Never take the last flight of the day

[sea oxen]

I've always been careful to never take the last train or Tube of the day, and I apply this philosophy to short-haul flights as well. If something goes wrong, there might be a Plan B.

After some carelessness on my part, I was booked on the last LH flight from Frankfurt to London last night. I thought 'hey, it arrives earlier than the BA flight I generally take - what could go wrong?'

The engines had been started and we were gently crawling out of the maze of concrete when there was a lovely <CRUNCH>. It felt as though the nosegear had run over something like a big speed hump, and I waited for the MLG to follow suit. It didn't, and we soon came to a stop. The following sequence of events took place:

* five minutes elapsed, then the captain explained that the nosegear was acting weirdly (hence the crunch) and he wanted to have it inspected. To do that, he needed to cut the engines.
* after about five minutes, the inspections were done. We heard again from the captain that we were going to be towed and they were figuring out what to do.
* after five minutes, the captain explained that they'd found a spare aircraft (WTF?) and that we'd be towed and bussed.
* after five minutes, the nose was jacked up, the gear straightened and we were dragged to a parking spot
* the passengers were invited to alight - after about twenty had, the captain explained that there'd been a logistical hiccough and the passengers would need to reboard, which they did. He went on to say that he wanted to get some crew over to the spare aircraft and bring the rest with the pax
* about ten minutes elapsed. The CC handed out chocolates. The order came to deboard, a bendy bus accepted the full complement and we were taken to another A321
* as it was an identical aircraft, we resumed our established seating pattern, the captain let us know as the last of the luggage was being loaded and off we went.
* our arrival in LHR was just a tad over an hour late. The Tube and Heathrow Connect were still running (albeit on their last legs)

I was highly impressed by the way that LH were decisive about what was going to happen; I mustn't have been alone in thinking that at best we'd be offered a seat on another carrier (and they'd have been as scarce as hen's teeth). Also impressive was the effort taken to tell us what was going on - even if just to say that they didn't know what was going on.

Upon reflection, it is interesting to think how my reaction changed from 'bloody Lufthansa, never touch them again' to 'how on Earth did they do that so efficiently - and these poor devils have an extra hour to cope with irate passengers/missed connections before they can call it a day'. I felt quite ashamed about my immediate reaction, given the effort that all the crew put into getting us into London.

Absolutely exceptional. Top hole. I like they way that they told us there was bad news, admitted that they couldn't give answers right away, had a small stuff-up because of the urgency of the situation and admitted it, and somehow managed to conjure up a spare aeroplane in their spare time (the logistical staff must have earned their keep, too).

But I'll still avoid the last flight of the day when I can.

SO

[Final 3 Greens]

I agree with you on both counts .....

LH is a good airline

Never take the last flight of the day (when you have an option)

Good that it worked out. :ok:

[rogerk]

Arrived in Munich 40 minutes late from JHB thanks to SAA and missed my connection to CDG.
The next flight and the last of the day was full but I was assured if someone didn't show I would get a seat.
A First Class passenger didn't show.
The aircraft had already boarded.
The conversation went something like this.
"I have one First Class seat - what ticket has your pax ??"
"I have just upgraded him to First he is boarding now"
"Goodnight and thank you for flying LH !!"
:D:D

[Evanelpus]

For the past umpty umpt years have always taken the last EZY flight out of either Malaga or Alicante bound for Luton and have never managed to leave on time. Reasons are always the same, knock on delays throughout the day mean that the last rotation of a particular aircraft/pattern ends up with delays.

I only do this because I like to have a full last day of my holiday and I plan for this by taking my own food and drink (coz the airports rob you blind) and a good book in anticipation of a delay.

Record delay, a few years ago was 6 hours plus when the airline (Monarch this time) had to hire in an Air Italy 757 to get us home. At least Monarch had the decency to hand out vouchers, albeit that it only got you a soft drink and a manky sarnie.......hence, I pack my own now!

[ptr120]

LH generally handle IRROPS with stereotypical German efficiency. Particularly at a hub like FRA it would surprise me if this had been handled any other way

[sea oxen]

rogerk

That was fortuitous - almost identical to what happened to me on my first flight in Europe many years ago.

I have to point out that despite the efficiency and excellence of Lufthansa, many passengers wouldn't have had it as easy as I (I live in West London and the taxi is paid for by work). If you'd needed to get anywhere outside the Piccadilly line, your goose would have been cooked; and if you lived outside London, it would have been stuffed as well :}

It is only reasonable that the airline endeavours to deliver an alternative when something breaks, and I can understand Evanelpus' desire to make the most of the time available. I too like to eke out every moment before leaving somewhere I've gone for pleasure.

However, this experience has taught me the value of leaving some slack and not being too complacent. For example, my meeting in Germany was set for 1600 on Monday, and my firm's agent booked me to arrive at 1430. At my request, I took an earlier flight which was just as well - we had an hour's delay owing to foul weather and my colleagues arrived red-faced and flustered.

SO

[Cunliffe]

I have always understood that it is safer to fly on the local carrier. Would LH have had a spare aircraft standing by if the problem had occured at LHR? I always try to fly BA from GB, LH if returning from Gemany, AF returning from France, etc. Does this make sense?

[Scumbag O'Riley]

Airlines are so reliable that the regular inconvience to my preferred schedule by getting the second last flight of the day has to be a worse idea than the rare inconvenience to my schedule when the last flight doesn't deliver. I give no weight in my decision making at all on the flight being the last flight of the day. Airlines need that plane to be in the right place in the morning and they care about that sort of thing so are quite likely to make an effort to make it work.

[frontcheck]

Whilst not denying the situation seems to have been handled very efficiently, it was helped by the fact you were traveling from Frankfurt where there are likely to be spare aircraft, had you been in a similar situation but travelling LH from LHR to FRA , I doubt it would have been so easy.
Still all said and done,,,well done LH

[apaddyinuk]

Had a similar experience with EI ex DUB to LHR. Except a change from an A320 to A321. Left two hours late but actually only arrived 50 minutes late into LHR!!! Very impressed with the speed and efficency of all the crew and groundstaff and indeed their crewing department who had an extra crew member ready in no time for the aircraft change!

[Scumbag O'Riley]

Cannot get my head around the maths on that one unless I assume they used warp drive.

Having thought about this a bit more, suspect you are more likely to be cancelled on a flight that isn't the first or last of the day. For example, LHR-ABZ has a reasonably frequent service and there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that flights during the day get cancelled and they just throw you on the next one which is soon enough not to have to pay out. First and especially last tend to run OK. Saves on compensation I would suspect, so they make an effort.

[sea oxen]

Scumbag O'Riley

(LHR-ABZ canx)

Indeed - we've been on the receiving end and it was not a late flight.

I suppose the point I was trying to make is that I was lucky - getting home from the LHR and travelling to West London was never going to be an issue for me. Arriving in LGW or STN with transport options rapidly drying up and no expenses to fall back on would not have been so pleasant. Nor would it have been much fun if I lived anywhere where I could reasonably assume that the Heathrow Express would get me there to take my train.

I think that you are correct in stating that avoiding compensation must be a motivation for the airline to get underway. Finding 100 beds at short notice and inconveniencing people (no matter how efficiently the compensation is done) can only be expensive and damaging.

The counter-point is, though, even being just one hour late can turn an inconvenience into a rather dear experience at the other end. The extra hour of slack isn't so much for the flight, but for what awaits you when you arrive.

(I guess I am still annoyed that the duty-free was closed :) )

SO

[RevMan2]

it was helped by the fact you were traveling from Frankfurt where there are likely to be spare aircraft

Not "likely" - "planned"
There's always a contingency reserve with crews on airport standby.

As 3Gs said - a good airline

[mutt]

Left two hours late but actually only arrived 50 minutes late into LHR!!! :confused::confused::confused: Totally confused as the flight time from DUB-LHR is only 1 hour, so how can the aircraft gain an hour?

Mutt

[dubh12000]

Quoted flight times on the Dublin / Cork to LHR routes are longer than were quoted back in the day of the Viscount. Plenty of "slack" built in these day.

[Anansis]

Actual flight time from runway to runway is minimal on the Irish sea hop. The distance between DUB and LHR is around 450 miles. An 737/A320 with a top speed of 550MPH is able to fly that in less than an hour (ATC/climb permitting) yet most airlines timetable for a trip time of 1hr20 to 2hrs. Presumably this is to allow a little slack for delays into congested airspace etc... Therefore it is quite possible for a flight to make up time if it doesnt encounter the problems and delays that usually affect the route.

[Avman]

Basically, published scheduled times are block times, i.e. off stand/on stand. Average taxy times (on dep and arr), waiting in line for departure times, and prevailing winds are factored in. At peak periods these block times can be quite generous for busy airports such as LHR and DUB. I note that present times vary between 1:20 and 1:35 depending on the time of day. Actual flying time (when there's no ATC delay) will be around 45-50 mins.

[ReadyToGo]

The last flight of the day certainly does have its advantages!

A year or two ago, I was flying with BA, NCL-LHR-JFK, and booked on a morning sector from LHR-JFK. It was a Sunday night IIRC, and I had a late flight from NCL, a night in a hotel in LHR, ready for an early JFK departure the following morning

On arriving at NCL, it appeared the aircraft operating had been substituted for a smaller one, and as a result it was very oversold, I was also later to the desk than I had planned to be. I was asked if I would be prepared to accept compensation, and fly down the next day. Obviously with my connection, this wasn't acceptable really, and I politely said this to the check-in girl. (I actually said "Normally I wouldn't mind.... but")

A quick phone call later, and her supervisor comes over, and asks me again, would I be prepared to take the morning flight, accept extra compensation, and take a later JFK connection. Feeling a little sorry for the girl, I accepted, as really it wasn't really that urgent. It was a leisure visit to the US anyway, and a few hours wasn't really all that important.

Just prior to boarding at LHR, my name was called out, and a complimentary "goodwill" upgrade was given to Club World, and as an added bonus.... Upper Deck on the 747!

I am certain, had i been booked on a lunchtime flight, I would not have been so lucky!

RTG!