Faulty connections make direct flights a good idea

"The next SkyLine Shuttle will depart in zero seconds." That was one of many fibs I was told during a long, winding and annoying journey yesterday afternoon and evening from Tirana in Albania to London Heathrow.

- SIMON CALDER

I was a late booker on the route: just two days ahead. For the only nonstop flight between Tirana and Heathrow yesterday, British Airways wanted a very premium £380. Lufthansa, in contrast, would settle for “only” £255. That was far more than I wanted to pay; my outbound ticket had cost just one-10th as much. But I saved £125 compared with BA.

The journey on the German airline came with downsides, though: three hours’ extra journey time, plus the extra complexity of changing planes in Frankfurt.

I tried to rationalise the decision on the grounds that Lufthansa has an excellent reputation for timekeeping and that the chance to stretch my legs halfway between Albania and the UK would be a benefit.

How wrong could I be?

The Lufthansa Airbus A321 left Tirana 33 minutes late and with at least two empty seats. The first 15 minutes of delay was due to an unexplained absence of buses to ferry passengers to the plane at Mother Teresa International airport. Just as everyone was strapped in and ready to go, the cabin crew identified a passenger who, they felt, was too ill to fly.

They managed the incident professionally and compassionately, stressing that the poorly passenger and her companion would be able to travel on a later flight at no extra cost once she had received medical attention.