KLM Disaster Travelling from Helsinki to Atlanta USA and back

KLM Disaster Travelling from Helsinki to Atlanta USA and back

August 30, 2005

October 20, 2005 - Consumer Follow-up Message:

I have contacted KLM directly by email on august 30, 2005 with the complaint,

posted also on the link below on complaints.com

http://www.complaints.com/directory/2005/august/30/51.htm

Seven weeks have now passed, and I have not heard a peep From KLM. No contact has been made towards me by KLM whatsoever.

I hope that they are at least trying to investigate the matter, but this 7 weeks' total silence is strange.

Hopefully this is not an indication on the general level of KLM customer service.

One could assume - in the time given - that at least some message, e.g. that the complaint has been taken under investigation, would be sent. But as said, I have heard absolutely nothing from them.

Sincerely,

Jukka-Pekka Luostarinen

I have informed KLM myself that my complaint has also been posted for public view at complaints.com.

KLM email address:

Email User

August 30, 2005:

This is a complaint about how just about everything can go wrong when traveling with a disabled person (Kidney failure & Diabetes etc.) We ran into serious difficulties with KLM on our flights to the U.S. Dec. 17th 2004 - Jan 8. - 10. 2005. I was travelling with a seriously ill & disabled person. I had made arrangements for his safe travel with KLM Cares well in advance of our flights. The Doctor's documents etc. were all sent to KLM Cares at Amsterdam several times via fax. KLM demonstrated dangerous negligence towards a disabled person, even endangering his health (or what is left of it) despite our best efforts to inform the airline well both in advance and during our trip. What made everything worse was that this trip was a 40'th birthday present to our disabled companion. It ended in a total catastrophy. We had asked for: Ground assistance (wheelchair & help with heavy luggage: dialysis machine & transformer & in-flight dialysis fluids, the patient cannot carry any of these) Seating: with more legroom (fluid collects heavily in the patient's limbs if there is no room to move) Seating next to me for my assistance Food: for diabetic, non-lactose Cabin luggage: medication and 2 pcs of heavy but sensitive medical equipment (cannot be put to cargo hold) Possibility for dialysis fluid changes during flight (fluids included in medication set) Changing of flights made easy with prebooked connections (with seats/boarding passes) My contacts to KLM started over a month before our trip to ensure that all medical info & documents were in order. Last contacts were made several times only days before our trip. KLM Cares informed me only the previous day (when i called them) that everything should be fine. When the trip started in Helsinki, the check-in crew had heard nothing from KLMCares, despite my faxes/phone calls to Amsterdam KLMcares. There was no mention of a disabled passenger anywhere, not to mention of any of our special needs. Fortunately, I got a long computer printout from one very helpful ground crew member at the Helsinki airport. This printout was helpful because i could show this document to ground & flight crews to explain matters later on, but i did not personally understand the contents of it (written in "airlinerese"). Luckily, the first flight was short, the only problem was accommodating our luggage, they of course wanted an overweight charge, but this was waived after my bitter complaints. Also, there was no special food/seating as promised. The crew were very annoyed for having to find space for our cabin luggage. On arrival to Amsterdam, I specifically asked the Purser if our heavy equipment would be transported to the flight to Atlanta from the aircraft as we had asked. She ennoyedly told us to go directly "to the end gate" as i tried to remove our equipment from the business class closet where they had been put by the crew, asking me to just move along. So we went to the gate for our flight to ATL. I finally got the patient transported on an electric car to the gate, after having showed the computer printout... There was no prearranged assistance. When we got there, there was none of the equipmet. We almost missed the flight, since the equipment had just been left laying there at the arrival gate to AMS. Thanks for the Schipol ground crew for finally locating it. But I had no time for any shopping for presents etc for our US friends as had been planned. Embarrassing. Only worrying about whether we would get the equipment or not (and therefore, whether we could be on the flight or not). When boarding the flight, the crew had no knowledge of our special requests. Nor of the in-flight fluid changes. No special non-lactose meal. No space for our equipment... I had to fight every step for our patient. Luckily, the flight crew was able to arrange things, the fluid changes were done at crew rest seats, but with some angry crewmembers. Toilets are not clean enough an environment to do dialysis in. I tried to explain the situation to them. The first officer came to us and told us to make a formal complaint, because they (KLM) clearly had handled things badly (after i showed them the computer printout). Atlanta airport was another story, with the hassle with customs with all our stuff... And the customs people did not get it that the patient and i cannot be separated (they wanted to check my luggage only and as i started pushing the patient's wheelchair etc. they did not allow that at first). When coming back from ATL, the real problems started. Our flight was cancelled. I had called KLM in the afternoon, before we left to the airport, and they said everything was ok. I also asked at this point for assistance on our arrival to the airport. At the airport, we learned that the plane had never even left Amsterdam. And there was absolutely no assistance nor support. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE! They lied to us when i called the KLM office. We came in vain to the airport with the patient, all our heavy luggage, medications etc. They should have just rebooked us directly on the phone for next day. When i learned about this situation, I asked for a faster way (rerouting), but they ignored me and insisted that we get on the same KLM next day flight. But we needed to come to the airport early, by 12, to get seats. They would not give us seats already that day. Some people (those screaming loudest) got a faster routing, i know. It was no use trying to explain that we were running out of medications. Then, I asked for a Hotel with food (because of diabetes) at the airport, but they sent us to a bad far-away Motel with NO FOOD AVAILABLE, not even at a walking distance!!! I called the ground crew supervisor ("mr. Ed" = Ground crew Supervisor), explaining that we are really in problems as the patient went into low blood sugar shock on arrival to the Motel. He promised to give us instructions soon. We never heard of him since, despite my many phone calls back to him. No assistance. This is NOT acceptable. We had to return (at our own expense) at night to the airport to eat, because the meal voucher was not valid anywhere else and we did not learn of any food being available near the Motel. The brakfast at the Motel was also only black coffee & dry cereal (they had even no milk with it). This is no good for a diabetic kidney patient. Also, an explanation to all this was bluntly refused us at the ticket desk the next day when we came to the airport as required already by 12.00. (the flight was to leave at Despite my efforts, they made no notice of my sick friend, who was already at a very bad condition. Only when i started screaming, i got food coupons for one meal only for us for that long day waiting at the airport. Because of this delay & running back & forth, we also had to pay for taxis, also extra porter's fees etc, since they had not heard anything about our ground assistance requests at ATL airport either. Also the wheelchair assistant started screaming for money from us, though he should have been paid by the airline. He was extremely rude, but we only had USD 10 left to give him. We were, in the end, also given a taxi voucher to get more emergency medications from the city (we were running out). (Thanks to "Agent Alicia" who tried to listen to our worries). Also, i had to call Finland for rescheduling the patient's treatment and to inform his relatives of our delay, but no assistance was given to me when i asked for a phone to do this. ( I had to queue from 12.00 until 16.00 with no possibility of getting anywhere). We were also refused calling cards, although some passengers got them. Thanks for the purser of the ATL-AMS flight, he managed to make our lives tolerable during the flight. They had not been informed at all by ATL ground crew nor KLM Cares about us or our needs, despite my talking and waiting with them for two days at the airport. And all the pre-travel contacts and arrangements i had made. We could also not be routed at ATL airport directly for our connecting flight from AMS to HEL , which caused problems at Schiphol when we finally got there. According to the ticketing/transfer desk in Schiphol, we should have stayed at Schiphol another extra day without any medications left. We only got on a flight that day when i finally told the desk crew that if so, THEY must the call an ambulance and hospitalize our patient for that evening and night at KLM's expense. Thanks for a KLMCares guy that finally assisted us at Schipol to get us back to Helsinki. The patient was lying at the emergency ward of Schipol while i tried to sort things out. No time to eat or shop. Only an ongoing nightmare. The other two travelers of our group booked a hotel for the day at Schipol airport hotel (at their own expense of course) as they were so shocked and exhausted. But that was not an option for me or the patient... I Strongly feel that KLM should make better efforts to enable disabled people to travel, as is also already asked for by EU and U.S. law i believe. The lack of understanding & compassion of the staff at ATL airport is also astounding. I suspect that these people were actually from Norhwest Airlines (in alliance with KLM). I feel that the treatment we received (except for a few wonderful individuals) was totally ridiculous, and KLM(&NWA?) must take some responsibility for what happened. I had to fight for every step along the whole trip with no chance of relaxing for one instant. Not getting food at airports/motel is also unecscusable, perhaps even warranting legal action. Why do airlines ask for us to make arrangements beforehand, if these efforts of ours are all for nothing? No notice taken? Sincerely Yours, Jukka-Pekka Luostarinen Flights/Itinerary: 17.12.2004 KLM 1164 Helsinki-Amsterdam 17.12.2004 KLM 0621 Amsterdam-Atlanta 08.01.2005 KLM 0622 Atlanta-Amsterdam CANCELLED (Changed to KLM 0622 9.1.05) 09.01.2005 KLM 1167 Amsterdam-Helsinki (Changed to KLM 1171 10.1.04)

Jukka Click this link to e-mail the message author: Email User