For the return portion of our Good Morning Milan, Goodnight Moon trip, my dad and I flew Lufthansa first class from Frankfurt (FRA) to Boston (BOS). Arguably the best part of the experience is being able to use the Lufthansa First Class Terminal Frankfurt (FCT), so that you can skip the main terminal altogether.
Continue reading: Ugh: Misdirected Delay Frustration In The Lufthansa First Class Terminal
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
The closer someone sits to the front of a jet, the more entitled and rude they are. I don’t care how much you paid for your seat, don’t be a dickhead.
Not necessarily. I read recently that premium economy passengers are considered “the worst” by many cabin crew, because a little tiny bit of extra comfort and service goes to their heads. Of course there may be assholes in any cabin, but the vast majority of people in biz and first travel like that all the time, and know exactly what the score is.
Personally I would have accepted Luftcaca’s offer to rebook me on the Delta nonstop to MSP, and avoided the stop in Chicago. A nonstop is always preferable to a transfer. Punkt.
I always sit in the front of the A/C and I was never more entitled and rude! Not everyone is equal!
You don't always know the backstory. I was recently very visibly annoyed (although not quite irate) when a flight got cancelled due to a strike at the destination that had been communicated weeks in advance. I was basically bullied by the other passengers who were insisting it wasn't the fault of the airline- all other airlines had cancelled their flights days before the strike took place, I had called the airline three times in the five days leading to the departure and there were options to another airport a couple of hundred miles away which was fully operational. As far as I was concerned, frontline staff were absolutely fair game for criticism as they'd told us to 'just go home and come back tomorrow'- no hotels or transport offered whatsoever.
I suppose people get annoyed and aggressive when agents on the phone claim things which are clearly not true. Making your point with them gets you nowhere. Nobody wants to hear BS.
One finds it necessary to thank Ben, for bringing to the attention of the readers, yet another reason for not choosing to fly LH. The sixty four thousand dollar question is …. will Ben, remember these reasons NOT to trust LH with his future travel arrangements?
That person was probably under lots of stress because of a packed schedule as he did not use the otherwise obvious option of traveling a day earlier to an important meeting.
I would not read too much into that.
When I was a flight attendant I usually worked First or Clipper due to my language skills, despite being quite senior. Our F class ladies and gentlemen where generally pleasant; they knew what they wanted and knew that we would take care of them. Clipper a different story. My de-escalation line was " Sir/Madam, I am trying to help you..." It usually allowed them to focus a bit more.
Please restate it as " I don't care how much somebody else paid for you seat.."
Somehow I feel that everyone in general is getting angrier and more impatient, worldwide...
I have spent a lot of time travelling on LH, ICE trains and staying at airport hotels directly connected to FRA. I wont generalize but the noted behavior is not shocking in the more elite upper management circles in Germany.
I will guess that the PA was female as well as these complaining types will be more likely to verbally attack a young woman.
I haven’t heard Clipper in a while. I’d like to say passengers were better behaved back in the Pan Am days, but they weren’t.
I’m a flight attendant and I’ll say this. I understand frustration and anger. I’ll tolerate it. I’ll show understanding and empathy. But that cannot go on for longer than 2-3 minutes. Once you’ve got the frustration out, especially after I’ve lent a sympathetic ear, 90% of people accept the reality of the situation and make do, because life does not always go as planned and the world cannot conform to our desires because we are one person among 8 billion, and there are things like weather which are out of our control. The 10% of people who keep shouting and throwing around insults are just big babies who cannot accept it when they cannot have exactly what they want exactly how they want it. These are people that will never be pleased and there is no point in trying, because in reality they have never grown up and are just spoilt babies at heart. And that’s ok. But I won’t waste my time or energy with those people.
Mt take is this is how this person treats everyone. I am certain that his family, friends, business associates, ect all have seen this aggressive behavior before. Thank goodness this was just a random encounter in the airport and not someone you need to deal with regularly. I feel sorry for those who do.
Need more context. You mentioned they offered three possible connections. Exactly how long after his initial arrival time would he be getting in via these connections. If he is only being delayed by 2-3 hours then this is on him for not leaving a buffer. If he won't get in until the following day and is going to have an extended wait for the connection then I can understand the anger. Also would be interested in knowing what the delay is for? Is it the airline or is it weather or some aviation authority not giving them the go ahead to takeoff? On a recent LAX-JFK flight American loaded the plane up and then announced that we will be sitting at the gate for an hour before takeoff because the FAA won't approve the departure due to weather at the destination. I was livid. There is simply no way they were not aware of the weather conditions immediately prior to boarding. The boarding time had already been pushed back but instead of allowing people to wait in the lounge they loaded us up like cattle and closed the door and then announced it will be an hour. I suspect its because the AA staff wanted to get paid, but it was ridiculous to have us sitting on the tarmac like that for an issue that didn't suddenly materialize out of thin air.
Yes that's true and so much of that also stems from the very poor service these days offered or provided by the service industry eg hotels, airlines etc. How much does one tolerate when you have to pay a lot for the service and you get rubbish in return?
oh please we have seen countless economy passengers getting into altercations.
Yes and look at the PanAm training videos from the 80s - which make your point. "I'm a WORLD PASS member!!"
The writer of the article wouldn't know what has gone on prior to the passenger's trip and its very easy to be holier than thou as the writer comes across. The writer would not have been in any middle to senior management roles.
Maybe I missed it but I don't know that the offer was a direct flight on Delta. I thought they were just offering different connecting flights once he got to Chicago.
Yea there are some things beyond the airlines control like sudden weather issues etc. When its things that are the result of the airline not building enough buffer for maintenance issues or not planning ahead for well known issues then that is completely on the airline and they absolutely should be taken to task for that.
If he took the 8:40 am United flight to ORD, much more cushion. Could even drive 6 hours to Minneapolis if necessary.
It's weird for adults to have temper tantrums in public, especially when they are directed at service workers who are required to take the abuse. It's not holier than thou to call out this type of antisocial behavior.
Having worked in flt ops at LH and then having made career change into global key account management, I have zero sympathy for HONS, who used to get this designation via stickers in the past being VIP’s and not because of flying. Those fools should be fired for not knowing that traveling to Midwest in winter on tight connection for an urgent meeting shows they should not be entrusted with decision making powers. Delays of any kind just happen! End of story!
When a first class customer used to vent regarding travel delays, I would listen for a minute and then excuse myself to the galley. I'd come back with a shot of vodka and my cleavage showing. That happened when I was young. Nobody wants to see my cleavage now, so I listen for a minute and say how sorry I am for their miserable day. The first approach had slightly better results.
fake lawyer kid with like 1000 usernames on this site lol
get a life, happy new year dummy
While I agree that being nice to the frontline employee who’s trying to help you increases your chances for the best possible outcome, I have to say that frontline employees are paid to represent their company and take abuse when their company fails. If the pax could have yelled at Carsten Spohr that would have been a better way to go, but obviously that wasn’t an option. The PA was Carsten Spohr’s surrogate.
Agree that it feels that the worldwide trend is for people to become more impatient and to get angrier quicker.
I empathize but disagree. I also was loaded onto an AA flight (at MIA) with a storm at the destination. We boarded, taxied to an apron and were told to wait one hour for an update. The update was we were given a slot 3 hours later. We were kept onboard another hour, deplaned and immediately reboarded. (This was all to abide with FAA rules regarding tarmac delays.)
I am considering the possibility of rules and slots (during weather conditions) being given after a flight is ready to push back?
Actually, weather conditions can change quite dramatically in very little time in Chicago or New York in the winter. You should know that NYGuy24. And, regardless, ATC often waits to issue a delay as long as possible in the hope they won’t have to. I assure you that the pilot - who decides when you can board isn’t looking to get you on sooner so they can get paid.
I've got a fun delay meltdown story for you, QR621 from Lahore to Doha 12/29/25 at 2:50am. Flight was cancelled repeatedly (QR used the word delay when cancel was more appropriate) until it finally flew at 10:30AM 12/30/25. Passengers were forced to collect their bags twice and check in three times. QR staff lied about hotel accommodations being provided the second night to get passengers out of the departures area into the baggage claim, and then disappeared after the bags finally appeared after two hours. Airport security tried to force us onto the street lying saying we could check in at 5Am or earlier.
The second attempt to fly there was a near crowd crush situation caused by unruly crowds and security. It's a long story, I will post it on the site forum or Twitter or some place and you could cover it if you find it interesting. I imagine more people might chime in on Twitter too
Hopefully the HON took the UA option over DL, given that we now know the latter has a higher cancellation rate (per the reliable and knowledgeable JonNYC).
Employees aren’t there to take your “abuse.”
I think I learned that in kindergarten.
I appreciate this article and your observations. You simply point out that we should measure our responses and take responsibility for our actions, our words, and our tone when dealing with adversity. Treat people w respect, whether a customer or agent.
Very upsetting when the delay isn't three hours, enough to qualify for EU 261 compensation
Sorry, just checking: you believe it's okay to abuse (your word) the frontline staff simply because they're the frontline staff and there's no one else worthy of abuse in proximity? Contrary to your belief, it's possible to express frustration or displeasure with staff — or even challenge them to present additional options — without behaving so primitively.
AA's delay handling sucks, but you're delusional if you think that flight crews have the power to unilaterally board and release brake just to go on the clock. None of what you said would entitle you to treat a random frontline employee poorly.
That guy was the kind of arsehole who has never had a stout punch in the mouth when acting out that way (and yes he's someone who does it all the time, guaranteed).
I mean, 15 people waiting for him to arrive in international first class? They're on his time, not he on theirs. Two hours is all the time in the world to call them, apologise, promise to make it up to them if he really must (buy them all lunch or whatever, I'm sure a Lufthansa first class flyer can afford it) and tell them to go off & take it easy whilst they wait.
Just an arsehole who has never been punched in the mouth
Tally Ho old chap I think one meant sixty four thousand “pounds”, fellow British aristocrat! One wouldn’t want to be mistaken for the proletariat. I love posting inane comments on random blogs to make me feel superior!
Yes, you are correct, the airline should be taken to task for that. But to get your pound of flesh out of someone so low on the totem pole as to not know what's going on/or in no way being able to to resolve the issue to YOUR satisfaction is truly off the mark.
And I do believe that there is an exception in EU 261 (1990 told me about it) that enables an airline to ignore people like you.
Imitation is the highest form of flattery …. did you not know that ‘ammersmif fanboy/girlie?
One simply luves posting a response to those who choose to post “Insane comments” believing themselves to be “Superior” proletariat numpties, yes?
Ben must luv you too as posts mean clicks, clicks mean points and points mean that Ben can book another LH flight with a broken seat …. 🙁
I'm not sure about the idea that 'it was surprising due to him being a mild mannered German'. I have experienced exactly the same thing in Lufthansa First Class where a German businessman went berserk at the crew because I was travelling with children (EZE-FRA). Screaming 'Es ist tin Kindergarten bei Lufthansa' over and over. My children were absolutely silent and well behaved. I think there is a certain cultural aspect to high end German customer expectations (I am British, speak German and have worked there a lot). It sticks in my mind as something I have never seen in any other First or Business class cabin.
Another idiot that worried about the champagne. Sounds like the staff was doing the best they could. If the dolt's meeting was so important he should have flown in a day earlier.
You made me smile - wonderfully droll 🙂
You presumably can't advise juniors to do what you used to!
I tend to agree. If it’s an important meeting or catching a cruise, don’t chance it; day early. Build in options for recovery. Also get insurance, especially for major prepaid expenses. Because, even if EU261 helps cover $250-700, a $10K cruise ain’t gonna cover itself. Oof.
Still, it’s better to be relatively timely, and to have passenger friendly regulations, unlike the US. Lesson learned to book enough time for connections, or to go a day early if it’s really important. And get insurance, covering any major prepaid expenses. It’s also how you/we react. Clearly this guy didn’t ‘react’ well.
Reading is not optional. Ben said he was Hon Circle, flying Biz, not first. Nonetheless, his attitude was way off base. Some Hon Circle are VIP's, not earned by flights. That could explain his attitude, but not accepting it. Sort of like politicians in Congress.
Reading is not optional. Ben said he was Hon Circle, flying Biz, not first. Nonetheless, his attitude was way off base. Some Hon Circle are VIP's, not earned by flights. That could explain his attitude, but not accepting it. Sort of like politicians in Congress.
I am surprised that you are surprised. You don't know the German corporate culture well even though you are fluent in German...
The only time it's okay to be pissy with frontline staff is when they're blatantly lying to you and you can prove it, because then it really is on them directly. Sadly this isn't all that uncommon these days, with the average phone support agent being less and less trained, and graded on call throughput.
I use to work at ORD and I'm thinking the options were United, Delta or American from ORD to MSP. Not Delta nonstop from FRA on Delta.
Delta doesn't fly nonstop FRA-MSP. I'm assuming the rebook options were ORD-MSP as United, American and Delta fly that market.
Wrong.
What do you expect? Nobody cares about your entitled bull, especially someone making near-minimum wage!
On a scale of one to ten, how irreverent and self-absorbed are you?
There's nothing in 261 exempting airlines from the duty of care requirements under any circumstances. While I don't engage in, and certainly wouldn't advocate for, verbally abusing anyone, the 'don't take it out on frontline staff' approach is very convenient for useless managers who leverage it in order to lie to passengers about cancellation reasons, deny them their statutory rights etc.
Shuffling the argument to a back office clerk copying and pasting nonsense and having to sue for minimal amounts is far more advantageous to unscrupulous airlines than putting pressure on staff to push back on management instructions to lie to their customers.
Self centred management type who went through childhood or life on a bad express train.
To not appear to be a Grand Twit, he should have…
Been polite
Been collaborative
Been booked a day earlier to make for a buffering time before a meeting
Been grateful LH doesn’t sail off into the sunset with bad mechanical or staffing problems
LOL when someone lies their Arseoff to Kathy I guess she says "thank you sir may I have another".
Returning you to Earth from fantasyland, "irreverent and self-absorbed" is an exact description of someone who will lie to your face for their own interests. Based on your stance – "lying is ok to do without consequences" – I assume you work or worked in a call center. I feel bad for the customers that get you. You seem to think that you're perfect and the only reason they could ever be mad at you is because they're "entitled".
I suppose given what you've revealed about yourself here (oops!), I shouldn't be surprised that you immediately became very confrontational to my tonally neutral comment. Clown.
HON Guy probably paid $12,000 for this flight. Have a little sympathy for his bottom line.
Amazing how people traveling on OPM never seem to appreciate that.
yes they are paid for their job and so what?. My approach here is quite simple: you pay an entrance fee (your travel price), and the employee gets paid their wages. After that, you behave like a guest visiting friends, and the employee behaves like a host. Would you put a friend down if you didn’t like the food or if the TV was broken? You can of course decide afterward whether you want to come back, but while you’re there, you behave decently. In the same way, you can then expect to be treated accordingly by the host. The employee is your host, not your slave. And for things the company is responsible for—and not the employee personally—I don’t hold him responsible. He is welcome to pass that on further up the chain, to where the decision is actually made.
Aww, did I hit a nerve? Maybe next time don't go picking fights on civil comments if you aren't prepared to handle the response.
You sir worked for an amazing, great airline. So many innovations in PanAm's history. Clipper Class - the name evokes Pan Am's nautical origins.
I've flown them all in First and the only ones that get closest are JAL and Ethiad. People say Emirates and Qatar are similar to Pan Am but they are nice but cheap imitations in my book.