SINGAPORE: An Indonesian woman opened up on social media claiming that her family including her husband and son had a “displeasing experience” with Singapore Airlines a couple of months ago.
Ms Tjindra Lilik alleged that the flight was not only delayed but her son’s seat was also downgraded, and SQ has yet to refund a payment.
On June 1, Ms. Tjindra Lilik wrote a post on the “COMPLAINT SINGAPORE” Facebook page claiming that her husband and son were supposed to take off on April 5 from Jakarta to Singapore and then to San Francisco.
Due to a technical issue, their first flight got delayed by nine hours, which resulted in missing their connecting flight. After an unhappy situation, they arrived at Changi Airport around 2:00 am and were rebooked to take the 9:15 flight. She mentioned, that they were neither allowed to stay at the SATS lounge in terminal 2 nor provided a hotel room to stay in while waiting.
She also attached the part of an email, her husband received from SQ: “We seek your understanding that we do not compensate passengers for consequential expenses under such circumstances. Our responsibility during a flight delay is to look after the well-being of our passengers, such as arranging for meals or hotel accommodation and assisting to rebook them to their destinations.”
SQ does say on its website that it provides hotel facilities when flights are delayed until the next day, but this does not apply to Ms Lilik’s husband and son.
However, the reported delay in compensation is a separate issue for the downgraded seat. Ms Lilik added that they had bought premium economy tickets but her son was downgraded to an economy ticket for his connecting flight to San Francisco.
The airline said they would refund the payment for the inconvenience, but two months passed, and the family has yet to receive it. A quick check on the SIA site says the price difference between premium economy and economy class tickets can be as much as $900. On its site, SQ says that refunds may take up to six weeks to process, and those who need to follow up on their requests may contact the airline here.
“My husband chose Singapore Airlines which was supposed to be one of the best in service. However, what my husband and my son got is terrible experience which they will never forget. A supposedly 17 hours journey became 33 hours without proper rest,” she said disappointedly.
