SAA is going down the Drain!
Dear SAA
I would like to thank you for your ever increasing gross Incompetence!! I am sick to my stomach of the Amount of Damage you cause every Day! I am Sick of the losses created by you and when asked to Sort those losses out you just shrug your shoulders!! The Stories and Comments that are about to follow Are happenings within a three week period flying aboard your aircraft! Let me Just state before I start that I, Myself and Me am an Airline Pilot, and so are my friends so there is no real way of replying with Cockamamy Answers as we know exactly how everything Works
Three weeksago myself and two colleagues flew to Sao Paulo for our Yearly Simulator recurrency’s The flight there was quite amazingly uneventful, however on the way back boarding the aircraft we were greated by a bunch of rather unfriendly staff! getting onboard I got the feeling that we should just sit down and shut up before we get wrapped on the nuckles! The seat belt signs were on for 95% of the flight whereas there was no real turbulence to speak of, we were not flying through cloud or visible moisture! i would describe the worst of the turbulance as very light chop at worst! Yet the seatbelt sign were burning brightly! So after a while people needed to get up and visit the restroom, just to be repremanded over the intercom by the “Incharge” not only making them feel like little children but also waking up those who were trying to sleep! We were also told to close the shutters and to keep them closed as there were other passiongers onboard who needed sleep!! Surely that is the choice of the passenger seated by the window whether they would like them open or closed (Except for take off or landing) Then the crew has the audacity of Hauling out the old Duty free Trolley, proceeding to do Sales just after the incharge repremanded passengers to remain seated to ensure their own safety! Now let me tell you, if there were any danger to the passengers by way of turbulence, can you imagine how much damage a 200kg purfume laden Trolley can cause that is flying through the Air!! I mean Really!! I would rather be hit by a 100kg Passenger!! Further to this, we were seated in the midsection of that A346 where it became incredibly hot during the flight! The passengers were fanning themselves and I was sweating! Being rather uncomfortable at that stage I went to the hostee station and asked the hostee very politely to just turn down the heat in that section! She did not even reply verbally, she picked up the intercom and dialled a number! I never had a reply and the heat was never turned down! Horrible uncomfortable flight! Arriving in JHB I waited at the conveyer belt for half an hour, just to receive my suitcase Cut open from end to end and held together by Duct tape! My Brand new R4800 Bose Sound System Pinched, never to be seen again! Add R700 for the suitcase the total Damage received R5500! Nice! Thank you SAA! And you dont give refunds for Damage caused do you?? Noooo! Let me tell you, As soon as the Carrier takes my Suitcase it Becomes the responsibility of the Carrier to ensure no damage or loss is caused to my Luggage!! Thank You SAA
A Few Days after Returning From Sao Paulo, unfortunately I had to board another flight on SAA Bound for Libreville, Gabon for A two month Flying Contract! Accompanying me, yet again my Colleagues and Hostees, other crewmembers from other Airlines, Contract crew working as Divers on the oil rigs, Etc, Etc! Yet again we received the old SAA Sparklingly Lovely Hospitality (NOT) How do you pick these people that work for you?? I guess the only requirement is that they must be Black, because these people have no idea on how to work with people, They have no personality or skill!! Maybe you should screen them a bit better and check them before you just let them handle your “Guests”
Anyway, Arriving at Libreville, Exactly as I pictured it, None of my Two Suitcases Arrived! I Had A full suitcase of Frozen Meat as Good meat is very hard to obtain here! Total cost of the meat, R2500, Neatly packed in a R800 Suitcase, Total Loss R3300 as I arrived here on Saturday and it is Now Tuesday, And I Still have not received my Luggage or even a phone Call from Anyone Apologiseing or telling me when it will arrive, Therefore I will have to throw away that Suitcase too!! My Colleagues Have also not received their luggage or meat or clothes! We have had the same clothes on our bodies for the past few days!! Buying clothes here is Super expensive and we just cannot afford futher Losses!! Onboard were divers That Lost their Diving equipment, So thy cannot do their work!! The Cabin overhead Lockers were Packed Full as SAA does not check how much Hand Luggage these Passenger have with them, The hand Luggage also does not get weighed and Tagged as appropriate and Legal! A Maximum of 5KG is allowed per passenger, yet you totally turn a blind eye to this! This A structural Limitation on the Aircraft!!! If the Bins are overloaded it can cause damage to the Aircraft! It is also a Safety Issue, should things really start flying around in turbulence!! The Latches are not designed to take these stresses which can cause the overhead lockers to open During flight! I have seen people struggling to get their hand luggage down from the Lockers! I estimate that some of them weighed in excess of 20KG!! Now let us think about how this affects the weight and Balance and performance of the aircraft!! So, I Believe this Aircraft is configured to Carry 124 Passengers, Let us Assume and average overload of 5KG per passenger Which, on This flight I believe to be a Rather Conservative estimate, The aircraft overhead lockers are then Overloaded by 620KG!!! This means that these figures were never entered into the Aircraft Loading Data! My Assumption would be that the Aircraft is then Flown Beyond its Maximum All Up Weight, Therefore should an Engine Failure occur, it would make for a Rather messy Day in SAA History.
We were Last to get onboard and I managed to at least put my valuables under the seat infront of me, The Divers however were not as Lucky, Their Fragile equipment and Divers certificates were Shoved into the cargo Hold, They were told if they did not give up their luggage they would be chucked off the Aircraft! They were then told that their Hand Luggage Would be handed back to them Personally! They never received their Hand Luggage! They Are sitting in A Hotel here in Libreville, Paying their own Accommodation as they Are not allowed on the Rigs without their Certificates and Equipment!! Imagine the Financial Losses they are experiencing because of your gross incompetence!!! Imagine the losses to their families and Children!!
I have been at the Airport every single time an SAA Flight was inbound! I still do not have my Luggage!! I am Fortunate enough to be able to have unrestricted movement on the Airport!! On each of your flights at Least forty people were waiting in Cues to report their Luggage!! People that Paid Excess Charges!! But no!! SAA Rather elects to Load Cargo and Take the Excess Luggage Fees, But do not deliver the passengers Luggage!! This is NOT a thing that happens every now and Then!! this has become a Standard Thing For SAA, And You just shrug your shoulders!!
Total Loss For me (Only This Month) Flying on SAA Roundabout R8800.00 This is Money that you take out of my Mouth and that of my Family, never mind the Tax That I pay that SAA takes to continuously to fund their huge expenditures and huge Workforce!! 200 employees per Aircraft where the World Standard is 60!! How do you justify creating jobs like that and funding it out of my Pocket??
If you Think that This little Note that I wrote here is all that I am going to do, You have obviously not met the likes of me! I will be taking my story to every corner of the earth! I have vowed to let the world know how SAA Conducts business! I am not Going to rest until I know that you are Hurting because of Declining Passenger Figures! The World will know!! Watch This Space!!