SilverJet (Merged 30/05)
Supercalifragilistic
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Business class in the air lower class on the ground?
ARGRH!
I was delighted - we won two tickets on Silverjet
I am, with just over two weeks before we fly, disappointed.
First came the email announcing our outbound flight had moved to a couple of hours later, no good for us due to our plans, and after a bit of discussion, due to the class of our tickets (FOC!) we were moved to an earlier flight.
Then, as posted here earlier, we logged in one evening to get some details of the flight, and found the return leg had simply disappeared. We called, and found that that flight had been canceled due to a C check. We had not been called or emailed. We were re-booked onto a flight a day later at a cost to us of an extra night's accommodation in New York.
Today a phone call, the outbound flight is now very full ( the www site showed 18 seats as of an hour ago) so as we are on a "revenue controlled ticket" they could not accommodate us. Having pointed out we had had two changes already had travel, hotels, parking etc etc booked so did not want to change. We were never told these were standby style tickets - just not changeable (by us!). A call back was promised rather than keep me on the phone.
Two hours pass.
I called the Silverjet PR company as the PR team who's budget promo tickets are on are not avaliable today, working, but not available. I am wating a call back form them.
My call back to reservations resulted in me being told that someone is "working on this" and I will be called back.
My wife, she wants to be rebooked on Virgin, in economy, as at least we will get there.
Now talking to Shan, Customer Services Manager, who just called.
"Unfortunately you are being offloaded"
More to follow...
... Shan is asking the "Customer Experince Director" Martin B. is we can stay on the flight. Load is currently 87 pax its not changed much all week.
My wife no longer wants to fly with Silverjet.
I was delighted - we won two tickets on Silverjet
I am, with just over two weeks before we fly, disappointed.
First came the email announcing our outbound flight had moved to a couple of hours later, no good for us due to our plans, and after a bit of discussion, due to the class of our tickets (FOC!) we were moved to an earlier flight.
Then, as posted here earlier, we logged in one evening to get some details of the flight, and found the return leg had simply disappeared. We called, and found that that flight had been canceled due to a C check. We had not been called or emailed. We were re-booked onto a flight a day later at a cost to us of an extra night's accommodation in New York.
Today a phone call, the outbound flight is now very full ( the www site showed 18 seats as of an hour ago) so as we are on a "revenue controlled ticket" they could not accommodate us. Having pointed out we had had two changes already had travel, hotels, parking etc etc booked so did not want to change. We were never told these were standby style tickets - just not changeable (by us!). A call back was promised rather than keep me on the phone.
Two hours pass.
I called the Silverjet PR company as the PR team who's budget promo tickets are on are not avaliable today, working, but not available. I am wating a call back form them.
My call back to reservations resulted in me being told that someone is "working on this" and I will be called back.
My wife, she wants to be rebooked on Virgin, in economy, as at least we will get there.
Now talking to Shan, Customer Services Manager, who just called.
"Unfortunately you are being offloaded"
More to follow...
... Shan is asking the "Customer Experince Director" Martin B. is we can stay on the flight. Load is currently 87 pax its not changed much all week.
My wife no longer wants to fly with Silverjet.
Last edited by Memetic; 1st May 2008 at 16:24. Reason: Update...
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Memetic,
I'm sure your wife will have a much more comfortable flight in zoom's cattle-class than flying business class with Silverjet.
Edit: Very good news to hear that Silverjet's planes are flying near to capacity though.
I'm sure your wife will have a much more comfortable flight in zoom's cattle-class than flying business class with Silverjet.
Edit: Very good news to hear that Silverjet's planes are flying near to capacity though.
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Memetic
Sorry to hear that you are having problems. However, these tickets were FREE, as I understand.
From past experience, the majority of free tickets/prizes usually carry certain restrictions, meaning that the 'prize' is subject to change at the suppliers discretion. Not sure if this prize was direct from Silverjet or through a 3rd party.
I can understand that this can be frustrating, but you need to realise that you are getting business class flights for free.
I also believe the failure of Eos will have bumped up the numbers on the flights. Paying passengers should always take precedence, in my opinion.
Hope you get it sorted out soon, and enjoy your trip, when you finally make it.
Sorry to hear that you are having problems. However, these tickets were FREE, as I understand.
From past experience, the majority of free tickets/prizes usually carry certain restrictions, meaning that the 'prize' is subject to change at the suppliers discretion. Not sure if this prize was direct from Silverjet or through a 3rd party.
I can understand that this can be frustrating, but you need to realise that you are getting business class flights for free.
I also believe the failure of Eos will have bumped up the numbers on the flights. Paying passengers should always take precedence, in my opinion.
Hope you get it sorted out soon, and enjoy your trip, when you finally make it.
Supercalifragilistic
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WestofEMA
The tickets were direct from Silverjet.
The only conditions we were made aware of were that the tickets needed to be used before October and that once booked they were non changeable (by the PAX!)
Shan has called back, Martin Bridger the customer experince director, apparently made the decision to offload us - to make room for paying passengers. He has been emailed. We are too late to cancel some of our plans without charge, and on the point were we need to know NOW to canx others.
If Martin replies, we will get an answer tonight. No guarantee of a response, they will not call him, only email - passive customer service at its worst.
Even if we are allowed on the flight, what guarantee to we have that they will not recant?
The only conditions we were made aware of were that the tickets needed to be used before October and that once booked they were non changeable (by the PAX!)
Shan has called back, Martin Bridger the customer experince director, apparently made the decision to offload us - to make room for paying passengers. He has been emailed. We are too late to cancel some of our plans without charge, and on the point were we need to know NOW to canx others.
If Martin replies, we will get an answer tonight. No guarantee of a response, they will not call him, only email - passive customer service at its worst.
Even if we are allowed on the flight, what guarantee to we have that they will not recant?
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@ Mr Angry from Purley
You know if this were a standby ticket, I would understand and if i wanted to travel on that basis would have paid for flexible internal flights, cancellable hotel rooms etc.
However, I am a punter, not on a free company ticket, this was a competition prize, direct from Silverjet, with no (declared) strings attached.
If they had been honest from the start that these were not confirmed tickets then to be honest I would have given them away.
You know if this were a standby ticket, I would understand and if i wanted to travel on that basis would have paid for flexible internal flights, cancellable hotel rooms etc.
However, I am a punter, not on a free company ticket, this was a competition prize, direct from Silverjet, with no (declared) strings attached.
If they had been honest from the start that these were not confirmed tickets then to be honest I would have given them away.
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Some prize...
Kevin of Silverjet has called. They flat out refuse to guarantee that if the flight on the 18th of May operates we will fly, but they have reinstated our booking. We could still be offloaded, just not for the reason given today of freeing up inventory.
The tickets they offer as prizes, simply do not give you the same rights as a standard passenger. It should have been made clear.
Our only protection is a comment in the booking, saying do not offload. As other free tickets and staff are being offloaded, we are now front of the queue for offloading if any new reason arises.
So we have a dilemma, take a chance on what has been revealed as, effectively, a staff standby ticket - without the staff back up of the option to fly standby on other airlines. Or cut our losses (about £250 now, about £2000 if we cancel our plans less than a week ahead.), and not have the worry of wondering if we will fly - some prize eh?
My wife's view, she would rather do without the uncertainty for the next two weeks, and while on holiday. I can see her point. This was meant to be fun.
Its a real shame there is no one at Silverjet with the courage and authority to simply say, you have my word, unless the weather is bad or the aircraft goes tech, you will be on the flights you have booked. Is that too much to expect?
The tickets they offer as prizes, simply do not give you the same rights as a standard passenger. It should have been made clear.
Our only protection is a comment in the booking, saying do not offload. As other free tickets and staff are being offloaded, we are now front of the queue for offloading if any new reason arises.
So we have a dilemma, take a chance on what has been revealed as, effectively, a staff standby ticket - without the staff back up of the option to fly standby on other airlines. Or cut our losses (about £250 now, about £2000 if we cancel our plans less than a week ahead.), and not have the worry of wondering if we will fly - some prize eh?
My wife's view, she would rather do without the uncertainty for the next two weeks, and while on holiday. I can see her point. This was meant to be fun.
Its a real shame there is no one at Silverjet with the courage and authority to simply say, you have my word, unless the weather is bad or the aircraft goes tech, you will be on the flights you have booked. Is that too much to expect?
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The guy is being treated shabbily by Silverjet, full stop. As he says he is a punter not an expert on airline ticket codes or staff travel. He has made arrangements in good faith and is now worse off than if he had never been given the prize. Just put yourself and your credit card balance in his place for a few minutes.
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If Memetic's tickets were advertised as firm bookings, then the treatment he has received is simply outrageous.
It is not just businesses that are strugling for cash, it is also individuals. He could incure significant loss as a result of being denied travel as he has no doubt already booked accomodation etc, put yourselves in his position.
In a different vein, as far as transatlantic leisure travel is concerned, I feel that Silverjet could benefit hugely from the exchange rate. Have you been to europe recently? It is becoming more expensive than central London, we are approaching the point where £1 = 1 EUR.
If you want to treat yourselves to a taste of the high life, a short break in NYC with SJ is probably not that different costwise to an economy trip to Paris!
It is not just businesses that are strugling for cash, it is also individuals. He could incure significant loss as a result of being denied travel as he has no doubt already booked accomodation etc, put yourselves in his position.
In a different vein, as far as transatlantic leisure travel is concerned, I feel that Silverjet could benefit hugely from the exchange rate. Have you been to europe recently? It is becoming more expensive than central London, we are approaching the point where £1 = 1 EUR.
If you want to treat yourselves to a taste of the high life, a short break in NYC with SJ is probably not that different costwise to an economy trip to Paris!
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annnee, it's not "the hard face of capitalism" as you call it but simply a mickey mouse company in desperate times trying to cling to any crumbs of extra revenue that might come it's way. I wouldn't expect any joy out of Bridger. The man is an ass in my experience.
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I haven't been posting here for long - only a week in fact. But I have very quickly perceived that Silverjet has a lot of detractors for some reason...maybe because they represent considerable competition and that always brings out the worst in humanity.
It is telling that Memetic's gripe is followed up very robustly by supporters attempting to denigrate Siverjet...yet again.
When an airline is struggling to stay in the game, they have to ensure that they have 'bums on seats' that are making the difference between success and failure. And freebies don't help that at all so good business practice demands that they get lesser priority.
As in all competitions, the conditions are in the fine print. It is up to the competitor to ensure they have gone through it with a fine tooth comb before committing themselves to any extraneous personal expenses.
I have my flights booked and paid for and travel in July. I would not dream of incurring additional cost at the moment by way of paying upfront for onward travel, hotels etc. until I am sure that I am going. If I did, I would only blame myself and not Silverjet.
TartinTon - aren't personal rants directed at individuals anathema to forum etiquette? And as the saying goes "It takes one to recognise one"...(ass, that is)
It is telling that Memetic's gripe is followed up very robustly by supporters attempting to denigrate Siverjet...yet again.
When an airline is struggling to stay in the game, they have to ensure that they have 'bums on seats' that are making the difference between success and failure. And freebies don't help that at all so good business practice demands that they get lesser priority.
As in all competitions, the conditions are in the fine print. It is up to the competitor to ensure they have gone through it with a fine tooth comb before committing themselves to any extraneous personal expenses.
I have my flights booked and paid for and travel in July. I would not dream of incurring additional cost at the moment by way of paying upfront for onward travel, hotels etc. until I am sure that I am going. If I did, I would only blame myself and not Silverjet.
TartinTon - aren't personal rants directed at individuals anathema to forum etiquette? And as the saying goes "It takes one to recognise one"...(ass, that is)
Last edited by annnee; 2nd May 2008 at 07:09.
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Annnee,
You seem to suggest that there is a coordinated element to the defence of Memetic. Far from it. This is the first time I have posted on this thread and I did so as a genuine reaction in support of someone receiving a bad deal. Your suggestion is very rude.
Far from being anti Silverjet I think the product sounds great and if I didn't live well south of the river I would have gone to NY with them last Sep. In fact whilst waiting at the top of the Empire State Building we got chatting to a mother and daughter who had flown out with them and said it was great! (Mind you they had been given them as a perk by the daughters boss).
As for booking hotac when do YOU commit? You might not be going until July but Memetic is travelling in 2 weeks time. I think that the cyber cafe in departures is a bit late to be booking your car hire!
The point is that Silverjet has up until now appeared to deal fairly with people in tech/unplanned events, but will be judged by its deeds and in this case those deeds don't seem to have been of a high standard.
You seem to suggest that there is a coordinated element to the defence of Memetic. Far from it. This is the first time I have posted on this thread and I did so as a genuine reaction in support of someone receiving a bad deal. Your suggestion is very rude.
Far from being anti Silverjet I think the product sounds great and if I didn't live well south of the river I would have gone to NY with them last Sep. In fact whilst waiting at the top of the Empire State Building we got chatting to a mother and daughter who had flown out with them and said it was great! (Mind you they had been given them as a perk by the daughters boss).
As for booking hotac when do YOU commit? You might not be going until July but Memetic is travelling in 2 weeks time. I think that the cyber cafe in departures is a bit late to be booking your car hire!
The point is that Silverjet has up until now appeared to deal fairly with people in tech/unplanned events, but will be judged by its deeds and in this case those deeds don't seem to have been of a high standard.
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Have just stumbled on this thread and have to chip in to say that I'm astounded at the treatment Memetic has had!
Usually tickets are given away for free as some sort of publicity stunt. Sadly it has now backfired not just for two aggrieved punters but for Silverjet as well.
The fact that Silverjet wants two paying bums on seats to the detriment of the bad publicity they're getting by offloading non-paying (invited) guests smacks of extreme short-termism to me.
Usually tickets are given away for free as some sort of publicity stunt. Sadly it has now backfired not just for two aggrieved punters but for Silverjet as well.
The fact that Silverjet wants two paying bums on seats to the detriment of the bad publicity they're getting by offloading non-paying (invited) guests smacks of extreme short-termism to me.
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Sign up to Silverjet's newletter and you'll all be in with a chance of having your name pulled out at the draw for 2 free tickets. Are there any other airlines offering the same perk?
However, just remember the conditions of the award - and don't commit to onward travel costs until you can arrange them from lastminute.com
You might even bag a better deal at the last minute.
However, just remember the conditions of the award - and don't commit to onward travel costs until you can arrange them from lastminute.com
You might even bag a better deal at the last minute.
Last edited by annnee; 2nd May 2008 at 13:39.
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Anneee you say :
There was no fine print it was "drop a card in a hat, get picked, win two flights". The prize pack gave contact details. The detail on calling to book was:
I read fine print. There was none provided, hence my annoyance.
I understand the commercial imperitive here, but, as a result of my profession, I also understand the value of reputation and the power of networks.
Silverjet chose to invest £xxxx in giving two flights for publicity reasons, expecting a return in word of mouth promotion.
Silverjet then chose to place a higher value on the revenue of 2x legs on that day to New York than on the word of mouth promotion.
Stepping back from my personal unhappieness with this, in my professional opinion, a bad call, I would have advised a client not to cancel promotional tickets for members of the public - staff and industry, yes, they know the score.
Why? well now, even though we once more have a "confirmed booking" but no guaranteed access to the flight, no matter how good the inflight experince with Silverjet, the abiding memory will be of the process, and treatment of us not as business class passengers - as we were expecting, but as second class burdens.
So, on the "customer experince curve" the airport facilites and flight themselves becomes a minor part of the overall "customer journey". Negating the value of the promotional exercise for the airline. A poor use of the marketing budget.
TartinTon:
In fairness to Mr Bridger, on this occasion removed us from the offload list, but, via his proxy, will not promise that if the flight goes we will be allowed to board - we are confirmed but still flagged as FOC ( or freeloading targets for offload), an accounting problem, not a customer.
I await the email confriming yesterday's discussion with SilverJet, depending on the wording and how likley it looks that we will be allowed on the flight we will then decide whether to gamble on what is still effectively a standby ticket - or, reluctantly, cancel to avoid loosing £2k of bookings inthe US - we have until Sunday before the bulk of cancellation charges apply.
As in all competitions, the conditions are in the fine print. It is up to the competitor to ensure they have gone through it with a fine tooth comb before committing themselves to any extraneous personal expenses.
- Fly before october 2008 - which we complied with.
- No changes - we complied, only changing our arrangements at Silverjet's insistance. As documented above.
I read fine print. There was none provided, hence my annoyance.
I understand the commercial imperitive here, but, as a result of my profession, I also understand the value of reputation and the power of networks.
Silverjet chose to invest £xxxx in giving two flights for publicity reasons, expecting a return in word of mouth promotion.
Silverjet then chose to place a higher value on the revenue of 2x legs on that day to New York than on the word of mouth promotion.
Stepping back from my personal unhappieness with this, in my professional opinion, a bad call, I would have advised a client not to cancel promotional tickets for members of the public - staff and industry, yes, they know the score.
Why? well now, even though we once more have a "confirmed booking" but no guaranteed access to the flight, no matter how good the inflight experince with Silverjet, the abiding memory will be of the process, and treatment of us not as business class passengers - as we were expecting, but as second class burdens.
So, on the "customer experince curve" the airport facilites and flight themselves becomes a minor part of the overall "customer journey". Negating the value of the promotional exercise for the airline. A poor use of the marketing budget.
TartinTon:
In fairness to Mr Bridger, on this occasion removed us from the offload list, but, via his proxy, will not promise that if the flight goes we will be allowed to board - we are confirmed but still flagged as FOC ( or freeloading targets for offload), an accounting problem, not a customer.
I await the email confriming yesterday's discussion with SilverJet, depending on the wording and how likley it looks that we will be allowed on the flight we will then decide whether to gamble on what is still effectively a standby ticket - or, reluctantly, cancel to avoid loosing £2k of bookings inthe US - we have until Sunday before the bulk of cancellation charges apply.
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You have been treated shabbily
But, I would be most surprised if someone at Silverjet wasn't reading this, and decides to cut their losses and offload you. You appear in your last post to suggest that no matter whether you go or not, the outcome for Silverjet in terms of publicity will be negative. That being so, why would they choose to refuse paying customers? On the other hand, the free tickets must have some contractual basis, surely an offer of free tickets with conditions which you met in full can be enforced in small claims court? Anyway, good luck.. but I am thinking you should book on Virgin!
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Lou, if you have booked at full fare, then you should be no more to be concerned about than anyone else booking Silverjet. And as they just got new funding, and are picking up EOS pax any worries should be receeding.
Our problem is solely caused by the fact that we won our tickets, and contary to our expectations of being treated as normal passengers, have been messed about because they are "non revenue" tickets with hidden policies attached.
I expect if we had paid, even a low fare, that our offer to shift days (again), if they sorted out the cost of an extra days parking and the change of hotel arrangments in the UK / USA, may have been considered - as it was they refused, causing me to gripe.
That knowledge makes me no less concerned about the status of our trip, but I'd say look forward to yours.
Our problem is solely caused by the fact that we won our tickets, and contary to our expectations of being treated as normal passengers, have been messed about because they are "non revenue" tickets with hidden policies attached.
I expect if we had paid, even a low fare, that our offer to shift days (again), if they sorted out the cost of an extra days parking and the change of hotel arrangments in the UK / USA, may have been considered - as it was they refused, causing me to gripe.
That knowledge makes me no less concerned about the status of our trip, but I'd say look forward to yours.