‘The worst customer service experience of my life': Tales of Aer Lingus travel trouble

Irish Times

4 days ago

It being the height of summer, it is hardly surprising that
travel
is on the minds of many, although we are not convinced that plans to jet away to sunnier spots or memories of holidays just finished are behind the recent spike in complaints about
Aer Lingus
.
A couple of weeks back
we highlighted
the story of a reader called Cathy
who was left hungry on a transatlantic flight
, having had the temerity to fall asleep ahead of the in-flight meal service.
Aer Lingus did resolve the issue to her satisfaction but her story prompted quite a few other readers to get in touch to share stories of how they had been let down by what was once our national airline. Here are just some of them.
First up is Joanne who admitted her story was going to 'seem like very much a first world problem' but she was prompted to share it because of 'the recent proliferation of Aer Lingus AerClub advertisements enticing new customers to join' and said it was 'driving me a little round the bend when I've been completely shafted by AerClub despite having spent thousands with Aer Lingus through business and personal travel in the last few years'.
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Joanne has been a member of the Aer Lingus AerClub loyalty scheme for more than three years and usually chooses Aer Lingus for all her air travel. She has had Silver tier AerClub status since 2023.
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Would you want to be woken for an in-flight meal of rubbery pasta?
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'Before the new Tier Credit period began on April 1st I was tracking my tier credits and planning travel to ensure (as I was so close) that I would fly enough sectors to ensure elevation to Platinum tier, which would unlock more benefits,' she says. 'I flew all the flights needed but noticed that one flight on March 13th was missing and never awarded the credits. Within a week I submitted my first missing credits form.'
She says she is 'not joking' about having called the Aer Lingus AerClub line approximately 20 times since, 'and, as nice as some of the agents are, I can get absolutely no answer or update on when my case will be reviewed.
'It seems forever destined to stay 'in the queue'. After three months with no movement whatsoever I can only assume I've been totally shafted and Aer Lingus have no intention to update my status and award me the credits I'm owed.'
We contacted the airline and in a statement it said Joanne's AerClub tier credits 'were not automatically assigned at the time of booking due to a technical error. However, our customer's AerClub account has now been fully credited, and as a gesture of goodwill, we have extended their Platinum membership status until 2027.'
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'I am really disappointed in how Aer Lingus treats customers when things go wrong'
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The next story is far more serious and comes from a reader who contacted us on behalf of her recently widowed mother who is in her 80s.
A couple of years ago her parents were in Malaga when her mother's sister had a fall and needed surgery. She was told things were not looking good.
Our reader called Aer Lingus and 'spoke to a great chap and he assured me that, although we had to pay for new returns, we could claim this back, if my aunt died, and if we could provide a death certificate'.
The woman did pass away but there was a delay in issuing the death certificate and in the interim our reader's father also died suddenly.
Our reader was left to chase the refund.
In March of this year she mailed Aer Lingus and was told that because her parents had flown home with Aer Lingus from Malaga in September 2023 there was no refund due.
It turns out that while the return flight, which was changed for September 22nd from the original date of September 26th, was paid for in full, the Aer Lingus agent used the same booking reference.
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An Aer Lingus passenger's 26-hour trek home, and eventual refund
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'I've tried to use the refund online service, but as the booking reference shows they did take flights, and no nuance about the flights being paid for separately, their computer says 'no' each time. I've sent an email asking to speak with a person as it needs a light touch and a bit of investigation, but I got the standard reply back: sorry, cannot help you, you flew.'
'Aer Lingus extends its deepest sympathies to the family for their loss and apologise for the delay in resolving their query,' the company said in a statement. 'While Aer Lingus policy requires a government-issued death certificate for bereavement related refunds, given the extenuating circumstances of this case, we are liaising with the family and will accept alternative available documentation to process the refund.'
And finally, there is Marc, who has also been given the runaround by Aer Lingus.
'Last August my wife, our three kids aged four, three and eight months and I flew to France with Aer Lingus for a comping holiday. On arrival at Brest airport we realised Aer Lingus hadn't loaded our bags on to the flight in Dublin,' he begins. 'This happens, but it was particularly challenging for us as travelling with three young kids.'
He repeats that such things happens but says the 'subsequent experience with Aer Lingus, however, was beyond disgraceful'.
He says that after multiple calls to find out where their luggage was and when it might get to them, he was able to establish that they were scheduled to arrive five days later 'on the next direct flight into Brest airport. This is despite multiple flights to nearby airports and even connections via Paris in the intervening days.
'My family's situation didn't matter to them and it was impossible to speak to a direct Aer Lingus employee on this.'
Marc says that in the meantime the had buy food and also clothes for their children in the nearest town 'to get us through the first few days of the trip'.
'I kept receipts for most items but not all, which was my mistake, in hindsight. Once the bags arrived I was advised to raise a 'delayed baggage claim' to get refunded for my costs. I did this immediately. You won't be surprised to hear I only heard back from them last week on this – while on this year's holiday. We flew Ryanair – apart from some delays due to French ACT, so far so good.
'I did send a mail [to Aer Lingus] once a month, asking as to the status of my claim – no response, of course. I doubt a human read it.'
Marc had submitted claims totalling €160 'to cover food, clothing, toiletries and a bike rental to cycle into the town to purchase these items'.
He says he accepts that the last one could be seen as stretching things but, given the circumstances, he figured it was reasonable.
'When I heard back from them last week I was told only €13 was refundable because the other receipts didn't explicitly state they were in euro, even though it was clear they were from a French supermarket, and, in the case of bike rental, were not itemised,' he says.
Marc managed to find a clause in EU legislation that states 'inclusion of currency is not mandatory in French receipts' and he sent the full receipt for the bike rental.
'I received a mail the next morning to state that a 'full and final payment' of €13 had been made. When I responded again I got an automated mail saying the case is now closed and this email won't be read.
'What shocked us is that Aer Lingus positions itself as a family-friendly, national carrier who cares about its customers. The staff at the check-in area in T2 are some of the most courteous and professional people I have met and always go out of their way to help when they see us coming with lots of bags and kids hanging out of us. It has always been a trigger to fly Aer Lingus up to now.
'This experience was the polar opposite of it, and as well as being the worst customer service experience of my life, it does a huge disservice to these people too.'
In response, Aer Lingus said it 'reimburses reasonable expenses such as the purchase of essential items such as clothes or toiletries in the case of delayed baggage, but does not refund cost of meals. We fully understand the inconvenience of delayed baggage, particularly for a family travelling with young children, and have offered [our reader] a gesture of goodwill on this occasion as a valued customer.'