[snip]
    > Do you think you can get the same quality service on American Airlines
    > as the Gringo next to you, if you don't speak any English, only Spanish?
    > No way Jose! There is always going to be a slight difference here.
    > Other than that, I am sorry for your crummy experience, and hope
    > LOT improves in the future. They have been making a lot of progress
    > but apparently need to do LOTs more :))
    > MN


Actually, that's a bad example. AA has enough Spanish speaking flight
attendants that their flights to Spanish speaking countries have adequate
Spanish speakers among their flight attendants. It may be different on
other routes (I've flown Continental to Amsterdam and they didn't have any
Dutch speakers), but as for the major destinations in Europe and Asia, the
American carriers do carry interpreters and multilingual FA's.

Jeff


    > --
    > Equitable Communications Promise: Milton Noyes does
    > not discriminate against newsgroup respondents on the
    > basis of age, sex, race, color, national origin, ancestry,
    > creed, pregnancy, religion, marital or parental status,
    > sexual orientation, physical, mental, emotional, or learning
    > disability or handicap.
    >

Andrzej Adam Filip <[email protected]> a écrit le mar., 23 août 2005
09:11:11 GMT:

    >> that's the same it took in las vegas mccarran 6 days ago, when we were
    >> checking in with american west airlines. 75+ minutes.
    >> please, add the fact that we weren't allowed to lock our luggage
    >> --funny and pleasant thing--.
    >> and, once more, it took *90* minutes to check in in san francisco when
    >> leaving to london, with british airways.
    >> only 20 minutes for *fast bag drop* in london to italy --no real
    >> check-in: only baggage drop--.
    >
    > So long checks in are not "LOT specific" in USA airports?
    >

AFAIK, there's only one airline worldwide which has very specific long
checks, it's El Al. I don't see why LOT would need some, anyway!

--
remplacez "lesptt" par "laposte" pour me joindre
substitute "laposte" for "lesptt" to reach me

    > Ooopsss, there was an airline coming quiet close to being
    > a truly international; PanAM. Although Anlo, it felt really
    > international at least to Europeans, Eastern-Europeans,
    > Latin Americans, etc. I imagine Asians would probably have
    > some reservations about this statement. Any one Oriental
    > care to comment?
    > MN

I'm not Asian, but PanAm had extensive Asian routes and a crew base in
Tokyo. I can remember flying between Hawaii and hte U.S. mainland on one of
their 707's with the safety announcements made in 7 languages.


    > --
    > Equitable Communications Promise: Milton Noyes does
    > not discriminate against newsgroup respondents on the
    > basis of age, sex, race, color, national origin, ancestry,
    > creed, pregnancy, religion, marital or parental status,
    > sexual orientation, physical, mental, emotional, or learning
    > disability or handicap.
    >> Some service is destined to be better if you are a native speaker, no
    >> matter what country airline.
    >> Do you think you can get the same quality service on American Airlines
    >> as the Gringo next to you, if you don't speak any English, only Spanish?
    >> No way Jose! There is always going to be a slight difference here.
    >> Other than that, I am sorry for your crummy experience, and hope
    >> LOT improves in the future. They have been making a lot of progress
    >> but apparently need to do LOTs more :))
    >> MN
    >> --
    >> Equitable Communications Promise: Milton Noyes does
    >> not discriminate against newsgroup respondents on the
    >> basis of age, sex, race, color, national origin, ancestry,
    >> creed, pregnancy, religion, marital or parental status,
    >> sexual orientation, physical, mental, emotional, or learning
    >> disability or handicap.
    >

Stanislas de Kertanguy <[email protected]> writes:

    > Andrzej Adam Filip <[email protected]> a écrit le mar., 23 aoűt 2005
    > 09:11:11 GMT:
    >
    > >> that's the same it took in las vegas mccarran 6 days ago, when we were
    > >> checking in with american west airlines. 75+ minutes.
    > >> please, add the fact that we weren't allowed to lock our luggage
    > >> --funny and pleasant thing--.
    > >> and, once more, it took *90* minutes to check in in san francisco when
    > >> leaving to london, with british airways.
    > >> only 20 minutes for *fast bag drop* in london to italy --no real
    > >> check-in: only baggage drop--.
    > >
    > > So long checks in are not "LOT specific" in USA airports, are they?
    > >
    >
    > AFAIK, there's only one airline worldwide which has very specific long
    > checks, it's El Al. I don't see why LOT would need some, anyway!

Do you *REALLY* want to start yet another political flame war on Usenet?
    :-)

--
Andrzej [en:Andrew] Adam Filip [email protected] [email protected]
All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing
-- Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

Milton Noyes <[email protected]> wrote:
    > Do you think you can get the same quality service on American Airlines
    > as the Gringo next to you, if you don't speak any English, only Spanish?
    > No way Jose! There is always going to be a slight difference here.

Many AA flights have all-Spanish-speaking cabin crew. I doubt there would be
any difference if you addressed them in English or Spanish.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 36 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu
Latest photos: Queens Day in Amsterdam; the Grand Canyon; Amman, Jordan

"Jeff Hacker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    >> Ooopsss, there was an airline coming quiet close to being
    >> a truly international; PanAM. Although Anlo, it felt really
    >> international at least to Europeans, Eastern-Europeans,
    >> Latin Americans, etc. I imagine Asians would probably have
    >> some reservations about this statement. Any one Oriental
    >> care to comment?
    >> MN
    > I'm not Asian, but PanAm had extensive Asian routes and a crew base in
    > Tokyo. I can remember flying between Hawaii and hte U.S. mainland on one
    > of their 707's with the safety announcements made in 7 languages.



So it seems they were trying hard in all their markets.
What a sad story, PanAM.

MN

Andrzej Adam Filip <[email protected]> a écrit le mar., 23 août 2005
16:27:38 GMT:

    > Stanislas de Kertanguy <[email protected]> writes:
    >
    >> Andrzej Adam Filip <[email protected]> a Ǹcrit le mar., 23 ao?ñt
    >> 2005 09:11:11 GMT:
    >>
    >> >> that's the same it took in las vegas mccarran 6 days ago, when we
    >> >> were checking in with american west airlines. 75+ minutes.
    >> >> please, add the fact that we weren't allowed to lock our luggage
    >> >> --funny and pleasant thing--.
    >> >> and, once more, it took *90* minutes to check in in san francisco
    >> >> when leaving to london, with british airways.
    >> >> only 20 minutes for *fast bag drop* in london to italy --no real
    >> >> check-in: only baggage drop--.
    >> >
    >> > So long checks in are not "LOT specific" in USA airports, are they?
    >> >
    >>
    >> AFAIK, there's only one airline worldwide which has very specific
    >> long checks, it's El Al. I don't see why LOT would need some, anyway!
    >
    > Do you *REALLY* want to start yet another political flame war on
    > Usenet?
    >:-)

It's just a statement of fact :-)


--
remplacez "lesptt" par "laposte" pour me joindre
substitute "laposte" for "lesptt" to reach me

On Mon, 22 Aug 2005 19:48:46 GMT, Newbie <[email protected]> wrote:

    >DK <[email protected]> wrote:
    >: LOT tickets for our recent Chicago-Vienna trip were hundred-and-some $$
    >: less than comparable United and Lufthansa. After some deliberations,
    >: we decided to give this post-Communist company a benefit of doubt.
    >No experience with LOT but speaking of post-communism I had pretty good
    >experience with Tarom (Romanian). I mean the airline itself. Bucharest
    >airport was a big pit when I was there. But we had gone in with open
    >eyes to save several hundred dollars on two Chicago-India tickets, and
    >were armed with reading material etc.
    >: - 75 min long line to just check in in O'Hare.
    >I don't know why people insist on standing in long check-in lines. If I
    >have an assigned seat and don't have any special points to haggle over,
    >I just wait comfortably in a couch until the line is short. I still
    >leave by the same flight in the same seat. Works everytime.
Try waiting for a shorter line at an airport that has multiple flights
leaving all day, and one check-in line for all flights. You will find
yourself waiting for the shorter line long after your flight has left.

Jeff Hacker wrote:
    > [snip]
    >
    >>Do you think you can get the same quality service on American Airlines
    >>as the Gringo next to you, if you don't speak any English, only Spanish?
    >>No way Jose! There is always going to be a slight difference here.
    >>Other than that, I am sorry for your crummy experience, and hope
    >>LOT improves in the future. They have been making a lot of progress
    >>but apparently need to do LOTs more :))
    >>MN
    >
    >
    >
    > Actually, that's a bad example. AA has enough Spanish speaking flight
    > attendants that their flights to Spanish speaking countries have adequate
    > Spanish speakers among their flight attendants. It may be different on
    > other routes (I've flown Continental to Amsterdam and they didn't have any
    > Dutch speakers), but as for the major destinations in Europe and Asia, the
    > American carriers do carry interpreters and multilingual FA's.
    >
    > Jeff
    >

The Amsterdam example is an interesting one. An airline can either
develop a group of staff dedicated to an individual route or can try to
maintain the flexibility of having staff switch between their many
routes. It would be interesting to know what the work background for
the staff on the Amsterdam flight was. Have they spent several years on
that flight flying it exclusively? Are they likely to switch regularly
to flights to Paris or Madrid?



    >
    >
    >>--
    >>Equitable Communications Promise: Milton Noyes does
    >>not discriminate against newsgroup respondents on the
    >>basis of age, sex, race, color, national origin, ancestry,
    >>creed, pregnancy, religion, marital or parental status,
    >>sexual orientation, physical, mental, emotional, or learning
    >>disability or handicap.
    >
    >
    >

[email protected] (Miguel Cruz) wrote:

    >Casey <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> I traveled on Lufthansa and LOT in May, and my LOT flight
    >> was much more pleasant than my Lufthansa flight.
    >Feeding your own intestines into a wood chopper is more pleasant than a
    >Lufthansa flight.
    >miguel

Well, what do you expect from the Luftwaffe.

An airline that can't come up with a corporate identity, paints its
entire fleet white and thinks that is being bold and innovative, its
airplane interiors consist of a sea of grey seats, its flight
attendants in dark navy suits.

Just be glad their uniforms are no longer brown shirts and the
inflight entertainment no longer consists of readings from Mein Kampf
over the loudspeakers.

Although I hear they're thinking of bringing back their award-winning
inflight magazine Blitzkrieg.

Jeff Hacker wrote:

    > [snip]
    >
    >>Do you think you can get the same quality service on American Airlines
    >>as the Gringo next to you, if you don't speak any English, only Spanish?
    >>No way Jose! There is always going to be a slight difference here.
    >>Other than that, I am sorry for your crummy experience, and hope
    >>LOT improves in the future. They have been making a lot of progress
    >>but apparently need to do LOTs more :))
    >>MN
    >
    >
    >
    > Actually, that's a bad example. AA has enough Spanish speaking flight
    > attendants that their flights to Spanish speaking countries have adequate
    > Spanish speakers among their flight attendants.

No, they do not have enough..

It may be different on
    > other routes (I've flown Continental to Amsterdam and they didn't have any
    > Dutch speakers), but as for the major destinations in Europe and Asia, the
    > American carriers do carry interpreters and multilingual FA's.
    >

I remember a CO flight in BusinessFirst to Paris where the FAs didn't
speak French, nor did they have any French magazines.

Jeff Hacker wrote:

    >>Ooopsss, there was an airline coming quiet close to being
    >>a truly international; PanAM. Although Anlo, it felt really
    >>international at least to Europeans, Eastern-Europeans,
    >>Latin Americans, etc. I imagine Asians would probably have
    >>some reservations about this statement. Any one Oriental
    >>care to comment?
    >>MN
    >
    >
    > I'm not Asian, but PanAm had extensive Asian routes and a crew base in
    > Tokyo. I can remember flying between Hawaii and hte U.S. mainland on one of
    > their 707's with the safety announcements made in 7 languages.

And yet, the airline still died.

"mrtravel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:YcMOe.5381$A%[email protected] m...
    > Jeff Hacker wrote:
    >>>Ooopsss, there was an airline coming quiet close to being
    >>>a truly international; PanAM. Although Anlo, it felt really
    >>>international at least to Europeans, Eastern-Europeans,
    >>>Latin Americans, etc. I imagine Asians would probably have
    >>>some reservations about this statement. Any one Oriental
    >>>care to comment?
    >>>MN
    >> I'm not Asian, but PanAm had extensive Asian routes and a crew base in
    >> Tokyo. I can remember flying between Hawaii and hte U.S. mainland on one
    >> of their 707's with the safety announcements made in 7 languages.
    > And yet, the airline still died.


It was killed! If not for the Lockerbie 103 flight, and being
a constant target of terrorists I think it could have survived
at least for a decade longer.

Here is a nice site, beautiful pictures, description of its
history, followed by some good memories.

http://www.super70s.com/Super70s/Tec...nes/Pan-Am.asp


"I remember working for Pan Am as a flight attendant from 1986 to
1991. Just a quick five years - it was certainly a great experience I will
never forget!! Wherever we traveled, we were "family". I worked with
multi-national crews who were some of the most interesting and fun people I
have ever met!! We stayed at fabulous hotels around the world and laughed
with each other at every layover. I'll never forget my first trip to Austria
and taking my jumpseat on that big, beautiful 747 just thinking how I wasn't
in Texas anymore! LOL! Pan Am flight attendants were B I G travelers even on
time off! We couldn't get enough of the world! We often made friends from
all over. My favorite vacation was to India with my Indian friend and to
Italy with an Italian friend. I really got to experience life as they live
it! I also was able to go on a safari in Africa with a crew. . . I still
fly; however, nothing in the current industry can compare to my life as a
Pan Am flight attendant!" --Rick


-------------------------

MN

mrtravel wrote:

    > Jeff Hacker wrote:
    >
    >> [snip]
    >>> Do you think you can get the same quality service on American Airlines
    >>> as the Gringo next to you, if you don't speak any English, only Spanish?
    >>> No way Jose! There is always going to be a slight difference here.
    >>> Other than that, I am sorry for your crummy experience, and hope
    >>> LOT improves in the future. They have been making a lot of progress
    >>> but apparently need to do LOTs more :))
    >>> MN
    >> Actually, that's a bad example. AA has enough Spanish speaking flight
    >> attendants that their flights to Spanish speaking countries have
    >> adequate Spanish speakers among their flight attendants.
    >
    >
    > No, they do not have enough..
    >
    > It may be different on
    >
    >> other routes (I've flown Continental to Amsterdam and they didn't have
    >> any Dutch speakers), but as for the major destinations in Europe and
    >> Asia, the American carriers do carry interpreters and multilingual FA's.
    >
    > I remember a CO flight in BusinessFirst to Paris where the FAs didn't
    > speak French, nor did they have any French magazines.


Then again, I remember a recent flight on Air France from the US to
Paris where they had little if any english language magazines.

In article <[email protected]>, "Jeff Hacker" <[email protected]> wrote:
    >[snip]
    >> Do you think you can get the same quality service on American Airlines
    >> as the Gringo next to you, if you don't speak any English, only Spanish?
    >> No way Jose! There is always going to be a slight difference here.
    >> Other than that, I am sorry for your crummy experience, and hope
    >> LOT improves in the future. They have been making a lot of progress
    >> but apparently need to do LOTs more :))
    >> MN
    >Actually, that's a bad example. AA has enough Spanish speaking flight
    >attendants that their flights to Spanish speaking countries have adequate
    >Spanish speakers among their flight attendants. It may be different on
    >other routes (I've flown Continental to Amsterdam and they didn't have any
    >Dutch speakers), but as for the major destinations in Europe and Asia, the
    >American carriers do carry interpreters and multilingual FA's.

All of the LOT attendants spoke perfectly OK English. They just
refused to be bothered to memorize who can and who cannot
understand them.

DK