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but they have become really good in recent years - lots of genuinely friendly and helpful people. And they don't all know at first that I have my big shot frequent flyer card!

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Mon Sep 22nd, 2008 at 01:55:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Good to hear. This was like walking into a bad American parody of French people. "why should we speak English, it's not our problem if people don't speak French. You Americans think everybody should speak English, I've never met one who speaks a foreign language'. Huh? What language do you think we're speaking here? Not to mention the fact that the majority of people I was translating for weren't native English speakers. That conversation came as a result of my only one quarter joking suggestion that if they can't be bothered to hire English speakers, they should pay me for my time, or at least wave the damn service fee they charged me. Plus the fun  constant refrain that people should get to the airport on time, and if not pay the price, regardless of the fact that the fricking train to the airport had decided to get stuck halfway there since the rain had shorted out the system.

But I guess I should take Air France off my mental list of airlines not to take unless the price difference is at least a hundred bucks. (the others being Lot and every American one)

by MarekNYC on Mon Sep 22nd, 2008 at 02:57:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
They have improved quite a bit over the last ten years (and merged with KLM, and learned some English, and...)
But yeah, their reputation for French snootiness will take a long time to fade...

Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.
by Bernard on Mon Sep 22nd, 2008 at 04:30:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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