL 565. I was given 10 euro for a meal, a voucher to make an international call and a promise in the same voucher that if i will be lucky to fly KLM in the future i would get a a discount of 50 euros (this was not going to help me) A place to sleep would have been more than what any money can pay. Accommodation? just sit at the airport for 10 hours until the following day because the delay was caused by bad weather or look for your own accommodation. I tried to look for my own accommodation and the aiport hotels were all booked at that late hour. Alternative? get out of the airport but you risk to be arrested if you are on transit have no VISA. I opted to sit at the airport and waited for the following day. The following day i boarded flight KL 565 that promtly left Amsterdam at the stipulated time. I arrived in Nairobi at around 7.20 pm local time but my luggage was missing. At this time i had missed my Kisumu flight operated by the East African Safari express. I went to KLM representative to ask if i could be accommodated. I found young man of arrogant dispensation called Eric who blatantly told me that KLM would not take responsibility because the flight to Kisumu that i missed was not operated by KLM, which was very true but why was i late in the first instance. To his credit this young man called Eric made an immediate telephone call to Amsterdam to try to locate the luggage. To my relief he said the luggage was left in Amsterdam. For purposes of clarity, i would like to point out that the luggage was checked in at Barcelona and if KLM is not responsible for my accommodation when i am delayed for 24 hours, i am still think they would be responsible for my luggage, at least in the court of humanity and good business practice. To date no one from KLM SYSTEM has called me brief me of any progress towards luggage recovery. It has hard to believe that KLM can bend so low. Peter Ouma Okuma |
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CONGRATULATIONS KLM OFFICE IN ACCRA, GHANA! Akasou Ghana |
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On March 25 I travelled through KLM from Sandefjord (Norway) to Amsterdam where I was supposed to catch the connection flight to Lisbon. The flight numbers were: KL1218 at 17h30 from Sandefjord to Amsterdam and KL1697 at 21h from Amsterdam to Lisbon. Bjon |
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| Flt Jkt to Kuala Lumpur no. KL 0810 Flt Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam KL4102 Flt Amst to Edinburgh KL1279 My Itinerary number was 122704237761 I booked this flight above and return by same route on 6th August so I could attend a family wedding in Edinburgh. I live in the interior town of Wamena, Papua, Indonesia. I booked the flight online on Feb 14 th and received confirmation of my booking immediately and again on Feb 29 and received further confirmation on July 10th with check in code ZDF890 with travel tip to use this code when checking in. I never received tickets but I felt assured that all was in order with my flight because of this confirmation code for booking. I wish to inform you of the TERRIBLE time that I had in Jakarta Airport. This was a most distressful time and I had to lay out huge extra expense which I wish to claim back from Expedia and/or KLM or I will make a huge issue of how dreadfully I was treated, I will bring a case against both of your companies. I have lived in Indonesia for 30 years and mostly fly with KLM and must be one of your most regular customers so I was totally and utterly devastated by what happened. DIARY of EVENTS: 1. With Check in code in hand I check in for my flight nearly 3 hours before Take off flight. Check in goes smoothly, I receive my boarding pass, go through immigration and go to gate about half an hour before boarding time. 2. Approx 10 mins before boarding my name is called. I am informed that I cannot get on the flight. They are looking for my paper ticket. I said I never did get a paper ticket but that I received a check in code and I showed this confirmation which I had received via Email. TO me this confirmed my flight. I told them I must leave AS THE FAMILY WEDDING PARTY WAS ARRIVING THE FOLLOWING AND I NEEDED TO BE THERE. 3. Boarding was called and they refused to let me on. I was in shock. If there was a problem it should have been noticed at checkin in and now I am saying that they must let me on as obviously my name was on the flight list. BUT I was asked to pay for the ticket again so I could keep my seat. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, I was very upset and very confused. How could I pay again, I would have to call expedia etc. and now there was no time. 4. My luggage is taken off they tell me. I am STUNNED. I ask to be taken care of, hotel, telephone, another ticket. WHAT DO I DO. 5. I am taken down stairs, KLM give me over to Emmirates as there is a later flight!!! Now I need to try and call Expedia. I only have a Hand Phone, money ticks away and I am still being told to wait. We go to Public Phone, that does not work, then I go to a Wartel where I can use and then pay. LONG LONG phone to expedia, they say I have to report lost tickets and then book another flight for which I can later claim. I pay about 25 pounds sterling for this phone call. 6. Emmmirates staff and now rushing me, I need to buy a tickets, they ask me for my Passport etc. etc RUSH RUSH RUSH!!! I pay for the Emmirates Flights JKT. SINGAPORE DUBAI BIRMINGHAM $1611 on my Credit card. 7. Emmirates staff are very helpful in all this rush and waiting for me on the phone etc. KLM staff nowhere to be seen anymore 8. Good flight right through. Land in Birmingham. 9. Get a FlyBe flight for £139 to Edinburgh and finally make it to my Address in Edinburgh around 6pm. 10. Later in the evening at my sisters house, I check my Email to find that a message from Expedia that my return flight on 6th August has been CANCELLED by the Airline!!! I can’t believe it. JUST UNBELIEVABLE Why on earth would I cancel my flight back. WHY would KLM do that without asking me???????? Just totally amazing and MAD 11. Later I am checking various mail at my sisters place. About a year ago I linked into INTERNET banking with the Clydesdale Bank so I have informed my sister that there is no need to open my Clydesdale Bank mail. But I open several envelopes. One letter dated 18th Feb is from the Bank manager to say that tickets from Expedia are at the bank could they be picked up. I NEVER GAVE EXPEDIA MY BANK ADDRESS OR REQUESTED EXPEDIA TO SEND TICKETS TO THAT ADDRESS. WHY ON EARTH WOULD TICKTES GO TO MY BANK OVER HERE WHEN I AM TRAVELLING FROM INDONESIA. I GAVE MY INDONESIAN ADDRESS. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. 12. Following day (remember we are very very busy with a wedding) I went with my sister to the Bank, get the tickets and then we have to go to the airport to book/confirm that i need to return on 6th August. I get the tickets which indeed had been addressed to my Bank. 13. KLM desk at the Airport are helpful and amazed at the distressful time I have had to endure. The girl wrote a short explanation of what I had told here. I write this to both Expedia and KLM. I am requesting compensation for all the stress I have experienced. It was fortunate that I was an Indonesian speaker and could deal with the various things BUT I was so exhausted and wrung out. I am 61 years of age. No one offered a drink, a seat or anything during several hours of hassling as we tried to get a seat for me on emirates. I am also requesting that I get money back 1. New ticket $1611 2. Phone calls to Expedia £25 3. Birmingham Edinburgh Flt £139 4. Compensation for stress, time lost out with my family etc. ? amount I would like to receive this money very very quickly so that I do not have to pay interest on my Credit card. I cannot afford this money. Thank you for seeing to this very quickly as I will be returning to the interior of Papua very soon and need this matter settled. I request and suggest that KLM and Expedia work out this matter in haste. Thank you very much indeed, Yours sincerely, Sue Trenier Email sue.trenier@worldteam.org Address til 6th August c/o wood 33 Gordon Rd. Edinburgh ED12 6NB Tel:07503281449 |
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Security check-in is important and therefore must be treated with responsibility. Such task should not be turned by KLM employees into a cheap entertainment show or a bureaucracy lesson that defies the common sense. I wear suspenders with metallic clips that do not appear to be a security risk for other airlines checkpoints. At boarding time, an arrogant KLM employee instructed me to remove my suspenders and pass one more time through the metal detector gate. With my pants below the knees, I had to show my Calvin Klein underwear to the audience I order to please the smart KLM security check procedure. This was however a sort of happy ending. What if I do not wear panties? Should the KLM’s check-in procedure release the boarding pass only for those that wear panties? I don’t want to further elaborate on this KLM issue that hopefully will trigger some corrective action. As a remark, the dinner cutlery KLM crew makes it available to the passengers during the flight can be in the wrong hands away more dangerous than my suspender’s clips. Christiaan Rsou |
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Dear all, Rau Bauer |
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Die KLM storie kon met enige iemand gebeur het. Ek was nie vir een oomblik bekommerd oor Elizabeth nie.
Ek is jammer dat julle die jaar se toer op so noot moes afsluit. Dankie dat Elizabeth op die Vrydagoggendvlug
was, sy het die Saterdagoggend twee hokkie wedstryde gespeel en hulle het gewen!
Sterkte met KLM en hou ons asb op hoogte.
Gert, Alna en Elizabeth Marais |
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jaja dit is seker maar lekker om te probeer Nederlands met die lugwaardinne te praat, en dan natuurlik ook die lekker Heineken op die vlugte, maar moet nou nie vra hoe die kos smaak nie!
Uiters sleg, eks nou nie in die koshuis nie maar ek is 100% seker dis slegter as enige koshuis kos! van wanneer af kry 'n mens sop op 'n vliegtuig en budjiesaad vir nagereg!
KLM suck rerig! Vat hul CLEANERS toe oom!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JP Du Preez |
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Ek wil net se hoe jammer ons is dat die wonderlike toer op so 'n noot moes eindig, Meagan praat net met lof en baie sterre in die oe oor die toer!
Ons wens julle alle voorspoed toe met die geding met KLM, wat ons ook al kan doen om julle in die saak te help, sal ons probeer doen!
Voorspoed en groete
Ken, Claudia en Meagan Wood
NS. sal die bedrag aan Meagan wys, net sy sal kan se of dit die regte bedrag is. |
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Danki vir AL jou moeite en deursettingsvermoë hierrondom
(Lyk my Lucas was TOG reg - Jy IS 'n man wat dit kan vat!)
Terloops, miskien weet jy reeds, maar as jy net 'n bietjie gaan rondkrap op die Net, kom jy op allerhande soortgelyke stories met betrekking tot KLM uit. Veral waar kinders / studente betrokke is - want hulle kan nie terugbaklei nie?!
Sterkte.
Vat hulle aan
Ons staan agter jou!!
Hanli Roothman |
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After the first group of children were on the plane, I phoned KLM customer care and spoke to a
lady by the name of Julia - 021 - 881-9616 to find out if there was anything that we could do
from here. I'm not sure if I phoned the Wed or the Thursday.
She knew about the incident without me even having the explain to her. She said that Andries
let KLM know 4 times that they would not be boarding in London and that KLM told your dad
4 times that it would not be possible and that you could not cancel 1 leg of the flight. They then
got a letter from your attorney and they still said that it was not possible. She said that after
them telling your dad that he could not cancel the London flight, he went ahead and did it anyway.
She even phoned me back later on, can't remember what she said - I was too stressed at that point.
Hope you guys win this one. Good luck. We're behind you all the way.
Regards
Michelle
Hi Michelle Read my opinion. KLM told us. Aerwee |
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