25businesstraveller.com DECEMBER 2017
CHALK AND CHEESE
On October 23 I was due to travel from Tokyo Narita to Kuala
Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines (MH) f light MH89, followed by a
separate booking for KUL–SIN with Singapore Airlines (SQ)
on SQ119.
On October 20, it became clear that Typhoon Lan would hit
Tokyo on October 23. Japan issued a major disaster alert and it
was obvious f lights would be impacted. I called MH’s Enrich
customer service to try and rearrange my f light and leave Tokyo
ahead of the typhoon. I was informed MH had received no
official trigger to take action, and no rebooking or information
on operational impact was possible. I was promised a return
call the next day.
On October 21 other airlines announced cancellations, arranged
rebooking and waived charges. I did not get a return call as
promised, and when I followed up, MH still had not initiated any
response to the typhoon. However, I was offered a priority standby
for October 22 on MH71 if my original f light was impacted – the
change I wanted – but with no guarantee.
However, on October 22 I was informed that MH71 was full
and I was not on the waiting list. I was instructed to stick with my
original f light, miss my connecting f light at KL and rest assured
that the airport transfer desk would “manage my case” upon
arrival... despite MH not even wanting to know the details of my
onward travel.
Later that day, I received feedback from another MH customer
service staff member that MH would not take care of my missed
connection because it was a separate booking and I would have to
find my own way back to Singapore.
I was beyond stunned.
I phoned Singapore Airlines and told them my situation.
They explained that my super economy fare was not changeable
and the delay was not their responsibility, however, they would see
what they could do.
On October 23, the SQ app showed a new booking and a new
e-ticket had been sent to my mailbox. The SQ customer service
rep called back, as promised, and said: “Don’t worry, we’ve sorted
everything out and rebooked you on the next f light out with all
charges waived, please travel safe.”
What a dramatic contrast between Malaysia Airlines and
Singapore Airlines.
Dr JT Chung, Singapore
MALAYSIA AIRLINES RESPONDS:
Malaysia Airlines apologises to Dr Chung for the less-than-
satisfactory experience with the airline recently. Flight MH89 was
scheduled to depart Tokyo at 1030 on October 23 but was retimed
to depart at 1510 due to Typhoon Lan.
We deeply regret that the delay of MH89 resulted in him
missing his onward connection from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore
on Singapore Airlines. Unfortunately, due to the typhoon a lot of
passengers were affected and flights were full.
The airline is not responsible for compensation on any indirect
or consequential loss arising from flight rescheduling and
misconnections. This is based on our General Conditions of
Carriage aligned to other international carriers. Dr Chung’s onward
connection was also on a different airline, which Malaysia Airlines
would not have had visibility or control over.
Once again, the airline regrets the experience
encountered by Dr Chung and we thank him for bringing
this matter to our attention.NOISES IN THE NIGHT
I regularly f ly premium classes and recently travelled from
Atlanta to London with Virgin Atlantic in Upper Class. Can
someone please explain to me why people think it’s right
to chat and laugh loudly while others are trying to sleep
on a long-haul overnight f light? Moreover, why do cabin
crew speak in such loud voices while pounding down the
aisles? We are not all blessed with being heavy sleepers and
such activity can make or break a restful, enjoyable f light.
I’d welcome some formal training for all crew to have some
sensitivity towards passengers and speak in hushed tones
when the cabin lights are dimmed. Crew should set the tone
and passengers will follow.
David Taylor, UKVIRGIN ATLANTIC REPLIES:
We’d like to apologise for any disturbance Mr Taylor
may have experienced during his recent flight with us.
We always want our customers to have a good night’s
sleep on board and our crew work hard to create a
restful environment in the cabin. To encourage sleep,
we offer a series of Headspace videos on our in-flight
entertainment system, as well as essential oils in the hot
towels and a relaxing sleep spray for customers to spray
on their pillow. We also give the option of a short meal
service so customers can eat and drink, and then get
ready for bed.HOT UNDER THE COLLAR
A spring birthday celebration trip to the Hilton Vienna
Plaza was marred by an intolerably hot and stuffy room.
Even though the hotel described its rooms as offering air
conditioning, mine was non-functional. It transpired that
the air con is turned off during non-summer months. (The
units do seem to move air around without cooling.)
Other than opening the windows on to the busy street, a
plug-in electric fan – an inadequate substitute – was all that
was on offer. After a troubled night’s sleep, I felt inclined
to refuse full payment for the suboptimal experience. It
seems that seasonal unavailability of air conditioning is a
widespread – and underestimated – problem. Hotels are
surely misleading customers by advertising facilities that do
not, in reality, exist for large parts of the year.
Andrew Krentz, UKHILTON VIENNA PLAZA REPLIES:
We always want our guests to leave fully satisfied, and we
were sorry to hear that Mr Krentz’s stay fell short of his
expectations, as we pay particular attention to the
air-conditioning systems in the hotel during any warm
spells in winter. We have tried to contact Mr Krentz to
discuss further, and look forward to hearing his concerns.
We hope to welcome him back to the hotel in the future.INBOX YOUR LETTERS