[nhaa2019]

Hi,

Re: 25 Hours to Get from Sarajevo to London and Other Horrible Experiences from Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa Group

I refer to my Austrian Airlines booking code QMMBS8 (ticket no 257-2149909289, 257-2149909290 & 257-2149909291) and Austrian Airlines feedback ref: 1906-OS-07080.

My husband, daughter and I were on holiday in Bosnia. Austrian Airlines flights OS758 & OS455 were supposed to take us to London on 18 June 2019 in time for us to celebrate our daughter’s 21st birthday there on 19 June 2019, which arrangement I had already made and paid to a nice hotel near Hyde Park and a bus tour with afternoon tea and birthday cake.

Austrian Airlines’ last-minute cancellation of flight OS758 has caused us to lose our stay at the nice £270 (€302)/day Hyde Park hotel, our daughter’s £196.20 (€219) birthday celebration on the tour bus and one day in London – the day of our daughter’s birthday. We had made preparations for this special day two months ahead and were incredibly upset when informed of the cancelled flight.

Instead of reaching London as per our original schedule at 6.40 pm on 18 June 2019, we were given a replacement ticket that would have brought us to London at 12.50 pm on 19 June 2019 – an 18 hours and 10 minutes delay. Or so we thought. Austrian Airlines made it worse with the delay of Sarajevo-Vienna flight OS760 which caused us to miss the connecting Vienna-Munich flight OS101. In the end, we reached London at 5.20 pm on 19 June 2019, which is 22 hours and 40 minutes late!

In total, it took 25 hours and 55 minutes for Austrian Airlines to take us from Sarajevo to London. This is not acceptable!

We were passengers whose flight was cancelled, replacement flight was delayed, frustrated with missing our daughter’s planned birthday celebration, tired and hungry from the long day and multiple transits. To add to the fatigue we were facing from the additional transit of the replacement ticket (Vienna-Munich-London instead of Vienna-London), the staffs of Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa Group also made our life even more miserable with their incomplete/wrong information and lack of empathy. Not one staff could even give us clear directions at Sarajevo, Vienna and Munich airports!

At Sarajevo airport, the staff who provided the replacement ticket told us to look for the Hollywood Hotel bus that would transport us to the paid accommodation. He assured us that it would come every 10 minutes but no such bus came after more than 30 minutes. We had to take a taxi at a cost of €30 to go to the hotel. Upon reaching the hotel, we discovered that the Hills Hotel bus also goes to the Hollywood Hotel. We had, in fact, spotted this bus at the airport and could have taken it instead to reach the hotel earlier if not for the incomplete information from the Austrian Airlines staff!

By the way, the Hollywood Hotel in Sarajevo cannot replace our Hyde Park hotel. There is nothing around Hollywood Hotel to see!

At Vienna airport, where we missed the connecting flight due to the delay of flight OS760, we had to queue through a long passport control and then scramble to find the Austrian Airlines office by ourselves to get a new boarding pass. There was no sign and direction from the Austrian Airlines staffs. In our attempt to find the office, many of the staff gave us vague directions which contradicted each other when it would have been simpler if one brought us there directly! This left us very frustrated, tired, hungry and angry – it was like entering the Amazing Race!

We finally found the Austrian Airlines office at Vienna airport, received our new boarding passes and also an €18 (€6 per person) meal voucher. This is hardly enough, as a pretzel and a drink for each of the three of us cost €21.50 in total, and we had to pay €3.50 from our pocket.

Tired and hungry upon reaching Munich airport at about 2 pm, we had to pay €42.70 from our pocket for a simple lunch. If we had already reached London by that time, we would be happy to buy our own lunch, but after a long day of cancelled and delayed flights and additional transits, Austrian Airlines’ lack of empathy in this matter has made us very angry!!!

The episode that made us most upset at Munich airport was the reply of a Lufthansa Group staff, who was manning the reception at the Lufthansa Business Class/Senator Lounge located next to the escalator leading to the passport control of Gate H. The time was about 2.30 – 3 pm on 19 June 2019. When we asked why we had to go through passport control when we were only on transit, this young man with black hair, moustache and small beard wasted our time by quizzing us about European politics with the EU and the UK. There was a smack of arrogance which we could see in his face and read in his tone. We had been to EU countries via direct flights but never been on transit in any EU country. Elsewhere in the world, no one had to go through passport control while on transit. If this staff represents the attitude in EU, we don’t want to do any business with EU. Tired and frustrated, we had no time for his nonsense, and our priority was to get to the gate!!! He should not have wasted our time as there were long queues at the passport control and we even had to run in order get to the boarding gate. His response was very unnecessary for passengers who are first time in transit in EU and at Munich airport. He should have helped us in a polite way!!!

I ask the following from Austrian Airlines:

(1) Austrian Airlines shall apologize for the inconvenience, poor customer service and loss of a day in London to my family and I further to the cancellation of flight OS758 on 18 June 2019 and delay of flight OS760 on 19 June 2019
(2) Austrian Airlines shall compensate me a total amount of €597.20 comprising €302 for my Hyde Park hotel payment for stay on 18 June 2019, €219 for my daughter’s birthday celebration on the London tour bus, €30 for the taxi from Sarajevo airport to Hollywood Hotel, €3.50 for the amount I had to top up to buy a pretzel and a drink for my family at Vienna airport, and €42.70 for my family’s lunch at Munich airport.
(3) Lufthansa Group as the parent company of Austrian Airlines shall give warning, discipline and educate the young man with black hair, moustache and small beard, who was manning the reception at the Lufthansa Business Class/Senator Lounge located next to the escalator leading to the passport control of Gate H around 2.30 – 3 pm on 19 June 2019.

I look forward for your response in this matter. As recommended by Trading Standards, I would like to keep a complete record of my case, so please reply back via this e-mail account.

Regards.

NHA Aziz
Austrian Airlines booking code QMMBS8
Austrian Airlines feedback ref: 1906-OS-07080.