ANZEIGE
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I have never experienced worse customer service than I recently did through Lufthansa.
On 16 June 2015 I was scheduled to depart Boston Logan Airport on Lufthansa Airlines for the first leg of a trip to Kigali, Rwanda. I was scheduled to return on 20 August, 2015. When I tried to check into my flight, I was told that I needed a visa to visit Rwanda. I explained to her that I could purchase a visa at the airport in Kigali. The flight manager looked up the visa requirements for citizens of the United States to visit Rwanda and saw that I was correct: American citizens may purchase a visa good for 30 days upon arrival in the airport in Kigali.
However, I was told I still could not travel because my return flight was more than 30 days after my arrival. I explained that upon entering Rwanda I could submit an application for an extended visa or I could leave the country and then reenter on another 30 day visa. I knew my travel plans were perfectly legal, and I’ve traveled overseas several times before on itineraries with return dates exceeding the limit of an initial entry visa. Lufthansa still refused to allow me to board, and the flight departed without me.
The next morning I called the Rwandan embassy in Washington, DC. I was told by the Rwandan consular officer that Rwanda has no problem with tourists entering the country with return flights scheduled after the initial 30 day visa. I followed up this conversation with an email to the embassy, in which the consular officer reaffirmed that there were no problems with my travel plans.
I then contacted the Boston Airport, the TSA, Customs and Border Patrol, and the State Department, and NONE of these institutions/agencies had ever heard of the rule Lufthansa cited in denying me travel on their flight.
At this point, I called back Lufthansa customer service and let them know that I was recording the conversation. The service representative’s supervisor continued to insist that I needed to have a visa covering the entire duration of the trip. After I told her about my conversation and email from the Rwandan embassy SHE TOLD ME THE EMBASSY HAD APPARENTLY GIVEN ME INCORRECT INFORMATION!
Lufthansa refuses to give me my money back. I have contacted my credit card company and am contesting the charge. I am also sending a formal letter to Lufthansa demanding compensation for the cost of my original flight, the cost of rebooking my flight on another airlines, the time I’ve lost, and the frustration and stress I’ve endured as a result of their mistaken understanding of Rwandan law. If my demands are not met, I will be filing a lawsuit against Lufthansa Airlines.
Needless to say, I will not be traveling on Lufthansa again.