Thanks Air France
by JFC AdminIt’s usually when things go wrong you realise how bad an airline really is, but a cancellation of a recent Air France flight really raised my opinion of the airline. I had a tight connection and was worried I’d miss the flight from Charles de Gaulle but upon arriving at the airport I discovered the flight was cancelled. So I headed straight to the lounge where they gave me boarding passes to the next flight and because they were unable to provide me an aisle seat in economy I was given an upgrade too.
I was only slightly annoyed about the delay because the next flight was only three hours away so I had time to relax in the lounge. The lounge had a massage service which made things more relaxing and after that there was time for a few beers. I was happy with the hassle free means they rebooked me and provided me with a better seat without me needing to make a fuss.
When I returned home I sent a message to the customer services complementing the performance of the staff and their ability to have removed any potential hassle from this cancellation. I was surprised when I got a reply saying that I was also entitled to compensation under EU guidelines due to the cancellation being the fault of Air France. The EU compensation is greater than the cost of the ticket.
So was I lucky or do Air France provide this level of service as a matter of course. I didn’t consider the delay I experienced long enough to warrant such compensation, I was quietly hoping for a few thousand miles although I never asked for them in my letter, but I’m not going to say no to money when they offer it to me. You hear stories of airlines usually dodging their obligations for much worse cancellations and delays so perhaps I just got lucky?