SKYTEAM member review : 8 July 2008 - J Touzet (Spain)
| | Customer Satisfaction : |
 |
Tier
Status: |
Elite Plus |
Product Consistency: |
3.0 |
Airport facilities: |
5.0 |
Flyingblue Gold Member for quite a few years now, I am a frequent traveller on the AGP-CDG route. AF
does not have any direct flight on this route. So I have to fly with their partner : Air Europa -
they do not even give you a glass of water on a 2 hours flight, condition of comfort equivalent to a
low cost airline. AF should pay more attention when choosing their partner. Not only you don't get
the standard of service you expect when buying an AF ticket but you also never get your miles
credited. I always have to send a letter to be able to get them. Why am I the one who has to prove
that I was on that plane? Member of Iberia Plus, I never get that problem with them.
SKYTEAM member review : 30 April 2008 - R Earhardt (France)
| | Customer Satisfaction : |
|
Tier
Status: |
Elite |
Product Consistency: |
2.0 |
Airport facilities: |
4.0 |
All in all, I have been pleased with the SkyTeam Alliance but there are some glaring details that
diminish the experience. There is a huge difference in product quality between member airlines.
Air France and Czech Airlines are both excellent. I have always had a good experience, especially
Air France's long haul to North America and Asia, and CityJet services to the UK. KLM seems to be a
low-cost model product. On a flight from CDG-AMS-BKK, the KLM flight AMS-BKK starved us with a tiny
meal for a 10-hour flight. Northwest Domestic in the US is simply awful, frequently delayed and
uncomfortable. Another problem is the ability to book Around-the-World tickets. Other alliances
allow you to book and price these online. SkyTeam requires you to go to a ticket office, which
often costs and extra 100 Euros for the service fee. Another problem is that they often short you
on miles with partner airlines, especially with the Northwest operated legs of the itinerary. I did
two RTW trips last year, and several short hops and RT long-hauls, and almost did not keep elite
status because I kept getting shorted miles on Northwest. Finally, there is a huge hole in their
southern hemisphere services. I had to book a trip to Perth and went with the Star Alliance,
instead, because with SkyTeam I could not get any reasonable connections that did not involve a 23
hour layover in Kuala Lampur.
SKYTEAM member review : 29 March 2008 - S Lawrence (UK)
| | Customer Satisfaction : |
|
Tier
Status: |
Ivory |
Product Consistency: |
3.0 |
Airport facilities: |
4.0 |
As as humble Ivory-level member of Flying Blue, it has taken me some time to accumulate sufficient
miles for a business-class award ticket to the far east, but... how does one go about booking such a
thing? First of all, I was interested to know how many miles I need to go from the UK to my
destination - it seems the KLM site has a website tool for the job, but when selected via the
suggested link it takes you to the wrong page - oh dear. The Air France site also has a not-so-
easy-to-reach page which lists the required details in table-form, and it seems I have more than
enough miles in my pocket - hooray! But if I mosey on over to the booking page and chuck in the
flight details, it offers economy flights only. Why? Also, in the past, I've tried going for an
upgrade with FB over the phone using my wealth of miles (their site has no facility for obtaining
upgrades, unlike the British Airways site which is a doddle) and was told "You're already upgraded
sir"; "I am? Are you sure?"; "Yes sir"; "Great!" Would you be too surprised to hear I ended up
in an economy class seat at check-in? Also, the recently added snazzy tool that explains how to use
the Flying Blue web site, a very nice lady merrily states that award tickets can be booked with
partner airlines. If I go over to the Korean Air site and login
there, there's a handy page that gives me a breakdown of my accumulated miles with other Skyteam
Partners - pity it says 'zero'. Should say considerably more than that! I am beginning to think
they don't really want to allow business class (or first class) tickets to be booked 'freely' as
award tickets either with the primary partners or any of the others, come to that. Got no problem
with their flights - always been very good and efficient over the years I've been travelling.
Still, can't help wondering if other un-posh, non-elite FB members (like wot I am) have hit brick
walls in the same manner with intangible awards? I was Gold or Platinum I expect things might be
rather different.
SKYTEAM member review : 27 March 2008 -
L Wiesenfeld (France)
| | Customer Satisfaction : |
|
Tier
Status: |
ElitePlus |
Product Consistency: |
3.0 |
Airport facilities: |
4.0 |
I always fly Skyteam, entry point usually KLM (leaving from LYS, we have the choice of the
intercontinental hub and AMS is the easiest). While KLM and Air France are usually very good at
providing due care for ElitePlus members and an excellent continuity of services, including transit
and possible rerouting if needed, the same is not at all true for Delta and Continental. Their
ground staff seem to always forget that some customers are from another airline or continent, even
if from the same alliance. In some airports, some even look at the FB card suspiciously (BUR, even
LAX with DL). Also, is seems to me impossible to book on a set of Skyteam airlines at once on their
sites. In order to do so, it is best to resort to some internet travel agents.
SKYTEAM member review : 23 December 2007 - Joel Costi (France)
| | Customer Satisfaction : |
 |
Tier
Status: |
ElitePlus |
Product Consistency: |
3.0 |
Airport facilities: |
4.0 |
I am Flying Blue Gold (air France) for 3 years already, and I must say in the whole I appreciate
check in priority lane, access to lounges, but the bad thing about flying blue is when you try to
call then. From France, you have to pay 0,34cts of euro per minute, which means it comes very
expensive. You don't find any seats in business previous months before departure, I booked in march
for a departure in November to New York and I got only seats through Detroit. In fact I found direct
flights a week before. Right now I try to book online to Mexico, impossible because Flying Blue told
me they a computer bug. Another point, be careful when you travel with a partner airlines, I had to
fight to get my miles last may between DCA and Lax. I was booked on an Alaska Airlines flight under
a Delta number. They did not want at the beginning to credit my account with the status miles
because it was not a 100% Delta. I had to fight, find out in the FAQ, speak to a supervisor after 2
letters to get my redeem. Crazy. but beside that, I don't complain too much
SKYTEAM member review : 17 October 2007 -
Arsen Sahak (Armenia)
| | Customer Satisfaction : |
|
Tier
Status: |
Elite |
Product Consistency: |
3.0 |
Airport facilities: |
4.0 |
I have been with OK Plus (Czech Airlines) already for a year and I have to say that I am satisfied.
I live in Yerevan and I am usually operated by Czech Airlines, Air France or Aeroflot during my
frequent trips to Europe. I can declare that the mentioned airlines always offer good connections
and reasonable prices. As for the service, air hostess on Aeroflot sometimes are being rude and
unfriendly ( for example, if you ask for an extra glass of juice). Air France and Czech Airlines'
service is good. I cannot complain at all. In general I think SkyTeam offers a service corresponding
to its ranking and fares.
SKYTEAM member review : 17 September 2007 -
N Clark (USA)
| | Customer Satisfaction : |
|
Tier
Status: |
ElitePlus |
Product Consistency: |
3.0 |
Airport facilities: |
5.0 |
My "home" SkyTeam airline is Delta and Delta is usually my "entry point" into SkyTeam. About one-
fourth of my annual travel is on non-Delta SkyTeam flights.
In my experience, the only weak links in SkyTeam are with reservations and product consistency.
SkyTeam reservations apparently can't be booked online, as with American Airlines and the OneWorld
Alliance. (At least I have never figured out how to do it.) Delta reservations representatives
often do not know how to do multiple SkyTeam carrier itineraries that are not Delta code shares.
Booking award travel across the SkyTeam network also usually involves two or three tries with Delta
reservations, trying to find someone who knows how to do it.
The other problem is onboard product consistency. SkyTeam's U.S.-flag members (especially Northwest
and Delta) are sometimes noticeably below standards on non-U.S. carriers like Air France for long-
haul flights. If there is any attempt to provide a consistent in-flight experience across SkyTeam,
it is invisible to the public. These two problems are the only things that prevent me from saying that I am "very satisfied" with
SkyTeam.
SKYTEAM member review : 16 September 2007 -
S Gialarakis (UK)
| | Customer Satisfaction : |
 |
Tier
Status: |
ElitePlus |
Product Consistency: |
3.0 |
Airport facilities: |
3.0 |
I have been with KLM FD for a few years and now with FB and I have to say that the KLM product is
inferior compared to AF. The only reason I stay with Skyteam is the convenience of their network
otherwise for the amount of money spent on AF-KLM I would expect a much better service and customer
care, especially for Elite Plus members. The KLM cabin crew seem to have company shares and they are
not happy at all when you ask for extra drinks and snacks on intercontinental flights.
SKYTEAM member review : 5 September 2007 -
F Choong (UK)
| | Customer Satisfaction : |
|
Tier
Status: |
ElitePlus |
Product Consistency: |
4.0 |
Airport facilities: |
3.0 |
I have been with Air France Frequence Plus since it was launched, now part of Flying Blue, and
therefore Skyteam. As I fly twice a year to RUN, only AF flies there amongst all the other airlines,
and hence my choice. Also, as I live in UK and make many long-haul trips abroad, doing a stop over
is far cheaper than a direct flight and being part of Skyteam fulfills both my needs using either
Paris CDG or Amsterdam hub, both very practical. In fact, it's more because of constraints that I'm
with this alliance but if the sky to RUN opens one day to other airlines, I'm happy to try something
else.
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