INBOX
Your letters and online forum posts
FAIRDUES
John Strickland is entitled to his view in “Out of proportion” [May 2019 issue] but I disagree [that airline compensation in Europe is too high]. The difference between air travel and other forms of transport such as rail is that the former, when there are cancellations or delays, typically delays passengers by many more hours, especially for international travel but also domestically.
Airlines often treat passengers poorly, moving them to other flights if there are low bookings, or if the carrier is unable to operate a flight for other reasons. Punctuality is often poor, and it isn’t all down to weather.
In many cases, high-speed trains in Europe and Asia are available and do not cause the amount of damage to the environment that intra-Europe airlines do, especially for short-haul flights that could be replaced by rail. The column also omits that airlines promise fast travel, which includes a passenger perception that we will be transported on the day booked.
If flights are delayed or cancelled, it’s good that European passengers receive significant compensation. [Contrary to what John Strickland says in his column], it’s “realistic” to have a compensation scheme for air travel, and it should force airlines and airports to improve what can be a poor approach to getting passengers to their destination punctually.
Name and address supplied
EXPECTING MILESBETTER
I had almost 20,000 Flying Blue miles and since I mainly fly Oneworld nowadays, I decided to redeem them for a leather bracelet from the Flying Blue shop before they expired. Collecting these miles has taken numerous flights over the past few years. If I were to buy a similar number of miles from Flying Blue it would cost me approximately €500. I therefore assumed that the bracelet I chose for 19,555 miles would be a high-quality one.
When I opened the parcel a few weeks later, it was immediately apparent from the packaging that it wasn’t a high-quality product. When I did some research on the “Bud to Rose” bracelet, it seemed that the retail value was around €13. With delivery, I was looking at a maximum value of €20.
When I wrote to Flying Blue, I received a standard acknowledgement promising a response, which I am yet to receive. I can only say to those considering redeeming their KLM Flying Blue miles from its online shop: Beware. Gerard Bos, Ontario
KLM RESPONDS:
We are sorry to hear that Mr Bos is unhappy with the value of the bracelet. Generally, prices for items in the store are applied by the vendor, and Flying Blue can confirm that the cost of the bracelet is SKr 499 or €47, which represents a value of 18,800 miles, excluding shipping. The monetary value of the bracelet is available on the Flying Blue website in the part cash/part miles section next to the total cost on miles.
We understand that products purchased from the Flying Blue store can often be perceived as less value for money when compared with reward tickets. This is down to retail products having to be purchased from a third party.