need_my_wedge
Has Now Found His Wedgie
Writing this back at home when the family and me should be tucked up nicely in Japan with wifey's family.......
Supposed to fly with KLM yesterday to Osaka. Checked in at 10am and told no delays, went through passport control 5 mins later and found delayed by 3 hours. No announcements from KLM, no KLM staff on the ground giving information. 6PM last night, we are finally informed (not by KLM, but by a letter given out by BAA on KLM's behalf) that our flight has been cancelled and that we won't be checked on board, or booked onto an alternative flight. Basically have to go and get our bags, go home and contact our travel agent or call KLM's call centre. Myself and probably 200 other passengers standing beside me had been calling their call centre all afternoon without anyone getting an answer, no chance talking to my travel agent at 6pm on a Sunday evening either.....
None of the 200+ passengers are stupid enough to believe that the weather is KLM's fault, all they needed to do was communicate to us the problem, but they failed miserably. After we collected our luggage, myself and many of the other passengers worked our way back to the KLM desk to find a queue the length of Britain. We were given a £3 voucher to get a coffee and informed that KLM would not be providing any hotel accomosation for anyone staying at the airport. Went and grabbed the coffee, came back to the queue to find it had been closed, and told that they would re-open at 5am today......
Decided to return home as there was zero chance to find alternative flights - did make some enquiries at the airport but limited - only alternative available was a 40 hour flight with a stopover in Dubai, £800 each one way. Got home at 11PM last night after waiting for the taxi to drive down and pick us up. Wife, son and grandparents all in tears as Christmas looking to be cancelled.
Woke up at 7 and got straight on the phone to KLM. 0871 premium 10p a minute number, hang on 15 minutes - cut off. Call again, 52 minutes this time before getting cut off again....
Finally got through at 9am to the refund line, told I would qualify for a full refund, but have to action through the travel agent. Called travel agent, managed to get through to a very helpful person who immediately sourced me alternative flights via JAL, at an extra £500 over the previous tickets, flying on Christmas day, coming back 5 days later..... She booked the flight and then went off to call KLM before I paid for the new flights. Called me back an hour later, KLM offered an alternative flight, also on Christmas day, but no change on the return date, so effectively cutting 5 days off of the holiday, or a full refund. Went with the refund and the new flights. Guess what, have to pay for the new flights up front and wait for the KLM refund to come back, estimated at 6 - 10 WEEKS!!!
KLM truly are a poor excuse when it comes to customer service. At least wifey and family now happy, although I'm stressed out, my boss p**d off that I'm now coming back a week later, and Santa doesn't know where we are to drop presents......bloody Christmas, bah humbug, I need a holiday..!!!
Supposed to fly with KLM yesterday to Osaka. Checked in at 10am and told no delays, went through passport control 5 mins later and found delayed by 3 hours. No announcements from KLM, no KLM staff on the ground giving information. 6PM last night, we are finally informed (not by KLM, but by a letter given out by BAA on KLM's behalf) that our flight has been cancelled and that we won't be checked on board, or booked onto an alternative flight. Basically have to go and get our bags, go home and contact our travel agent or call KLM's call centre. Myself and probably 200 other passengers standing beside me had been calling their call centre all afternoon without anyone getting an answer, no chance talking to my travel agent at 6pm on a Sunday evening either.....
None of the 200+ passengers are stupid enough to believe that the weather is KLM's fault, all they needed to do was communicate to us the problem, but they failed miserably. After we collected our luggage, myself and many of the other passengers worked our way back to the KLM desk to find a queue the length of Britain. We were given a £3 voucher to get a coffee and informed that KLM would not be providing any hotel accomosation for anyone staying at the airport. Went and grabbed the coffee, came back to the queue to find it had been closed, and told that they would re-open at 5am today......
Decided to return home as there was zero chance to find alternative flights - did make some enquiries at the airport but limited - only alternative available was a 40 hour flight with a stopover in Dubai, £800 each one way. Got home at 11PM last night after waiting for the taxi to drive down and pick us up. Wife, son and grandparents all in tears as Christmas looking to be cancelled.
Woke up at 7 and got straight on the phone to KLM. 0871 premium 10p a minute number, hang on 15 minutes - cut off. Call again, 52 minutes this time before getting cut off again....
Finally got through at 9am to the refund line, told I would qualify for a full refund, but have to action through the travel agent. Called travel agent, managed to get through to a very helpful person who immediately sourced me alternative flights via JAL, at an extra £500 over the previous tickets, flying on Christmas day, coming back 5 days later..... She booked the flight and then went off to call KLM before I paid for the new flights. Called me back an hour later, KLM offered an alternative flight, also on Christmas day, but no change on the return date, so effectively cutting 5 days off of the holiday, or a full refund. Went with the refund and the new flights. Guess what, have to pay for the new flights up front and wait for the KLM refund to come back, estimated at 6 - 10 WEEKS!!!
KLM truly are a poor excuse when it comes to customer service. At least wifey and family now happy, although I'm stressed out, my boss p**d off that I'm now coming back a week later, and Santa doesn't know where we are to drop presents......bloody Christmas, bah humbug, I need a holiday..!!!
