My mother, Gertrud Röhner, booking code 2NXZTQ and myself, Gisela Leroy, booking codeZCGYI5 were on flight LH4537 from Lisbonne to Frankfurt/Main on 24th June 2008. I think that not ONLY complaints should be made but outstanding behaviour and help should also be mentioned. Unfortunately, I could not find anything, where to send this to on the Lufthansa Internet site. Service on this flight was excellent, may be due to the fact that the plane was not very much occupied but nevertheless, the crew was more friendly and helpful to my mother who has difficulties walking than what we normally are used to (I have to mention that we fly this route frequently). Extra thanks should be extended to Messrs. Jens Heerlein and Nirupan Maheswaran who helped my mother on our arrival (she does need a wheelchair) to an unexpected extend. Just a pity that this cannot be forwarded directly to Lufthansa because they should award outstanding behaviour.

Thank you for helping to bring this matter to the relevant place.

Gisela Leroy

I want to share my worst flight experience ever with you.for more then 10 years I travel world because of my job .On 19 th december we take your 13.55 pm flight by Lufthansa from Istanbul to Frankfurt’then connecting flight to New York at 17.00 pm. From beginning I was concerned about 1 hour transfer time (the flight schedule was arranged by local Lufthansa office)so I talked at least 2-3 times with local Lufthansa people about this but they were so convincing that there won`t be any problems.First shock was by learning on 19 th while waiting in istanbul that flight will be delayed for 40 min.Lufthansa flight was the only delayed flight on schedule table since morning. I called Lufthansa office in Turkey there was about half an hour to boarding time, they were not aware of any delay with the flight! Then we rushed to lounge to talk but nobody Lufthansa was there. Then boarding time announced Lufthansa attendants ll tell same story; we`ll compensate loss on air, Lufthansa people will help when we`ll arrive, if necessary plane to plane transport will be made to reach us etc. We departure with more then 1 hour delay. Arrival time was announced as 16.50 but still I was hopeful that Lufthansa will transfer us or find a solution which we were continuously advised by your staff. Just before landing they begin to announce door numbers etc. but despite fact that there were more than 25-30 people to New York nothing announced. After landing only Amsterdam passengers were transferred to their plane directly. I had great difficulty in understanding why while they can wait us in Istanbul for more then 1 hour as we came on time why we`re not transferred to plane and wait plane for half an hour latest, but I found answer next morning before our flight,we were being offered extra 600-700 euros to wait for next plane because there were 4 people overbooked, so it was not logical to wait plane while they were people on wait list ready to pay 3-4 times of our fees and to keep people by paying only 100 euros per night who cares, sweet money! We were shocked and depressed and furious,when we get on bus we quickly learned we were not alone there were many others effected.we get off bus and was at least waiting some ground people to take care (there are at least 25-30 people effected in different flights) but no one was there and we were left to own destiny. Then we go to ticketing desk by asking people. at least we were waiting some understanding and good treatment to ease our pain. But Lufthansa people were acting like this was very normal and as we made a mistake and being punished for that.there was no flight till next morning 10.00 am and big shock came as we don`t have German visa(normally you don`t need for flying to US) we had to spend 16 hours at airport!!! We were granted 35 euro per person with great generosity!!! I asked at least to ease our pain can`t they let us to use Lufthansa lounge answer was no. I can`t explain how terrible to spend 16 long and never ending hours at an airport like a prisoner and even without a bed to slip and sleeping at hard chairs of airport.Ticketing people at Lufthansa first told us to come later to take pillows and blankets but then told they run out. It was most terrible night and experience we lived ever and will never forget. The point disappointing and frustrating me is not the delay or not catching the plane but attitude of Lufthansa against us and not treating us well.Firstly I strongly believe there was still chance for plane transfer as we arrived before departure of plane. But biggest disappointment is why it was so difficult to attain a ground personnel to take care of this people and showing you care. We`ll form a group at face book with all people effected, then we`ll prepare a declaration and share with internet platforms and newspapers, also we`ll check our rights legally because you have no right to treat us in such bad way, make us spent 16 terrible hours at airport without an excuse and ruin our holiday.

1) On 14.10.2007 Lufthansa flight from Berlin to Frankfurt at 19:55 (connection to Istanbul) was canceled without any explanation,
2) Service personnel behaved as if this is something normal to be accepted without questioning,
3) During our discussion, the service personnel said several times that the price I paid for the ticket is already low (180 euro one way) that I do not need to complain. It looks like Lufthansa does not have standard service for economy class but gives poorer service (including flight cancellation) and humiliates those who choose lower fare flights announced on their web page.

They put me to a flight through Munich next morning with 40 min connection time in Munich. The plane was late 20 minutes, and my luggage did not arrive.

I talked to colleagues and they experienced similar domestic (within Germany) flight cancellations without any announced reason.

Conclusion: Never ever with Lufthansa!!!

The BEST advice I can give anyone who is about to fly Lufthansa is DON'T CHECK YOUR BAGS!! Thats if you can help it... I recently flew Lufthansa from Venice to Miami with a plane change in Frankfurt. The customer service agent in Venice informed that I could only take one carry on bag with me, I had a small rollerboard type suitcase, a small tote, and a laptop in a laptop case inside my rollerboard.. So I decided to take my laptop and check my small tote and rollerboard.

We boarded the flight in Venice and had to sit on the plane at the gate for over two hours due to bad weather in Frankfurt, we arrived in Frankfurt 20 minutes after our connecting flight to Miami was scheduled to leave but decided to run to the gate just in case the flight to Miami was still at the gate which it was and we boarded the flight. When we arrived in Miami I was not surprised that our luggage did not make it due to the short connection time. We quickly went to the baggage counter and filled out a claim at which time I was told that my bags would be on the next flight, which would have been Friday and that I would receive a phone call after the bags cleared customs and were picked up by the driver who was to deliver them to my home giving me a time frame on when he would deliver them. After waiting all day and not hearing from Lufthansa I decided to call the 800 Number at about 8pm at which time I was told that my bags were not loaded on the flight and that there had been bad weather in Frankfurt and my bags should be on tomorrow(Saturdays) flight. Well, Saturday came and went and still I heard nothing from Lufthansa, so at about 8pm I call them and am told that my bags were not loaded on todays flight and to check back tomorrow (Sunday) in the mean time my cell phone has lost its charge because my charger was in my luggage so I was forced to buy a new one. So Sunday at about 2pm I called Lufthansa and was informed that one of my bags was loaded on the flight and that the driver would call me once he picked the bag up, well after waiting all day like I had be doing for the last 3 days I called the 800 number for baggage and was treated horrible by the lady on the phone!!! She kept saying "MAAM, your bag was one of 93 bags loaded on this flight today, it made me feel like my bag was just a number, which I know it was to her but it is not the appropriate thing to say to someone who is and has been without their personal things (I had a ton of clothes in my bag as I had been away for a while) finally at 1045 pm Sunday night a man showed up with my small tote bag , I was hoping the one bag that was loaded was my larger bag that contained most of my things... But at least I had one. On Monday I called and was told my second bag was on the load list for the flight that day so again I waited all day for the call which once again I never received, I called the 800 number for baggage and was told my bag did not arrive in Miami and was scheduled for Tuesday... So Tuesday I call and was told that yes my bag had arrived, at which time I offered to pick up my bag and was told no that was not a good idea the driver was scheduled to pick up the bag , at about six pm I did receive a call from the driver saying he would deliver the bag between 8 and9 pm So once again I rearrange my schedule and I wait and wait and finally at 1245 am my bag is delivered!!! While I am so relieved to have my things back, I am disgusted with Lufthansa and their lack of regard for my property and most of all my time. I was never once offered an apology and was treated horrible when I called to check on my bags. I by choice will never fly Lufthansa again and will tell my company to never book me on them again. I will never ever check a bag on any airline again. Lufthansa is by far the worst customer service experience I have ever had!!!

Re: Lufthansa

My companion Ms. Milena Mancuso and I have flown Lufthansa many many times over the past seven years for our regular visits to the United States and have been satisfied with your services. Which is why we were extremely surprised and disappointed by the way we were treated during our last round trip from Marseille, France to Chicago, USA via Munich on 13 April 2007.

When we arrived in Munich at 8:45 that morning, my companion's Italian passport was erroneously refused by the private security service employed by the Munich Airport. We were immediately aware that a mistake had been made, and have since obtained proof from both the US Border Police in Chicago and from the Italian Consul in Marseilles that a mistake was in fact made and that her passport is perfectly valid. But by the time the problem could have been resolved, our flight had already left for Chicago.

Your agent at the Lufthansa service desk in Munich agreed that a mistake had been made, and agreed to put my companion's ticket on hold until we could get the problem resolved, and Ms. Mancuso had her ticket changed so that she could fly back to Marseilles. We then learned that the Lufthansa agent who had checked us in that morning at Marignane in Marseille had erroneously put all three bags under my name without informing me. This meant that Ms. Mancuso was forced to fly back to Marseille without her bag.

The next morning, she learned from her travel agent in Marseilles that her ticket from Munich to Chicago had not been put on hold, as your agent in Munich had told us, but had in fact been canceled as it had not been used!

Meanwhile, I flew on ahead to Chicago with our two year-old daughter. I arrived in Chicago the next day to discover that Lufthansa had lost all our bags. I was told that our bags might be arriving at Milwaukee's Mitchell Airport (the closest location to my final destination in the US), two days later, but that someone would call me to confirm first. No one ever called, so I drove out to the airport two days later, to find my daughter's bag (my bag and my wife's were still missing) sitting right out in the middle of the public access terminal with many other piles of bags, where anyone could have taken it! I was told that US Airways had flown it to Milwaukee, but their agents had no record of the bag I'd found. The next day, I found my bag and my wife's sitting out in the street in front of my mother's house upon returning home that afternoon, and no one had called to tell me they were coming.

Ms. Mancuso was forced to buy a new round trip ticket, this time with Alitalia and transferring in Milan, with the same return date: 27 April 2007. Before taking our return flight on 27 April, I called the Lufthansa Customer Service Department in the US to confirm our flights, asking specifically if Ms. Mancuso's ticket Chicago-Munich-Marseille was still valid. I was informed that it was. Ms. Mancuso's travel agent checked as well in Marseille, and your agency in France also confirmed her return ticket.

When we arrived at Chicago O'Hare for our return flight, Ms. Mohrmann, the woman who checked us in, gave us our three boarding passes through to Marseille, but could not establish a seat number for Ms. Mancuso's Munich-Marseille ticket. She informed us there was a computer problem but that we would get the seat assignment when we passed by the Lufthansa Customer Service in Munich.

I explained to her that if there were any problems with my wife's ticket she should tell us now, because my wife was prepared to use her Alitalia ticket to take the return flight to Milan that was leaving from Chicago that same afternoon. Ms. Mohrmann assured me that we would have no problem. She also said that she was sending a telex ahead to Munich to inform them of the problem. A few minutes later at the gate, I noticed that there was only twenty minutes between the arrival and departure times in Munich, so I asked the agent at the gate, Mr. Curtic, to resolve the problem before we left. He said that he could not, but not to worry; a telex had been sent ahead to Munich, and since there was so little time between the flights, someone would be waiting for us at the gate to take us right over to the Marseilles flight. A Lufthansa agent would quickly find us a seat, he assured me. So Ms. Mancuso decided to travel with me and our daughter instead of on Alitalia.

Alas, we never should have listened to Mr. Curtic. When we arrived in Munich, no one from Lufthansa was waiting for us, leaving me, my pregnant companion, and my two-year old daughter approximately twelve minutes to run across two terminals of the Munich Airport and to go through security. We arrived exhausted at the gate for the Marseille flight. Here, we were told by your agent, Ms. Scholz, that Ms. Mancuso could not enter the airplane, and that I would have to run back to customer service to resolve the problem. Ms. Scholz refused to give us the seat assignment even when I told her we had all just literally run to make the flight. She would not let us on the airplane.

At customer service, your agents refused to help me, saying that the agent in Chicago had, in fact, misled us. When I said a telex had been sent, your agent, Ms. Blattenberger, only smiled ironically and didn't even bother going to check! Her superior, Mr. Arico was particularly unsympathetic. He informed me that the boarding pass I had in my hand was not a ticket, but only a RESERVATION for a ticket, and Ms. Mancuso had no ticket at all. He said all he could do was sell me a new ticket, but there was no more places on any flights that day, and that me, my pregnant companion, and our two-year old daughter would just have to stay in the airport that night or go to a hotel.

You can imagine how upset I was. I told him I would have been willing to discuss the matter the morning before in Chicago, but there was no way that Lufthansa could issue us what they said were tickets in the US and then refuse them in Munich. He said there was nothing he could do, and refused to be helpful in any way. I continued to complain and demanded he call his superior, who finally told him to change Ms. Mancuso's unused ticket Munich-Chicago into a ticket Munich-Marseille (which proves her ticket from Munich to Chicago was in fact still valid). Mr. Arico still told us that we could not fly out on that same day, despite the fact that my wife was pregnant and not feeling well and we were with our two-year old daughter. He couldn't have cared less.

Luckily, there were technical problems with the airplane for our Munich-Marseille 6:10 am flight, and it left one hour late. Please note that I was the one who discovered the flight was late, and not Mr. Arico. I told him twice that the flight was late but he refused to believe me. I insisted he check and he finally saw it on his screen. We were finally able to use Ms. Mancuso's original reservation to get her a seat on the flight. If the flight had been on time, Mr. Arico and Ms. Scholz would have left us stranded in Munich.

I'm afraid all this mistreatment is just too much to accept. Your company bungled our trip from beginning to end and ruined our vacation. We were misled in Munich, lied to in Chicago, and mistreated by your personnel when we tried to explain what had happened after arriving exhausted and panicked in Munich. I have already contacted our family lawyer but I first wanted to let your service know how we were mistreated, and ask you to reimburse Ms. Mancuso's ticket. We feel that this is the least you can do. It's much more than about the money; you can't treat your customers so callously and shuffle them around to various airports, especially with a pregnant women who is unwell and traveling with a young child.