Not getting a seat on a long haul flight after buying tickets THREE months previously

rhidd

Dear Money-Savers,

Please help!! I wonder if you can help me approach the best way to complain and potentially be compensated for a situation I encountered in July this year. I have attempted to complain via the KLM website but conveniently the complaints page has a bug on it that doesn't allow you to choose your departure and arrival airport, and therefore the complaint will not process.

It was during a flight between Cardiff and Cape Town (with a stop-off in Amsterdam) with KLM airways that the incident happened.

I was flying to South Africa with a broken hip to undertake some interviews in Cape Town, where I am relocating over the next couple of months. Due to the nature of my injury and the fact that I was on crutches, my parents also booked tickets on the same flight to assist me. After checking in myself at Cardiff airport, my parents (who were behind me in the queue) were told that a seat on the flight between Amsterdam and Cape Town was not guaranteed as KLM had oversold the flight. Our whole first flight therefore was completely ruined by the stress of uncertainty whether they would be able to board their second flight that they had booked three months previously.

Once arriving at Amsterdam and proceeding to the relevant gate, we were once again told briskly and with no sympathy that the flight was full and my parents were forcefully instructed to sit down and wait. I was incredibly worried and upset, and the KLM staff responded by telling us that to oversell and subsequently lose your seat on a long haul flight was “normal practise”. My parents did (at the last minute) get given a seat on the plane. However, to learn that this situation was commonplace when using KLM was very disappointing, but what absolutely horrified myself and my parents were the way we were treated by the staff in the situation.

My father has flown with KLM frequently over the years for business and is a Flying Blue Member (the frequent flyer club) so you can imagine how this incident has tainted his view of KLM after so many years of being a loyal customer.
I have accepted a job offer in Cape Town and before this incident, myself and my family were looking forward to using KLM to fly frequently between South Africa and the UK.

Can this experience be compensated for? And if the KLM complaints website is broken (and that's the only way to complain) how on earth do I let them know about this experience?

Any help very very very much appreciated!

Rhi

rhidd

Centipede100 wrote: »

You were denied boarding on a long haul flight and as such are entitled to denied boarding compensation of 600 euros.

Hi Centipede, thank you so much for your reply. The thing is, my were not denied boarding in the final instance. My parents did indeed get on the plane eventually, but after a long wait of KLM saying they had overbooked and they had to wait to see if they could 'find' them a seat (ie- another passanger that didn't show up).

Does that make a difference?

Bob_the_Saver

OP, what exactly do you want compensation for?

rhidd

Bob_the_Saver wrote: »

OP, what exactly do you want compensation for?

Bad service, the stress of being told we were unlikely to get a seat on the plane, attitude of the airline staff..

Bob_the_Saver

rhidd wrote: »

Bad service, the stress of being told we were unlikely to get a seat on the plane, attitude of the airline staff..

Travelling can often be stressful but I can't see that you suffered any loss to be compensated for, if you feel the staff were rude put in a complaint (for what it's worth) but compensation.........NO
That's a bit like expecting compensation from us for saying you're not entitled to any compensation isn't it?

If compensation had to be paid every time someone thought staff had been a bit rude to them the high street would have to more or less close down.

WestonDave

Nothing stopping you putting in a complaint but for compensation you really need to have suffered a financial loss - you haven't and so the best you can hope for is a goodwill gesture regarding the poor service.

(Even in injury claims for compensation the amounts for pain etc are very small - the big money comes in loss of earnings or future care costs etc).

duchy

I'm not sure KLM will entertain a complaint from a third party -which is what it appears you are if you had a seat but your parents were told THEY may not -and anyway a complaint from one of their frequent flyers (eg regular customers rather than a once a year passenger) is likely to be viewed more sympathetically.

Were you and your parents on the same PNR or seperate ones ? If seperate were the PNRs linked ?
If you were travelling with a broken hip.. Did you need their assistance onboard for your care needs and had you advised KLM of this ? Had you obtained medical clearance from the airline to fly if needed? Wheelchair assistance was prebooked I assume with a broken hip.

Was it that the flight was overbooked and there were no *seats* or simply your parents didn't yet have seat numbers ? As a Flying Blue member if they hadn't prebooked specific seats-why not ?

I somehow don't think we're getting the full story here TBH

rhidd

duchy wrote: »

I'm not sure KLM will entertain a complaint from a third party -which is what it appears you are if you had a seat but your parents were told THEY may not -and anyway a complaint from one of their frequent flyers (eg regular customers rather than a once a year passenger) is likely to be viewed more sympathetically.

Were you and your parents on the same PNR or seperate ones ? If seperate were the PNRs linked ?
If you were travelling with a broken hip.. Did you need their assistance onboard for your care needs and had you advised KLM of this ? Had you obtained medical clearance from the airline to fly if needed? Wheelchair assistance was prebooked I assume with a broken hip.

Was it that the flight was overbooked and there were no *seats* or simply your parents didn't yet have seat numbers ? As a Flying Blue member if they hadn't prebooked specific seats-why not ?

I somehow don't think we're getting the full story here TBH

There's isn't any more to tell to the story..

Yes I agree it's best if my parents submit the claim as they are the ones who experienced the problem. However, they are elderly so I told them I would do the research to see if potential compensation would be an option for their bad experience. Although on exactly the same flights, we booked seperately.

I had obtained a medical certificate from my consultant to clear me to fly and had it on my person. I was at the stage where I was on crutches so a wheelchair not necessary as my parents were there to help me push luggage trolley etc.

They didn't check in online beforehand and instead opted to check in at the airport. When we got there they said the second connecting flight was fully booked, ie- every seat had already been reserved by those who had already checked in. My parents were not late checking in and had bought tickets for the flight 3 months previously.

Takecareofthepennies

By all means give KLM a piece of your mind, point out that you will in future be flying between SA and the UK frequently and let them know that they have ruled themselves out as a choice for you. Oh, and stick with it. There are better airlines than KLM anyway.

Whether you / your parents will get anything out of it, well I doubt it.

malkie76

They didn't check in online beforehand and instead opted to check in at the airport.

Thats were things went wrong. You should always check in online so the airline know you are definitely coming. All full service airlines oversell their seats, based on the probability of everyone turning up.

You don't have a complaint, but the airline might drop you some FF miles as a good will.

jpsartre

rhidd wrote: »

I was incredibly worried and upset, and the KLM staff responded by telling us that to oversell and subsequently lose your seat on a long haul flight was “normal practise”.

Which it is on pretty much every airline. No reason whatsoever to avoid KLM in particular because of it.