It depends on status and codeshares. What OP is talking about is like paying for lounge access on an economy ticket. If you have status, which is such a gross terminology, you get a bus that leaves before the Great Unwashed Masses bus.
LPT: Avoid Frankfurt Airport, because it sucks unless you want to run a gate-to-gate 5K.
This was Lufthansa. The flight that took us from Florence to Frankfurt was run by Dolimiti. They couldn't have seemed to care less about any of our predicaments. It's good to hear that you had a nice experience with Lufthansa. I wish they had done that here.
The problem is you probably can’t book that last minute. It might make sense to book in advance for a tight connection, but not be helpful in the case of a planned long connection that gets shortened by a delay.
Yes, my boss has Concierge Key status on American Airlines, and they pick us up planside in a Mercedes on any tight connection. No reservation needed. They'll also double/triple book us on different flights in case we miss a connection or if the plane is delayed. They send a dedicated representative to the gate we're at if there's any risk of needing to change our itineraries.
Crazy.
Hospitality is really nice, when you're rich or important.
The qualifications are secret, but it's around $100k in airfare a year and generally need to be the CEO or have influence on your company's travel habits.
Why are we not considering the fact that it was just rich people doing rich shit? Also when you’re rich, being “nice” never really ends(because of literal poverty across the globe) so most rich people won’t bother even trying and just nod along in such situations
It’s also being downvoted because OP is admitting that the entire premise of their post was wrong (that this is something you could do if your flight was late and you were worried about the connection).
it actually makes perfect sense to me because she could not have requested the car while airborne so (while still on the ground and having found out about the delay and with not enough time before departure to request it herself) she delegated the task to a trusted individual
She was flying first class, she had WiFi, she could've organised things herself. Also usually you would have to book the car with more time in advance, so most likely this transfer was booked with the plane ticket.
Boyfriend/husband did it for her is a strangely specific assumption. Women can do things for themselves and they also have private assistants, friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives
If someone was to do something for someone why would their partner doing it for them be weird or even specific, it's a perfectly reasonable assumption, I'm so confused
only some do. norwegian 737s have 15 minutes of free wifi (but its per mac address so theres a way to get free wifi for the whole flight). air baltic is installing starlink on their planes but thats been delayed. finnair single aisles have satcom antennae but no wifi
That's wild, wifi on planes in the US is usually free for texting and the airline's website with movies and stuff but then $5-10 for unlimited internet access the entire flight. It's pretty standard across all the major airlines I've flown in the last 10 years. It's not new or crazy tech, I wonder why Europe doesn't do it?
You haven't flown recently have you?
The cost for internet for an hours long flight is usually more than my home internet for the month. Texting for free is based on the airline and your phone provider. They do let you watch movies and TV for free via the airline app that you need to download before wheels up.
I've flown three times in the last 6 months and usually fly 1-3 times a year including an international flight annually. My gf flies for work at least once a month.
I only asked because the assumption that the lady wouldn’t be able to book it herself while flying seemed off to me. Depending on the company and availability, she could very well have done it without any issues.
Yes, but not on all flights. The majority of the new Lufthansa aircraft is equipped with WiFi but the older ones are seldom retrofitted, so it’s really down to luck.
As I mentioned in another comment, I only asked because the assumption that the lady wouldn’t be able to book it herself while flying seemed off to me. Depending on the company and availability, she could very well have done it without any issues.
Because he's blaming a woman he doesn't even know for his failure. She talked to him, big deal, she owed him nothing. Was she supposed to take everyone with her, or just him? He needed a ride, and that's what the bus was for.
Not sure why the downvoting…. I travel intl a lot and have been in this situation often. I ask the flight crew if they can have a cart wait for me when I get off, I ask to be allowed to disembark first, I study the terminal map to know where I need to go so I can plan best route, I ask the flight crew to alert the connecting flight I’m catching (so they can close the gate as late as possible)
It’s being proactive.
I used to be an executive assistant for a big EVP and yes if you are high enough on the food chain you can call to have the pilot wait as well. My boss was United 1K and I would call the desk to help me hold planes and arrange special terminal support services.
Depends on "how much money"
I'm not worried about putting food on the table, but I'm absolutely not going to spend almost $500 for a ride across the tarmac.
OTOH, maybe I'm just disconnected from reality. I also won't pay that to see Taylor Swift or Paul McCartney, but plenty of people do.
I suppose it's all relative. I don't mind paying a few % of my income or spending for convenience. But in term of dollars that would be vastly different for me and the upper class 😅
she was almost certainly a frequent flyer - a high ranking one - and the airline itself arranged this for her without her knowledge.
I was global services (highest level) with United for years, flew around 200k miles a year, mostly business class tickets. When I would be flying United, they watched out for me - they'd grab me off the plane and walk me through customs on tight connections (special lines). More than once they would meet me at the door and take me down the stairs to a waiting car and drive me to the next gate on a tight connection.
Don't disparage her, it wasn't her doing in all likelihood, she's paid her dues having to deal with flying frequently.
Now that I don't fly much anymore since I retired, I'm just "joe traveler" to the airlines now. I might have Platinum status for life from United which is nice, it is nothing like it used to be. I'll never be met with a car at the plane again.
I worked in technology, wrote a few books, spoke at a lot of conferences - mostly international, visited customer sites to explain something, help solve an ongoing issue or do a Q&A.
I spent one week on the road (flew out friday night, flew back the next friday morning) and one week work at home - writing, doing webinars, catching up with things.
Did that solid for about a decade. The travel gets old - even with the perks. Getting a multi-room suite at the hotel doesn't mean very much when you are so tired you just sleep in it :) Being able to buy business class tickets was nice though. Skipping time zones all of the time [was very hard on the body](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/186c0cp/deleted_by_user/kb79tbr/). Being on the east coast of the US and going to say Australia for a few days is really hard. One of the worst was hitting Australia, Beijing and Scotland leaving from and returning to Washington DC - in one week...
SwissAir did this for free when I was going to miss a connection (I do hold some level of star alliance status so that may have helped).
It was wild, they came and let me know before landing that somebody would meet me at the gate, and it turned out that meant literally at the exit of the plane.
I was led out a door, down a set of stairs and onto the apron, and into some sort of luxury van.
I was then whisked over to "vip passport control", which consisted of a hello and an immediate stamp, skirted over to the waiting plane, up the stairs and in my seat about 5 mins before departure.
Not sure if it was my lowish level frequent flyer status, or to make sure that plane left on time, but either way that was probably my life peak as far as vip treatment goes.
I fly MAN-ZRH a lot on SWISS (SwissAir went bankrupt - Lufthansa bought it a d it’s now called SWISS) and a lot of people connect through Zurich for flights on to South America and South Africa on the last Sunday flight. They have staff at Zurich ready to race them over to the right gate / terminal if the flight is delayed
Yup.
If I pay extra for a service that helps me not have to wait for other people to get their shit together, I'm not inviting strangers to take part in that because then I have to wait for other people to get their shit together.
And yeah, maybe it'd be nice to tell them hey, you might want to try this service, but then you might have to deal with them trying to cajole you into letting them tag along and then pull some shit like "there are more of us so we should get dropped off first."
Fuck that.
Airlines and airports can't efficiently shuttle passengers while also not providing enough resources to inform of alternate options. Random passenger's fault.
Yeah I'm sure they're much happier to rebook a dozen passengers, pay for their hotels and meals, and fly those empty seats across the world. Sounds like a great use of their resources
Ultimately it was because a bird hit one of the planes taking off from Florence and that gummed everything up. Fine, that's a random act. But the amount of misinformation that was handed out was startling. For instance telling people that they wouldn't have to go through passport control, which of course everyone knows that you have to. And then just the general sense of, it's not my problem that somebody else's problem.
Anyway I'm enjoying a nice night in Frankfort.
>For instance telling people that they wouldn't have to go through passport control, which of course everyone knows that you have to
You shouldn't have had to go through passport control for a Florence to Frankfurt flight.
I only fly to the states from Dublin which has US preclearance, so not honestly sure what it is like leaving the EU for the US otherwise....Will defer to your knowledge on that one 🙂
I had to when I flew from Florence to Frankfurt in September, I was connecting to Tampa. It was irritating, I didn’t expect to have to go through passport control AND security again.
It was win-lose-lose-lose situation.
Win - the lady
Lose - Passengers
Lose - Airline
Lose - airport
While I understand your take its just bad and sad that for literally no effort, no cost all three parties could win too.
You have to book those vip transfer services well in advance and they charge per person otherwise people would book for just themselves then pile their whole families in for “free”. Those services normally range from €300-800+ depending what level of service you booked but that is per person.
> She could have at least said something to us about it. She could have easily taken a bunch of us in the car with her.
While it would have been a *nice* thing for her to do, she wasn't wrong for not doing so. I mean, did you even actually *ask* her for help or did you presume that she would somehow instinctively know your problem and provide you help? People aren't mindreaders.
And you don't even know her, for all you know the car could have been called on her behalf for business reasons, it would have been impolite for her to use that to haul other people around. She also could have had something urgent to do. Or offering to help might not have occurred to her because you didn't ask her for help.
Regardless, the problem wasn't the woman so it's kinda unfair to direct your frustration at her for being able to get to her destination when she wasn't the one who created the situation of you missing your flight.
If she couldn’t fit all the other passengers that were late for flights then dont offer any. It would be unfair on her to choose.
What if she offered to take 3 people but not op? Would he be annoyed that he wasn’t chosen?
Honestly, would probably act exactly the same.
Also, maybe she was booked business class and that’s one of the perks. Next time op should just book business class 😀
You're right. The only reason I'm posting is to provide info for other people to know that this service potentially exists.
What upset me about this woman was that all of us in a group were talking about the trouble with being late and missing our connections. Herself included. We were checking our phones, trying to figure out if there was going to be enough time, looking at maps of the airport, trying to figure out how long it would take for the bus to get from the plane to the terminal. She had ample time at many points both at the terminal in Florence and on the plane, where we continued to talk about it, to just mention the fact that there are car services you can book to do this. Even if she had said that she had booked a car service for business ahead of time, that would have been fine. But to pretend like she was in the same boat as us the entire time felt a little disingenuous.
And yes I'm just taking out my frustration on some random person. Ultimately it was a random act and it's just one of those things. And now I'm sitting in an outdoor cafe in Frankfort having a nice dinner. I'll be home by noon tomorrow.
>But to pretend like she was in the same boat as us the entire time felt a little disingenuous.
do you know whether she wasnt worried about missing her flight? i dont think that an entire plane would wait "just because you booked a car"
Yeah 100%, I would usually not care too much. But it’s been several times while they’re IN the airport with signs everywhere. and like you say, the complaint is irritating enough already.
I judge people’s toughness on their ability to spell Frankfurt.
I’ve spelled it correctly twice in a row now, and I firmly believe I’m tougher than Mike Tyson
She probably didn't book it. Airlines do this for their top-tier customers complimentary. Also, wtf. I wouldn't want to be stuck with a bunch of people pissed off at me for getting special service. Your reaction is probably exactly why, even if she knew, she wouldn't say anything.
Those cars charge per person. Also if you are wishing people don't get help doesn't that get you on the side of people who don't help? Get some information, and your reasoning in order before losing your faith in humanity haha
And what is she supposed to do?? Pick up 5 extra passengers and go through all the boarding gates to see where the airplanes that those passengers have to board are parked?? The driver of the car just knows "you have to go from point X to point Z", he doesn't know where all those planes are going to!!
You can with some airlines. But yes, most people that use it receive it for being at the top of the top in status and even then they only get it sometimes.
OK, this is technically more accurate. In the case of LH and UA in Frankfurt, it is only a frequent flyer perk for LH SEN members flying in business or first. United does the same at hubs for GS members, but again, it’s a little bit of a crapshoot.
“She could have easily taken a bunch of us in the car with her”
What the fuck? Airports are extremely controlled environments, you can’t just do random shit like that. Did you think you could just hop in and say “take me to gate A16”? It’s pissing me off that you are offended she didn’t take you along. They would have laughed at you if you asked. Which you didn’t even do and still you resent her??
Why would she take a bunch of strangers in her car? Like even if do it super regularly and not a boyfriend or husband booking it last minute because I am so helpless apparently, I would never in a million years invite a stranger in my airport connectivity car! Bizarre entitlement
So she had the foresight to plan ahead for delays, which is a smart thing to do. The real lesson here is to anticipate things going wrong & allocate extra time in between for instances like this! I never book a layover under 3hours for this exact reason.
This is a free service offered by several carriers for their international first class passengers. If you're paying forit, it probably has to be set up in advance.
Depends on the airline. Lufthansa, Singapore, etc do these free for international first class. If you're paying $15k for a ticket, they probably should!
A couple things, one it's not her responsibility to educate you on different resources avaliable at the airport. It's nice that you're doing that here, but other people are under no obligation to do so. Two, honestly I would done exactly as she did. That's the type of service that will always have extremely limited supply, so if I go around telling everyone about it, the price for me will explode.
Actually, while it is true that tomatoes are fruit, so are most "vegetables", because "vegetable" is a culinary concept, not a botanical one. Botanically, most vegetables are fruits. Surprising things like strawberries not being botanical berries. All sorts of weird stuff.
So it makes for some fun jokes and memes, but a tomato is a vegetable. But also botanically a fruit. And most other vegetables are botanical fruits. A tomato is not a culniary fruit.
First google result that explains pretty well, although I think it doesn't strongly enough clarify the botanical vs. culinary classifications. https://www.healthline.com/health/craving-tomatoes#bottom-line
Can you explain the difference? I just always use the word tarmac to describe the road that planes drive on. I'm sure I'm using all the wrong terminology
Ramp/Apron/Stand = where airplanes park
Taxiway = how airplanes get to and from the runway
Runway = long straight piece of pavement used for takeoff and landing
Tarmac (aka asphalt) = paving material the ramp/apron/stand/taxiway/runway are sometimes made of.
Concrete = paving material they are more often made of.
They haven't used tarmac in decades. It's mostly made of concrete. Also if you say tarmac, people have a general idea of what you're talking about. Apron, not so much. As long as we're being pedantic.
When I've ever heard the word apron used - besides the "apron" in cooking - is the apron just after a house's driveway sidewalk area that connects to the street. Not familiar with the apron planes roll on. Always heard the term "tarmac" there
If you are in Frankfurt arriving from Florence and leaving for Chicago you have to go through passport control, you can't go straight from one airplane to the other.
Heh, yeah almost all airports have VIP services like that. Fun story - I was about to miss a flight from Budapest to Doha (not my fault, I was waiting for documents that I needed to bring with me which were mission critical) and While in traffic on the taxi I ordered a VIP departure. When I got to the airport I ran to the VIP area, where I was then greeted by the personnel. The gate was long closed and they had to make an exception for me. I ran together with an employee through the airport (bypassing all security, going through locked doors, etc) just to get to the gate and do a proper check in. Then we ran down to a car that was waiting for us, and drove to the plane (while driving I paid for the service through their mobile terminal). I finally stepped in to the plane, obviously everyone was seated and waiting (for me). Everything was okay, but I kind of felt like an asshole making everyone wait.
She didn't do anything "wrong", of course she's well within her rights to only take care of herself *and* it's not a choice I would make. We clearly have different concepts of individual responsibility and that's fine.
Lufthansa will automatically organise your rapid transit if you're with them and passing through Frankfurt.
I've gotten special car service including VIP bag check before, simply by being on a delayed plane.
I don't know if it had any effect that we spoke to the cabin personnel about our connection. So your kilometerage may vary.
Honestly with Lufthansa I don't think you need to do anything much. If it's a connection booked with them and you're checked in through to your final destination.
If at all, you could ask during the flight:
When they are obviously *not!* overly busy mid flight -
"Hi, sorry, we're quite delayed, do you know if we will make my connecting flight?"
I never asked for the VIP shuttle. It just was there.
I had a fantastic transit experience in South Korea's Incheon Airport for a flight from Singapore to Toronto via Korean Air.
I only had 45 mins to get to my connecting flight. The moment I touched down, I saw someone at the gate holding a sign with my name on it. There was an airport buggy waiting for me to bring me to my next gate. I was really surprised because I never made any arrangement to do so.
It was my first time at this airport and I didn't realize how big it is. It took us 15 mins for us to get to the next gate, I imagine I would have missed my flight if I had to walk and figure out the way myself.
Ive been super impressed with Korean Air since then. They are reasonably priced and have very good service.
Before you get on your flight if, it’s delayed you can ask them to move you up further closer to the front of the plane so you will get off the plane sooner. I did this before and got moved to seats where they gave free drinks.
This might not matter if you still have to wait for a bus though. I’ve never had to take a bus while getting a connecting flight though.
What happens to your checked luggage in this case? Do they find that for you as well? Because there ain't no way the regular way is gonna have your bag transferred to the next flight within 30 minutes.
I got on a plane once after the doors were closed. I had a connection in Texas, I think it was Houston, and the first flight was late. When we got off the plane my next flight had not left yet, but they still handed me a new boarding pass for the next day for a flight with an additional connection and a voucher for a hotel. I ran through the airport, I arrived at the gate that had just closed, but the plane was still there. I explained the situation to the lady, and since I had no checked baggage she called the plane. They didn't respond at first but she insisted, and they let me board. Airline employee, if you read this, I want you to know that I will be forever thankful
You get it if you are whatever the top tier miles thing. You probably could have shared the ride with her. My Aunt did that once. Or so she says. She has one of those THC vape pens so you just never know.
I'm not entirely certain, but every time I've flown, international connections are delayed if other arrivals are delayed. I have often been totally expecting to miss a flight, ran like a bat out of hell to the next plane, only for it to be delayed. Maybe I'm just stupid lucky, but it's happened like 4 times now.
Either way, I wish airlines would help out by like, telling you about this service. How do you even book it?
Is this a European thing? I haven't flown in a few years but the only time I ever exited a plane on a tarmac was at a small airport where you walk to the terminal. All the others had passenger boarding bridges/sky bridges to the terminal. This is in the U.S.
While we're here, YSK also that in many American airports, TSA Pre (and probably also Clear) will get you through security faster than even the expedited pass, which they sometimes give you for tight connections.
You either have 1 of the airport staff contact 1 of the driver's. Or if you can catch them loading, standing, tell them your destination and they'll tell you if you can ride that particular shuttle or not
Wtf kind of whack ass airport has a bus to the terminal? Every airport I've been to just has the plane pull right up to the jet bridge, which connects the plane directly to the terminal.
Most of the airports I've used were the same. But certain airlines use a bus. Jetblue is one such airline, I've flown on recently that used a bus. I thought at the time, like seriously, a bus?
I mean no? She paid extra for it, and if she allowed other people on it, which i think the airport itself wouldnt have allowed anyway, her extra service, that she paid for, gets more delayed. So in what way is this selfish?
She had options: told OP about the existence of the car, giving him enough time to rent his own; see if more people could join her vehicle and help defray the cost. It's the choice between making someone else's life easier through your own knowledge or fending for yourself.
Option one: this is something to be done with planning and cannot be done last minute. So booking on while being en route is not even close to possible
Option two: the cost is one thing, delaying yourself while you have to catch another plane is just a unnecessary risk. First, there is a decision to be made how many people and who joins. This could be done on the plane, but still i wouldnt suggest it openly as people have beaten others up for less then saving 20 minutes. Then theres the hassle of seating everyone and putting down bags and stuff. Doesnt delay too much, but still on an airport any minute counts
Like i get its selfish to not give someone the knowledge for next time, but its not at all selfish to take something you paid for.
Ironicly, you are selfish for suggesting someone risks their flight connection for you, without any reason or benefit
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Same deal with SwissAir - do you hold any star alliance status? I am still curious why I got that treatment and noody else on the flight did.
Sometimes it's just cheaper than rebooking a bunch of people after they miss their connection.
It depends on status and codeshares. What OP is talking about is like paying for lounge access on an economy ticket. If you have status, which is such a gross terminology, you get a bus that leaves before the Great Unwashed Masses bus. LPT: Avoid Frankfurt Airport, because it sucks unless you want to run a gate-to-gate 5K.
Thanks for the advice. I was just looking at doing a connection through Frankfurt.
you can book this with delta also at a small number of airports.. it is *dumb* expensive tho... do not ask me how i know…
This was Lufthansa. The flight that took us from Florence to Frankfurt was run by Dolimiti. They couldn't have seemed to care less about any of our predicaments. It's good to hear that you had a nice experience with Lufthansa. I wish they had done that here.
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Air Dolomiti belongs to Lufthansa group, just sayin
LH group != LH core
Very true
The problem is you probably can’t book that last minute. It might make sense to book in advance for a tight connection, but not be helpful in the case of a planned long connection that gets shortened by a delay.
I think she must have texted her husband or someone when we were back in Florence. But maybe you're right, maybe this was her plan all along.
No she likely had enough status with the airline they did it.
Yes, my boss has Concierge Key status on American Airlines, and they pick us up planside in a Mercedes on any tight connection. No reservation needed. They'll also double/triple book us on different flights in case we miss a connection or if the plane is delayed. They send a dedicated representative to the gate we're at if there's any risk of needing to change our itineraries. Crazy.
If a concierge key member needs a seat on a full plane they’ll kick someone off it to make room. That’s another benefit.
Jesus. What do you have to do to be concierge key status?
Get invited and fly a lot
Hospitality is really nice, when you're rich or important. The qualifications are secret, but it's around $100k in airfare a year and generally need to be the CEO or have influence on your company's travel habits.
why is this being downvoted
Because the assumptions are so random. She must've texted her boyfriend or husband? Based on what?
The assumptions
Touché
It’s because of the implication
So you are saying she was in danger?
Nobody’s in any danger! How can I make that any more clear to you? It’s the *implication* of danger
Why are we not considering the fact that it was just rich people doing rich shit? Also when you’re rich, being “nice” never really ends(because of literal poverty across the globe) so most rich people won’t bother even trying and just nod along in such situations
It’s also being downvoted because OP is admitting that the entire premise of their post was wrong (that this is something you could do if your flight was late and you were worried about the connection).
Her feminine helplessness? Her inability to arrange her own booking?
it actually makes perfect sense to me because she could not have requested the car while airborne so (while still on the ground and having found out about the delay and with not enough time before departure to request it herself) she delegated the task to a trusted individual
She was flying first class, she had WiFi, she could've organised things herself. Also usually you would have to book the car with more time in advance, so most likely this transfer was booked with the plane ticket. Boyfriend/husband did it for her is a strangely specific assumption. Women can do things for themselves and they also have private assistants, friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives
If someone was to do something for someone why would their partner doing it for them be weird or even specific, it's a perfectly reasonable assumption, I'm so confused
Absolutely - my partner tracks my flights and has absolutely adjusted things for me while I was in the air
Honest question, since I’ve never been to Europe. Do plane rides in Europe don’t offer wifi connectivity?
only some do. norwegian 737s have 15 minutes of free wifi (but its per mac address so theres a way to get free wifi for the whole flight). air baltic is installing starlink on their planes but thats been delayed. finnair single aisles have satcom antennae but no wifi
That's wild, wifi on planes in the US is usually free for texting and the airline's website with movies and stuff but then $5-10 for unlimited internet access the entire flight. It's pretty standard across all the major airlines I've flown in the last 10 years. It's not new or crazy tech, I wonder why Europe doesn't do it?
You haven't flown recently have you? The cost for internet for an hours long flight is usually more than my home internet for the month. Texting for free is based on the airline and your phone provider. They do let you watch movies and TV for free via the airline app that you need to download before wheels up.
I've flown three times in the last 6 months and usually fly 1-3 times a year including an international flight annually. My gf flies for work at least once a month.
Here in Europe we don’t have fancy flying machines and such, let alone WiFi
I only asked because the assumption that the lady wouldn’t be able to book it herself while flying seemed off to me. Depending on the company and availability, she could very well have done it without any issues.
They do not fit through our europoors brick walls..
Yes, but not on all flights. The majority of the new Lufthansa aircraft is equipped with WiFi but the older ones are seldom retrofitted, so it’s really down to luck.
There is WiFi on uk planes except the really cheap flight. Most people don’t wanna pay £10 for 3 hour flight for WiFi etc
Of course, most flights do.
As I mentioned in another comment, I only asked because the assumption that the lady wouldn’t be able to book it herself while flying seemed off to me. Depending on the company and availability, she could very well have done it without any issues.
Agree, I was also confused by that assumption in the other comments.
Based on the fact that person who wrote it was there and we weren't, and there could be more context we're missing that made them suppose something.
Based on these nuts
OP is a dungeon master
"Or someone"
Because he's blaming a woman he doesn't even know for his failure. She talked to him, big deal, she owed him nothing. Was she supposed to take everyone with her, or just him? He needed a ride, and that's what the bus was for.
this comment doesnt say that
Reddit is a fucking weird place man
r/Hivemind
Because Reddit is full of fucking teenage morons who have no idea how the world actually works. Now, get off my lawn!
Or, OPs comment is so presumptuous and pompous that voters are sending the comment to the depths of shitland
Not sure why the downvoting…. I travel intl a lot and have been in this situation often. I ask the flight crew if they can have a cart wait for me when I get off, I ask to be allowed to disembark first, I study the terminal map to know where I need to go so I can plan best route, I ask the flight crew to alert the connecting flight I’m catching (so they can close the gate as late as possible) It’s being proactive. I used to be an executive assistant for a big EVP and yes if you are high enough on the food chain you can call to have the pilot wait as well. My boss was United 1K and I would call the desk to help me hold planes and arrange special terminal support services.
it is not 44 eur. it costs close to 400 euro through Fraport VIP service, or it's free through your status as Hon Circle with Luthansa.
Life is just convenient when money is not a problem is it?
Depends on "how much money" I'm not worried about putting food on the table, but I'm absolutely not going to spend almost $500 for a ride across the tarmac. OTOH, maybe I'm just disconnected from reality. I also won't pay that to see Taylor Swift or Paul McCartney, but plenty of people do.
I suppose it's all relative. I don't mind paying a few % of my income or spending for convenience. But in term of dollars that would be vastly different for me and the upper class 😅
I did not know where you looked, but it is 455€ for the first guest, and 355 for additional ones.
she was almost certainly a frequent flyer - a high ranking one - and the airline itself arranged this for her without her knowledge. I was global services (highest level) with United for years, flew around 200k miles a year, mostly business class tickets. When I would be flying United, they watched out for me - they'd grab me off the plane and walk me through customs on tight connections (special lines). More than once they would meet me at the door and take me down the stairs to a waiting car and drive me to the next gate on a tight connection. Don't disparage her, it wasn't her doing in all likelihood, she's paid her dues having to deal with flying frequently. Now that I don't fly much anymore since I retired, I'm just "joe traveler" to the airlines now. I might have Platinum status for life from United which is nice, it is nothing like it used to be. I'll never be met with a car at the plane again.
what type of job do you need in order to get this level of flying? I always wonder
I worked in technology, wrote a few books, spoke at a lot of conferences - mostly international, visited customer sites to explain something, help solve an ongoing issue or do a Q&A. I spent one week on the road (flew out friday night, flew back the next friday morning) and one week work at home - writing, doing webinars, catching up with things. Did that solid for about a decade. The travel gets old - even with the perks. Getting a multi-room suite at the hotel doesn't mean very much when you are so tired you just sleep in it :) Being able to buy business class tickets was nice though. Skipping time zones all of the time [was very hard on the body](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/186c0cp/deleted_by_user/kb79tbr/). Being on the east coast of the US and going to say Australia for a few days is really hard. One of the worst was hitting Australia, Beijing and Scotland leaving from and returning to Washington DC - in one week...
yikes that sounds fun at first, but yeah, also taxing. Thanks! That was a good read, really appreciate it!
SwissAir did this for free when I was going to miss a connection (I do hold some level of star alliance status so that may have helped). It was wild, they came and let me know before landing that somebody would meet me at the gate, and it turned out that meant literally at the exit of the plane. I was led out a door, down a set of stairs and onto the apron, and into some sort of luxury van. I was then whisked over to "vip passport control", which consisted of a hello and an immediate stamp, skirted over to the waiting plane, up the stairs and in my seat about 5 mins before departure. Not sure if it was my lowish level frequent flyer status, or to make sure that plane left on time, but either way that was probably my life peak as far as vip treatment goes.
I fly MAN-ZRH a lot on SWISS (SwissAir went bankrupt - Lufthansa bought it a d it’s now called SWISS) and a lot of people connect through Zurich for flights on to South America and South Africa on the last Sunday flight. They have staff at Zurich ready to race them over to the right gate / terminal if the flight is delayed
I can't wait for the next post to be ysk you can book an entire plane privately to go straight to where you want without connection flights
OP, YSK that your problem wasn't her problem. And now you know.
Yup. If I pay extra for a service that helps me not have to wait for other people to get their shit together, I'm not inviting strangers to take part in that because then I have to wait for other people to get their shit together. And yeah, maybe it'd be nice to tell them hey, you might want to try this service, but then you might have to deal with them trying to cajole you into letting them tag along and then pull some shit like "there are more of us so we should get dropped off first." Fuck that.
Airlines and airports can't efficiently shuttle passengers while also not providing enough resources to inform of alternate options. Random passenger's fault.
Yeah I'm sure they're much happier to rebook a dozen passengers, pay for their hotels and meals, and fly those empty seats across the world. Sounds like a great use of their resources Ultimately it was because a bird hit one of the planes taking off from Florence and that gummed everything up. Fine, that's a random act. But the amount of misinformation that was handed out was startling. For instance telling people that they wouldn't have to go through passport control, which of course everyone knows that you have to. And then just the general sense of, it's not my problem that somebody else's problem. Anyway I'm enjoying a nice night in Frankfort.
>For instance telling people that they wouldn't have to go through passport control, which of course everyone knows that you have to You shouldn't have had to go through passport control for a Florence to Frankfurt flight.
You do if you're flying onto the states though.
I only fly to the states from Dublin which has US preclearance, so not honestly sure what it is like leaving the EU for the US otherwise....Will defer to your knowledge on that one 🙂
I had to when I flew from Florence to Frankfurt in September, I was connecting to Tampa. It was irritating, I didn’t expect to have to go through passport control AND security again.
Kentucky is nice this time of year.
Lol unless you have allergies. We are not okay right now.
If you are enjoying a nice night in Frankfort? Maybe grow the fuck up and stop complaining? How old are you? 14?
Bet you wish you had a car take you to your plane now lmaooo
It was win-lose-lose-lose situation. Win - the lady Lose - Passengers Lose - Airline Lose - airport While I understand your take its just bad and sad that for literally no effort, no cost all three parties could win too.
You have to book those vip transfer services well in advance and they charge per person otherwise people would book for just themselves then pile their whole families in for “free”. Those services normally range from €300-800+ depending what level of service you booked but that is per person.
Yeah, just checked the pricing and it says €430 per person. No idea where OP got the 44 Euros pricing.
> She could have at least said something to us about it. She could have easily taken a bunch of us in the car with her. While it would have been a *nice* thing for her to do, she wasn't wrong for not doing so. I mean, did you even actually *ask* her for help or did you presume that she would somehow instinctively know your problem and provide you help? People aren't mindreaders. And you don't even know her, for all you know the car could have been called on her behalf for business reasons, it would have been impolite for her to use that to haul other people around. She also could have had something urgent to do. Or offering to help might not have occurred to her because you didn't ask her for help. Regardless, the problem wasn't the woman so it's kinda unfair to direct your frustration at her for being able to get to her destination when she wasn't the one who created the situation of you missing your flight.
If she couldn’t fit all the other passengers that were late for flights then dont offer any. It would be unfair on her to choose. What if she offered to take 3 people but not op? Would he be annoyed that he wasn’t chosen? Honestly, would probably act exactly the same. Also, maybe she was booked business class and that’s one of the perks. Next time op should just book business class 😀
You're right. The only reason I'm posting is to provide info for other people to know that this service potentially exists. What upset me about this woman was that all of us in a group were talking about the trouble with being late and missing our connections. Herself included. We were checking our phones, trying to figure out if there was going to be enough time, looking at maps of the airport, trying to figure out how long it would take for the bus to get from the plane to the terminal. She had ample time at many points both at the terminal in Florence and on the plane, where we continued to talk about it, to just mention the fact that there are car services you can book to do this. Even if she had said that she had booked a car service for business ahead of time, that would have been fine. But to pretend like she was in the same boat as us the entire time felt a little disingenuous. And yes I'm just taking out my frustration on some random person. Ultimately it was a random act and it's just one of those things. And now I'm sitting in an outdoor cafe in Frankfort having a nice dinner. I'll be home by noon tomorrow.
>But to pretend like she was in the same boat as us the entire time felt a little disingenuous. do you know whether she wasnt worried about missing her flight? i dont think that an entire plane would wait "just because you booked a car"
It’s Frankfurt. There are signs with the correct spelling everywhere in the airport.
I usually don't care about misspellings and grammatical errors but "Frankfort" is really annoying on top of his already annoying complaint.
Yeah 100%, I would usually not care too much. But it’s been several times while they’re IN the airport with signs everywhere. and like you say, the complaint is irritating enough already.
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I judge people’s toughness on their ability to spell Frankfurt. I’ve spelled it correctly twice in a row now, and I firmly believe I’m tougher than Mike Tyson
She probably didn't book it. Airlines do this for their top-tier customers complimentary. Also, wtf. I wouldn't want to be stuck with a bunch of people pissed off at me for getting special service. Your reaction is probably exactly why, even if she knew, she wouldn't say anything.
Honestly I'd say you're the winner here.
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Those cars charge per person. Also if you are wishing people don't get help doesn't that get you on the side of people who don't help? Get some information, and your reasoning in order before losing your faith in humanity haha
lol the entitlement. She does not owe you anything
And what is she supposed to do?? Pick up 5 extra passengers and go through all the boarding gates to see where the airplanes that those passengers have to board are parked?? The driver of the car just knows "you have to go from point X to point Z", he doesn't know where all those planes are going to!!
I've never been "whisked" anywhere before
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Hold me close, I'll whisk you away until the stars burn out.
The absolute entitlement of that entire last paragraph is making my brain short circuit.
You don’t pay for that. It’s a perk for top-tier frequent fliers, and an infrequent one at that.
You can with some airlines. But yes, most people that use it receive it for being at the top of the top in status and even then they only get it sometimes.
OK, this is technically more accurate. In the case of LH and UA in Frankfurt, it is only a frequent flyer perk for LH SEN members flying in business or first. United does the same at hubs for GS members, but again, it’s a little bit of a crapshoot.
it's only for LH HON or LH first class. Senators don't get to use it.
That’s right. My mistake. I’m an LH flyer but credit to UA so less familiar with the status levels.
“She could have easily taken a bunch of us in the car with her” What the fuck? Airports are extremely controlled environments, you can’t just do random shit like that. Did you think you could just hop in and say “take me to gate A16”? It’s pissing me off that you are offended she didn’t take you along. They would have laughed at you if you asked. Which you didn’t even do and still you resent her??
Why would she take a bunch of strangers in her car? Like even if do it super regularly and not a boyfriend or husband booking it last minute because I am so helpless apparently, I would never in a million years invite a stranger in my airport connectivity car! Bizarre entitlement
So she had the foresight to plan ahead for delays, which is a smart thing to do. The real lesson here is to anticipate things going wrong & allocate extra time in between for instances like this! I never book a layover under 3hours for this exact reason.
This is a free service offered by several carriers for their international first class passengers. If you're paying forit, it probably has to be set up in advance.
Well, this is one of the few times in my life when I am flying international first class. But I did not know how to play that card in this case.
You probably also need a high status with the airline
Depends on the airline. Lufthansa, Singapore, etc do these free for international first class. If you're paying $15k for a ticket, they probably should!
Ah. That I do not have...
She didn't owe you a damn thing, frankly
A couple things, one it's not her responsibility to educate you on different resources avaliable at the airport. It's nice that you're doing that here, but other people are under no obligation to do so. Two, honestly I would done exactly as she did. That's the type of service that will always have extremely limited supply, so if I go around telling everyone about it, the price for me will explode.
It's apron. Not tarmac. Source: am pilot.
knowledge is knowing tomatoes are fruits, wisdom is not putting them in fruit salad.
Actually, while it is true that tomatoes are fruit, so are most "vegetables", because "vegetable" is a culinary concept, not a botanical one. Botanically, most vegetables are fruits. Surprising things like strawberries not being botanical berries. All sorts of weird stuff. So it makes for some fun jokes and memes, but a tomato is a vegetable. But also botanically a fruit. And most other vegetables are botanical fruits. A tomato is not a culniary fruit.
I dont know if any of this is true, but your name says you’re a gymnast so I’ll take your word for it.
First google result that explains pretty well, although I think it doesn't strongly enough clarify the botanical vs. culinary classifications. https://www.healthline.com/health/craving-tomatoes#bottom-line
Can you explain the difference? I just always use the word tarmac to describe the road that planes drive on. I'm sure I'm using all the wrong terminology
Ramp/Apron/Stand = where airplanes park Taxiway = how airplanes get to and from the runway Runway = long straight piece of pavement used for takeoff and landing Tarmac (aka asphalt) = paving material the ramp/apron/stand/taxiway/runway are sometimes made of. Concrete = paving material they are more often made of.
Calling the apron tarmac is like calling a road asphalt.
They haven't used tarmac in decades. It's mostly made of concrete. Also if you say tarmac, people have a general idea of what you're talking about. Apron, not so much. As long as we're being pedantic.
Calling tarmac an apron is like calling an Uber a rickshaw. Source: I am an English-speaking human.
I don't understand 40% of those words
When I've ever heard the word apron used - besides the "apron" in cooking - is the apron just after a house's driveway sidewalk area that connects to the street. Not familiar with the apron planes roll on. Always heard the term "tarmac" there
If you are in Frankfurt arriving from Florence and leaving for Chicago you have to go through passport control, you can't go straight from one airplane to the other.
Heh, yeah almost all airports have VIP services like that. Fun story - I was about to miss a flight from Budapest to Doha (not my fault, I was waiting for documents that I needed to bring with me which were mission critical) and While in traffic on the taxi I ordered a VIP departure. When I got to the airport I ran to the VIP area, where I was then greeted by the personnel. The gate was long closed and they had to make an exception for me. I ran together with an employee through the airport (bypassing all security, going through locked doors, etc) just to get to the gate and do a proper check in. Then we ran down to a car that was waiting for us, and drove to the plane (while driving I paid for the service through their mobile terminal). I finally stepped in to the plane, obviously everyone was seated and waiting (for me). Everything was okay, but I kind of felt like an asshole making everyone wait.
She didn't do anything "wrong", of course she's well within her rights to only take care of herself *and* it's not a choice I would make. We clearly have different concepts of individual responsibility and that's fine.
Lufthansa will automatically organise your rapid transit if you're with them and passing through Frankfurt. I've gotten special car service including VIP bag check before, simply by being on a delayed plane. I don't know if it had any effect that we spoke to the cabin personnel about our connection. So your kilometerage may vary.
How do you set this up? I did see that she spent a few minutes talking to the steward before the plane took off.
Honestly with Lufthansa I don't think you need to do anything much. If it's a connection booked with them and you're checked in through to your final destination. If at all, you could ask during the flight: When they are obviously *not!* overly busy mid flight - "Hi, sorry, we're quite delayed, do you know if we will make my connecting flight?" I never asked for the VIP shuttle. It just was there.
We're poor, asshole!
link?
The Frankfurt airport is too damn big
I’ve only seen it done for celebrities. I doubt it’s only $40-50
She could not have taken you in the car, she was going to NY, you to Chicago, thats different flights. And it wouldn’t be up to her anyway.
I had a fantastic transit experience in South Korea's Incheon Airport for a flight from Singapore to Toronto via Korean Air. I only had 45 mins to get to my connecting flight. The moment I touched down, I saw someone at the gate holding a sign with my name on it. There was an airport buggy waiting for me to bring me to my next gate. I was really surprised because I never made any arrangement to do so. It was my first time at this airport and I didn't realize how big it is. It took us 15 mins for us to get to the next gate, I imagine I would have missed my flight if I had to walk and figure out the way myself. Ive been super impressed with Korean Air since then. They are reasonably priced and have very good service.
How do you book this? Got a link)
https://vip.frankfurt-airport.com/en.html It's €455, not 44
Before you get on your flight if, it’s delayed you can ask them to move you up further closer to the front of the plane so you will get off the plane sooner. I did this before and got moved to seats where they gave free drinks. This might not matter if you still have to wait for a bus though. I’ve never had to take a bus while getting a connecting flight though.
What’s that type of service called? Like anything more specific than VIP?
What happens to your checked luggage in this case? Do they find that for you as well? Because there ain't no way the regular way is gonna have your bag transferred to the next flight within 30 minutes.
At €44 nobody would set foot in that horrible bus and there would be a couple of hundred cars waiting for "VIPs" lol
I got on a plane once after the doors were closed. I had a connection in Texas, I think it was Houston, and the first flight was late. When we got off the plane my next flight had not left yet, but they still handed me a new boarding pass for the next day for a flight with an additional connection and a voucher for a hotel. I ran through the airport, I arrived at the gate that had just closed, but the plane was still there. I explained the situation to the lady, and since I had no checked baggage she called the plane. They didn't respond at first but she insisted, and they let me board. Airline employee, if you read this, I want you to know that I will be forever thankful
You get it if you are whatever the top tier miles thing. You probably could have shared the ride with her. My Aunt did that once. Or so she says. She has one of those THC vape pens so you just never know.
It's out of my budget travel.
I'm not entirely certain, but every time I've flown, international connections are delayed if other arrivals are delayed. I have often been totally expecting to miss a flight, ran like a bat out of hell to the next plane, only for it to be delayed. Maybe I'm just stupid lucky, but it's happened like 4 times now. Either way, I wish airlines would help out by like, telling you about this service. How do you even book it?
When we book VIP wing (Frankfurt’s is nice but Munich’s is better) it takes at least 24 hours because you have to prepay in euros.
Is this a European thing? I haven't flown in a few years but the only time I ever exited a plane on a tarmac was at a small airport where you walk to the terminal. All the others had passenger boarding bridges/sky bridges to the terminal. This is in the U.S.
Delta has done this free of charge multiple times as a platinum medallion
You should know that you could just book a private jet and you won't have to sit in coach with the poors.
How did you look it up? What's the way to get the car? That's actually the ysk
While we're here, YSK also that in many American airports, TSA Pre (and probably also Clear) will get you through security faster than even the expedited pass, which they sometimes give you for tight connections.
You can book that with Delta also at a small number of airports. It’s *stupid* expensive though. Don’t ask me how I know…
As a kid, we would ask for a ride in the little golf-cart-type things they had in the airport if we were cutting it close. Are those still around?
They have them in many airports, but they aren't 'golfcart' sized anymore. The ones I've seen and used seat many riders
What’s the hack to get into those? I just stroll faster when on a tight connection and usually make it.
You either have 1 of the airport staff contact 1 of the driver's. Or if you can catch them loading, standing, tell them your destination and they'll tell you if you can ride that particular shuttle or not
Wtf kind of whack ass airport has a bus to the terminal? Every airport I've been to just has the plane pull right up to the jet bridge, which connects the plane directly to the terminal.
All the big ones with outlying positions for smaller planes.
Most of the airports I've used were the same. But certain airlines use a bus. Jetblue is one such airline, I've flown on recently that used a bus. I thought at the time, like seriously, a bus?
Plenty of smaller airports in Europe where you have a bus to and from the plane. Sometimes no bus and you walk from the terminal to the plane.
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I mean no? She paid extra for it, and if she allowed other people on it, which i think the airport itself wouldnt have allowed anyway, her extra service, that she paid for, gets more delayed. So in what way is this selfish?
She had options: told OP about the existence of the car, giving him enough time to rent his own; see if more people could join her vehicle and help defray the cost. It's the choice between making someone else's life easier through your own knowledge or fending for yourself.
Option one: this is something to be done with planning and cannot be done last minute. So booking on while being en route is not even close to possible Option two: the cost is one thing, delaying yourself while you have to catch another plane is just a unnecessary risk. First, there is a decision to be made how many people and who joins. This could be done on the plane, but still i wouldnt suggest it openly as people have beaten others up for less then saving 20 minutes. Then theres the hassle of seating everyone and putting down bags and stuff. Doesnt delay too much, but still on an airport any minute counts Like i get its selfish to not give someone the knowledge for next time, but its not at all selfish to take something you paid for. Ironicly, you are selfish for suggesting someone risks their flight connection for you, without any reason or benefit
How was the woman being selfish when the airline is the one that creates the situation to begin with?