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Swiss International Air Lines
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1.7 103 Reviews

Swiss International Air Lines Complaints Summary

17 Resolved
86 Unresolved
Our verdict: With Swiss International Air Lines's very poor resolution rate, careful consideration is needed. Research their service comprehensively, and read up on how they handle customer disputes. If you face issues, be prepared for potential challenges in obtaining resolutions and explore other service providers as backups.
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10:20 am EDT
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Swiss International Air Lines horrible service

This was the worst flight experience of my life. I travel internationally at least twice a year and within the US at least 5 times a year. The flight attendants were rude and disrespectful. I had a small child with me who was crying for 20 minutes. They told me to go to the back of the plane with my child. Obviously I was trying my best to calm her down, but the attendants repeatedly told me that her crying was 'bothering their ears'. One attendant in particular held his hands to his ears and made painful faces at me and my husband. The other attendants were trying to calm him down and brought him ear plugs which he made a big show of putting them in. Except for one attendant who brought us a toy, the other attendants said 'look at what you did to him'. I tried to calm my child with some yogurt and then was told that I needed to move so I threw the yogurt in an open trash bin. I was then yelled at several attendants who claimed that they had to pay a fee to the US since I threw the yogurt in the wrong trash container. I profusely apologized but the attendants kept yelling at me. My husband then volunteered to stick his hands in the trash and scoop out all the yogurt but the attendants then said 'don't you think you've done enough'.
I understand that a child crying is difficult to bear but it seems that this was the first time your staff ever had a child on board which I highly doubt.

We have told all of our friends (many are international travelers) of our horrible experience with your airline.
This incident happened on a flight from Zurich to NYC

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Swiss International Air Lines behavior of main flight attendant

My wife was totally disappointed with the service if Swiss air on her flight from Zuruch to Boston. She was a FIRST CLAS passenger, and the main flight attendant was so rude, that after the flight she was crying! He was a very nice person with other passengers, but he was cery rude with my wife. He was acting in a strange manner with her, she is beautiful girl, and he might think that she is single and maybe he wanted to have some kind of relationships with her. But after she refused him to put her little dog under the seat, he became rude. I am totally angry about it, and I want to talk to a representative of the company! They are not answering my emails. Thank you.

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3:24 am EDT
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Swiss International Air Lines denied access to flight

Sequence of Events

I booked a trip for my wife and children to visit my in-laws in Canada through Expedia.fr on the 31st August 2012.

My wife and children turned up at Barcelona Airport at 7.10am and proceeded to check in. When they arrived at the check-in desk they were informed by Swiss International Air Lines ground staff that they could not board the flight because my wife travels on a Canadian passport under her maiden name (Rochette) and our children travel under my surname (Bethell) on Australian passports despite the fact that my wife was carrying a photocopy of my British passport with a hand-written, signed letter from me confirming that they were traveling with my permission.

After the Swiss International Air Lines check-in staff made a call to Zurich Swiss International Air Lines head office it was confirmed that they were not to be issued boarding passes and were sent away with a scrap of paper with the phone number of the Canadian and Australian consulates in Barcelona with a non-specific suggestion that if my wife could get some sort of permission from either consulate she “may” be allowed on a subsequent plane.

At this point I had already left Barcelona en route to France by car and my wife was not able to reach me by phone until 10.30am when she had returned to the airport hotel where we had spent the previous night (Swiss International Air Lines staff refused to help her make a phone call).

I returned to Barcelona arriving about 1pm to meet my family. We returned to the airport and attended the Swiss International Air Lines ticket desk to try to find a solution.

I identified myself as the father of the children, the husband of my wife presenting my Australian passport as proof and offered to sign a letter in front of a Swiss International Air Lines representative confirming that I gave my wife permission to travel with our children. The lady behind the desk made a call to a superior to establish if this would suffice and we were again informed that we should attend the consulate of Canada or Australia to seek permission for the children to travel.

I asked for clarification about what requirements were in place for travellers in our position re one parent traveling with children. No-one seemed able to give advice nor were we given any recommendation of a website or document where such information could be found.

A further suggestion was made by the Swiss International Air Lines ground staff to ask the Spanish police in the airport to seek some form of official approval. We attended the police station and were informed that given that we were not Spanish citizens we could not be helped.

Neither the Canadian nor the Australian consulate phone numbers given worked on my phone from Barcelona airport (a number of other Spanish phone numbers worked fine).

At this point is was close to 2.30pm and it was quite clear that we were not able to make it onto the later Swiss International Air Lines flight to Geneva that day let alone making any connecting flights to Canada.

We returned to the ticketing desk to talk to the same lady. We suggested that we could either change our flight to the next day and I would accompany my family or we could hold the ticket over to Christmas once we had established exactly what level of proof was required to allow my wife to travel with her children with Swiss International Air Lines.

These suggestions were rejected and we were then asked to leave because another flight was delayed and they had a “more important priority” to deal with. We were given a number for reservations and told to call that number (the number did not work).

On our return journey to France we contacted Swiss International Air Lines in Switzerland to seek clarification from head office. We were informed that we were considered a “no show” because we did not get on the plane and that the ticket was “void”. The person on the phone also stated that because we did not get on the plane our ticket remained under the authority of Expedia.fr as the booking agent.

I called Expedia.fr this morning (27th October 2012) and they confirm that I am not entitled to any refund except for airport taxes. I am coping this letter to their complaints department.

The Issues

I understand that there is an issue with one parent absconding overseas with children from broken marriages. For this reason I provided a signed letter and copy of my passport confirming my permission. My family has travelled without me around the world on several occasions like this with other airlines without incident.

Swiss International Air Lines staff on site and on the phone stated that the burden of proof rests with the traveller to prove that the appropriate authority and paperwork is in place for passengers to travel.

I asked on all occasions for specific references to the exact type of proof required and no-one that I have spoken to from Expedia.fr or Swiss International Air Lines has been able to provide any online or written reference to such requirements nor have they verbally indicated to me exactly what I needed. Even if such information exists I have searched extensively online and not found nothing – even on the respective home pages of Swiss International Air Lines and Expedia.

I do not believe that any reasonable person could be expected to know what internal policy Swiss International Air Lines has to address a situation such as ours and therefore would expect the terms of business quoted could be challenged.

When I showed my Australian passport bearing the same name as my children declaring in person at the ticket desk that I gave my full permission for my wife and children to fly we were still refused and directed back to the consulates. What additional proof could carry more weight than the second parent’s direct permission?

I object profoundly to our family crisis, caused by Swiss International Air Lines, being deemed a lower priority than someone else’s delayed flight. As long as you retain my money I consider myself a customer of yours and therefore deserving of respect and consideration of any other customer. Instead, we were fobbed off to any other authority your Swiss International Air Lines ground staff could think of, seemingly at random, to get rid of us.

The suggestion that the consulate of the Australian or the Canadian government in Barcelona would be in any way able to provide evidence at short notice to help us with our situation is either naïve or deceitful as anyone who has ever tried to get a rapid response from a government agency would know. My suspicion that this was just a way to deflect the problem was heightened by the last suggestion to ask the Spanish police if they could help - an option we explored because they were close by. They confirmed that they could not assist a non-Spanish resident – further evidence that Swiss International Air Lines was sending us on a wild goose chase in the hope that we would just go away and forget their unfair treatment of us.

I cannot comprehend the audacity of Swiss International Air Lines to imply that our flight is “void” because of a “no-show” (we definitely showed up) and therefore subject to no refund. Your staff made a judgment call to refuse my wife and children onto a flight and they were wrong in their assumption. Swiss International Air Lines then did not accept overwhelming proof that you were wrong and dismissed us, intending to keep the entire fee on a legal technicality.

Furthermore Swiss International Air Lines seem very keen to cease discussions and deflect responsibility to Expedia.fr, the Spanish police, the governments of Australia and Canada and ultimately to us. I find this defensive stance insulting and cowardly.

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12SopDim
, US
Aug 28, 2019 5:30 pm EDT

Swiss Airlines has the most rude, uncompassionate, cold people of any airline I have ever flown. I have had a similar experience with what they call a "No show" policy. I showed up so I don't know why they would call it that. My passport did not meet the required window of international travel and at first they said, they would book me on the next flight out and I could go to the passport office and update my passport, then they said no, and to call my booking agency. my booking online company (Vayama) were just as bad. They said it was up to the airline to reschedule me. Needless to say, I lost my ticket, my money and temporarily my mind! I disputed the charges on my credit card. Not too confident of the outcome; but we'll see. Good luck with yours.

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3:24 am EDT
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Swiss International Air Lines poor service bad systems worse food

Worse long haul flight ever. Online booking a joke. Swiss air idea is to pre-allocate seats so when you go online with a fully booked flight all seats are booked! you have no choice of where you want to sit because they are all allocated by Swiss air before the 23 hr before flight window. Flight from Shanghai had worse food ever, one dish was semi edible but they only carry enough to feed 60% of passengers the other 40% food supplied was inedible vegie dish. Wake up Swiss air there are no vegies in China! Staff onboard not interested in service, or don't know what service is. There is a reason they are cheap, the service is rubbish. It is worth paying a little more to fly with someone who actually is interested in customer service.

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2:29 am EST
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Swiss International Air Lines didn't honor ticket, kept money

Summary: I purchased a ticket from Swiss Air on Feb 12 to get to my Grandmother's funeral. They sent me an e-ticket and receipt, and an email confirmation. But upon arrival to the airport, they claimed there was an issue of payment and refused to let me board. They allowed me to be escorted into the airport and give them cash AGAIN for the ticket. Upon consulting the credit card company, the payment was processed and now Swiss Air is refusing to return the money for the ticket they did not honor.

On February 12th, I purchased a ticket from Swiss Air. My grandmother had just passed away and I was desperate to attend her funeral and provide support to my family. I was travelling from Hong Kong to Warsaw, via Zurich.

I live in Shenzhen, China. We are able to take a ferry to the Hong Kong Airport. There is an airline counter in Shenzhen that checks your ticket, then you depart China via the Shekou Port immigration. I did this on February 14th, on the last ferry of the evening.

When I arrived, I was informed that because my husband had purchased the ticket, it was not valid and the payment was not accepted. It should be noted here that I received an e-ticket, a receipt for payment, and email confirming the flight, and had passed through the airline counter in Shenzhen port. The e-ticket clearly listed my name as the passenger. At no point did Swiss Air contact me to let me know there was a problem with the flight.

The counter staff said that I had to buy another ticket at over $1000 USD cost. I began to cry and beg the counter staff to help me attend my grandmother's funeral. One man replied to my begging by waving his hand at me dismissively and yelling at me in Cantonese before walking away. I informed the staff that all I had was a bank card.

The woman at the counter tried to get permission to allow me to enter HKIA to withdraw cash to repay for the ticket. During this time, the man who yelled at me came back with the ferry staff and customs officials and they yelled at me some more. They had absolutely no compassion and no interest in the fact that I had a receipt of purchase.

The woman at the counter finally gained permission to escort me into the airport to withdraw cash. I gave her $8250 HKD and she gave me a boarding pass. The boarding crew provided me with a receipt and I was allowed to board.

To add insult to injury, Swiss Air HAD accepted and processed the original ticket and REFUSED TO RETURN THE MONEY. To restate: Swiss Air issued me a ticket and receipt, then refused to honor the ticket, but kept the money. If this sounds like theft, you are correct. This is absolutely illegal under the Hong Kong Supply of Services Ordinance, which states:

"When a consumer buys a service but the contract itself is silent on certain aspects, the parties can rely on the Supply of Services (Implied Terms) Ordinance ("SSO"), which provides:

services should be carried out with reasonable care and skill (which generally means the services must meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory) ( section 5 of the SSO );

services should be performed within a reasonable time if the time of performance has not been fixed by the contract ( section 6 of the SSO ); and

a reasonable charge should be paid if the charge has not been fixed by the contract ( section 7 of the SSO ).

If service suppliers fail to meet any one of the above conditions, they would be "in breach of contract". Under these circumstances, consumers are entitled to sue defaulting suppliers for compensation."

Additionally, I suffered great stress and mental anguish due to this event. Upon my return trip, I suffered a panic attack in the Warsaw airport due to my concern that Swiss Air may have again denied me transport back to Hong Kong. I now have a fear, not of flying, but of airports! I will always worry now that I will arrive at an airport and be denied the right to fly.

Furthermore, I have spoken to many people at Swiss Air in person. All professed to understand that Swiss Air acted poorly in this situation and under no circumstances should keep the money for the original ticket. However, they made no attempt to correct the situation and insisted that I have to apply for a refund. A refund for a ticket which was not honored, when I have a receipt for payment for a new ticket.

I would like Swiss Air to give me a written apology and compensation for my suffering. I would also like them to change their policies so that they will honor all tickets with receipts. In this case they should have allowed me to fly and contacted me to resolve any payment issues afterwards (which, to be clear, there was no payment issue because Swiss Air processed the payment and refused to return the money). They also need to improve their customer service. I contacted them via phone and email, even emailing the CEO, but have heard no response.

I am currently disputing the charge via the credit card company, and I am also investigating the possibility of taking Swiss Air to court in Hong Kong as I believe the act of accepting payment for a service and then denying service and keeping the money is illegal.

Thank you,
RM Symotiuk

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8:30 pm EST
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Swiss International Air Lines inproper behaviour by ground staff

i frequently travel by Swiss airways on 21/FEB/2012 from LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT to BARCELONA by connecting flight from GENEVA...while accessing my baggage allowance..i was carrying my 1 baggage and 1 hand bag..the ground staff stop me to take my hand bad with me and said to me for pay the money for it...even though my checking laugage was not more then 14 kgs.. even she told me to remove my stuff from the hand bag and put it into check in baggage...even i transfer my all stuff from my hand bag and my hand bag was almost empty although she refuse me to take my Hand bag with me..and told me to pay for it...but i argueed with the head of department and finally they let me go with my hand bag. but i feel so bad with the behaviour of the ground staff with the passenger...so i have decided to take serious action with the ground staff speacially in HEATHROW AIRPORT with the SWISS AIRWAYS GROUND STAFF...and i will never ever like to travel with the SWISS AIR in future...i must suggest you to travel with any other airways much better then the SWISS AIRWAYS...thanks..

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Swiss International Air Lines denied travel

My family intended to travel on Swiss air to Republic of South Africa. They boarded Swiss Air at Heathrow on 26/07/2011 and were stopped in Zurich and returned by the authorities for somehow unbelievable reason that my wife did not have a marriage certificate, my letter consenting to her travelling with our children and the children's birth certificates to prove that she was related to them. That being not enough, the authorities required my two children to get back to UK and apply for visas to South Africa since they held travelling documents. The airline personnel informed my wife that their tickets were deferred and they can travel once these requirements have been met. On 27/07/2011 I picked my family from Heathrow and sorted all the issues they indicated. I contacted the airline to re-book the flight but they advised that planes were overbooked and that they required the travel agency (Economy Travel) to get in touch with them and will waiver our travelling to a date when space has been available on their planes. We had been on leave and our children were on school holiday and days were running out for us all. Since my wife did not require any visa, I felt she would have been allowed to travel since we had an emergency to see to someone who was ill in South Africa. I advised the airline's instruction to Economy Travel representative DINO who appeared reluctant to deal with the matter despite having pocketted about £2 500 and E ticket numbers7242780533128-30. I have contacted the Head Office in Switzerland trying to settle this issue but still I never got any feedback. We had a relative who was sick in Africa which meant we had to fork out another whooping £1200.00 for my wife to travel on a different plane. I have been calling both the airline and the travel agency and even sent complaint emails but to no avail. I still believe that my family is entitled to a re-imbursement or having another travel date given. I have saved this amount for about 5 years and I can't be seen ennriching already well-up companies. We have paid taxes which none of us benefitted from. I think something needs to be done before this goes on public view, which can have a damaging effect to to airline in these hard and difficult economic moments. This is my contact number [protected]

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Johnbe
, FR
Oct 28, 2012 3:22 am EDT

Here is a transcript of my letter of complaint

Sequence of Events

I booked a trip for my wife and children to visit my in-laws in Canada through Expedia.fr on the 31st August 2012.

My wife and children turned up at Barcelona Airport at 7.10am and proceeded to check in. When they arrived at the check-in desk they were informed by Swiss International Air Lines ground staff that they could not board the flight because my wife travels on a Canadian passport under her maiden name (Rochette) and our children travel under my surname (Bethell) on Australian passports despite the fact that my wife was carrying a photocopy of my British passport with a hand-written, signed letter from me confirming that they were traveling with my permission.

After the Swiss International Air Lines check-in staff made a call to Zurich Swiss International Air Lines head office it was confirmed that they were not to be issued boarding passes and were sent away with a scrap of paper with the phone number of the Canadian and Australian consulates in Barcelona with a non-specific suggestion that if my wife could get some sort of permission from either consulate she “may” be allowed on a subsequent plane.

At this point I had already left Barcelona en route to France by car and my wife was not able to reach me by phone until 10.30am when she had returned to the airport hotel where we had spent the previous night (Swiss International Air Lines staff refused to help her make a phone call).

I returned to Barcelona arriving about 1pm to meet my family. We returned to the airport and attended the Swiss International Air Lines ticket desk to try to find a solution.

I identified myself as the father of the children, the husband of my wife presenting my Australian passport as proof and offered to sign a letter in front of a Swiss International Air Lines representative confirming that I gave my wife permission to travel with our children. The lady behind the desk made a call to a superior to establish if this would suffice and we were again informed that we should attend the consulate of Canada or Australia to seek permission for the children to travel.

I asked for clarification about what requirements were in place for travellers in our position re one parent traveling with children. No-one seemed able to give advice nor were we given any recommendation of a website or document where such information could be found.

A further suggestion was made by the Swiss International Air Lines ground staff to ask the Spanish police in the airport to seek some form of official approval. We attended the police station and were informed that given that we were not Spanish citizens we could not be helped.

Neither the Canadian nor the Australian consulate phone numbers given worked on my phone from Barcelona airport (a number of other Spanish phone numbers worked fine).

At this point is was close to 2.30pm and it was quite clear that we were not able to make it onto the later Swiss International Air Lines flight to Geneva that day let alone making any connecting flights to Canada.

We returned to the ticketing desk to talk to the same lady. We suggested that we could either change our flight to the next day and I would accompany my family or we could hold the ticket over to Christmas once we had established exactly what level of proof was required to allow my wife to travel with her children with Swiss International Air Lines.

These suggestions were rejected and we were then asked to leave because another flight was delayed and they had a “more important priority” to deal with. We were given a number for reservations and told to call that number (the number did not work).

On our return journey to France we contacted Swiss International Air Lines in Switzerland to seek clarification from head office. We were informed that we were considered a “no show” because we did not get on the plane and that the ticket was “void”. The person on the phone also stated that because we did not get on the plane our ticket remained under the authority of Expedia.fr as the booking agent.

I called Expedia.fr this morning (27th October 2012) and they confirm that I am not entitled to any refund except for airport taxes. I am coping this letter to their complaints department.

The Issues

I understand that there is an issue with one parent absconding overseas with children from broken marriages. For this reason I provided a signed letter and copy of my passport confirming my permission. My family has travelled without me around the world on several occasions like this with other airlines without incident.

Swiss International Air Lines staff on site and on the phone stated that the burden of proof rests with the traveller to prove that the appropriate authority and paperwork is in place for passengers to travel.

I asked on all occasions for specific references to the exact type of proof required and no-one that I have spoken to from Expedia.fr or Swiss International Air Lines has been able to provide any online or written reference to such requirements nor have they verbally indicated to me exactly what I needed. Even if such information exists I have searched extensively online and not found nothing – even on the respective home pages of Swiss International Air Lines and Expedia.

I do not believe that any reasonable person could be expected to know what internal policy Swiss International Air Lines has to address a situation such as ours and therefore would expect the terms of business quoted could be challenged.

When I showed my Australian passport bearing the same name as my children declaring in person at the ticket desk that I gave my full permission for my wife and children to fly we were still refused and directed back to the consulates. What additional proof could carry more weight than the second parent’s direct permission?

I object profoundly to our family crisis, caused by Swiss International Air Lines, being deemed a lower priority than someone else’s delayed flight. As long as you retain my money I consider myself a customer of yours and therefore deserving of respect and consideration of any other customer. Instead, we were fobbed off to any other authority your Swiss International Air Lines ground staff could think of, seemingly at random, to get rid of us.

The suggestion that the consulate of the Australian or the Canadian government in Barcelona would be in any way able to provide evidence at short notice to help us with our situation is either naïve or deceitful as anyone who has ever tried to get a rapid response from a government agency would know. My suspicion that this was just a way to deflect the problem was heightened by the last suggestion to ask the Spanish police if they could help - an option we explored because they were close by. They confirmed that they could not assist a non-Spanish resident – further evidence that Swiss International Air Lines was sending us on a wild goose chase in the hope that we would just go away and forget their unfair treatment of us.

I cannot comprehend the audacity of Swiss International Air Lines to imply that our flight is “void” because of a “no-show” (we definitely showed up) and therefore subject to no refund. Your staff made a judgment call to refuse my wife and children onto a flight and they were wrong in their assumption. Swiss International Air Lines then did not accept overwhelming proof that you were wrong and dismissed us, intending to keep the entire fee on a legal technicality.

Furthermore Swiss International Air Lines seem very keen to cease discussions and deflect responsibility to Expedia.fr, the Spanish police, the governments of Australia and Canada and ultimately to us. I find this defensive stance insulting and cowardly.

J
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Johnbe
, FR
Oct 28, 2012 3:13 am EDT

Amazing - just had the same happen to me - detail to follow

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4:15 pm EDT
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Swiss International Air Lines improper behaviour by the ground staff

I am a frequent traveller and had the worst experience with the SWISS AIRLINES .I was flying from milan to zurich and then a flight to india and got my boarding pass on time but due to a huge queue at the security section, it took me a lot of time to reach the boarding area and without making any announcement they took off. No one even came at the security section to make way for people who have an early flight. And when i went back to the counter my boarding pass was snatched by the lady in charge and she tore it in the most disrespectful manner. From that day no one from my family and friends have taken swiss airlines and i would advice everyone not to opt for this flight since they do not deserve to be paid for the services they provide to us. i am really sorry but even if i am late and paying for the cancellation fee to buy a new ticket does not mean the ground staff and the manager can treat us this way. Its highly unprofessional and would never recommend this airline to anyone.

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isaura rivera marin
, HN
Feb 21, 2012 8:20 pm EST

i frequently travel by Swiss airways on 21/FEB/2012 from LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT to BARCELONA by connecting flight from GENEVA...while accessing my baggage allowance..i was carrying my 1 baggage and 1 hand bag..the ground staff stop me to take my hand bad with me and said to me for pay the money for it...even though my laugage was not more then 14 kgs..she told me to remove my stuff from the hand bag and put it into check in baggage...even i transfer my all stuff from my hand bag she refuse me to bring my Hand bag with me..and told me to pay for it...but i argueed with the head of department and finally they let me go with my hand bag. but i feel so bad with the behaviour of the ground staff with the passenger...so i have decided to take serious action with the ground staff speacially in HEATHROW AIRPORT with the SWISS AIRWAYS GROUND STAFF...and i will never ever like to travel with the SWISS AIR in future...i must suggest you to travel with any other airways much better then the SWISS AIRWAYS...thanks..

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1:49 am EDT
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Swiss International Air Lines cancelld my trip

Dear Sir,
On 12/3/2011 my flight was Cairo ; Zurich ; Sao Paulo flight number LX 237 & LX 92 . while I am doing the boarding on SWISS AIR counter in Cairo international airport, the Cabin Crew cancelled my flight . First they asked me why I don’t have the European Visa ? I said there is no need for it, my final destination is Sao Paulo and I do have the Brazilian Visa, and I will stay only in Zurich in the transit area . they said NO you have to have the European Visa even if you go on transit . I said I have travelled to Brazil for more than 6 times during the last two years and never face such problem with Lufthansa, they said that is because you fly with Lufthansa in the two ways ( But because you go to Brazil with Swiss air and come back with Lufthansa ) we can not allow you to travel unless if you make it Only swiss air . I told them now I will not find a ticket and asked them that I will do the changes when I arrive to Brazil but they said NO we don’t believe you .. if we allow you to travel now you will not change your flight back and will come with Lufthansa … no no we will not allow you to travel today
( sorry in a very bad impolite way ) they said sorry this is our rules, I told them I travelled to Brazil more than 6 times without this procedures they said we don’t know what you are talking about ..
And then they left me in the counter alone, and go away .
I lost my trip to Sao Paulo, I lost my hotel reservation, I lost my business

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Swiss International Air Lines cancelled my trip

On 12/3/2011 my flight was Cairo ; Zurich ; Sao Paulo flight number LX 237 & LX 92 . while I am doing the boarding on SWISS AIR counter in Cairo international airport, the Cabin Crew cancelled my flight . First they asked me why I don’t have the European Visa ? I said there is no need for it, my final destination is Sao Paulo and I do have the Brazilian Visa, and I will stay only in Zurich in the transit area . they said NO you have to have the European Visa even if you go on transit . I said I have travelled to Brazil for more than 6 times during the last two years and never face such problem with Lufthansa, they said that is because you fly with Lufthansa in the two ways ( But because you go to Brazil with Swiss air and come back with Lufthansa ) we can not allow you to travel unless if you make it Only swiss air . I told them now I will not find a ticket and asked them that I will do the changes when I arrive to Brazil but they said NO we don’t believe you .. if we allow you to travel now you will not change your flight back and will come with Lufthansa … no no we will not allow you to travel today
( sorry in a very bad impolite way ) they said sorry this is our rules, I told them I travelled to Brazil more than 6 times without this procedures they said we don’t know what you are talking about ..
And then they left me in the counter alone, and go away .
I lost my trip to Sao Paulo, I lost my hotel reservation, I lost my business

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6:35 pm EST

Swiss International Air Lines I will not be using swiss air again

I recently flew with Swiss Air long haul. On arrival at my destination airport I discovered that my bag had been broken into and my camera had been stolen. The bag had been padlocked but the metal tags on the zip had been cut.

I reported this and was told that I would have to claim compensation from the airline. I have had one email from Swiss Air stating that valuables inside of checked in baggage are not automatically insured. End of.

I have emailed them three times and sent three recorded delivery letters. They have not had the courtesy to reply to any of them. I will not be using Swiss Air again.

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Charlieboy77
Guildford, GB
Feb 23, 2011 1:45 am EST

You should always carry valuables in your carry on baggage. Single items in your suitcase checked in will be limited and the maximim figure isn't high. Check your terms and conditions with your eticket. You agree to these terms by checking the box when you purchase online or are given a copy if purchased through a travel agent. I think only about USD400 per single item and there is also a maximum collective of about USD2000 for multiple items I think.
Good Luck

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11:30 am EST
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Swiss International Air Lines dreadful service, missing luggage

For my entire life They gave me the most awful unplesent memory.

On arriving in Paris from Hurghada, Egypt through Zurich I found out that my luggage was missing even though I've checked in Zurich with my luggage reciept.
Well...I already konw, it sometimes happen, but the missing luggage wasint' the worst senario.
The worst part was their employee. From the airport, I haven't had any apologizing messages, and the guy at the airport desk was giggling at me saying it wasn't his responsibility.
I asked for his namecard but he was keep avoiding and eventually gave me his firstname with unreadable hand writing.
Getting worse when I called them today, the woman who picked up my phone was saying;
" I already gave you every information! What do you want for me? Can't you undertand?
You should wait! Bye B ye! " and hung up the phone call!
How did they hang up the phone even before I finish my words?
Do they believe that I should stay at home for entire week waiting for my luggage which I have no idea where it is? Comparing to them, Easyjet and Lyanair was premium luxury airline!
I never gonna use this airline never again!

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Ju Ku
, FR
Jan 14, 2011 11:25 am EST

That's exactly the same path I went through!
I only need information about where my luggage currently is !
or at least apologizing message with kindly saying I need to wait!
and for over 10days waiting I finally recieved my luggage, But the lock was broken and the zipper is totally not in use anymore ! I paid over 600 Euros for the ticket and got the service as worthy of under 6 Euros !

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jackie8855
Fort Lauderdale, US
Jan 06, 2011 4:59 pm EST

We flew Miami to Stuttgart through Zurich on December 20-21. Left with 4 pieces of luggage and arrived in STR with 3.
We tried to call but the message at Swiss Air stated that due to high volume of lost luggage they are not taking phone calls
and to please check the web site. I have filled out the requested 5 day forms and it is January 6 and to this day, no one has
responded to my several emails, nor have I received any phone calls, or other correspondence. We only ask for a little
information or acknowledgment that they have received our paperwork.

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10:50 am EDT
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Swiss International Air Lines they didn't honour their word

During the recent volcanic ash problems my Swiss International Airlines flights were cancelled. I was informed by their representative that if I kept all accommodation, food and transport receipts I would be refunded on my return to the UK. I was delayed for 6 days during this problem and kept all reasonable receipts.

However when I tried to claim these back I was informed that they could not honour the refund as promised. The customer service was very poor and it wasn't easy to get a hold of anybody.

In the end I emailed the CEO Harry Hohmeister and the MD Reto Schmid. I thought they would be able to review this case however it would appear that they could not care less about their customers. I received less than a quarter of my expenses.

I really wouldn't trust Swiss Airlines again. Their staff were rude on the plane and it would appear that it is the standard set by the CEO and MD.

If you do ned to contact Swiss don't bother looking on their website as its not easy to find contact info.

Email harry.[protected]@swiss.com or reto.[protected]@swiss.com

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Update by dont_use_swiss
Jul 15, 2010 5:13 am EDT

I'm sorry but if an airline has promised to refund accommodation, food, transport expenses then they should honour that. If they had said at the beginning that they would not refund any money I would have slept in the airport. I am now left with a credit card bill that I cannot afford to pay. This will affect my credit rating and ultimately I could lose my home.

I tried to negotiate with them as I admit it is not the airlines fault that the airspace was closed for so long however in my opinion Swiss have been unreasonable.

Update by dont_use_swiss
Jul 14, 2010 2:56 am EDT

Yes I do realise the extent of this problem however many airlines including Lufthansa and Austrian organised accommodation for their passengers in addition to food and daily expenses. As a Swiss customer I was told to organise my own accommodation etc and would be reimbursed.

I would disagree that "they really didnt owe (me) anything". under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 the airline has a duty of care to reimburse these reasonable costs. The fact that there are "extraordinary circumstances" do not remove the duty of care under Article 9.

It would just have been nice for them to honour what they promised.

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7:35 am EDT
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Swiss International Air Lines horrible airline to fly with

0 Star for Swiss.First & probably last flight I ever fly with Swiss Int. Stranded in Cairo Aiport during Volcanic Ashes chaos proved that Swiss Int doesn't really care about their passengers.

When I approached Swiss Int staff in Airport ground staff even refused to provide information on where I could get to the nearest hotel. I had no internet or phones with me and therefore I could not book any hotels for the first night. I spent my first night at the airport terminal. Only after the following day, I managed to arrange accommodation and transport to the hotel/airport vice versa on my own.

After 1.5 months trying to contact Swiss to get my reimbursement as stated in EU regulation 261/2004, I was denied by their customer service Mr Juergen Poeppel. Saying it's not their fault, therefore they wont pay for my hotel. I reminded him several times that it's every passengers right to get care under regulation, and he just brushed it off. Then I never heard from them anymore. They totally ignored my claims!

The airline had refused to provide assistance since the day I was stranded in Cairo, shirk responsibilities to care for their passengers and now failed to address my concerns appropriately. I do feel very disappointed that a reputable airline like Swiss International Air line would go this low.

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dont_use_swiss
st albans, GB
Oct 16, 2010 5:47 pm EDT
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I had the same problem. I was stranded in Russia when the volcanic ash problem arose. There were no Swiss International Air Lines staff available to help us. A Lufthansa staff member acting on behalf of Swiss told us that if we organised our own hotel and food then our expenses would be reimbursed on our return to the UK.

We started to make our own way back as our rescheduled flights were cancelled again and our Russian visas would not be renewed a second time.

On our arrival back in the UK after a 6 day delay SWISS refused to honour their promise of reimbursement.

I contacted the CEO (harry.hohmeister@swiss.com) and the MD (reto.schmid@swiss.com) and they told me as it was a "force majeure" they could not refund me despite me reminding them about the EU regulations.

It would appear that KLM have just been forced to refund their customers and I hope Swiss International Air Lines will be forced to do the same.

I am setting up a Facebook group and I hope you will join. Please conatct me if you are interested.

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6:17 am EST
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Swiss International Air Lines no refund given

After dealing with SWISS AIRLINES...I WILL NEVER USE THEM AGAIN!
I have booked 3 tickets on Swiss Airlines (600 uk pounds)to go skiing at the end of March 2010. Unfortunately I have fallen and snapped my achilles tendon and it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to fly as my leg is in a cast. As a result, my family's entire skiing holday has been cancelled. Although I did book non refundable tickets, I have advised them of my demise ( I can supply a medical certificate) and asked if it is possible to see the human side here and refund me my monies back. Basically I was told rules are rules and no refund. Now they will probably sell my seat again and make double the money.
Is there no such thing as dealing with a PERSON anymore rather than people hiding behind corporate rules and regs? So much for customer service!

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Lindy 123
, US
Feb 27, 2023 7:11 am EST

Good day, please can you assist, I have a similar situation. Just wanted to find out how you managed to sort this situation out. Many thanks

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9:26 pm EST
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Swiss International Air Lines money

On the 12 / 01/ 2010 I've sent $ 125NZ money to Swiss air pet for travelling my puppy chihuahua from Douala to New Zealand. After I make a payment Swiss air pet company ask me for more money, money and more money again until I said to them I'm not going to pay you anymore money or returnd back my $ 125, they promise to send my money back .But until now they never send back, I sent them an email and called them but they never reply.I'm really upset with what Swiss Air Pet doing to me why they lied to me and stealing my money.

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7:27 am EST
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Swiss International Air Lines excess baggage charges

I am a regular traveler, I was traveling on the Amsterdam - Zurich - Mumbai Sector on 7 Dec 2009 - Swiss Air Flt - LX737 & LX154 and had the worst flying experience of my life.

While checking in my two bags, I was informed that I was three Kgs excess & that I would have to adjust the baggage & carry some items on me as cabin baggage, but when I did the adjustments & returned to the check in counter, I was informed that the excess was 5 Kgs and that I would have to pay 150 Euros.

Moreover I was threatened that If I did not pay immediately I will be missing my flight.The staff behavior was very rude and like black mail, It also seemed that it had a lot to do with the colour of my passport as well as the colour of my skin.

I request you to do a full fledged inquiry and arrange for a full refund soonest

Shrirang Nerurkar
301 B, Premghar.
Behind tawa Hotel
Turner Road
Bandra (West)
Mumbai 400050
INDIA

[protected]
[protected]@hotmail.com

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SAKHHI
, IN
Sep 29, 2010 8:36 am EDT
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I HAD THE SIMILAR PROBLEM RACIAL DISCRIMANTION, RUDE BEHAVIOUR AND EXCESS BAGGAGE CHARGES HEAVILY FOR JUST TWO KILOS

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dont_use_swiss
st albans, GB
Jul 13, 2010 10:40 am EDT
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Write to the MD reto.schmid@swiss.com

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dont_use_swiss
st albans, GB
Jul 13, 2010 10:38 am EDT
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I would write to the CEO and let him know your feeling:

harry.hohmeister@swiss.com

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4:56 am EST
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Swiss International Air Lines theft from checked in baggage

I recently flew with Swiss Air long haul. On arrival at my destination airport I discovered that my bag had been broken into and my camera had been stolen.
The bag had been padlocked but the metal tags on the zip had been cut.
I reported this and was told that I would have to claim compensation from the airline.
I have had one email from Swiss Air stating that valuables inside of checked in baggage are not automatically insured. End of.
I have emailed them three times and sent three recorded delivery letters. They have not had the courtesy to reply to any of them.
I will not be using Swiss Air again.

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Jay 159
, NZ
Jan 10, 2013 1:46 pm EST

Travelled with AirNZ and Swiss Air...Auckland, Shanghai, Zurich to Amsterdam. Arrived in Amsterdam last night to find my case 's lock off and some antique family jewellery gone. Yes, big mistake that I put it in my checked in bag...kicking myself...but it's abhorrent that airline bag handlers are doing this! Nothing I can do I'm sure...each airline will blame the other.

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3:43 am EST
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Swiss International Air Lines swissair ignores electrical problem before takeoff

I wrote to Swiss Air one month ago today, but no response, so I will now post complaints online.

I spent the entire 14 hour flight from Zurich to Hong Kong in the dark because neither the overhead lights nor any electronics (TV, videos) worked. This was obviously a wiring problem, not a matter of rebooting the system, and I reported it well before take-off. The stewardess said it would be rebooted, though I said this would not work. It was obviously a wiring or fuse problem, not a computer problem. Yet in spite of this, and without knowing the extent of the electrical problem, the attendant ignored me.

Over an hour later, I asked again about it; the attendant snapped that they were serving the meal and could not deal with it. After three hours, I hit the attendant button of a neighboring seat (because nothing in my seat worked). It was ignored, but half an hour later, an attendant came by, switched it off, and kept going. This happened three times before an attendant finally came, smiled sweetly and asked, "Is it still not working?"

It was obviously not working. Everything was dark in my seat and my neighbors (mine was 26E and his 26D).

Electrical problems (whether shortages or otherwise) can be serious, and I was very surprised this was entirely ignored. So I and the man in 26D sat in the dark, literally, the entire flight. I then reported this online on Oct. 17th. Swiss Air said I'd receive a prompt response. Today, one month later, I've heard nothing.

I never expected such poor maintenance, or service, on a Swiss Air flight. (I do not, however, blame the attendants, who overall were quite courteous, and should not have to deal with such problems; they were probably up against the wall, because of Swiss Air's poor maintenance).
Sincerely,
Dr. Bill Brown
Flight LX 138, Zurich to HK, 17 Oct. 2009

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Swiss International Air Lines horrible customer service!

I am the Managing Director and owner of the 170 room hotel in Bangkok. I have been in the travel and hospitality business for over the last 5 years. This is the first time I have traveled on Swiss International on a roundtrip to NYC although I am previously a Gold Star Alliance member through Thai international and am currrently a silver member On this particular day, I arrived at the airport in advance of 90 minutes, around 115 minutes prior to departure on a Swiss International flight from JFK to Zurich.

As I have a problem on my left knee that usually gets ajitated during long haul flights I had prebooked my seat for an aisle seat so that I could stretch my knee as it tends to get quite stiff due to the altitude and long hours sitting on the same seat. When I arrived, I was told by a Swiss International staff that my seat had been released and that most passengers would be assigned seating at the gate. This I found very unusual as I have traveled to NYC at least 2 times a year since 1991 and never have my seats been released and assigned at the gate. I spoke to the Swiss International Supervisor and she said the seats are release by the system if you don't arrive more than 90 minutes before departure. As I mentioned earlier, I arrived 115 minutes before departure. As I proceeded to the gate, I kindly informed the Swiss International staff who was assigning the seats of my medical condition and she said she would take care of me rudely without even asking my name. When I asked her how would she know who I was she simply said to me 'I know who you are.' Obviously she did not but I decided to keep quiet and wait. For the next 30-40 minutes there were many passengers like myself waiting for our pass. The flight was leaving in 5 minutes and even then, I did not get my seat assignment. Finally when I got it, it was not an aisle seat as I expected. I was very furstrated at this point and had to again speak to someone who finally changed it for me.

At this point I was very very upset at the service quality of your airline. (There were many other passengers who were upset as well!) After finally receiving my aisle seat boarding pass, I went into the airline and proceeded towards my seat. To my surprise there were two people already seated there and when I asked them for their boarding pass, they had the exact seat no as on my card and the seat was apparently double booked. I again had to go back to the front of the gate to have my seat changed and have this situation sorted out which took another 5 minutes to process. It was a very nervous moment on a packed flight where I thought I would not be able to board the flight. It was very obvious they were outsourcing their airport services to an outside company and it was a very poorly managed service by staff who do not care about the quality of customer care which negatively affected how passengers like myself perceived of their airline, especially on my first roundtrip experience. I must say that I was completely disappointed at how I and other passengers were treated.

When I arrived back to Bangkok, I sent an official compaint on the Swiss International website and the message was replied to me a woman named Patchanee Maneeruji saying they would get back to me within a few days. This message was also received by the following Swiss International staff including Christopher Allen, Jaaveed Ally, John Carlo Justincic, and Daniel Murray. This message was sent on July 10, 2009. After not hearing back from any of these five people for four weeks, I sent an inquiry again on August 1, 2009 asking for some feedback. After another week of waiting I finally received an email from Patchanee telling me that as a result of the problems I had, Swiss International would make this up to me by ensuring that the next time I would get my preferred seat on the plane. I found this reply insulting firstly because it took five of these people 4 weeks to come up with this reply and secondly because it was simply a cheap reply for the amount of trouble I went through. Being in the hopsitality business, I am always proactive in how I react to disappointed guests as my hotel and am always giving free room nights and upgrades to any dissatisfied guest as my guests are important to me and I believe it is in my best interest to make sure they arrive and leave my property satisfied. I am not upset that I was not given a free ticket or a free upgrade but simply it was a disrespectful gesture on the part of the airline based on the principle of good customer relationship management. I am writing this email in hope that you will read this and AVOID flying with Swiss International. The Airline is not reflective of a world class airline and I would suggest flying other airlines such as British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Quantas, Lufthansa, Emirates on any destination you fly if you have the option. Swiss both inflight experience and customer service is worse than a low cost airline, even Air Asia offered me a free ticket due to a delay I had on a local flight in Asia and they offered it right away without me having to ask for it.

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flyingfan
Boston, US
Aug 13, 2009 11:13 pm EDT

I fly Swiss International a lot out of JFK. Usually 8-10 times per year and have had nothing but great experiences. Always on time and ready to go. Just what I need as a busy traveller. You sound like you want a free ticket, but you say that you don't. They apologized and it may have taken longer than you wanted. But at least they apologized. That's more then you get from most airlines. By the way, Qantas doesn't have a "U" in it.

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