My Iran story is not quite over: there remained the unresolved matter of my ticket back to Europe on Lufthansa. If you did not read about my adventure in Iran, an overbooked flight back from Kish Island to Dubai forced an unplanned overnight in Iran and a missed connection back to Frankfurt (and on to Dublin). Recall that I was able to phone Lufthansa about four hours before my flight was scheduled to leave and relay to them that I was trapped in Iran and would be unable to travel that night. The LH agent explicitly stated that under the circumstances, I would likely be able to work out a solution when I reached Dubai and that a note had been placed in my reservation.
We did make it out of Iran and back to Dubai the following afternoon, but found Lufthansa (and later British Midland) to be anything but sympathetic. Once back in Dubai’s Terminal 1, we walked upstairs through the food court and to the Lufthansa ticket office. An agent heard our story, but upon examining our tickets was quite forceful in saying that 1.) our tickets were booked with bmi so Lufthansa could not touch them (not true) and 2.) that the fare rules were highly restricted and allowed no changes (true). We reasoned with the woman to no avail–she said she would not help us unless we wanted to purchase a new ticket.
After spending the night in a filthy tenement in Iran after being denied boarding for a flight we had confirmed seats on then being denied exit by Iranian government authorities, this was not the answer we wanted to hear. I asked her if she could phone reservations to verify the note on our record, and she agreed to call the Lufthansa city ticket office at the Dubai World Trade Center. After a brief conversation, she put down the phone and said, “As I told you, this was a restricted ticket and we are sorry that we are unable to help you. If you’d like to talk to our ticketing people personally, you can go to our office, but they will tell you the same thing I have told you.”
There is no point in arguing in these situations. I could not figure out if the woman thought we were lying, but she showed absolutely no care or compassion for the situation we were in. We thanked her and left the office.
Wi-Fi was free in the food court so my next call was to Orbitz, the online travel agency I booked the tickets through. After a number of dropped calls, I finally found a spot in the food court where the connection was pretty good and reached a wonderful Orbitz agent in the Philippines named Sandra. She listened to my story and was extremely sympathetic, putting me on hold to call bmi on my behalf.
She came back ten minutes later saying that because I had not called in prior to missing my departure, bmi had cancelled the reservation and would not re-instate it. I told her that to the contrary, I had called Lufthansa the previous night to alert them we would not make the flight. To verify this, Sandra called Lufthansa. About ten minutes later she came back again, stating she had verified my note on the reservation, but Lufthansa had refused to touch the ticket.
Placed on hold again, Sandra rang bmi for a second time. I had provided her my bmi Gold Card number, thinking that my top-tier status with the airline might help. Another ten minutes passed and she came back with what she thought was good news. If I could fax over evidence from the Iranian government that I was unable to leave Iran the previous evening, bmi would consider changing the ticket for a fee.
Nice thought, but how exactly was I supposed to do that? Fly back to Iran and ask the border agents who barely spoke English for a note saying that I couldn’t leave the country? I relayed my concern to Sandra and she agreed, placing me on hold for a fourth time to call back bmi. She came back again, though, with the same answer–bmi insisted that I somehow obtain a note from the Iranian government.
Throughout the whole process Sandra was incredibly patient and helpful. After the last rebuff from bmi, I told her I did not want to take and more of her time, but she responded, “It is my pleasure to assist and I will keep working on your behalf to get you back home.” I was humbled.
Still, I failed to see a constructive outcome in taking any more of her time, so I simply asked for her bmi telephone number and the name of the person she spoke with. I thanked her, hung up, then called bmi (and now I’ve got a handy U.S. number for bmi that quickly gets to an agent) and was connected to the same person she spoke with.
I identified myself and my record locator number and she acknowledged that she had just spoken to Orbitz about me. I asked her how I could possibly obtain evidence I was not permitted to leave Iran now that I was back in the United Arab Emirates, but she indifferently repeated that she could not help me without such evidence.
Three hours had transpired by this point and I decided I was done wasting time. I had to be in Frankfurt the following day so I rang United and thankfully was able to book two business class award tickets back to Frankfurt on the Lufthansa n/s flight I was trying to get a seat on.
It made me cringe to book such an award–only one segment on a ticket that really could have been maximized if I had the time–but it was worth it for 27,500 miles and $20 in taxes per ticket (the cheapest revenue ticket in economy class was $350 on Gulf Air via Bahrain).
Not to go off-topic, but kudos to United for allowing the same day booking of awards and not charging fuel surcharges. My friend attempted to book his ticket through Miles & More and could not–they require at least 24 hours to book. Checking the next day’s flight back to Frankfurt, availability was there, but taxes and fees (primarily the fuel surcharge) were over EU300. What a difference–he is now switching over to Mileage Plus. Gulf Air would have been interesting, but with a full day of work ahead I wanted to a good night’s rest in business class and access to the Lufthansa Welcome Lounge upon landing in Frankfurt.
Anyway, with my ticket now booked I decided not to bother fighting bmi or Lufthansa anymore. I do plan to reach out to bmi in the days ahead and express my disappointment at the way our situation was handled, but I expect no partial refund or compensation. Afterall, I did miss my flight and was traveling on a very cheap ticket.
So what do you think? Did I get shafted or get what I deserved? Admittedly, I took a gamble by visiting Iran the day before my trip back to Germany and understood when I purchased the ticket that no changes could be made. But at the same time, there is something to be said about the leniency I would have received had this been a United Airlines flight.
It certainly seems to be a cultural thing, and as I have mused about before, there are pros and cons to unbendingly abiding by the rules–but I do believe it would have been reasonable for Lufthansa to accommodate us on the flight. We had missed the previous flight for a very legitimate reason beyond our control, the flight we were trying to get on was wide open in all three cabins, and I hold Star Gold status on two airlines, including one that Lufthansa owns. If I can grossly generalize, although it seems to be dormant in the German psyche, there is virtue in compassion and rules ultimately can only serve as guidelines.
I made it back to Frankfurt without hassle, in the comfort of business class no less (though down 55K miles instead of up 6K), but now almost a week later I continue to shake my head. Rules are in place for a reason, but I think it is tragic to become so attached to rules that you lose all empathy in situations that warrant a little accommodation.
I don’t think you got shafted. When you travel to weird countries you always take risks and if losing miles was the worst thing that happened after visiting a place like that, you should consider yourself very lucky.
I don’t agree…I think more businesses should be strict and concordant with the rules that are already set. You seem to want it both ways, but only if it is beneficial to you…adhere to rules for mistake fares, complex award routings, and stretch promos to maximum gain, in some cases past the intent of the promo. But when an airline sticks to its rules, you cry shenanigans.
@Steve: I wouldn’t call Iran a “weird” country, but I appreciate your viewpoint.
@David: I appreciate your point, but I don’t see where I argued I want it both ways. I want the airline to make exceptions in appropriate circumstances, period. But the question of whether I got shafted by LH in this situation is an open one, hence the question in the thread title.
Why 1. book a codeshare, and 2. do it on Orbitz? Think that was your mistake – guessing you wouldn’t have had such an issue in the end had you booked direct with LH.
@UA-NYC: I booked through BD because the price was much lower than on LH and because I needed to start the trip in London. I booked through Orbitz so I wouldn’t have to pay in GBP on BD’s site, because the fare would not price out on their U.S. site.
You are probably correct that we might have had better luck had we booked directly with Lufty, but it was was worth it.
Gotta side with the other commenters. Not that Iran is “weird” but it’s a place where the risk of something like that happening is increased. If you book a cheap non refundable ticket, that’s what happens. Next time book a higher fare.
I know that it seems unreasonable to ask for proof of detainment, but od think they’d need something to verify your story. They can’t just go on your word.
I booked an award for a co-worker and his family using US Airways miles on Lufthansa — IAD-FRA-TXL/TXL-FRA-TLV/TLV-FRA-IAD or something like that.
Yes, US Airways allowed them to transit Frankfurt twice in the same direction… but I digress.
It was a party of (4). They arrive at the TXL airport to head out to TLV, and it turns out that one of the four had a passport with insufficient validity to be admitted to Israel.
Now, this was a US Airways ticket. Totally non-changeable after departure.
They didn’t talk to US Airways. The Lufthansa agent at TXL sent two of them on their way to Israel, and rescheduled two of them for the next day so that they could get a new passport expedited. Which they did.
Totally non-changeable Lufthansa flights, (award) ticket issued by US AIrways, and they offered some flexibility.
No other point to this story other than it’s not just that Lufthansa is German, perhaps. THere are varying situations with every airline and also with various agents. Overarching themes, sure. I haven’t found SQ to be the most flexible, for instance.
Perhaps in the case of my colleague, it was that they were first class passengers. Or perhaps being in Germany vs being at an outstation. Or the luck of the draw. There could be plenty of reasons. But Lufthansa HAS bent in the past.
That said, and while they certainly could ahve been more accomdoating and I’d hope that they would be, I don’t think that they shafted you. Ultimately you did exactly what I would have done, though I probably would have given up on Orbitz, Lufthansa, and bmi earlier.
Why didn’t you try to get a letter from Kish in Dubai explaining he situation?
@David: We thought about that and in retrospect, it probably would not have hurt to try get something, but BD said the letter had to be from the Iranian government.
But go back to my report on the Kish Air experience from a few days ago–seriously, the woman in the ticketing office could barely speak English and there was nothing that she could use to type a letter–everything was done by hand. The only electronic devices in the office were a fax machine, telephone, and refrigerator.
I would have been better off forging a note…
dude, I must agree with the previous writers. You gambled, and when you gamble, there are two possible outcomes, either you win or you lose. This time you lost and there is a price to pay. In my opinion you just should have accepted that and not to try to blame it on somebody else. You can always try and reason with them, but there should be no automatic demand for understanding, because your situation is a ‘special’ one. For oneself, the situation is always special and demands compassion, but there are rules and they are there for a reason.
I would have much more enjoyed that trip report without the ethical justification of why LH did not help you at the very end.
Consider yourself lucky, you got to fly home C/Class as a last resort, others are not that fortunate and probably would have to book the $350 Gulf Air flight.
Take this as lessons-learned and do not blame it on your expectation of customer service, even though you are Gold… 😉
@Gary–great insight. I really do have no grounds to complain–I just have been spoiled by UA for too long. As a matter of fact, there have been a few occasions this year when LH has bent some rules for me, so it does happen, at least at FRA.
I knew I was wasting my time contacting BD, but the lady in the LH ticket office was so forceful that the tickets were invalid, I saw no point to pushing the envelope further with Lufthansa. I am still waiting on Senator Status form the KLM status match. Maybe that would have helped…
Boy, it is pile-on-Matthew day!
@TJ: Well, as someone who works for BD/LH, I’d expect you to back them up! 😉 Please don’t let this postscript rant on our beloved carriers detract from your enjoyment of my Iran trip report! 🙂
To everyone–I’m not fishing for compensation: I got what the rules said I deserved. All I am saying is that I didn’t oversleep or get my dates mixed up–I was trapped in a foreign land! That is a very “special” excuse and yes, as a four year BD Diamond Club Gold member I expect them to take my word for it and not ask for impossible verification! Plus, the LH telephone agent gave me cause to believe my ticket could be used the next day.
Sorry to be nasty, you saw the T&C’s of the ticket.
If it’s an ultracheap ticket, you know the rules – miss the flight, the ticket becomes invalid.
Whilst I sympathise with you being “stuck”, rule one of travel planning comes to mind – “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.
Thankfully, you had “a way back”.
I doubt an insurer would had covered a missed ticket without something from the Iranian Government – and then I doubt they’d pay out with you travelling to Iran….
And this is the difference between American and European/RTW carriers. Whilst there is some “play” in the US Domestic system, there is near enough no slack left elsewhere.
It could be worth talking to BD about handling the ticket situation better, and allowing part value to be credited, but again if they say “You missed your flight…not our problem”… they’re within their rights…..
@Kevin: You are not being nasty at all–your point is well-taken and I appreciate that you see the distinction between an American carrier and a non-American one.
I don’t know if “spolied” is the right word, but I do hope you and the others can appreciate that when UA is willing to break almost any rule for me (and has for years), I get used to it.
Again, I have no right to complain or seek compensation, but can’t help but to be disappointed.
As you mentioned, thank goodness for my back-up plan.
Yup, I love UA/CO. I made a stupid, stupid rookie mistake in Milan–I looked at my departure time from FRA instead of my departure time from LIN–and the LH agents at the counter refused to re-accommodate me. However, they were kind enough to let me use their phone to call CO (the ticket was plated on CO as I had flown MIA-EWR-MXP on the outbound and was flying on CO codeshares on the return LIN-FRA-DFW) and I got a charming Italian-born and Italian-speaking CO agent based somewhere in the Midwest of the US (forget the state) who was delighted to re-book me on the next day’s flights (after I had exhausted checking all same day options). I never get that kind of helpfulness with Delta, et. al., though I have at times with LH in the past.
I’m going to disagree with everyone else: I think you got screwed by Lufthansa, and I’m taking note of the fact that I clearly don’t want to fly Lufthansa, ever.
And I’m glad BMI is no longer in business, because an airline that treats its top elites like that sucks.