Archives for August 22nd, 2006

Slovenia’s national carrier, Adria Airways.

Skytrax allows people to share their experiences with various airlines, airports, and everything connected thereto. I recently went to the Adria forum to see what people thought of Slovenia’s national carrier and found, for the most part, satisfied customers. It’s full of stuff like: “would fly Adria again,” “quite satisfied,” “no major complaints,” “overall a pleasant experience.”

I’ve flown with Adria before, and I would agree with all of the above.

It’s quite a different story, though, at the forum for the former Yugoslavian (now Serbian) national carrier JAT, where some comments made me laugh so hard I did damage to my internal organs. (It was worth it, though.)

Although JAT has been praised for its safety, their customer service doesn’t seem to have won many hearts over the years. Here are some of the better comments: (emphasis is mine)

“The flight to Belgrade was delayed one hour and a half. No explanation was offered for this. Even worse, repeatedly asking one of the ground crew about the delay only produced an empty smile and a meaningless ‘yes’ in reply. When we finally did board the plane, I found out my seat was broken. The flight attendants did not in any way respond to my complaints.”

“Delayed departures by up to an hour are common in both directions… You will not get any excuses or explanations.”

“I cannot comment on the in-flight service or the aircraft as it simply didn’t arrive in Beirut. There was no warning; indeed there were no JAT staff or handling agents whatsoever. Right up to departure time there was no indication that the flight had not left Belgrade. Eventually the word “cancelled” appeared on the screen - at 0100hrs. Next flight (MEA) 4.30pm!! Absolutely disgraceful.”

“If there would be an under 1 star rating for an airline companies I would definitely rate JAT with minus -5 star airline. Try to avoid it if you can!“

“A great advantage is their punctuality.” ???

And, finally, my personal favorite:

My first time on JAT from Frankfurt to Beograd. Accompanied with husband, son and wheelchair bound mother-in-law, the aircraft interior was well and truely worn and torn, seats terribly uncomfortable, checking the pockets in seats only found emergency card, nothing else. The aircraft type was very noisy. Cabin services appeared friendly but not of international standard. A cold meal was presented, not very appetising. Upon disembarking aircraft at Beograd, after other passengers left aircraft, due to wheelchair bound mother-in-law, only myself was promptly directed by female cabin crew to “get off aircraft” with the pointing of her hand to the exit door followed by another reply “you must leave now“. Having travelled myself around the world on many different airlines, I have never experienced such appalling behaviour. Politeness and courtesy appeared non-existent to this cabin crew member.

You can read all the comments here. Also: don’t miss Eric Gordy’s recent adventure with JAT, which is brilliantly written and also very funny. (But only because it didn’t happen to you.)

It’s also worth noting that despite all of the above, JAT and Adria are both rated as 3-star airlines. How’s that for justice?

(Thanks Martinovanje!)