So much for reaching Rome on time…
Last night, my flight from Zurich to Frankfurt posted creeping delays, 15 minutes at a time. The flight ended up departing 90 minutes late. With only a 55-minute connection in Frankfurt, it was futile to take the flight.
Overnighting in Frankfurt is not an issue, but the early Rome flight from Frankfurt would have got me into Rome an hour after the first flight from Zurich. With a morning meeting, this was not an acceptable solution.
Did you hear about the EU air traffic control meltdown that caused the delay and/or cancellation of nearly 15,000 flights?
I asked if this was the reason for the delay and was met with a shrug from the Lufthansa (Swissport) staff at Zurich. All I know is that my flight was delayed due to a late-arriving aircraft from Frankfurt.
In any case, it meant an unexpected night in Zurich and a hotel on Lufthansa’s dime.
I requested the Radisson Blu, located on the airport grounds, but was told only the Hilton was available. I’ve stayed at that property before and did not pushback because I knew at least the sauna and steam bath would be open 24/7 if I could not sleep. In retrospect, I wish I would have pushed back more: the Radisson looks like a far superior property at a similar price point.
CONCLUSION
Ironically, I was rebooked on the nonstop flight to Rome on SWISS the following morning: the same flight I originally booked (I had added the connection via Frankfurt precisely to avoid the overnight in Zurich while still having time to review the new first class lounge there).
I enjoy reading your articles but I am certain that using a sans serif font would increase the legibility (and popularity?) of your articles. Yours are the hardest to read of all travel blogs I frequent. I can’t be the first one to suggest this easy improvement. Have you ever thought about this change?
Funny, I was just thinking the opposite of Lukas. I find yours to be the most pleasant to read of the many bloggers I follow.
I’d imagine this subject is akin to Matthew’s love for his Twitter pic; even if the overwhelming majority think it’s pretty bad, he’s keeping it. His blog, his rules, which is totally fair, but I do agree with Lukas… readability is certainly less, on average, with this font.
Maybe a reader poll is in order, I’d be curious to see the results.
Did you check on availability at the Radisson?
Lucky you! Late arriving aircraft may mean that you’re elligible for EU261/04 compensation!
LH will probably try to explain it with ATC issues, but I would still give it a try.
Swissport agents are contracted ground handling agents, right? Why doesn’t Lufthansa have Swiss (the airline) handle its ground operations at ZRH?
I believe that even SWISS uses them.
Since it’s way cheaper