Need help with Singapore Airlines

[wmetz]

Hi
Firstly sorry hear about your problem.. But my friend got problem with sing too

They overseas and purchase a ret ticket to Aus,They purchased a super deal ticket. Well the frd got delayed because of last minute work committment, so
needed to change departure date... That where problem started.. They wont let her change date, pay a penalty or get a refund/credit. They didnt even realize didnt get kris points for flight too.. And it turns out that if she pay abt 100 bucks more when she got tickets in the first place, she have a changeable ticket etc.. She rung the airline gone to their overseas office etc. They wont change.

ps. I always read the booking conditions for paying...

Can anyone help. Thanks

 

[Justchecking]

Re: Need Help for friend Singapore Airlines

Hi
Firstly sorry hear about your problem.. But my friend got problem with sing too

,They purchased a super deal ticket.

Can anyone help. Thanks

Thats not really a problem with SQ now is it? Your friend bought the cheapest fare, didn't check the conditions and found out later that they could have got a better deal for a little bit more. The airline has very right to refuse changes and points. Your friend will just have to live with his\her mistake.

 

[wmetz]

Re: Need Help for friend Singapore Airlines

What cheap fare, she going to lose over $1000. We not talking some discount fare from syd to melb.

 

[Justchecking]

Re: My Story with Singapore Airlines

Yes, but it's her $1000 mistake, not the airlines. people do this all the time, the choose the cheapest fare, agree to the conditions of that fare then blame the airline when those conditions are enforced. if you buy a non-flexible, non-refundable fare then you have to expect it to be non-flexible and non-refundable. It's not SQs fault that your friends circumstances have changed and she didn't take that into account when she booked.

 

[samh004]

What cheap fare, she going to lose over $1000. We not talking some discount fare from syd to melb.

All flights can have cheap fares, they don't have to just be sort haul from SYD to MEL to be cheap. A larger distance generally means the cheapest fare is still going to cost more.

$1000 could be cheap, to many international destinations it sounds very cheap.




 

[Justchecking]

Re: My Story with Singapore Airlines

All flights can have cheap fares, they don't have to just be sort haul from SYD to MEL to be cheap. A larger distance generally means the cheapest fare is still going to cost more.

$1000 could be cheap, to many international destinations it sounds very cheap.




Yes, the average price for that route in economy on SQ is around $1,400.00

 

[awilcockson]

Re: Need Help for friend Singapore Airlines

But my friend got problem with sing too

I'm not so sure of that.

They purchased a super deal ticket.

OK

They wont let her change date, pay a penalty or get a refund/credit. They didnt even realize didnt get kris points for flight too..

That is not unusual for cheap tickets.

And it turns out that if she pay abt 100 bucks more when she got tickets in the first place, she have a changeable ticket etc..

But surely she would have seen that option when purchasing the ticket?

She rung the airline gone to their overseas office etc. They wont change.

But why should they have to? It's not as if they are going against the terms and conditions of the ticket.

ps. I always read the booking conditions for paying...

You need to explain to your friend why this is a good idea and something she should do in the future.

Can anyone help.

Not really, Singapore aren't doing anything wrong.

 

[Stuser]

Re: My Story with Singapore Airlines

When the smart people wake up this morning can you please help.

I'm not very smart, but my experience with cheaper tickets if their conditions are such that they are non-changeable and / or non refundable, then that is what they are.

I have lost some dollars on "changed circumstances" before. That's the risk you take with the cheaper ticket. The fact that a more flexible ticket was "only $100 more" is unfortunate, but does imply that the customer could perhaps have done their fare pricing research better in the first place.

eg I often see QF with domestic red- edeals for say $150, and a flexible fare $160....

Win some / lose some. Best to learn from the experience.

PS I also wanted to add that travel insurance could be useful here.....

 

[oz_mark]

Re: Need Help for friend Singapore Airlines

Hi

ps. I always read the booking conditions for paying...

Can anyone help. Thanks

Best bet may be to look to see whether your friends travel insurance policy would cover this occurence. Some policies seem to allow it, if it is an unavoidable change.

 

[samh004]

Re: My Story with Singapore Airlines

Please explain why oz_mark had the first sensible solution, about checking travel insurance. (thanks)
So if other forum users out there with possible ideas , please response. The other users just lay down, no wonder bullies always win.
Its time the little guy stand up and get counted.

Didn’t you say after he posted that you had already looked into that anyway? So that solution is also out the window!

I’ll relate to a recent experience I had with a non-changeable ticket. I booked a Jetstar flight on their cheapest rate. A couple months later they changed all their fares and introduced a fare slightly above mine that would earn me points. Of course I wanted it, so phoned up and was told that I’d still have to pay an additional change fee, plus the amount to change to the higher fare, of course this was absurd so I didn’t proceed.

Now in your friends case they haven’t been given the chance to pay even more to upgrade, but they knew what the fare conditions were when they booked the ticket, and they still chose the cheaper (marginally) flight.

Now, they could email the 'right' person and be given a second chance this time, but who’s to then say they don’t expect that same service the next time they want to change a ticket they aren’t entitled to change? What’s to stop the countless others who bought a cheap ticket and then decided they’d like flexibility from using the same method. If everyone suddenly finds this secret loophole/contact person that you’re referring to then the airline won’t be able to sell the slightly more expensive tickets. They might even go broke, because every person under the sun is buying the cheapest fare and expecting miracles.

The only way I could see your friend changing a deeply discounted ticket that doesn’t allow changes is if they were a very high up status member of the airline and they had a nice operator on the call the day they phoned, but it’s not to be expected, and it’s not likely. The airline is a business, they’re trying to make money.

The first responses may have been a tad harsh, but they were the truth. There might be one person on this forum that knows a guy that could pull some strings and allow your friend to change their flight, but other than just helping a stranger, which I know is a good feeling, why would they use that vital lifeline on a super cheap ticket where someone didn’t read the conditions of travel, much less earning opportunities, instead of saving it for their next First class flight around the world (which gets posted to here more often than you’d think)?

It’s a lot of money and not a lot at the same time. Bad experiences teach you things about the future, so you can enjoy good ones. In this case it looks pretty bleak, and will hopefully make them check the rules and terms a little closer in the future.

Also, effectively calling people stupid doesn’t help your case, nor does your apparent disregard for time zones, lots of people had been up for hours when you posted.

 

[mannej]

Did you book on the current or the older website? Not knowing what the older website is like, but the newer website makes it obvious to blind freddy that you can not change, cancel, upgrade or earn miles on that fare. Oz Mark has suggested to check your travel insurance, but they may or may not cover this unforseen circumstance.

On your second point, calling people dumb or bitter on here is unfounded and not going to get you far. Singapore Airlines is not the problem here. From what I can see they clearly articulate that the Super Deals do not allow for an ounce of change at all. The first problem is the risk your friend took did not pay off, it happens. If travel insurance does not come through, all you can do is throw away the ticket and purchase a new one. Chalk it down to experience.

Truthful answers do not make people bitter (especially in this circumstance). You have laid out the facts, they have laid out the solutions. Just because they don't agree with you there is no need to incinuate that they are not smart people. There are other travel based forums that you would get eaten alive if you tried the same topic. There may be the need for some more tact, but even with more tact, you will still get the same answer...

 

[oz_mark]

Did you book on the current or the older website? Not knowing what the older website is like, but the newer website makes it obvious to blind freddy that you can not change, cancel, upgrade or earn miles on that fare. Oz Mark has suggested to check your travel insurance, but they may or may not cover this unforseen circumstance.

Indeed. Some policies have defined reasons that they will accept cancellation expenses for, while some are more liberal and don't specify specific reasons other than it being something outside your control. Having come to a dead end with SQ, that would be by next port of call, which may or may not end in the desired result.

 

[Justchecking]

Indeed, my travel insurance (not a cheap plan) has a specific out-clause stating work commitments are not covered.

 

[Stuser]

Re: My Story with Singapore Airlines

Please explain why oz_mark had the first sensible solution, about checking travel insurance. (thanks)
So if other forum users out there with possible ideas , please response. The other users just lay down, no wonder bullies always win.
Its time the little guy stand up and get counted.

actually I beat oz_mark by a minute with the insurance suggestion... :mrgreen:

but as I also said things you clearly don't want to hear, you ignored it....

... People here are trying to help and give you the benefit of their experience. ...

Also calling airlines bullies because they enforce the conditions of their tickets? Get over it.

 

[Austman]

In my experience, flying for work for over 25 years, any reasonable employer has always covered the costs of a situation where I needed to cancel/change an air ticket due to an unexpected work commitment with them.

Could your friend ask the employer? Or if self employed, the cancelled ticket cost might now be considered a work expense.

 

[wmetz]

Your idea of doing nothing That great... lets do nothing when a comet hurdling towards earth.

and do you understand, if u have a 1000 expense u don't get 1000 back from the tax man. And if u read my story, its coming out my friend own pocket which now got a giant hole in it.

 

[samh004]

Your idea of doing nothing That great... lets do nothing when a comet hurdling towards earth.

and do you understand, if u have a 1000 expense u don't get 1000 back from the tax man. And if u read my story, its coming out my friend own pocket which now got a giant hole in it.

It's funny you should mention the comet, as in that instance the outcome is the same as your friends problem. You're *bleeped*. There's no way you could do anything if a comet is heading towards earth, and in this case there's nothing your friend can do to change their ticket. Congrats on summing it up so brilliantly.




 

[wmetz]

The comet is not in the fare conditions, so still wont help, only if the comet is a wishing star.

 

[Justchecking]

Sometimes we make bad decisions and then they blow up in our face. That's life and no-one gets through life without making a bad decision or two. But it's how we handle those situations that really determines our character. We can take responsibility for the outcome, learn and move on. Or we can scream injustice until we are blue in the face, and when we are exhausted, move on. In the first we grow a little. In the second we continue on in life ready and willing to make the same mistake again.

 

[Alanslegal]

Not a Singapore Airlines fault in any way shape or form. The person bought the cheapest ticket/fare allowed which often has conditions such as you can't cancel or change dates and so on. You can yell and scream all you like, take it to Fair Trading or wherever applicable but that person won't even have a leg to stand on. Delay due to work commitments, zero chance. Delay due to death of an immediate family, the airline will easily assist there - refund,rebook etc.

You do have to realise that just because you are sitting in the same seat, enjoying the same meal, having the same drink as the person next to you ....... that person could be paying 3 times as much!! Yes, all seats have a different price to them - meaning different conditions too.