Smart Lynx has been on the road for Condor with an Airbus A330-300 since July. The ten-year-old aircraft from the Latvian wet lease specialist flies from Frankfurt to New York and Toronto for the German airline. It is white and bears the Condor lettering as well as a blue and white striped tail fin.
Smart Lynx has been on the road for Condor with a second A330-300 for a few days, heading to Punta Cana. A third A330-300 is also available as a reserve. These two planes are around eight and a half years old.
Smart Lynx writes in a message about their planes that are deployed for Condor: “In the cabin, the passengers are looked after by both a German-speaking Condor cabin crew and an English-speaking Smart Lynx crew.” The meals are provided by the German holiday plane .
However, the offer does not work smoothly. Several travelers who traveled to Punta Cana on Condor flight DE2208 on December 11 – operated by Smart Lynx with the A330 with registration number 9H-SMF – reported to aeroTELEGRAPH. The passengers were not only annoyed that they sat on the plane for around two and a half hours before it took off.
“Seats that cannot be moved, even in expensive business class – not one in 18, but three,” writes one who sat there. The annoyed passenger further reports: “No screens for films, entertainment or other information.”
When asked by aeroTELEGRAPH, Smart Lynx explained that the problem with the business class seats was known. “A repair is already planned,” according to the wet-lease airline.
Smart Lynx goes on to say: “It has been shown that our passengers are increasingly bringing their entertainment with them on their own devices, so that in this price-sensitive market we are forgoing an entertainment system in favor of the tariffs.” A Condor spokeswoman explains: “On board, inflight entertainment is offered via Fly Stream, which can be accessed via your own mobile device.”
Two travelers reported that the cabin crew had problems communicating with guests and each other due to poor English. Flight attendants had shown themselves dissatisfied. “What would happen in an emergency if no one understood anyone?” asks a traveler from Premium Economy.
“I’ve been a frequent flyer for 35 years and know a lot of airlines,” says the business class passenger. “But something like that shouldn’t be and shouldn’t be the demand for holiday airlines.” He was really appalled “that such standards still exist”.
Smart Lynx asserts that its entire crew has “valid English certification, preparing them to deal with medical emergencies in a common language”. Nevertheless, it can happen, especially on a new route, that there are discrepancies. Of course, they want to fix this as soon as possible.
The Condor spokeswoman says: “On board the flights there are also Condor crew members who, together with Smart Lynx, are responsible for safety on board and service.” We very much regret the feedback on the flight in question and did everything together with Smart Lynx committed to providing a pleasant flight experience.
As for the background of the cooperation, she explained that Smart Lynx is used on individual routes, as the company is currently converting its own long-haul fleet from Boeing 767 to Airbus A330 and later A330 Neo. Passengers would be “proactively informed” about the use of the partner.
This article was written by Timo Nowack
The original of this article “Passengers appalled by Condor flight with Smart Lynx” comes from aeroTelegraph.
