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This is the letter of complaint I wrote to the Brussels Office of Gulf Air (one week ago, still no answer...
"First I would like to tell you that overall I was very pleased with my flights with Gulf Air, on the leg CDG- Abu Dhabi I even had a whole row of 3 seats for myself so I could get some sleep....
There has been unfortunately a rather serious "incident" at CDG on my return..... and I was not too happy with their lack of help....
Let me explain:
The leg BKK- Bahrein was uneventful, and we arrived at Bahrein on time with a stopover of about 4 hours.
Soon after arrival I noticed that the flight would be delayed by 1 hour, which left me with a problem at CDG because I had to take a Thalys train to get to Brussels.
So I went to the information desk (only to find out that the delay would be probably even 2 hours or more) and they proposed spontaneously to reroute me to Frankfurt (with an upgrade to business, very nice of them!) and from there on to CDG.
I was very impressed with the way the airport manager for Gulf Air (a woman!) handled this stressful situation.
I was only too happy to accept this proposal and they also took note of all relevant data of my train ticket, promising that there would be somebody waiting for me at CDG to accompany me to the Thalys desk to sort out my train ticket.
Reassured I left for Frankfurt and then on to CDG.
Unfortunately, upon arrival at CDG there was no-one from Gulf Air to be seen....
I went to the Gulf Air desk and I was treated very, very rudely....
Let me quote: " Ecoutez, je n'ai que 2 personnes en plus ici et vous pensez quand-même pas que je vais les envoyer au terminal pour vous acceuillir; en plus, le fait que vous avez raté votre train n'est vraiment pas notre problème, on en est pas responsable. Je peux juste vous faire un petit papier de "retard de l'avion", mais pour le reste, ce n'est pas notre problème, débrouillez-vous".
At that moment I had been travelling for about 24h, I was very tired and then I was left standing there (all alone with all my bags) with absolutely no help whatsoever....
Fortunately I was able to exchange my ticket for a new one (but it took some firm convincing from my side), but due to the lack of help and the waste of time of me going from one part of the terminal to another (to find the Gulf Airways desk!) and then on to the Thalys desk, I missed my 10h43 train by a couple of minutes which ment waiting for another 2 hours at CDG...
I am really sorry that this overall pleasant flying experience has ended on such a bitter and rude note... is there perhaps a way of compensating me for the rude treatment I got at CDG, for the money I had to spend (to eat and drink something) and for the loss of time I endured due to the lack of help from the Gulf Air staff at CDG?
Respectfully,
Erna Janssens"
Do you think they are responsable for me missing my Thalys, and if so, should they compensate me for it?
Thanks for your undoubtedly wise comments on this matter....
Airlines are awfull to deal with these kind of problems... Once i had booked a flight from GVA to LCY with BRITISH AIRWAYS, then just before take off, the plane went back , due to an engine problem... then they put us in a flight to LHR, saying that they will bring us to LCY later free with a bus... THen when we arrived in heathrow, no one to help us, they treated us like shit. There was even a diabetic man, who was taking the plane for the 1st time in his life.. He was not talking english, so i helped him, bcause nobody else of BA was giving a shit... finally we had to wait again for hours, and i finally took the tube fed up... BA never compensate anyone...
But I hope you'll have something, but sorry, i reaaly don't think so...
Well, if the ticket was sold together then ofcourse they are responsible. But if you bought the ticket yourself they are not responsible in any way. But who knows, maybe you will get some compensation. But I don't think they have to pay you anything. Good luck! Keep us updated!
But I find it always very risky to buy your ticket separatly!
So ok they have a moral obligation to compensate you since they seemed to have mislead you but practically no unfortunately they shouldn't since they only had a duty towards you untill CDG!
The problem for Belgian passengers who fly Gulf Air from CDG is that sometimes a train ticket is sold together with the air ticket. But the travel agent doesn't inform the passenger that the travel times of the Thalys are strict. So if you miss your reserved train (with reserved seat btw) , you have to pay a new ticket at full cost.
The problem is not the passenger - who makes wrong assumptions, or Gulf Air. Or Thalys. It is the travel agent who should instruct the passenger.
Check out the website of the french railways and you will be convinced that there is a real price difference depending if the ticket is flexable or not.
But again, don't blame Gulf Air. It is indeed not Gulf Air its responsability how a passenger arrived at CDG.
Would a passenger dare to claim something if she had come by car and was stuck in a traffic jam? Or would she claim something if her car had broken down?
That is travel, and after all, where is the complaint about, you arrived home without paying extra, and having flown in business class? And the rather rude behaviour at CDG? How did you adress the personell there?
I was polite and I spoke with 2 words (Excuse me sir, can you help me? – is that polite enough for you?), but I still was treated as shit (because I am a woman and did not fly business class?)…
And correct me if I am wrong, but is an airline not supposed to bring me to my destination on time?
And before being accused of being a cheap backpacker, I had a first class Thalys ticket, so finally they changed the ticket without an extra cost….. but beware, you need to produce the outward ticket before they will help you…
My point is this: due to the fact that nobody wanted to help me (despite the fact that I was promised otherwise in Bahrein) I missed a Thalys by minutes which meant waiting for another 2 hours at the rather desolate CDG airport…
I may have been a bit harsh on you. So thank you for the detailed information. Lucky you had a first class ticket on the Thalys or you could buy another ticket.
No, there is no excuse for the personnel at CDG to be unpolite. Allow me to put it differently: I would have been very surprised if somebody wrote a nice letter to Gulf Air to say that the personnel was helpful and polite. What else do we expect at CDG? I even think it has less to do with Gulf Air - despite it was their personnel - than the general athmosphere in the Dome of Terminal 1. Meaning: if it was another airline, you would have been dealt with in a similar way. I just read a report on skytrax.com with Air France. An elderly couple from Scotland was mistreated terribly at CDG during transfer to another plane. It was Air France. But more significantly: it was CDG.
I flew Gulf Air and was quite satisfied about it. Except of the train connection at CDG (from Term 2 to Term 1) it was okay.
But yes, you had the right to complain about rude behaviour of the CDG staff of Gulf Air.
Let us make a deal: follow this up and send us the result or the lack of result on a weekly basis. It is this terrier attitude that hurts the most .
Tip: have you enroled for the frequent flyer programm of GF? You can arrange everything on the website. In case you have not done it yet, I hope you still have the boarding cards.
And please, don't write off Gulf Air just for 1 stupid remark of a underpaid lousy airport staff member.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Erna. My two comments:
- Thalys tickets are usually very easy to exchange. Next time, don't even bother to go to an airline desk (unless your Thalys ticket is part of your itinerary, e.g. codeshared with Air France), go directly to the Thalys desk. They will normally change it without problems.
- I hope you had a nice flight in business class with Gulf Air. Maybe they will consider it is a sufficient compensation for your hassles.
Sorry to disagree André, but last year I had a (cheap, about 80 euro) 2nd class ticket BXL-CDG-BXL and because my plane was early (yes, that happens too, in this case Malaysian Airways!) I tried to take an earlier Thalys....
At the ticketing desk they referred me to the "chef de train" who refused to take me, although his train was almost empty.... so I had to buy a new ticket at 78 euro, one way, 2nd class....
I take regularly the Thalys (in first class at company expense) to Paris Nord. If I always know when I leave Brussels, I rarely come back with the train I'm booked on. At Paris Nord, Thalys has installed a special ticket counter only for changes, and they exchange your ticket, no questions asked. Unless the next train is fully booked, and then you van try your luck on standby....
So Erna, try again. Or buy a first class ticket. Risky, I know.
Anyway, you are back now already some days. Time to think about your next trip...with Gulf Air. And do enrole for the frequent flyer programm.
