Just returned from RS Eastern Europe Tour with stay in Vienna after the tour.
Checked in for KLM/NWA flight from Vienna to Amsterdam day before and also checked our e-mails for the first time in 3 weeks. Saw e-mail sent at 3 PM that same day from KLM/NWA canceling our KLM flight to Amsterdam and rebooking us on British Air to London then on to US. I don't know what might have happened if I had not checked our e-mail. What can we do to avoid that from happening again?
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Wow, Charlie, that was close! I'd find out exactly why they made such a late change....it's not usual, especially for such a big airline, unless it's something like equipment problems. With airlines trying to cut costs, they don't have "spares" as available as they used to. Was the BA flight after your original flight? If so, then they would have told you at the KLM/NWA check-in desk. If the BA flight went out BEFORE your scheduled KLM/NWA flight, then I'd certainly kick up a stink with customer service! As for avoiding that in the future, it's tough to say. You can provide a phone number for notification when you purchase your tickets, but I've never had a flight change that close to the mark, so I don't know if they'd even try to call.
Posted by
Nottingham, UK
658 posts
This sort of thing is going to happen a lot from now on.
Almost all the major European carriers are rationalising their flight schedules for the coming season. This isn't anything new but the scale of the schedule cuts is the highest I've ever experienced.
Until recently sched-change as it is known in the trade was handled by real human beings either calling you on the phone or sending an email. Real human beings use common sense and although there were foul ups from time to time it more or less worked out OK.
About five years ago the technical development team of a British airline developed a software programme that would allow robotic functions to email passengers with regard to shed-change. It took about 18 months to iron the bugs out but it now works well. This meant that the airline in question could reduce the sched-change department from twenty people to just two. This represents a significant saving.
The airline tried to sell the software programme to other European airlines under licence. Some bought it, more decided to develop their own software.
KLM/NWA ( for whose tech-dev dept I have the greatest of respect ) decided to develop their own software - so did many others. To my mind there is still a lot of bugs to be ironed out. Expect problems with sched-change for the next year and a half and check your email daily.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
The last time I flew KLM/Northwest we went through several iterations of schedule changes. Each time I called, talked to someone, reviewed my options and decided what worked best for me so I don't have any complaints. Fortunately none of that happened while we were on our trip.
Posted by
OP
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2788 posts
After checking in for the rescheduled BA flight at the Vienna airport, I asked at the KLM/NWA "customer service (?)" desk what happened to our cancelled flight.
I was told that it was cancelled for "technical" reasons. Upon my further questioning, one of the personnel there (who was eating) told me that there are three flights daily from Vienna to Amsterdam and if one of them has few passengers, it is quite often cancelled for "technical" reasons.