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			Last update 17/10/2007
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Complaint

Date

12/10/2003

Complaint

entered by

dhs-Dudley

Part of TUI Germany

Returning from Faro recently on a Britannia flight to Birmingham our flight was delayed for approximate 1½ hours in Faro.

We finally boarded the plane and settled down in the isle seats on row 33 towards the end of the plane when the flight attendant approached us and asked us if we would swap our isle seats with another couple, who she said, were both suffering from circulatory disorders and who would prefer an isle seat to the seats by the window. She was quite persuasive and even offered us a free drink.

Being considerate to our fellow passengers we moved over, my wife taking the window seat and me squeezing into the middle seat of the three-seat configuration of the Boing 757-200 when the two needy passengers arrived. From what the flight attendant had told us we clearly expected an older, frail couple with walking difficulties and, therefore, I was clearly shocked when they turned out to be about half our age and quite burly and corpulent.

They both plunged themselves down in the seats previously occupied by us, never even said thank you and, immediately after take off, started to munch through a large bag of peanuts accompanied by a bottle of white wine, whilst I felt squashed and swatted in the middle seat.

The female passenger who sat next to me went to sleep after she had finished her bottle of wine and the bag of peanuts and I literally had to wake her up when my wife wanted to get out to visit the toilet.

By now I was rather angry with myself having been duped by the flight attendant to give up my seat for somebody who clearly was younger and fitter than me and my anger increased when I noticed later that two rows down the plane on the other side of the toiled block was a complete row of empty seats which could have been offered to these passengers or to us, instead of feeding us a sob story to make us feel sympathetic.

In the end, I swallowed my anger, I kept my calm and I told myself that I obviously was the mug who deserved this but that it clearly was not worth an argument with the flight attendant who persuaded us in the first instance to swap our seats. Why?

Would I do it again? I do not know and I suppose it would depend on the circumstances, but I know that I would make sure that the beneficiaries of my surrender actually do deserve my consideration.

And the ‘free’ drink we were promised by the flight attendant for our troubles – you guessed it.

Not even a cup of tea, coffee or orange juice. Zilch, Zero, Nothing?

We have sent a copy of the above to the Customer Service Department of Britannia asking them to comment but we do not think that we will get an answer

We were wrong; we did get a reply and it was the usual waffle you expect from tour operators and airlines, but it is still interesting to note the wording of these 'standard' letters.

They are absolutely meaningless and obviously nothing will be done about it but we will still print this letter just to show what you can expect when you complain. Perhaps if we all complain often enough they just might do something about it

Thank you for your letter concerning your recent flight with us-and for your patience awaiting our response.
Naturally I was concerned to learn of your disappointment with certain aspects of our service.
I fully appreciate that you consider your flight with us as an integral part of your holiday experience. We pride ourselves on the level of service we provide and the usual professionalism of our staff. I am truly sorry that you feel that this was not entirely evident during your recent contact with us.
Our training programs, for our staff both in the air and on the ground, place a large emphasis on service delivery and customer focus. This is a theme that we constantly seek to reiterate at every opportunity.
It is disappointing to learn that you found the attitude and service provided by certain of our crewmembers below the levels that we would both expect. Your comments have been passed to the appropriate regional cabin crew manager to follow up with the individual.
Furthermore, it is important to understand how our passengers feel about the customer care and service being offered. Therefore your comments and observations are very important and we are truly sorry that you feel so let down on this occasion with regard to the misleading information offered to you.
On behalf of all of us at Britannia Airways, I would like to thank you once again for taking the time to bring these matters to our attention and again from all of us offer our sincere apologies. Your comments are well noted.
I do hope that, despite your present sentiments, we have an early opportunity to show you how much better we can do.

The above speaks for itself and needs no further comments

Complaint Status: closed	Overall Efficiency:	Disappointing
	Respond Time :	Average
	Final Outcome :	Exactly what we expected

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