fire wall
31st Jan 2001, 05:47
Flight originally scheduled to depart Narita for Singapore at 19:00, January 27, 2001.
Snowstorm in Tokyo meant runways were closed and flight was to be delayed, possibly until next morning but with a chance of a late night take-off if the snow eased off. SQ staff hinted that if the flight didn’t leave that night, we would be accommodated in a nearby hotel.
At around 20:45, there were still no official announcements of when the flight was leaving but I noticed the cockpit and cabin crew leaving the airport with their overcoats on and a box each of the in-flight food. A friend I was travelling with overheard them say they wanted a good meal in town and were travelling by train to the hotel.
At around 21:15 the rest of the in-flight food was unloaded and handed out to the passengers, who still did not have an announcement on the departure time.
At around 22:00 it was officially, albeit ambiguously announced that the flight was cancelled for the night and would leave at 09:45 the next morning. No announcement was made as to what was to happen to the passengers in the meantime.
Around 22:45, I complained to SQ staff about their lack of organization and asked whether we were going to a hotel overnight. SQ said they had booked a hotel for us all but we couldn’t get there as roads were all closed due to the snow. This turned out to be an outright lie (see below).
Around 23:00 I happened to spot some sleeping bags and asked why there wasn’t an official announcement about them. Was told by SQ that this was because “we didn’t ever ask you to sleep at the airport” – like I had a choice!
SQ then changed the next morning’s departure time from 09:45 to 12:00, as they said the crew needed their full 12 hours of rest. Why they didn’t realise this when they announced 09:45 is beyond me, but the further delay infuriated passengers who were already facing a night on the floor of the airport. No suggestions were made as to how we were to shower/eat the next morning.
Next morning, around 10:00 am, I was told by a Tokyo resident on the phone that they had travelled by bus the night before from Narita to Tokyo at around 10pm and the roads were 100% open. I made a formal complaint to the customer service agent (I couldn’t help but laugh at the misnomer) who insisted the roads were closed. Another lie.
Moreover, the CSA intimated that I was lying, in telling him the roads were in fact open. I closed my long and frustrating conversation with this CSA when he, in a final burst of true professionalism, told me that if I was going to continue to demand my legal rights as a passenger, he was going to refuse to talk to me. What customer service training did this guy receive??
Then phoned the SQ Tokyo station manager, who proceeded to inform me, amidst more lies and excuses, that, yes the roads were open the previous night, but the problem was there were not enough hotel rooms for us. Reason being – first class and business class passengers had been bussed out to the hotel to stay overnight. What???? Apparently, in a bumbling cloak and dagger operation, FC and BC passengers were escorted from the FC/BC lounge to the bus, so that economy passengers would remain none the wiser to their entitlements. These are specifically stated under IATA regulations, of which SQ is a signatory.
And you can’t tell me that Tokyo does not have enough hotel rooms on one particular night …. I live there, I should know. Perhaps not enough at budget rates?
In conclusion, there was never an attempt by any SQ staff to either apologize or offer compensation. Let alone to admit they had screwed up so badly that we were left in Narita airport for a total of 17 hours before our next flight out, with nothing but a sleeping bag and cold coffee.
How did they ever get that service award?
Oh, and another thing. There was also an SQ flight going out the same night to Los Angeles. These passengers were left sitting on the aircraft on the tarmac for six hours before they were de-planed and then went through the same tortuous scenario described above.
One more thing, a fellow passenger who finally travelled with me to Singapore the next day, had her check-in baggage travel on a later SQ flight … without her. Industry norm says one extra bag is a bomb threat and one extra passenger is a potential highjack. In light of the recent Taipei accident, this disregard of safety procedures in favour of expediency is alarming to say the least.
Signed, a frustrated, exhausted passenger who used to be happy to pay a premium for supposedly superior service. Not anymore.
PS A copy of the above has been forwarded to IATA for their consideration.
[This message has been edited by fire wall (edited 31 January 2001).]
Snowstorm in Tokyo meant runways were closed and flight was to be delayed, possibly until next morning but with a chance of a late night take-off if the snow eased off. SQ staff hinted that if the flight didn’t leave that night, we would be accommodated in a nearby hotel.
At around 20:45, there were still no official announcements of when the flight was leaving but I noticed the cockpit and cabin crew leaving the airport with their overcoats on and a box each of the in-flight food. A friend I was travelling with overheard them say they wanted a good meal in town and were travelling by train to the hotel.
At around 21:15 the rest of the in-flight food was unloaded and handed out to the passengers, who still did not have an announcement on the departure time.
At around 22:00 it was officially, albeit ambiguously announced that the flight was cancelled for the night and would leave at 09:45 the next morning. No announcement was made as to what was to happen to the passengers in the meantime.
Around 22:45, I complained to SQ staff about their lack of organization and asked whether we were going to a hotel overnight. SQ said they had booked a hotel for us all but we couldn’t get there as roads were all closed due to the snow. This turned out to be an outright lie (see below).
Around 23:00 I happened to spot some sleeping bags and asked why there wasn’t an official announcement about them. Was told by SQ that this was because “we didn’t ever ask you to sleep at the airport” – like I had a choice!
SQ then changed the next morning’s departure time from 09:45 to 12:00, as they said the crew needed their full 12 hours of rest. Why they didn’t realise this when they announced 09:45 is beyond me, but the further delay infuriated passengers who were already facing a night on the floor of the airport. No suggestions were made as to how we were to shower/eat the next morning.
Next morning, around 10:00 am, I was told by a Tokyo resident on the phone that they had travelled by bus the night before from Narita to Tokyo at around 10pm and the roads were 100% open. I made a formal complaint to the customer service agent (I couldn’t help but laugh at the misnomer) who insisted the roads were closed. Another lie.
Moreover, the CSA intimated that I was lying, in telling him the roads were in fact open. I closed my long and frustrating conversation with this CSA when he, in a final burst of true professionalism, told me that if I was going to continue to demand my legal rights as a passenger, he was going to refuse to talk to me. What customer service training did this guy receive??
Then phoned the SQ Tokyo station manager, who proceeded to inform me, amidst more lies and excuses, that, yes the roads were open the previous night, but the problem was there were not enough hotel rooms for us. Reason being – first class and business class passengers had been bussed out to the hotel to stay overnight. What???? Apparently, in a bumbling cloak and dagger operation, FC and BC passengers were escorted from the FC/BC lounge to the bus, so that economy passengers would remain none the wiser to their entitlements. These are specifically stated under IATA regulations, of which SQ is a signatory.
And you can’t tell me that Tokyo does not have enough hotel rooms on one particular night …. I live there, I should know. Perhaps not enough at budget rates?
In conclusion, there was never an attempt by any SQ staff to either apologize or offer compensation. Let alone to admit they had screwed up so badly that we were left in Narita airport for a total of 17 hours before our next flight out, with nothing but a sleeping bag and cold coffee.
How did they ever get that service award?
Oh, and another thing. There was also an SQ flight going out the same night to Los Angeles. These passengers were left sitting on the aircraft on the tarmac for six hours before they were de-planed and then went through the same tortuous scenario described above.
One more thing, a fellow passenger who finally travelled with me to Singapore the next day, had her check-in baggage travel on a later SQ flight … without her. Industry norm says one extra bag is a bomb threat and one extra passenger is a potential highjack. In light of the recent Taipei accident, this disregard of safety procedures in favour of expediency is alarming to say the least.
Signed, a frustrated, exhausted passenger who used to be happy to pay a premium for supposedly superior service. Not anymore.
PS A copy of the above has been forwarded to IATA for their consideration.
[This message has been edited by fire wall (edited 31 January 2001).]