Lufthansa German Airlines group and Economy class travel
Thought for the day…”Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
“A certain amount of opposition is a great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with, the wind.”
Too many companies are using coronavirus as an excuse now. Often it is being used to cover up their own failures but the excuse of coronavirus is being overused. Joining the bandwagon of companies blaming (conveniently) coronavirus is the Lufthans group (LH) airlines. Now this is why I am getting angry…..according to Lufthansa, they are no longer giving ECONOMY class passengers tea, coffee or food on flights of less than 150 minutes. This is to protect “your health and the health of our employees”
https://www.lufthansa.com/ch/en/current-onboard-services#short-haul
BUT if you are travelling Business class then you will still get food and drink. Now would the managers at Lufthansa like to tell me why Business class passengers are not seen as any risk whereas Economy class passengers are seen as a risk? Or is the real reason that Lufthansa just wants to save money and is conveniently using coronavirus as an excuse to make further cuts to Economy class services? I know which answer my money is on. And also why do Lufthansa no longer service food when other airlines ARE still serving food to economy class passengers?
Companies should stop trying to blame coronavirus for everything. Be honest with customers, and if you are going to cut out meals and drinks for Economy class passenger then BE HONEST and tell us the real reason….to save money. Do not try and blame it on coronavirus. We are not stupid.
And another photo from the archives, Ometepe in Nicaragua at sunset….
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jeritilley@hotmail.com
RESPECT, CONSIDERATION & FAIRNESS
Not doing it, not for fun anyway
Thought for the day..”You can’t expect to hit the jackpot if you don’t put a few nickels in the machine.”
“Words are often seen hunting for an idea, but ideas are never seen hunting for words.”
Just had an email from an online travel agency trying to encourage me to book some cheap HOLIDAY flights. The prices were very good and the destinations interesting….Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Entebbe (Uganda), Nairobi (Kenya) etc. Stress the word ‘holiday’ for these flights. But when you read the details, the flights arrive at around 0200 or 0300, returning at around 0300 or 0400. Now on holiday, I like to enjoy normal sleep, so these cheap flights would ruin at least 2 nights sleep. Arriving at 0200 in a foreign country (especially a place like Nairobi or Johannesburg) is not only no fun, but also dangerous too. And the thought of a departure around 0300 or 0400 means another ruined night. All of this for a HOLIDAY, which is supposed to be a time to relax and enjoy. So this time, I will pass over these cheap offers….life is too short to have this sort of cruelty on holiday. And the good thing….holidays are optional, so I can choose better flight timings. Many birds do not fly at night, and for good reasons. I like my sleep too ! And I like to enjoy my holidays too. Good luck to those who choose these cheap offers…..arriving into somewhere like Nairobi (sometimes called ‘Nai-Robbery) at 0200 then they are going to need it.
A peaceful evening at this bay on Praslin island, Seychelles for the photo today….
and another photo from the archives…a railman looks on as a railtour backs into Penzance station, in the far west of England
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jeritilley@hotmail.com
RESPECT, CONSIDERATION & FAIRNESS
Now it is SWISS airlines turn.
Thought for the day…”It’s better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.”
“The less you talk, the more you’re listened to.”
More evidence of how bad things are getting for Economy Class passengers. SWISS airlines have now announced that on routes to/from Geneva GVA, that passengers on the cheapest economy tickets will now only get free water. Gone are the (included) meals and tea/coffee for those travelling on the cheapest fares. So given that SWISS airlines are using aircraft such as the Airbus A320, the same as some budget/Low cost carriers (LCC) are using then what is the point of paying extra money to fly with SWISS airlines?? Seats and interiors are very similar, and both are going for a buy-on-board system, flight times are very similar, and increasingly, departure and arrival airports are the same. So the legacy carriers believe that people will continue to pay higher prices for the same service as on a budget airline? Not me for one. Airline managers may have looked to the USA and have been inspired by what airlines there have been able to get away with, but I am drawing the line now. With SWISS airlines announcing these cuts to basic economy tickets (not to mention the devaluing of the frequent flyer points system), I may end up flying a budget airline such as Wizzair in future. No point to pay more money for the same service. At least the budget airlines do not try and pretend that they are full service airlines. Swiss airlines have gone too far with the latest cuts.
A black & white for for the picture today, one from Iceland taken in 2005.
and another photo from the archives…early morning on the lakefront in Pembroke, South Island, New Zealand.
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RESPECT, CONSIDERATION & FAIRNESS
New, looking old – Not the Quality Spa Resort Hotel, Norefjell.
Thought for the day….” Better to be a star rather than a spark. Sparks are for the moment, stars are for the future”.
“Talent is the key to success, but you have to find the door”.
Update on the story about the refund from Air France. I cancelled an air ticket with AF, and understood that the actual ticket was not refundable, as the conditions stated, but asked Air France to refund the taxes. Things like departure taxes had not been incurred, as I had not travelled, so I expected a refund of these. After many many emails to Air France, and to some very unhelpful customer ‘service’ departments, then finally I got a refund, minus a 20 euro ‘administration fee’. Still very unhappy with Air France because I had to write so many emails to them, but at least I have got most of the taxes back. So the moral of this story is that even if the airline says no in the beginning, then keep on at them as they ARE supposed to refund the taxes.
A new photo made to look old for today’s picture. The shot comes from the museum at Ballarat in Australia, and started off as a colour photo, then was converted to black & white and finally was given the sepia touch to make it look old. It was just a matter of waiting for the tourists to disappear out of the scene then an easy job to capture this scene, which could be from the 1800s but is actually quite recent.
Finals to land – Not the Quality Resort Hotel, Norefjell.
Thought for the day…” Doing things right is not as important as doing the right things.”
” The past is to improve yourself, and the future is to prove yourself”.
Another photo to prove that you do not need an expensive camera to get a good photo. Many modern ‘compact’ cameras offer great zooms (the new ones go up to an extreme 60X zoom!) , but even a 20X zoom will get you a photo like this. Good light and also a high shutter speed will give great results. Even though the aircraft was moving at around 260 km/h at this point, the high shutter speed of 1/2000th has given a good, sharp photo. Once again, the Panasonic Lumix camera has done well !!
The Portuguese government is trying to sell TAP Airline, as part of its attempts to raise much needed funds. It has already sold the airports operations to a French company, but a recent bid by a Brazilian company for the airline fell through. The airline has huge debts and also a reputation for poor service.
http://www.qualitysparesort.com http://www.qualityresortnorefjell.com http://www.norefjellspa.com
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Swiss Bells – Not the Quality Spa Resort Hotel, Norefjell.
Thought for the day….” A wise man can see more from the bottom of a well than a fool can see from the top of a mountain”.
” A ship in a harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are for”.
I had forgotten just how good travel by train could be. I recently travelled down through Europe on long-distance night train, and it was very interesting to compare this trip with the return trip, which was by air. No early check in at an airport, no expensive airport ‘box’ hotel, and no long queues to endure. No silly security checks, and nobody on the train was worried that I was carrying toothpaste or liquids which at an airport would be taboo. No need to check in at all, just board the train and find the sleeping compartment. Pleasant evening on the way down through Europe, good snacks in the cafe, and coffee that was far better than airline coffee. And add to that a good nights sleep and it makes a very pleasant journey. Then next morning breakfast in the train cafe and voila, it was time to arrive (and on time too). Compare that to the hassle and frustration at airports and being squashed in economy class for the flight back. Flight back was late, on an old aircraft and delayed even further due to passengers travelling with far too many carry on bags. Perhaps one day the train will be THE way to travel again…….The recent trip was a very interesting comparison.
Today’s photo is from the central part of Switzerland, with a photo of Swiss cow bells on a woodland hotel. Very Swiss !
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Boy & Wall – Not the Quality Spa Resort Hotel, Norefjell.
Thought for the day….” Do not wait for the right moment, make the moment right”.
” A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance”
Did you see the story in the USA (Hawaii) that a woman has won the right to have her full name on her driving license? Normally it is not a problem, but here family name is ” Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele” which was too long for the government computer systems. They are now going to reprogram their road licensing computers so that she can have the full 36 letters of her name on her ID. Also from the USA is the story about the computer problems at United Airlines which resulted in free tickets being given away, when the prices came up as USD 0. The company temporarily shut down their online booking system when it discovered the errors. And there was a similar story with United Airlines back in 2012, when some travellers found that they could buy First Class return tickets from New York to Hong Kong for USD 43 and 4 air miles. Never seems to happen when I want to book a ticket. When I book a ticket now, there seems to be far too many EXTRA charges. Some carriers are even charging for carry-on baggage now. And Samoa Air became the first airline in the world to introduce ‘pay for your weight’, where the price of your air ticket depends on how much you weigh.
And for the photo today, another portrait shot, this time of a boy in rural Nicaragua. Good lighting and a natural pose make this a lovely photo. Again, it shows that you just have to have the camera ready to capture the right moment.
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Moan of the Day
Why is it that airlines now only give a miniature sized coffee cup, then only half fill it???
jeritilley 