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Travel nightmare getting home to Boston

PokeyMindy

100+ Posts
I was to fly home on Nov. 10th, Florence to Munich-Munich to Boston. Our flight from Florence was delayed over 3 hours therefore we missed our connecting flight to Boston. Lufthansa put us up in a lovely hotel (Munich Airport Hotel) including hotel transfer, dinner and breakfast. Ok great. Well, we get to our gate for the flight to Boston the ext day and ....IT'S CANCELED!!! My friend LeeAnn and I couldn't even believe what we were hearing!!! A mad rush by HUNDREDS of passengers to the Lufthansa service center. It was INSANE. While standing in line we got text messages that we were being rerouted THE NEXT DAY to Chicago and then on to Boston. After waiting and waiting we got to a service agent who gave us vouchers to the same hotel and a food voucher. He assured us there were no flights directly into Boston on Saturday. I was so sick of my jeans and sweater! (note to self, always pack an extra pair of undies and tee shirt even for the flight home in your carry-on)! going through customs/passport in Chicago was insane. I was so happy to see my suitcase as I hadn't seen it since I dropped it off at the airport in Florence Thursday morning. It even made it to Boston.
I know I can file a form from the E.U. to get a monetary compensation. I filled out something on the Lufthansa website but not sure if it's the correct form??? Can anyone link me to the form I should fill out???
This nightmare has definitely put a sour taste in my mouth in regards to international travel. I think I will stay put in 2023 and visit a few places in the USA. I'm so happy to have my lifelong friend LeeAnn with me because we kept each other as sane as possible. We each had meltdowns at different times so at least one of us would be a warrior when needed. And poor LeeAnn then had to fly home to Seattle the next day!
Thanks for reading! :)
Mindy
 
Is this the form you used?


Also I know that you've connected through Zurich a few times; are you able to answer this?

 
This has been a bad year for flights in Europe. I’ve read about lots of cancellations and very crowded airports. I think the airlines are adjusting to travel life after Covid.

Don’t let this put you off international travel. Most of us have experienced something like this. I’ve had similar situations flying in the US. We once had a second leg of a flight cancelled and the next available flight was in 5 days. At least we could rent a car and drive home, which wasn’t an option for you.
 
Is this the form you used?


Also I know that you've connected through Zurich a few times; are you able to answer this?

Andrew, yes, that's the form I used from Lufthansa. Hoping mine doesn't get lost in the millions that I'm sure they're receiving of late! I'll keep submitting the form if I have to. I guess I have 2 different situations, missed flight due to late departure and then a flight that was canceled! My head is still spinning.

M
 
Definitely don't let it stop you. I've done 3 flights to Italy from Boston this year. One bad experience with luggage not arriving back in Boston with the flight (and delivered 4 days later with poor communication - looked out on the front porch one morning and it was there).

I'll be headed back in December (flying Swiss through Zurich so should be able to answer https://www.sloweurope.com/community/threads/zurich-airport-information-needed.6702/ if nobody does before then). My recollection from several years ago was having to transfer terminals via train with an interesting "welcome to Switzerland" audio that included cows mooing and Swiss alphorns.
 
Hi Mindy,

I'm so sorry you had all that hassle, what an awful end to your trip.
Here is where to start with EU flights and rights...


Make a claim with the airline and with the EU rights.

On the bright side, when you've recovered from all that drama, do tell us how the trip went!
 
What a dreadful experience, Mindy! I hope that your claims are expedited. I always pack a change of clothing in my carry on bag for flights to Europe. After reading about your ordeal, I will be sure to do the same on my return flights.
 
I made a claim for both flights. As far as filing claim with the E.U. I keep getting "access denied" when I get to the page. Oh well, I will be patient as I'm told it could take up to 6 weeks before I get any response. I did, however, get an acknowledgment that both of my claims were received by Lufthansa, so that's something I guess.

I'll be patient! (although I did have travel interruption insurance so I'll give them a call and see what they can do for me).

thank you for all of your help!
Mindy
 
What a dreadful experience, Mindy! I hope that your claims are expedited. I always pack a change of clothing in my carry on bag for flights to Europe. After reading about your ordeal, I will be sure to do the same on my return flights.
I never even thought anything like what I experienced would happen. I even tossed my toothbrush and toothpaste! fortunately they had if for me at the Munich Airport Hotel.

M
 
More than 2 years ago now, I had very good luck filing a complaint with DOT after a year long wrestling match with SAS to get refunded for a Covid canceled flight. It was cumbersome to resend as required all of the history of problems and failed efforts to resolve them, but SAS was very responsive to the DOT inquiry and we got a full refund within days.
 
I heard back from Lufthansa in regards to my first claim which was my missed flight from Munich to Boston. Because the flight on Air Dolomiti was delayed (therefore THEIR FAULT I missed connecting flight). Lufthansa has turned over the claim to Air Dolomiti. No reply yet for the second claim of the cancelled flight by Lufthansa from Munich-Boston the next day. I've not yet reached out to my travel insurance company. Maybe I'll do that on Monday.

Mindy
 
Sorry to hear that Mindy - like you haven't already been through enough.
Did Lufthansa ever explain why it cancelled your flight the day after you were delayed and missed your original flight? The cancelled flight was probably packed; I'm noticing that every flight I've taken this year is completely full.
 
Ciao tutti! I wanted to follow up on my 2 claims for compensation due to missed flight and cancelled flight. Happy to report that I received €600,00 from both Air Dolomiti (via PayPal which was super easy and faster) and Lufthansa (via bank transfer which took a few days longer). :) I went back and forth many times via emails and Twitter but my persistence FINALLY paid off. I will say that with each airline customer service was very good. There was some confusion about the date of my cancelled flight (with Lufthansa) but once I (kindly) let them know of their date error, they replied, apologized, and agreed I was due the €600. Air Dolomiti took a bit longer with email replies but once all was agreed upon they sent the money and I received it this morning.
KEEP ALL RECEIPTS especially boarding passes with ticket number as this information was critical. It's nice to know that with patience and grit things can work out in a positive way!
(I think what was confusing was the way "dates" are written. 10 Nov vs 11/10) ;)

Safe travels,
Mindy
 
Ciao tutti! I wanted to follow up on my 2 claims for compensation due to missed flight and cancelled flight. Happy to report that I received €600,00 from both Air Dolomiti (via PayPal which was super easy and faster) and Lufthansa (via bank transfer which took a few days longer). :) I went back and forth many times via emails and Twitter but my persistence FINALLY paid off. I will say that with each airline customer service was very good. There was some confusion about the date of my cancelled flight (with Lufthansa) but once I (kindly) let them know of their date error, they replied, apologized, and agreed I was due the €600. Air Dolomiti took a bit longer with email replies but once all was agreed upon they sent the money and I received it this morning.
KEEP ALL RECEIPTS especially boarding passes with ticket number as this information was critical. It's nice to know that with patience and grit things can work out in a positive way!
(I think what was confusing was the way "dates" are written. 10 Nov vs 11/10) ;)

Safe travels,
Mindy
Mindy, did you deal directly with Lufthansa? Or did you go through any other agencies? I have both a cancelled flight and a delayed flight but have had no response to my communications.
Thank you,
Cheryl
 
Mindy, did you deal directly with Lufthansa? Or did you go through any other agencies? I have both a cancelled flight and a delayed flight but have had no response to my communications.
Thank you,
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl,
i dealt directly with Lufthansa and Air Dolomiti. I initially filled out the "compensation" form on the Lufthansa website. I got a reply rather quickly with an FB-ID# (FeedBack not FaceBook) ;) saying they'd received my request. I gave it about a month-ish and when I never heard more I sent them a "tweet" with my FB ID# and a recap saying my flight had cancelled. They were much more responsive and I guess they forwarded it to Customer-Relations as I soon got a reply via email. I had initially filled out 2 separate claims, one for delayed flight which caused me to miss my connecting flight FLR_MUC but Lufthansa emailed saying they forwarded it to Air Dolomiti as for that flight it was the fault of Air Dolomiti. the online form on Air Dolomiti was a joke so I simply sent them a detailed email with my information.
As for Lufthansa, once I sent a message via Twitter that seemed to get the ball rolling. (I sent message to Lufthansa not LufthansaUSA but who knows, maybe both Twitter accounts go to the same pool of employees. The customer service agent I dealt with at Lufthansa was super helpful and seemed eager to help me get my money.
so after all this I've typed...I would suggest sending a Twitter message with any claim number you have and give them all the info. Make sure they know you have 2 separate claims. Hope this helps! #Persist
Mindy
 
That was fairly quick, I'm glad your claims are settled!
I'm still waiting for mine to be settled after I contracted Covid in Florence in September and had to extend my stay.
A couple of weeks ago when I phoned to see how my claim was progressing, they said I should hear from them in two to three weeks, but nothing yet.
There was a news story here recently about a Canadian man whose claim was denied as his insurance company said "His Covid illness was not bad enough to warrant a claim", even though he had specifically taken out a Covid rider on his travel medical insurance. :O
He took the story to the press.
A lawyer said his claim was watertight, as the language in the policy could not be clearer.
Fingers crossed they don't say that to me!
 

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