Lufthansa Reviews

Pre-event. On Monday 4th of August, 08 I called the Miles and more phone program and explained that I am travelling with my Mother, Father and daughter. My mother and I are in business class. My father and daughter were in economy class. So I called to upgrade my father and daughter to business class with both my miles and e-vouchers. I was told that there was only one seat available in business class and it is not allowed to leave my daughter alone in economy class. But I can check when I go to the airport for vacancies.

The first event. On Tuesday, 5th of August, 08: At the airport my mother (wearing a scarf like a Muslim) and father( dark skinned both seniors 59 & 70 years old respectively) approached the counters where Mrs. Tina (or Tania) was shouting at them because they were waiting for me as I was parking the car.

When I came to the seen I was told that they will check for vacancies in the Business class to accommodate my father and daughter. Five minutes later I was told there were no vacancies at the time, but when we go up to the plane we would be called upon if there were. I believed this and went along. Of course I found out at the first search station that my father, daughter and I were picked randomly for a special search! I guess that is fine as it was random? A senior and an 11 year old! I was told by the search people with their amazement that this is done by the airlines as random! Obviously random by Tina the shouting lady!

The time I wasted dealing with this when I should have been working. The stress and 4 days with no sleep caused by the stress of this. I had to cancel my WaMu debit card. Due to an unauthorized charge on my bank account back in May in New Hampshire, I had to close that down. I had NO money to get gas, food, nothing! I take BART into work and couldn't even pay for that! I told them this and they didn't care..same half hearted apology! I will need to ask how random is this random and what is the process to pick, is it just by religion, color or what? How is this process done by Lufthansa? Or is it just left to Mrs. T.'s mood and choice of whom she likes or dislikes?

Until then I didn't suspect any thing. We went on to the plane I found out from the crew that the business class (~80 seats) had only 45 seats booked and the rest were vacant. I then raised the question why would Lufthansa do this! I was then sent to the Tina (or Tania) person again and she started shouting at me, as if I were a student in primary school that I should have asked for this upgrade before coming to the airport. I then told her that I had done that but I was told to come to the airport and try again and there are 35 seats available I don't see why not I can not upgrade my father and daughter. She continues shouting and now changed the reasoning due to the non availability of service and that she only had 45 meals for 45 seats. Turning out to be a lie as there were more meals than that on the plane.

The second event When I went back on the plane the chief Stewardess as she identified her self told me the station chief is on the plane and I can tell him the situation. The man listened to me and promised he would look into it and try and solve it. The plane had to take off, the chief stewardess (never identified her name to me) told me that he said that he would send a fax to the captain. My father and daughter sat in the economy class. And then after the meals were eaten about two or three hours from the plane take off my daughter came and said she missed me and wanted to sit on the chair beside me for a little while to talk and she would go back. I then told her that it is not right to do so and the crew would not like this so she needs to go back.

She then said " Dady please let me speak to the stewardess and ask her if I can sit here for a while" I told her ok but if she said no, you will go back and she agreed. My daughter sat on the seat for about 5/10 minutes till the chief stewardess passed by and called on her and said excuse me mam. I then stood up and tried to ask the chief stewardess on the fax, but was I for a surprise. She shouted at me and yelled " NOT NOT NOT" and I told her what is it all u need to say "softly please as she is a child" is NO she can not and give me a minute and she will go back to her seat and no one is hurt. She then yelled again that "NO, RIGHT NOW NO MINUTES AND SHE REACHED DOWN TO GRAP MY CHILD AND PULL HER OUT OF THE CHAIR".

I then told her she will not touch my child. And I asked my child to leave to the back (crying she was). She then said that she will call the captain of the plane and I told her I think that is a good idea to see how she is treating me and the child. She then shouted at me "LUFTHANSA DOES NOT WANT PEOPLE LIKE YOU ON BOARD OUR PLANES AND U BETTER TAKE ANOTHER AIRLINE IF YOU WANT TO FLY". I then asked her if she was finished and she said YES and went off.

After a couple of hours, I asked a crew member if she can ask the captain if I can speak to him for 5 minutes. In a couple of minutes a man whom identified himself as a member of the crew management team asked me to tell him what I want because for security reasons I can not meet with the captain. I then reported to him what happened and asked him to have this in a written complaint. And he said he knew the chief stewardess for a long time and she is nice! I can only say that all this was not expected from Lufthansa and I will do as she said and find another airline as per the instruction of a senior person from Lufthansa. I am also asking for an investigation from Lufthansa on these circumstances and shameful events.

I called Lufthansa customer service in Boston and talked to Fawni Duplessis, the supervisor informing him of the situation. He than called Sarajevo airport and talked to the officials. They informed him of a new rule, in which it was stated that all underage children traveling alone needed an authorization letter stamped by US embassy. The unaccompanied minor form signed by me was not enough any longer. Mr. Duplessis informed me that it was not their fault, advised me to provide such letter and fax it to Sarajevo airport. He provided me with the fax number. I told Mr. Duplessis that no one had informed me of the rule on the departure, on June 25, 2008, when I released my son to Lufthansa personnel. Mr. Duplessis stated that no one knew about the new rule until he called Sarajevo.

Such mistake can not be tolerated. I was devastated, not to mention how frighten my son was when he was told that he could not be released to his uncle. If LH sends its aircrafts to Bosnia, they need to be aware of all changes and new rules, policies and procedures, so they can inform their customers. I would not have been so frustrated if it was about me, if I got stuck because of someones miscommunications, misunderstanding or, work neglect, but my son did not have to go through such stress. I travel very often to Bosnia. I used many other airlines, but decided to use LH, as I really trusted its service.

My son and I experienced a huge psychological stress and anxiety.

Everything started on Tuesday 3rd June. At 7 o clock in the morning I went to Newcastle airport really glad about going back to Greece after a long and difficult period of time in U.K (university examinations). I was ready to make my check in as usual but unfortunately they informed me that the flight LH4951 from Newcastle to Dsseldorf was cancelled without explaining the reason.

I was really annoyed, surprised and anxious so I went directly to the Lufthansa office to find out what happened. However, nobody told me anything and they even refused to help me find another ticket to Greece. I explained to them that I have a serious health problem (diabetes) but they didnt seem to be helpful at all. Fortunately I made a phone call to my travel agent and he managed to speak with them to find another flight. A really exhausting and difficult journey has just begun for me.

I stayed in the Newcastle airport for over 7hours waiting patiently for the next flight LH4953 to Dsseldorf. Finally after trying to match my name with the ticket (another problem I had to face) I finally left NCL airport at 17:25 and arrived in DUS airport at 19:50.

My next flight from Dsseldorf to Munich was delayed for about half an hour and so I had to stay there overnight abroad because there wasnt any other flight for Greece after that time. I went to the Lufthansa office in Dsseldorf to let them know about my problem and asking for any kind of accommodation in Munich. But, they refused to help me out saying that it wasnt a serious problem and taking no responsibility for the existing situation. As a result, I left Dsseldorf airport at 21:20 and arrived in Munich airport at 22:30 after a delay of half an hour.

I didnt want to stay overnight in the airport so I made another effort to communicate with the employees in the Lufthansa office and ask for assistance but with no respect. Thus, I decided to stay alone inside the terminal without any food or water because all the stores were closed at that time. It was the first time in my life I was alone in an airport with nobody to help me in case I needed something. Of course, I couldnt sleep at all and because I was really exhausted from the long journey, I had a serious headache and stomach pain leading to nausea and vomiting. Unfortunately, I couldnt find any medication which made my situation even worse.

After a really bad night I ended this trip by traveling from Munich to Thessaloniki with Aegean airlines, which in comparison to Lufthansa offered really nice services. I was completely exhausted, unable to do anything, wishing to return home as soon as possible. Finally, I left Munich airport at 10:20 and arrived in Thessaloniki airport at 13:35.

I have traveled so many times in my life in so many countries but this happened to me for the first time. I finally arrived in Greece after a 30 hour trip and was glad to be safe and sound, but it took me over 2 days to get over this. I will never again make a choice of this route (Newcastle-Dsseldorf- Munich- Thessaloniki) and especially this company (Lufthansa). The least that you can do to compensate for the pain and headache is to reimburse me in full for all the problems that you caused. Otherwise, legal action will be taken. Thank you for your cooperation,

I checked with Air Canada counter in Frankfurt airport for available seats and they confirmed that there are some seats available for me to go to Toronto but Lufthansa manager refused to send me by Air Canada which was the next flight to Toronto 3 hours after my own flight with Lufthansa. Instead she gave me 2 tickets one from Frankfurt to Chicago in U.S and the other one from Chicago to Toronto. At that time I advised her that the time between these connecting flights is too short and due to some delays, custom and immigration policies in U.S, I might miss the connecting flight to Toronto but she said that it is O.K.

Any way I flew to Chicago and as I predicted, I lost the connecting flight to Toronto. In Chicago airport I went to Lufthansa counter and explained my problem and asked them to provide me with accommodation but they said we cannot do anything for you. Therefore, I took my heavy luggage with me and went to a hotel as I was really exhausted and frustrated with this experience. Lufthansa created a lot of problems for me first of all my entire flight took me 24 hours longer than it was supposed to take and I got to Toronto one day later , secondly I spent a lot of money (as listed below) thirdly my wife took a day off from her work to come and pick me up in Toronto airport but my flight changed to midnight and she went to the Toronto airport at midnight to pick me up and because I missed the connecting flight I couldn`t make it and she left and the other day I had to take a cab to go home in Toronto too!

I expect Lufthansa to compensate for my expenses as listed below and all created by Lufthansa`s mess and awful customer service. 1) one night stay in Hotel in Chicago 189.70 USD 2) Taxi from Chicago air port to Hotel and return 60 + 60 = 120 USD 3) Telephone fee: I had to call my wife and let her know of the flight change which cost me 20 $ 4) meal: breakfast and dinner 17.77 + 17. 86 = 35.63 $ 5) Damage to my two luggage 400 $ 6) Taxi fee in Toronto (as I explained above) cost me 42 $ In total I spent 807.33 $. I would like you to follow up my complaint and reimburse this amount to me and also follow up why such a problem happened to me. By the way, I was in Frankfurt airport for my departure to Toronto on Time.

When I arrived in London, I waited at the baggage carrousel for my bag but I never came out. I immediately went to the Baggage Solutions counter and filed a property irregularity report.

I was told by the attendant that my bag had been left off the plane but would be placed on the next possible flight. I explained to him that was only going to be in London overnight and was returning to the USA the following day, and so not to try to deliver the bag to the London hotel unless it could arrive that same day.

When I checked into my hotel in London several hours later, I called the Lufthansa baggage call center to check on the status of my bag. I was then told that I had not been placed on the next flight (as promised) but they would try to get it onto another flight. I reiterated that the bag should not be sent to the London hotel unless it could get there that night.

The following morning, Saturday, November 17, after not receiving the bag or a call from Lufthansa, I contacted the call center again. I was told the bag had still not been sent from Munich but would be forwarded to the USA address I had provided. By this time, I had been compelled to spend 83 GBP on a change of clothes in London so that I would not have to wear the same items overnight and for a transatlantic flight to the USA.

After returning to the USA, I called the American call center on Sunday, November 18th for an update on my bag. I was then told that Lufthansa had attempted to deliver my luggage to my London hotel after I had departed, despite my having told them specifically not to do so.

Since that time, I have contacted the US and European call centers approximately every 12 hours to get some update on the location of my bag or when I could expect to receive it. Each time, I have told that they have no new information and no estimate of when I will ever receive my bag.

To add insult to injury, several of the agents have actually gotten angry and raised their voices to me for wanting some estimate of the location or delivery date for my bags. As I am the customer and I have sustained the loss, this type of behavior is unprofessional and unacceptable.

My bag contained leather dress shoes necessary for my professional work, along with shirts, pants, belts, sweaters, toiletries and a coat that I would estimate at a value of over $3000 to replace. While I simply want my personal items back, not compensation, at some point I must replace these articles as they are essential requirement for my job and personal life. The fact that no one at Lufthansa knows or even seems to care about getting my bag to me is appalling to me as a paying customer. Whatever the ultimate outcome of missing bag, I expect Lufthansa to apologize and offer some gesture of compensation for such terrible customer service.

After a long and tiring walk in the airport security checks etc. we realized that the check in coupon we hold is an economy one with seats 31C & 29F. My wife furious was looking for a Lufthansa customer service desk to complain. I was trying to calm her down believing that the girl at check in made a mistake. Finally we reached a Lufthansa desk where they told us that the flight is over booked so no seats at business class. I ask why the girl at the counter didnt give us the choice from there so to decide what to do, but he answered why dont you go and ask her?.

Finally we reached our gate we went immediately to the attendants to give us an explanation but they told us to refund us the difference back. To a First/Business class customer this is a stupid proposal, so I was trying to find a way to get the seats I paid for.

They insist again that we have to fly economy. I went to discuss the matter with my wife and when we decided finally to fly due to events we had to attend tonight they told us that they gave away our economy seats as well. At the counter I spoke with Miss Uebarricke and Mr. Frank Schwab (Flight Manager) who was very cynical and handled the situation totally unprofessionally.

It took us another 3 hours to get our luggage back and come to the hotel.

I was standing in a line with 5-6 people who were also on the flight, who were looking for their luggage and who also had these belts on their luggage at the Luftansa lost luggage counter.

When we arrived in our hotel in Rome, I went to refresh myself only to find my toiletries were missing and the frame of my suitcase was bent. The missing items were: 2 biore cleansers and wet wipes, tube of retin A, avon deodorant, viadent toothpaste, satin cap, 4 packs of trident gum, and beeswax hairgel. I can't believe this happened to me. I couldn't take my liquid toiletries with me on the plane and knew I better check them in.

Of course while in Rome, I couldn't find my Biore cosmetics for replacement and had to substitute. I told my husband as well as family and friends not to use Luftansa airlines, because they are not trustworthy. I've emailed executives with the Airlines, with no response. I am grateful no real damage was done and with years of suffering with acne, I didn't have a major breakout without my cleansers.

i found my luggage so wet from leaving it on the tarmac in the rain, and my camera and tools for my textile art work were missing and they dont want to respond to my losses. they have horrible customer service

For our return flight, on August 24th, 2006, we flew from Paris to Frankfurt on flight 4215, and then from Frankfurt to Denver on flight 446. I'll start with the worst incident: On the flight from Frankfurt to Denver, my daughter started to choke on a piece of candy while nearly everyone else was sleeping. She could not breathe and was beginning to turn blue. I frantically called out for the flight attendants -- for anyone, really -- to help us. I cried out I need someone to do a Heimlich! A Heimlich! Did any flight attendant appear? Not a single one. NOT ONE.

One kind passenger awoke from his sleep and helped us. After the candy came out of her throat, she vomited all over our seats and the floor next to the right of us. After about 5 minutes, once I'd calmed my daughter down, a female flight attendant came by with some wet towels and asked ME to clean up the floor. Not a word to me about whether my child was alright, if we needed anything -- nothing at all. It was appalling, to say the least.

I have never been so frightened in my entire life, and had it not been for the man who helped us, I don't know what would have happened. And so we spent the rest of the 10-hour flight in vomit-covered seats. I did mention, to a flight attendant on our way out of the plane in Denver, that these seats should be cleaned prior to anyone else having to sit in them. He took a mental note, gave me a lovely smile, and wrote nothing down.

There were several more instances -- horrible food (for me and my child); a broken seat from Denver to Frankfurt) and a stroller that was never returned to us at the Frankfurt airport so that we could use it in the airport. And when we eventually did receive it in Denver, it was completely broken. I wrote a long letter to Lufthansa outlining everything that had happened.

One month later I received a response from the Customer Relations person, Della M., stating that they would pay for the stroller ($100) and that the company would send as a gift of goodwill. Guess what the gift of goodwill was? They had the GALL to send us a gift basket to apologize that their in-flight service did not meet our expectations. A gift basket? Are they kidding? A lovely assortment of jellies and jams make up for the fact that my daughter almost choked to death on a plane where flight attendants are supposed to be on duty and ready to do first aid if necessary?

It should be noted that Lufthansa representatives were still nowhere to be found throughout this time. When I eventually managed to speak to the lost luggage company (Tourist Holdings) I was advised that my luggage had been routed via Vienna and would be arriving in Sofia at 11pm later that evening (06.09.05). The representative then stated that my luggage would be sent on by car to my booked accommodation in Sozopol, and would arrive by no later than 10pm the following day – why the need for a 24 hour delay between the luggage arriving in Sofia to it making its final journey to my hotel was not explained.

Is this the gold standard in customer service set and aspired to by Lufthansa?

As expected, 10pm on 07.09.05 came and went and all attempts to contact the Tourist Holdings office in Sofia failed. My luggage eventually arrived in Sozopol at 3.15am on 08.09.05! On speaking to the driver I was informed that he alone had delivered all the lost and missing Lufthansa luggage and had that day been ‘driving all over Bulgaria’ delivering bags!! As a result of this extraordinarily shambolic series of events I rang an acquaintance of mine who is employed by Lufthansa to get his views, and who shockingly advised me that this often happens when a flight has reached its payload capacity, particularly affecting passengers like myself who are connecting on later flights, and whose baggage never even makes it onto the aircraft in question.

This unwritten policy is a disgrace and deliberately misleads and affects passengers who are kept in the dark throughout.

When we got to Istanbul, Turkey the carry-on was missing. We went to lost luggage counter at the airport and corresponded with the Lufthansa agent. They opened a file and told us to call them back again that night of July 28, 2005. So we called back many many times and got the same answer. We are still trying to find the carry-on. We explained to them what was inside and that they are responsible for losing our carry-on. We faxed in a paper from my hotel telling them in detail what was missing. The answer we got each time was, we are looking for it and it takes up to 2 weeks sometimes. I also asked that if the carry on was not found, what would they do about. I told them that one of their agents took my carry-on from my hands and that they are responsible for everything inside the carry-on. They told me that Lufthansa will be responsible for all the items inside the carry-on.

When we got back to USA on August 11th, we came back without our carry-on, still no where to be found. We got a phone number at Dulles International Airport at the Lufthansa ticket-counter, because they don't have an office for lost luggages there. My wife called the 1-800 number more than few occasions and she got the run around. They were rude and hot helpful. Luckily, she got hold of a nice person that was willing to help. She made us write a letter and fax it to their headquarters.

We are still waiting to hear something from Lufthansa. It has been almost a month since they have lost our carry-on. We did not have a camcorder to record a wedding we attended. We did not have camera take pictures of the historic places we visited. My wife had to purchase new make-up. Lufthansa did not even give us any money to get make-up, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush and on and on. We spent money out of our own pocket to get those items. To date we are still waiting to get some kind of resolution on this matter. Please help.

In the letter we sent to Lufthansa, we estimated to have close to $10,000.00 in the carry-on. The following list is what made up most of that amount. Camera Camcorder Jewelry Sunglasses Make-up Electrical Razor Reading-Glasses Medicine Contact-Lenses