Back
I arrived back from Dallas yesterday morning on Delta Air Lines via Atlanta ATL. The flight was okay. I came back alone though. My co-worker Remesh wanted to stay longer to do some shopping for himself and his kids. I didn't want to hear no such thing. I just wanted to go home. So I called our staff travel department and a flight was arranged to Amsterdam AMS via ATL with Delta and thenconnect on KLM.
When I arrived in ATL, KLM told me that they were going to bump me off the flight. You see, the ticket I had was a 'Duty W' ticket. This means it is a ticket that was issued to a employee traveling for work purposes. The 'W' means that you are waitlisted. Paying passengers have priority over you. The ticket I like to have is 'Duty S'. This is a confirmed seat. Anyway KLM and Delta leave 5 minutes after each other. So I went over to the Delta counter and they said they would carry me with the ticket as long as the KLM Duty Manager approves it. He did and so I flew Delta instead of KLM. Unfortunatly when we landed at Schiphol, we landed at that dreaded.... well see for yourself.
After a long walk from gate G04, I got my bags and was just about to catch the train, when I saw on the information screen that R's flight would be coming in from Kuala Lumpur KUL soon. I decided I might as well wait for him, so we could go to Rotterdam together. So I went up to the Panorama deck and had some coffee and saw R's flight come in.
Now I have weekend and after I give my apartment a could cleaning, I'm just going to relax. Dallas was great, but it is even better to be back home. Have a great weekend everyone!
When I arrived in ATL, KLM told me that they were going to bump me off the flight. You see, the ticket I had was a 'Duty W' ticket. This means it is a ticket that was issued to a employee traveling for work purposes. The 'W' means that you are waitlisted. Paying passengers have priority over you. The ticket I like to have is 'Duty S'. This is a confirmed seat. Anyway KLM and Delta leave 5 minutes after each other. So I went over to the Delta counter and they said they would carry me with the ticket as long as the KLM Duty Manager approves it. He did and so I flew Delta instead of KLM. Unfortunatly when we landed at Schiphol, we landed at that dreaded.... well see for yourself.
After a long walk from gate G04, I got my bags and was just about to catch the train, when I saw on the information screen that R's flight would be coming in from Kuala Lumpur KUL soon. I decided I might as well wait for him, so we could go to Rotterdam together. So I went up to the Panorama deck and had some coffee and saw R's flight come in.
Now I have weekend and after I give my apartment a could cleaning, I'm just going to relax. Dallas was great, but it is even better to be back home. Have a great weekend everyone!
posted by Traveller at 8:35 PM
44 Comments:
P O L D E R B A A N ! Meer Kolderbaan zou ik zeggen.
Wie heeft er nou geen hekel aan de Polderbaan. Na de landing duurt het nog 20 minuten voor je aan de gate bent. En jij moest nog naar de G-pier. Tegen de tijd dat e bij de bagageband bent, ben je al een uur verder.
Floris
Hey Ryan i need a bit of advise. Do you know another way of getting to Aruba other than flying with KLM, Arkefly, Martinair???
What i mean is i want to go to Aruba in April, but don't want a direct flight. I want something bijvoorbeeld:
AMS-LHR with BA
LHR-JFK with AA
JFK-AUA with AA
But all i see on AA website is that i have to overnight in JFK, well i am a student don't have all that money to afford a hotel in JFK to expensive i guess :(
Isn't there another way to get to AUA right thru in transit without having to layover.
I just want a change other than the same flying routine.
But something in the same fare range or close by as KL, OR, MP
Thank you in advance.
Remy
Excuse my manners, one of your blog readers gave me this link to see if you can help out.
Remy
Hallo Remy,
I saw your query and I think I can help you. Ryan had to go in for a meeting this morning. I understand what you are looking for. But the thing is this: Most flights between USA-AUA arrive between 12.00 and 17.00 at Beatrix Airport. That means you would have to have an early morning departure from the USA. That in turn means you would have to arrive in the morning in the USA from Europe. That doesn't happen. Whether you fly US Airways via Philadelphia PHL, Delta via New York JFK or Atlanta ATL, Continental via Newark EWR or Houston IAH, United via Chicago ORD or Washington or British Airways/American via London LHR, Miami MIA, Boston BOS and JFK.
So you WILL have to overnight. The key is to choose a transit city that has very cheap airport hotels/motels. In my opinion ATL and PHL has those. New York is one of the most expensive hotel cities in the world! Avoid it! Ryan makes use of JFK often, because he spends a few days in the city, otherwise he would not.
A favorite of a friend of mine, Lesley is PHL and my mother-in-law and father-in-law did that same route you talked about with AA, but on the way back they flew via BOS.
I recommend the following: choose a city where you will have to overnight on the way down to AUA, but on the return you can connect straight through without overnight. When it comes to fares it becaomes a little difficult, because it varies according to the dates. So if you give me the dates, I can check it out for you when Ryan comes over later. He can access AMADEUS reservation system from home.
That being said... not all cheap fares are published on the internet. Sites like Vliegwinkel etc. do a bad job in publishing IATA fares. They publish only those loaded in Worldspan, Galileo etc. I am a former Manager IATA Services at Travel Trend years ago, so this is my area. The fare that Ryan amd my in-laws are using to go to Aruba in September when they are going on a cruise is a negotiated fare between the travel agent and Delta.
Ik hoor het wel.
Rob
Hey remy, kiko ta kiko?
Robbedoes is right. Getting a flight without overnight is impossible via the USA. All flights to the USA depart in the morning from Amsterdam, so you arrive too late in the USA to make a connection.
As mentioned before, I am heading to AUA in september to do a cruise in the Caribbean with family and my parents and I booked on DL. It was not a fre you can find on the internet, but one that was negotiated between my travel agent and Delta. We are paying 545,- per person, including all taxes.
Our routing is:
AMS-CDG
CDG-JFK
Overnight
LGA-ATL
ATL-AUA
AUA-ATL
overnight
ATL-AMS
All the flights have a DL code, but AMS-CDG is operated in codeshare with AF and CDG-JFK is also oparted by AF. The only reason we are traveling through Paris is because the direct AMS-JFK with DL is full. In New York we are paying 120,- euro's for one night for a room in a motel, but in ATL it is only 29,-!!! That's because of the weak dollar. 1 euro is $1,51!!!
If you nly want to overnight once, your best bet is US via PHL. CO via EWR is also an option. You then connect to London LGW with CO and then onward with BA. The EWR-LGW porion is oparted by Virgin Atlantic codeshared with CO. I flew Virgin to LAX and they are amazing!
Lemme know if I can help you, dude!
Ry
I just came in from SXM via PHL this morning and because me and my sister did not want to overnight in the USA twice, we flew with US.
AMS-PHL
overnight
PHL-CLT
CLT-SXM
On the way back we flew:
SXM-PHL
PHL-FRA
FRA-AMS
All the flights have a US flight number, but the FRA-AMS was flown by Lufthansa. Transfer in FRA is a breeze. Service on US is okay and on the PHL-FRA leg, we flew the A330, which have PTV's. Larrissa and me paid 570,- euro's. The hotel in PHL, which was the Crowne Plaza was 57,- euro's for a double room. But in the past I flew to SXM with Dutch Caribbean Airlines, Air Holland, HollandExel/DutchCaribbeanExel, KLM, Air France, Corsair, AOM, American Airlines, Delta, Continental, United... you name it I tried it. I always look for the cheapest deal.
The worst flight I ever had was a few years back when me and Ryan were still working at KLM Ground Services. We went 'zogenaamd' IPB-end to SXM for carnival in April. No problems on the way down... we even got upgraded to C-class. On the return leg, our flight had to make a stop in CUR. There the DSM came on board and loaded us off. The flight was overbooked and were were non-revenue. I was so pissed! We had to end up paying for 3 night hotel stay, plus food and transportation. Everyday we were at Hato, were were denied boarding. Unlike AUA and SXM, CUR has not many alternative to choose from. In the end we ended up buying a ticket on Aserca to CCS and there we took KLM to AMS. It would've been cheaper to buy a normal ticket. But ja... you can't predict the future.
That's why when Ryan offers me IPB tickets (buddy passes) for SXM on AF or KLM I refuse. No thanks! Let me just pay, so I'm sure when I'm coming back. Hahahahaha! No offense buddy!
Wat is CLT eiegenlijk? FRA is toch Frankfurt??
Wel Anonymous if i am not mistaken, CLT is the 3 letter code for Charlotte in the US, and sinds US flies there or so it's one of their base i think.
Wow, Thanks guys for all those answers. Well to start of my story, i work at menzies aviation as a a parttime check-in agent via capac inhouse services uitzendbureau. I mostly do the KISS flights. (KISS is the lowcost carriers @ menzies aviation zoiets, b.v. easyjet, thompson fly, sterling & jet2.com) but i am starting to get tired of doing this, cuzz those damn mxp passengers MILAN MALPENSA passengers are rude and i am also tired of that easyjet system E-RES which is chicken feed i like to try difficult things. And sinds i am a parttimer and i do not work on rooster basis we only do the check-in so no gate, boarding, vlucht opvangen etc. etc. I am doing MBO opleiding toerisme at ROC Zadkine Rotterdam. I got your blog from a colleague of mine.
We was talking about me going to Aruba and was looking for something out of the normal. So he told me about an expert in aviation which is you, he also told me that you helped him to get the job at menzies. He did ask you on your blog about information on how to do the sollicitatie gesprek and rollenspel bla bla bla something like that.
Anyways what i want is to atleast experience flying to the US sinds i've never been there or never had layover i thought by flying transit or something like that i would atleast get a glimpse of what it lookes like. I know i am still young, in the future with a good job i can get there. And i want to continue studying toerism and aviation.
Well Robin i am planning on leaving the 31st of March coming up and i want to stay abouth 2 or 3 weeks. in Aruba cuzz i also want to bring my mother to venezuela to visit a doctor. Cuzz she is a bit sick last couple of months. And sinds am student i don't have that much money. So i was thinkin on a tkt with fare not exceeding a bit 850euro :( and Rob if you can leave me know which hotel or so it would be highly appreciated if i do have to overnight.
Oh by the way Ryan did you hear abouth the Santa Barbara ATR-42 crash in de Andes vreselijk. I remember when i was working at Gen-Air i used to see that aircraft landing in Aruba. :(
Hey i going to watch the final Idol and thanks.
BYE BYE BYE NATALEEE HAVE TO WIN
REMY
WELL THAT CHEESE HEAD WIN IDOL, SO TOMORROW AM NOT SMILING WITH NOBODY IN SCHOOL.
PEACE OUT
Remy
Okay Remy... I was checking Amadeus and I found that if you travelled on 31/03 t/m 21/04 you will obtain the cheapest fare which is AA at 624,- including taxes. Since you are in the business, I'll write airline lingo. This option is:
AMS-LHR (BA or KL - 737 or 320)
LHR-JFK (AA - 772)
Overnight
JFK-AUA (AA - 752)
AUA-JFK (AA - 752)
JFK-LHR (AA - 772)
LHR-AMS (AA - 320*)
*operated by BA)
OPTION 2: €636,-
AMS-LHR (BA or KL - 737 or 320)
LHR-JFK (AA - 772)
Overnight
JFK-AUA (AA - 752)
AUA-JFK (AA - 752)
JFK-CDG (AA - 763)
CDG-AMS (AF - 320
Option 3: €678,-
AMS-LHR (VS - 320*)
LHR-EWR (VS - 346)
Overnight
EWR-AUA (CO - 752 or 753)
AUA-EWR (CO - 752 or 753)
EWR-LHR (VS - 744)
LHR-AMS (VS - 320*)
VS - Virgin Atlantic
* Operated by BMI. This connection is nice, because you don't really have to take a hotel in EWR. You arrive at 23.05 and have to be back at the aipoer at 06.30 to check-in to go to AUA. So basically you can just hang out at the airport if you don't mind. My brother Junior did this 2 years ago. And VS A340-600 is heaven!
Option 4: €701,-
AMS-CDG (DL - 320*)
CDG-JFK (DL - 332, 343, 772, 773 or 744*)
Overnight
JFK-AUA (DL - 752)
AUA-JFK (DL - 752)
JFK-AMS (DL - 763)
* Opearted by Air France. AF has 7 flights per day to JFK all with different types of aircraft. I like taking this flight, because it gets me a lot of FB miles, because its SkyTeam. If you fly on Saturday the flights between JFK-AUA and vice versa are DL. On any other day it will be AA, but the fare stays the same. Not bad considering that KLM porices are not that different or even more expensive.
Any more questions, just ask. I like to help people who are in the business as well as fellow country people.
Ciao!
Ryan
Waarom zo moeilijk doen als je gewoon met KLM kan gaan?
Kim
Nou ik vind dat KLM best wel duur is, hoor. Ik ben zelf student en ik ga 2 keer per jaar naar Aruba. Omdat ik student ben, kan ik alleen in de hoog seizoen, zoals Kerst en in juli/augustus. Een enkele keren ben ik ook in februari/maart geaan voor carnaval en dan betaal ik soms 800/900 euro voor 3 weken. Ik ben met kerst ook geweest zoals jullia al op deze weblog konden lezen en ik was 1275,- kwijt met KLM! Ik heb mijn Nederlandse vriendin Charlotte meegenomen die met Martinair vloog omdat KLM vol zat en die betaalde 1200 euro voor 10 dagen! Dat is toch niet normaal voor een student. Het is maar dat ik mijn geld niet van Maduro Travel terug kon krijgen, anders kon ik voor 800,- via Amerika gaan. Dat ga ik beslist de volgende keer doen.
Jenny
Arkefly is gewoon een chaos. Als je 2 dagen later op je bestemming aan wilt komen, vlieg dan met hun. Ging van de zomer naar Punta Cana met hun en het was een regelrechte ramp. Bagger!
Leuke blog. Heb het van atcbox. Waarom ben je daar niet gelinkt?
Jan
... AL VLIEGEN WE NOG ZO SNEL, DE POLDERBAAN VERPEST HET WEL...
", cuzz those damn mxp passengers MILAN MALPENSA passengers are rude..."
OMG! Lol! Ik heb ook een aantal jaar geleden voor Menzies gewerkt. Toen was het wel anders. Ik was deicated agent voor easyJet, Air Canada en Cathay Pacific met uniform en al. Dat is volgens mij niet meer zo. Ik haatte die oranje uniformen! Bah! Maar wat je van Italiaanse pax zegt is helemaal waar. Niet normaal hoe onbeschoft die mensen zijn! Dus alleen vaste mensen doen gate, arrival services enzo, Remy?
Ik zit nu bij KLM Baggage Services (SPL/LL). Ik weet wel dat SPL/PH niet al de gate werkzaamheden doet voor alle vluchten van KLM/KLC. Soms wordt dat overgelaten aan een ander bedrijf. Net als de WCHR, WCHC's. Wat je zegt over eRes... het is inderdaad een heel simpel systeem van Navitaire. Maar tegenwoordig maken ze het overal simpel. Kijk maar naar KLM zelf. Waar we vroeger Codeco, CORDA, FIRDA, NOTSYS en weet ik veel wat we allemaal hadden, krijg je tegenwoordig te maken met een simpel systeem. CORDA is weg en is nu AMDEUS/ALTEA. Straks verdwijnt Codeco helemaal voor Gaetan van AF.
Ach... en wat is moeilijk? Het is gewoon anders. Neem bijv. RESIBER van Iberia... dat is wat ik noem een kl*te systeem!
Andy
Goodmorning! Interesting comments! Brings back the good ol' times we had at SPL Ryan. That whole PH vs. PG shit. Lol! Im my carreer at KLM, U2, Menzies and Aviapartners I worled with every system imaginable, although CODECO was them most used in-house system. I found Deltamatic a nightmare, BA's RTZ is a breeze, CODECO is chicken feed, Astral kind of backwards, and LSY looks a lot like CODECO in my opinion. Nowadays they use that AXIS confusion to check-in. Agents are so under-trained nowadays. Sometimes i end up telling them what to do! In the good old days you had 6 weeks of training and 3 weeks of 'begeleiding'. Now its down to 3 weeks and then you are on your own. A big difference is also that they make a lot of use from 'uitzendkrachten'. Which isn't bad, as long as they get good training. But you see... ground services is less important than before. Times change I guess.
Lemme get something to eat and catch my bed again. I am still jet-lagged.
Lesley P.
Hey Ryan, ik heb je al een tijdje willen vlagen of je nog bij de vliegdienst zit. Ik heb je er een tijdje niet over zien schrijven... vandaar dus.
Gr,
Renske
Uhm... Kimberly like i said i wanted something different from the ordinary, didn't I? :p
Ja idd Arkefly is gewoon een ramp, Vroeger toen ik pas begon te werken bij menzies, deed ik gewoon alle codeco vluchten dus, ONUR AIR, ARKEFLY, CORENDON, SURINAME AIRWAYS, INTER AIRLINES, ROYAL AIR MAROC, AIR TRANSAT, TACV CABO VERDE, en wij deden ook vlucht opvangen (aviobrug aansluiten) en GATE ik had het toen gewoon naar mijn zin, echt vet leuk. want je meld je aan bij coordinatie en hun geven jou aan wat je die dag moet doen ofzo.
Maar nu zit ik bij de KISS groep, zo noemen ze het. dus de low cost carriers. And guess what ANDY ik heb ook die oranje pak gekregen hoor, maar ik gebruik hem bijna nooit. Want soms zit je bij easyjet in te checken met oranje pak aan, en het is b.v. druk druk bij sterling of jet2.com en ze hebben versterking daar nodig is onmogelijk om met oranje pak achter de balie te gaan zitten. Dus meestal dragen wij gewoon de normale menzies uniform.Ik was vroeger op rooster bij easyjet maar nu lang niet meer. En klopt alleen dispatchers en mensen die op rooster werken doen de gates van de vluchten en vluchten opvangen. Wij doen alleen checkin, en flow walk zo saai.
En over WCHC en WCHS klopt, dat doet een andere maatschappij IHD ofzo, maar volgens mij zelfs de IHD is er niet meer denk ik. Een andere bedrijf doet dat nu denk ik.
Maar het leuke is dat ik soms toch bijvoorbeeld gatenlijst mag opvullen voor andere vluchten als er open plekken staan. b.v. Arkefly of Suriname airways which is a very damn uffffffffffff stress flight to do en Royal Air Maroc ook. ze mogen 25 kilo meenemen maar komen met 40kilo xbag en willen niet eens 1 kilo betalen en zodra je je mond open doet hoor je hwihi kwaha hiwiwi shapa spah heleboel rare dingen.
OH I HATE THAT SHIT, ER GAAT MAAR 1 PERSOON OP REIS, MAAR VOOR JE BALIE STAAN ER WEL 7 FAMILIE LEDEN :s
Well in Aruba i used CODECO, SEATS & SABRE. En here in Holland i use CODECO again, and E-RES and maybe in the summer i am going on rooster again i will see if i can get training for EL AL or SQ
And sinds DL is skyteam and and AF also i think am gonna choose option 4 but do you know any cheap hotel in JFK and close by to the airport???
Remy
Hahahaha, Remy. Je laat me echt van mijn stoel vallen van de lach. Toen ik bij PH zat deelde KLM en SLM de vluchten tussen AMS-PBM. Codehare met mixed crew. Check-in deden we in vertek 3 bij balie 17, omdat als er één Surinamer weggaat de héle familie afscheid komt nemen! Niet normaal! In vertrek 2 was daar gewoon geen plek voor. Om maar niet te praten over xbags! Ik ben zelf ook Surinamer, maar van Chinese en Buru (Nederlandse) afkomst, dus veel van die mensen hadden dat niet door. Ze denken dat ik Indo of Filipino ben ofzo. Dus als ik moeilijk begon te doen als ze geen excess wlden betalen, begonnen ze me te beledigen in Srana Tongo gaf ik gelijk antwoord terug! Daar staan ze dan met hum mond vol tanden. Suri vluchten staan bekend als 'moeilijk' op de grond en hectisch in de lucht. Zelfde geldt voor SLM en MP vluchten naar PBM. Dus ik weet waar je het over hebt.
Gr,
Rob
Hmmm... ik ben nu AP bij OR, maar ben ex-Menzies. Ik weet dat OR een moeilijk tijd achter de rug heeft, maar dat komt door de TEC problemen van één van de 767's en de vervanging die moeilijk te verkrijgen was. Soms sturen we een 762 van Thomsonfly of een A330 naar CUR enzo. Maar het zal beter worden. We zijn niet zo groot als KL of MP, dus reserve kisten hebben we soms gewoon niet als er eentje TEC gaat.
Enfin, bij Menzies begon ik bij EZY/EZS en daarna AC, maar die vloog alleen zomers in die tijd. Heb daarna een tijdje bij CX gezeten en toen LY en Israir. Ik vond het zo'n drama met de beveiliging! Ik moest achter kogelvrije glas inchecken in vertrek 3. Is dat nog steeds zo? Ik kom daar bijna nooit. We kregen wel bovenop onze salaris een veiligheidstoeslag om die kisten te doen naar Israël. Ook een heel gedoe met de crew en het parkeren van die kisten op de G-pier, zodat ze niet vanaf de snelweg zichtbaar zouden zijn en allerlei andere securty shit. De hele dag zat je daar met je 'Shalom'. Daarna ging ik naar Air Holland en HollandExel en toen ging ik de lucht in. Ik mis Menzies niet. De dingen waren gewoon beter geregeld toen het nog Ogden Aviation was.
Kogelvrije glas?! Hell no! Mij niet gezien. Zag dat ook op Heathrow en vond het zoooo bizar!
H.
It's nice to read that all we airport people go through similar experiences. Wait until you get a crazy passenger that starts yelling at you and getting on bad. I had so many rude passengers. Niet normaal! En ja renske, Ryan zit nog steeds bij In-flight services, maar hij vliegt heel beperkt.
Les
Ja Rob, de SLM PY 993 of 995 is hectich hoor, ufff nogmaals HECTISCH. Maar soms zie je smakkelijke dingen rondlopen haha...
Uhm, Anthony V. leuk dat je AP bent bij OR/TFL maar ik zie die maatschappij gewoon niet zitten hoor. Alles gaat altijd mis bij Arkefly, cleaning, catering, TEC boarding, slechte on-time performance. Ken je Lorena Soma??? Zij vliegt ook bij Arkefly als Purser zij is zo zo zo zo zo lief. En die CURACAO BASE CREW zoveel kapsones, waarvoor weet ik helemaal niet. Hacht yu!
En ja nog steeds kogelvrije glas voor de EL AL en ISRAIR naar TLV balierij 28 als ik me niet vergis. Ik deed ook een keertje een TLV vlucht maar volgens mij die was gewoon CODECO, wij als agents hadden geen screening nodig om daar te werken. Wat de beveiliging medewerkers wel doen is die hele balie controleren op en top.
Maar voor EL AL en ISRAIR moet je cursus volgen en systeem training. LY systeem is niet moeilijk, sommige codes lijken op codeco bijvoorbeeld: *KL733/02MAR/AMS zie ik ook in hun systeem. en UA, UC etc etc
En klopt, nog steeds op de G-pier met een heleboel busjes vol KMAR.
Wat me ook opval is hun dumpen PY altijd helemaal achterin op de G pier hahaha. Wegwezen met die suri's soort van hahaha Robin LOL! En SLM is nog steeds op balierij 17. De SLM vertegenwoordiger
Well waar ik echte brutale passagiers heb meegemaakt en misschien in de toekomst ook nog is bij ONUR AIR(Turky) & ROYAL AIR MAROC(Morocco)
INTER AIRLINES EN CORENDON zijn ook Turkse maatschappijen maar er vliegen meer Nederlandse vakantiegangers met hun.
Ik merk deze blog is echt leuk!!! I love toerism and you guys 2.
Remy
OMG. So many 'family' members. Hmmm... I think wherever you work in the airline business, the sh*t is the same. I started at Air Aruba/Ogden in AUA doing charters. That was easy breazy, because we never charged excess baggage. Then I started with FQ. American don't usually have overweight, but they think they can carry every damn sh*t they own in the cabin of a MD88/MD90! Don't get me started on the flights I did for LM. Those Jamaicans and Haitians travelling to KIN and PAP via CUR think they can check-in every damn thing they own. People came with garbage bags, mop, brooms and I even got a lady with a ironing board! I was like... "Uhm.. that isn't possible. It is just a Dash 8!"
Then when I promoted to KLM it was excess again. Not from the Dutch tourists, but locals who think that just because you are an Arubian, you will let them slide by with 50 kgs while the allowance was only 20 at that time. Don't even get me started on the Dutch not getting to sit together. OMG, they got really nasty.
Then we got Passaredo and VASP to MAO, GRU and GIG. Well those effin Brazilians are just like those Italians. They think they own you. I remember this rich bitch spit on the computer screen, because I couldn't get her and her husband to sit together. If she had spit on me, that would be it. The shit wiould've hit the fan, because I ain't taking that. KLM had these stupid trainings we had to participate in in CUR called Dealing with Agression. Well, screw that. Call me whatever you want, just don't touch me.
In Holland at SPL/PG those HV pax were the worst. They book an IT via the travel agent and then when they screw up, we get the blame. We also used to do IranAir (Ugh) and China Airlines to BKK and TPE. Drama, drama. I flew Onur Air once a few years ago, when I was going to AYT. That airline is crazy. They always have some TEC or a skidding off some runway. At a certain point they got banned from flying into NL for a few months. My Mom flew them last year to AYT and she had 3 hours delay on the way to AYT and on the way back 18 hours!! On top of it they made an unscheduled stop in some weird place called Käyseri to pick up some stranded Turks.
I think everyone has a nighmare story. Those of you in the business (air or ground) tell it! I need a good laugh!!! :-)
Tony: I agree with Remy. I know its your company, but hell-to-the-no. The shit they are doing is not normal. Get your act together. I expect more from an airline that is owned by TUI. Look at Thomsonfly, Corsairfly etc. They have their shit together.
Ryan
Nightmare stories? Once I was checking in AZ, before it left us for another ground handler. It was aflight to FCO. Some crazy woman walked up to the counter next to me, put down a teddy bear and said there was a bomb in it. Feet, don't fail me now. I was out of there! They had to clear out the whole section to investigate. An hour later we were allowed back in, but I was glad when they assigned me to the transfer desk.
Then there was the time when I went to the NW team for 6 months. NW oparted 742's, 744's, and DC10's out of the USa and some flights continued to BOM and DEL. There was this family of 18 indians going to BOM. One lost the passport and couldn't travel anymore untill a emergency one was arranged. The person was 35! But he could travel the next day on KL to BOM. When I brooke the news that he couldn't travel with the rest of the group until the next day, EVERYONE in the family started crying loud. It was a mess! Thank goodness the NW representative was there. I hated doing NW. Seriously!
Lesley P.
Over Menzies gesproken... bestaan er nog dedicated teams de de uniform van de airline dragen? Ik ben zelf ex-Menzies, maar zit nu bij de KLM ticket office in Rotterdam Airport RTM/PO. Ik werkte toendertijd in de SQ team met de SQ uniform. Deed ook een tijdje EZY in oranje en AC is groen. Maar de AC werd afgeschaft voor de gewone Menzies uniform.
Leo van Haren
P.S: Ik lees al een jaar en dag je weblog en nu kan ik eindelijk meepraten. Ga zo door! Als je een keertje via RTM reist, kom effe langs bij de AF-KL kantoortje in de vertrekhal. Ik ben de vierbander.
Ja bij menzies dragen wij soms de easyjet uniform. CX cathay pacific heeft een eigen uniform en SQ singapore airlines ook.
de rest gebruiken gewoon standard menzies uniform. en nu is het lelijker geworden omdat de belastingdienst of weet ik veel wie eist dat die logos groter moeten zijn en zichtbaar ofzo. Zelfs onze colber heeft zo een grote lelijke logo erachter. afschuwelijk hoor. maar goed.
If you ike your job you have to like the uniform cuzz you aint nobody to tell them change it.
Remy
For the good order: Yes I am still an active employee at KLM Inflight Services. At one point I wasn't sure if I could maintain that, because working in Management Outstations (which is part of KLM Ground Services and KLM Worldwide Services) can cause a conflict of interest. After talking to my Manager at MO and with a Inflight Manager at Inflight Services they agreed I could maintain my status, but I would have to dump an aircraft. So I dumped the 737. No more EUR for me until further notice. I maintained my MD11, 777 and 747 certification though. But eventually they will make me dump another one. I think I will get rid of the MD11. I have to make one trip per month. I wwork with IFS via Content Uitzendbureau and I only can work there for 6 more months. After that I will have to look for another uitzenbureau or don't work IFS for at least 6 months, before I return back to Content. I don't really care, it isn't as if I really, really enjoy flying. Not my cup of tea.
@ Les: I remeber that AZ incident. Thank God I was home. Worst thing that happened to me is really 2 things: A lady I was helping on a wheelchair on an Air Aruba flight to Newark EWR, died after the door was closed by a stroke. She told me she was feeling sick and I carried her to the airport doctor and he said she was fine. She was travelling with her husband They were in their 60's. 30 minutes later she was dead. I was really really upset, that my Supervisor sent me home. I couldn't believe it.
Other time it was a flight from Amsterdam AMS with destination Lima LIM. It makes a intermediate stop in Aruba AUA. In AUA the aircraft went TEC. An engine was damaged and a part needed to be flown in from AMS via Bonaire BON. So we cancelled the flight for 24 hours and put the LIM bound pax in a hotel. But before it reached so far we didn't exactly know what to tell the pax, because the Ground Ebgineer was still investigating the cause. So we were just delaying the flight until we heard if it was a 'go' or a cancellation. One Peruvian man got very upset by the lack of info and started yelling at me like a crazy person in Spanish. I tried to calm him down, but it was getting worst. He was upsetting the other pax, so at a certain point I lost my cool and told him to shut his mouth and sit down, before I call security. He still went ahaed and I told him if he doesn't stop, he will not be travelling with KLM anymore to LIM. He kept going at it, until security removed him and carried himto the police station. After av few hours he was released and carried to a hotel paid for by KLM for all the stranded pax. He died that night of a heart attack. Man I felt guilty! I thought it was my fault. I got over it.
Then there was the incident with a KLM Purser getting caught with 20 kilo's of cocaine, the downgrade of a 747-400 to MD11, leaving almost 200 pax stranded on AUA and the huge mistakes that were made, when we had 5 KLM aircraft on the ground at the same time in AUA. I'll tell you about that a next time. Back to work! Break over.
Yes i heard that story also, he also have or had AIDS or HIV weird stuff. Knowing that he was serving so much people meales onboard he could of infected lots of people i guess. ieuw....
Hey Ryan i am ready to book my ticket. How do i have to do this now`? do i have to just bring all the options to a travel agent??? or do i have to book it online on the airlines website???
I am planning to pay my ticket tomorrow.
Remy
You there???
remy
R$emy!
Sorry about that. I came home today and noticed I had no internet. No internet also means no phone, because I have internet telefonie. That damn UPC!
Anyway the best way to go about is to make a printo out of the itinerary you like and carry it to a travel agent and tell them you want it exactly that way. If they won't do it, move on! The only thing they may charge you extra is reserveringskosten. If you own a credit card, pay it yourself online or with internet bankieren and get your e-ticket delivered by email. That's the way i do it.
To get IATA fares go to http://www.supersaver.nl
It is one of only a few websites that actually give you IATA fares rather than Worldspan or Galileo. Play around with the dates. One day less or more can mean cheaper tickets. One tip.... if you choose to go via JFK or EWR, avoid Saturdays!!!! Hotels are double the prices on those days!!!!
Anything, holla! Succes!
Ry
Hey Ry
i bought the tickets
AMS-JFK DELTA AIRLINES
JFK-MIA DELTA AIRLINES OVERNIGHT
there was a flight leavind in the morning early, but i took the night flight from miami to aruba, cuzz then i have some time to walk around in Miami snap some pictures.
I GOT A HOTEL FOR 55 EUROS HOWARD JOHNSON PLAZA AIRPORT HOTEL ZOIETS.
THE NEXT DAY ITS
MIA-AUA AMERICAN AIRLINES
and on the way back to holland same story.
Tnx dude,
Remy
And if i'm not mistaken i get to save almost 9000miles with Delta as former skyteam member yikes!!! i would then have about 34.000 miles by then. If they don't steal any.
Good for you Remy! How much did you end up paying and with whom did you make the reservations?
As for the miles... that's indeed one of the reasons I fly with SkyTeam, when I pay for my tickets. I have something like 102.000 miles saved up.
Tip: Keep an eye on Web @wards by AF and KL on both websites. Like now you can fly to PBM with 25000 miles only, instead of 50000. Same goes for destinations to the USA, Canada and sometimes even Asia. You get a 50% discount.
Its hard to save miles with KLM, because when you buy the cheapest ticket (take-off fare), you only get 25% of the miles. Rip-off! I'm sorry, I work for the company, but this is sooooo cheap. Pity you don't get anything between MIA-AUA-MIA.
HJ is a good hotel. Not to fancy, but you are not in MIA for the hotel. Be sure to check out South Beach (SoBe), Ocean Drive and of course the Art Deco district. Miami is cool! Or maybe I should say hot! I'm heading there in October when I go on the cruise.
Cheers!
Yeah, but Ryan the reason you have a 102000 miles is also because for every Euro you spend on your KLM American Express, you get a mile. 'Cause lets face it... how often do you even pay for full-revenue tickets? And you are smart... when you travel for your job, instead of taking Dollars with you from the ATM at SPL, you pay for EVERYTHING with your AmEx.
That being said, you are very generous with giving away miles to friends and family.
Les
Okay, Mr. LP. Don't rub it in. I was checking out my travel itinerary from last year and it's quite disturbing how much I have been from home. It's amazing when you put it in perspective.
January: The Round The World Trip we did for the holidays. For 2007 this included Singapore.
February: AMS-KIX-AMS for KLM as a CA.
March: AMS-ARN-AMS for KLM as a CA. AMS-BON-UIO-GYE-BON-AMS for KLM as a CA.
April: Manila, Philippines for AFC. AMS-EWR-AMS for KLM as a CA. AMS-KPB-AMS for KLM as a CA. I will never forget this trip, because this was the time I had the most embaressing fall in the cabin during the safety demo.
May: Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina for AFC. AMS-DEL-AMS for KLM as a CA.
June: AMS-LHR-PVG. When I arrived in LHR they informed me that PVG was no longer going ahead, so I returned to RTM. This was supposed to be for AFC. AMS-CDG-DXB-LHR-AMS for AFC. AMS-YYZ-AMS for KLM as a CA.
July: Curaçao with my cousin Jenny as IPB-ers. Aruba for my aunts funeral. Paris... it was the end of AFC.
August: AMS-HYD-AMS for KLM as a CA. I was there with that crazy Miep who was just annoying the hell out of me. AMS-LHR-AMS-VCE-AMS-EDI-AMS-LIS-AMS for KLM as a CA. AMS-BON-AMS for KLM as a CA. AMS-CTU-AMS for KLM as a CA. Chengdu was nasty! Those people eat cats and dogs. Yuck! AMS-BON-AMS as a KLM CA.
September: Nothing, I was training for the new job.
October: Beijing for AF-KL Management Outstations.
November: AMS-LIM-AMS for KLM as a CA.
December: New York City and Aruba for Christmas.
And what about you lesley where all have you been, and robin???
I don't keep tabs on my travel like Ryan does, but out of the top of my head:
The RTW in January that Ryan mentioned. more than 7 trips to London for my employer British Airways. 2 times to SXM for carnival and for X-Mas. Chicago and Los Angeles for vacation. São Paulo with my gf using Ryan's FB miles, once to Barcelona, once to Madrid and oh yeah.... once to Antalya. That's what I remember.
Les
Dit klinkt allemaal interessant. Een vraag? Ik heb in de krant gelezen dat een aantal uitzendbureau's Service Agents zoeken voor afhandelaren en luchtvaartmaatschappijen. Als ik via een uitzendbureau werk, krijg ik dan ook IPB rechten?
@ Remy: Jij werkt bij Menzies via een bureau... krijg je ook goedkope vliegtickets met de maatschappij die jullie afhandelen?
Gerard
Nee, wij krijgen helemaal niks. Ik heb wel gehoord alleen bij Suriname Airways krijgen wij misschien wat korting op een ticket ofzo. Maar ja SLM vliegt ook alleen naar PBM nergens anders.
Remy
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