Article: How to Write an Effective Airline Complaint

[AFF Editor]

Canonical URL

https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/effective-airline-complaint/

How to Write an Effective Airline Complaint is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

How to Write an Effective Airline Complaint

When writing a complaint to an airline, you're more likely to get the desired outcome if you keep it succinct, take out the emotion and clearly state what you want.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[kpc]

I disagree with one aspect...sudoer should not have asked for 5K KrisFlyer miles for the lack of inflight WiFi...I would wait and see what the airline offered, hopefully more than 5K miles which is a pittance tbh.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I disagree with one aspect...sudoer should not have asked for 5K KrisFlyer miles for the lack of inflight WiFi...I would wait and see what the airline offered, hopefully more than 5K miles which is a pittance tbh.

I also picked up on this… but for a different reason.

Wifi is also offered - or available for purchase - on SQ economy and premium economy. So it’s hard to accept someone booked business class specifically and only for the wifi. Not for the seat, service, comfort of convenience? Solely for the wifi?

When writing a letter of complaint I prefer to leave out aspects which may not pass the pub test… or potentially don’t ring true. If something doesn’t resonate with the reader that can detract from the effectiveness.

In a more general nature, the main issue with complaints is often getting it to the right department to action it. Try writing to Virgin Australia… it’s handled off-shore and they refuse to go off script or escalate

Edited to add… as for the example of a non-functioning PEY seat… I believe the QF policy for an in-op seat is a refund of 75% of the fare? So it’s a good idea o research airline policy and any applicable laws or consumer laws when writing. 10k would be a very generous offer by a passenger for an in-op seat, and potentially far below what they’d be entitled to.

 

[aikman]

I'm not familiar with reports of what Krisflyer normally offers as compensation but if he didn't ask for 5,000 then couldn't Krisflyer have easily just offered 1,000 on a take it or leave it basis, or worse, just an apology?

 

[[email protected]]

If airlines receive "tens of thousands of complaints every day" there is something basically wrong with the way they do business.
If our business (obviously much smaller than any airline) received one complaint per month then heads would roll. Customer service is our prime consideration. If we get that right, we keep our jobs and the business makes money.
Perhaps airlines should adopt a similar philosophy. But I guess that's the problem with monopolies and duopolies - it is not customers that come first. It is staff and bottom lines.
Philip

 

[MEL_Traveller]

If airlines receive "tens of thousands of complaints every day" there is something basically wrong with the way they do business.
If our business (obviously much smaller than any airline) received one complaint per month then heads would roll. Customer service is our prime consideration. If we get that right, we keep our jobs and the business makes money.
Perhaps airlines should adopt a similar philosophy. But I guess that's the problem with monopolies and duopolies - it is not customers that come first. It is staff and bottom lines.
Philip

True, but there are dozens of variables in some businesses… some out of their control. Airlines have to deal with governments, weather, public service (ATC). The failings of passengers (packing too much, not selecting seats). They also have to deal with the failings of their contractors… although there’s less excuse there.

And with Virgin having around 8000 employees (per google!), at least one of them is likely to be having a bad day! Staff are people… you can’t have an SOP to force people to smile.

 

[sudoer]

I disagree with one aspect...sudoer should not have asked for 5K KrisFlyer miles for the lack of inflight WiFi...I would wait and see what the airline offered, hopefully more than 5K miles which is a pittance tbh.

So I shouldn't have asked for anything, but also, 5k per person is not enough?!

SQ didn't proactively offer anything, either onboard or in the days following the flight. Had I not raised a complaint I doubt I would've received anything.

Wifi is also offered - or available for purchase - on SQ economy and premium economy. So it’s hard to accept someone booked business class specifically and only for the wifi. Not for the seat, service, comfort of convenience? Solely for the wifi?

Perhaps it was poorly worded, but to be clear, I didn't book business class just to access the wifi. I'm well aware that it's possible to pay for wifi in economy.

I booked business class to 'use the flight time productively' with enough space and privacy to comfortably work on a laptop for a couple of hours. I need functional wifi for my line of work - there's very little I'm able to do offline.

I'm not familiar with reports of what Krisflyer normally offers as compensation but if he didn't ask for 5,000 then couldn't Krisflyer have easily just offered 1,000 on a take it or leave it basis, or worse, just an apology?

I also wasn't familiar with what SQ would offer for non-functional wifi on a regional Asia flight, but 5k was an amount I was happy with, so I suggested it.

 

[VPS]

If airlines receive "tens of thousands of complaints every day" there is something basically wrong with the way they do business.
If our business (obviously much smaller than any airline) received one complaint per month then heads would roll. Customer service is our prime consideration. If we get that right, we keep our jobs and the business makes money.
Perhaps airlines should adopt a similar philosophy. But I guess that's the problem with monopolies and duopolies - it is not customers that come first. It is staff and bottom lines.
Philip

Welcome to posting on AFF even though it's many years after joining - probably best not to have an email address as a user name.

 

[[email protected]]

Welcome to posting on AFF even though it's many years after joining - probably best not to have an email address as a user name.

Yes thanks. I thought that as soon as I saw it today. I'll change it asap
P

 

[Flyfrequently]

Yes thanks. I thought that as soon as I saw it today. I'll change it asap
P

And welcome to posting in this caring AFF community

 

[Dr Ralph]

So I shouldn't have asked for anything, but also, 5k per person is not enough?!

You did nothing wrong. A very good letter of complaint.