Hello,
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This term will be discussing the different stages of the passenger processing. We start today with passenger experiences.
Tell us about a time you have travelled by air. Write about any problems you have had at any step of the process before the flight.
Regards,RV
Does the Boeing 787 have an ugly tail?
13 years ago
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ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned earlier today I have experienced quite a few problems when travelling by air: overbooked flight and having to wait a couple of days to board the next available flight, wrong date on the ticket, visa problems, overweight luggage and having either to discard some of its content or pay an extra charge, to name a few.
But what I fear most is lost luggage, I can't imagine anything worse than arriving at a new city on the first day of your holiday without your suitcases and having to go through all the frustrating experience of filing a report, describing your bag and its contents and hoping that your bag will turn up before your board your flight back home.
However, I'd like to write about the first time I flew on Airbus A380.
First, I booked the flight with the Emirates, I paid online with my credit card and selected my seat. On the day of the flight I had my luggage packed, took a taxi and arrived at the airport 2 hours prior to departure. I found the check-in desk and was slightly disappointed to see the queue in front. I regretted not checking online and I could have avoided the queue, but decided to be patient and wait for my turn.
I waited and waited, passengers were slowly processed, I was becoming worried whether I'll make the flight. Eventually after at least 40 mins, my turn arrived.Unfortunately, there was a problem with the reservation system, so I had to wait a little longer.
Finally, I got my boarding card, rushed through passport control and security and ran to find my gate.
I might have been the last person to get on the shuttle bus and after a bumpy ride,I boarded Airbus A320 on a short-haul flight to Dubai where I was supposed to change planes en route to London Heathrow.
In the departure concourse, I did some shopping and bought some presents. Not before long it was time to proceed to the gate. I found the gate and there it was - the most amazing aircraft- the QUIET GIANT OF THE SKIES - the AIRBUS A380. Enormous, gigantic proportions, incredible wing span...... there it was waiting for its passengers.
The public announcement system announced boarding and I thought for a second how on earth are all these 500 passengers going to be processed quickly. Incredible as it may sound, they were: first mothers with children were invited to board, then first and business class passengers were asked to use the special airbridge to board the upper deck of the aircraft while all economy passengers (me including)used a separate airbridge to board the lower deck.
And there at the door were the cabin crew greeting passengers warmly and welcoming them on board.
I entered the aircraft and was surprised how spacious it looked from inside with the calming colours of the interior.
I was directed to my seat, it was very comfortable with plenty of leg room and an amazing choice of entertainment on the in-flight entertainment system.
I was ready to enjoy my flight. After 10-20 mins, the pilot welcomed us onboard, we were briefed of the security procedure and the aircraft was already taxiing on the taxiway.
Then, it slowly started to gain speed and without a moment of hesitation it gracefully took off. Such a smooth take off! Beautiful!
And then a six and a half hour flight of comfort before we reached London.
I liked the whole experience, the plane, the service, the entertainment system, the wooden interior of the bathrooms.
I can only imagine what it must be like on the upper deck where first class passengers can even use showers and jacuzzis to refresh themselves during the flight.
The landing was as smooth and graceful as the take off. It was time to say Good bye to the GENTLE GIANT OF THE SKIES.
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ReplyDeletePassenger Experiences
ReplyDeleteTwo years a go I went to Abha which is a city in Saudi Arabia. The problem was that we do not know that the time of boarding a plane is different from the time of flying. Thus, we only read the time of flying; as a result, we were not allowed to board the plane because the time of going inside the plane had passed. Therefore, we wait for about 4 hours for another flight, unfotunately. In my opinion waiting for passengers until the flight time is reached is better than waiting for them only in the boarding time perid. Although I was angry about such rule, I was happy because the employees were very helpful.
Actually before two years I was going to England on Emirates air line. Firstly I had two bags which were overweight so they made me pay large amount of money. That made me so upset because it wasn’t my fault, I did ask the man who sold me the ticket how many kilos are available for me and he said 35 kilos but in fact it was only 20 kilos.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, after one year when I was coming back from London Heathrow airport also on Emirates airline. I board the plane but actually the flight has been delayed two hours and half but that wasn’t a problem the exact problem was I had connecting flight from Dubai to Doha so I missed it so I had to stay in Dubai airport five hours to the next flight to Doha. So I found relaxing area so I decide to sleep for a while but unfortunately I slept for ages so I missed the second flight then I had to wait for another five hours to the next flight to Doha. Actually it was a very good day.
I have bad experience when I travelled by air last summer with my family. I never forget that experience which happened in Doha International Airport. We arrived there two hours early before our flight upon request. First thing we enter the terminal and passed through the check-in desks where the security checked our bags and everything was great until that moment. But when we went to government control to let them check our passport ,unfortunately my brother passport was out of date and they said to him he had to issue new one, and he could not travel with us in that flight. He had to reserve another ticket and he lost the previous booking. The second problem we faced when we were in baggage weight area they asked us to pay a high fee for the extra weight. The final things we had faced is when we did the boarding we noticed they did not provide baby chair for my brother although we request that when we reserved the ticket and after long discussion with supervisor they finally can put one for him . That was a bad journey for us but at the end we enjoy our flight to Korea.
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ReplyDeleteMy worst flight on my live was three years ago. It was from Doha International Airport to Dubai International Airport. There were lots of problems in Doha airport and Dubai airport.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the registration officer at the airport travelers in Doha airport hadn’t record my detail correct. I waited to correct my detail for 45 minutes. Then, travel desk officer at the airport gave to me wrong gate, so I went to the plane late. After that, baggage handlers at the airport were damaged my bags.
These problems I found it at Doha airport. Also I found problems at Dubai airport. First, I had a little overweigh and the employee check insisted to pay money for them. Then, data entry clerk forget to insert my data and Dubai police made for me investigation then they allowed me to travel. Finally, I lost my bags at Dubai airport and I waited for one week then I received my bags.
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ReplyDeleteMY worst flight was last year when I went to the Germany with my friends. I booked a ticket online from Qatar Airways. Day of travel I met my friends on garden near my house and we took a taxi to took us to the airport. When we arrived to the Doha International Airport, the first thing we did, we went to the check in area. When we arrived to the check in area we sow a long queues and the remaining time of the trip only one hour.
ReplyDeleteWe waited and waited for half of hour and when we came to the counter, the employee check took our tickets .Suddenly he told us you must get a visa for this country. We told him every time when we went to the Germany we didn’t have visa. Then he told us went to Qatar Airways office, while we were going to the Qatar Airways office, the employee came to us and he told us the problem was from his system. When we took the boarding we went to the government control to check our passport and in this area happened the biggest problem. I will complete my story tomorrow
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ReplyDeleteHello
ReplyDeleteOne day I travelled by Etihad airways from Qatar to Emirate. it was a connecting flight to Malaysia When we arrived at Dubai we stayed at the airport for 4 hours waiting the flight, it was delayed.We felt bored and tired. We spent our time in duty free shops and we set in the café to drink something
The flight was good everything in the flight was comfortable and the flight arrived to Malaysia on time. The cabin crew was very kind and helpful. We really enjoyed flying with Etihad airways because everything was good apart from the delayed flight.when we came back to Qatar my father send letter of complaint to Etihad airways office.They send their apologies about that.
Last year when i travelled to london i had small problem. Actually i start my day as well and evrey thing was good and i thought the maximam of baggage weight is 35 and because of that my father and my uncle had problem because my father said the maximam of baggage is 35 and my uncle said 32 is the maximam of the baggage weight and he was right but because of i dont know i had to follow my father simplly because he is my father.
ReplyDeleteWhen i arrived to central baggage the worker there said your baggage is over weight and i had another problem is that my baggage is also over size and he said i have to pay a money such as fine and i said ok but i dont remember how much i payed but i think it was a larg amount of money.
That was my small problem with baggage and i got it as experience.
thanks
My positive experience 2 years ago:
ReplyDeleteI have travelled by air with my family for many times, but my best flight was with Air Asia airline in Malaysia. It is a domestic airline and has its own domestic airport. We chose one of their special aircraft which works by fans; it is a very small plane and can carry about 20 to 25 passengers only; it has a limited height to fly; it has 3 fans one of them at the front and the other two at the wings. Our flight was at 12 pm, but it was delayed because wither was raining and the plane couldn't take off. The crew told us that it would take an hour to arrive. After 3 hours it didn't arrive so we were given some tickets to buy from the restaurant and do some shopping in the duty free shop. After 5 hours and 30 min. the plane arrived, we boarded into the plane to go to Langkawi Island. The flight was about 25 min. and it was perfect. Although we were waiting for long time, but we will never forget this flight.
When we came to the government control the employer stopped one of my friends because he didn't attained the age of majority.We took to manager for Doha Airport and he let him left.After that we went to all area we have to went and the flight time is over.We ran to the check boarding and they told us why you late? we explained to him and they allowed us to enter .Finally we took the shuttle bus and we board into plane.This flight is the worest flight i did.
ReplyDeleteLast year when I was returning from Washington to Doha by Qatar Airways all the Procedures for the airport where intact and the plane take off on Time.
ReplyDeleteThe trip was comfortable and the atmosphere was nice but suddenly, everything changed, where there were many air pockets and strong. They asked all passengers to sit in their seats and put the safety belt to ensure the safety of passengers.
After that the captin of plane said for the passengers we should decline to Munich in order to avoid any damage in the plane because the weather.Then we landed to Munich and we stay at the plane for 1 hour and a half.
After the weather became good the plane took off safely until we got to Doha.
Vacation last summer I went to Kuwait to visit a friend journey from the airport to the Kuwait airport was quiet, fast and passed without any problems and I spent a good time and is very beautiful, I return trip was a disaster the airport was very busy so from the outside and I had to stand 25 minutes to enter the ticket reservation
ReplyDeleteAnd another 20 minutes to do the check in and baggage check in I was very happy to reach the government controls area to check my passport After that i passed through the security check After this I was overjoyed to reach the depature concourse
I thought that, finally will get a little rest after this busy crazy at the airport and I was big shock was that the congestion in the area had more than other regions, there were children crying everywhere and many of the people who are sick with flu, cough and many diseases other and people from around the The world there was no place to sit and then stand for an hour and a half and then I had to sit down
On the ground for another hour and the ground which does not know the person why from the dirt and after these subsidized went to the gate and I told me that to wait because the plane will be delayed for an hour because of overcrowding, and when I heard the news I felt a cry to return to Qatar and even when I boarded a plane after two hours and not hours and tragedy continues That I arrived in Qatar and here in this very loved've missed the states of Qatar and thanked the Lord that i came back home
One day I travelled by Qatar Airways to Thailand. It was a good flight, but the problem that we faced was that when we arrived to Bangkok airport our baggage was delayed more than 4 hours. We waited for one hour after that we went to speak with the manager of the Qatar airways to know what was the problem he said that the baggage would arrive after a few minutes. The baggage didn’t arrive so we decided to write a letter of complaint to the manager of the Qatar airways. He apologize us and he promised us that we will receive our baggage soon. After this terrible problem we had enjoyed our holiday in Thailand.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed reading about your experiences of flying. I was interested to hear A.I.M's experience of flying on a small plane in Malaysia. I was just trying to work out what kind of plane this was, as I don't know of a plane with one engine on the nose and two on the wing. I can only think it must have been a DHC Twin Otter, as Air Asia X apparently used to use them. they seat about 25. By the way, we call them propellors, not fans, and this kind of aircraft is called a TURBOPROP or PROPJET.
I wanted to tell you about an experience I had with an airline called Balkan Bulgarian Airlines, which fortunately no longer exists. I know Ralitza won't be pleased with me for choosing a Bulgarian airline, but...
This happened back in 1993, when i wanted to visit my sister in Hungary from Istanbul, where I was living at the time. I found a cheap ticket with Balkan Bulgarian via Sofia, although what I didn't know was that the plane to Sofia took off in the early morning and I'd have about 12 hours between landing there and flying on to Budapest. I got to the airport in plenty of time for my 6 a.m. flight but then left it too late to go through passport control and was horrified to find only one cabin staffed and a huge long queue in front of it. By the time I got to the front of the line I was panicking as my flight was due to leave any minute, and the passport control official said he thought the plane had already left. They then radioed air traffic control and got them to hold the plane, and I was then driven by minivan, would you believe, to the waiting plane. It was a small Russian turboprop aircraft. As I got to the stairs, I saw a uniformed official, probably from the airline, waiting for me with a furious expression on his face. He grabbed my boarding card and starting shouting at me, saying didn't I see the boarding time on the card and the whole was waiting for me, etc. I tried to explain about the queue at immigration but he didn't listen and continued shouting until I was let on board the plane. By this time I was extremely stressed, sweating heavily and heart pounding ,and all I could do was slump into my seat and close my eyes with relief.
I don't rememeber much about the brief flight but I do remember that the hostesses spoke almost no English, the food was almost inedible and the plane was so noisy and vibratory that when I'd finished my cup of coffee, the empty plastic cup started dancing on the tray table in front of me! It was a relief to touch down and continue my journey.
I then found myself in Sofia, a city I didn't know at all, where I spent a pleasant day wandering around without knowing what I was looking at. It's a lovely green city with some beautiful churches, but without a guide book I couldn't really appreciate what I saw.
On the way back I missed my connection due to a late departure and was put up in a large modern hotel nearby, having to wait another full day before flying on to Istanbul.
Since that experience I've never left it so late to go through immigration! I should also add that Bulgaria Air are a decent airline and I've flown with them to Madrid without any problems.
Take care,
Dreamliner
On time I went to Germany with my family everything was good since we board the plane until we deplane in Munich airport ramp. We took the shuttle bus and we went to the concourse and we finished processing and we went to the baggage claim and we whit there for one hour and our baggage’s didn’t arrive we went to ask and they side “oh sorry your luggage’s in another plane they will arrive tomorrow” we went to the hotel and in the next day they send them to use with an apologize later
ReplyDeletetwo years ago me and my family decided to go to United States. we went to the Doha Airport airport I thought the processing would be fast without problems but unfortunately we faced several problems like the flight delayed so we wait several hours and to be honest I hate waiting! and I was keep saying to my self be patient. The second problem, my baggage was overweight and the only solution was to pay extra and that what I did. The final problem was they send my baggage to the wrong aircraft and it took days to resend me the baggage back to me. That was terrible but in the end that trip was worth all that effort.
ReplyDelete