Hello, this is probably going to come across as a rant more than anything, as I am very annoyed, but I am seeking some guidance.
I have a trip booked with Singapore Airlines (Syd-Delhi return via Singapore) but had to make changes as my work has planned a mandatory offsite (that's a whole another off topic rant)...
Now, I couldn't make any changes online (singaporeair.com) as the change button was greyed out indicated I had to call them.
So the drama begins, it took 3 calls and repeated requests to speak to a supervisor for them to do something. I was asking for a change of date of the last leg (and I was willing to pay any fare difference as my company would cover costs). Singapore said they could not because it's a connecting flight so the previous leg would also need to be changed. Not very helpful.
I maybe ignorant on this item, but as a customer, I don't see why this is my problem (e.g. what if I wanted a stop over for a few days). I did check if "changes" are allowed on my booking type/fare class at time of booking, but did not get into the nuances of connected flights. I will definitely check next time.
So they came back to me with NO options to move flights because they weren't available for rebooking even though "new bookings" were available. Seemed like primarily issue was with 3rd leg and the fare class it was on. Yet I only wanted to change the 4th leg, so if they needed to move both 3rd leg and 4th leg up a class, I was happy to pay the difference. And then it was an assertion that the "system" did not allow it. I asked for an escalation, which was responded rudely with "why, they will say the same thing", "oh they are not available", "oh we can't call you back" etc etc. Eventually (after a 5-10 min on hold), the operator came back and said they can try a manual adjustment, which they managed to do and moved only the 4th leg to the desired new date. Fare difference of $60.
That seems like a whole lot of pain, very customer UNfriendly - presumably Singapore restricts options available because of their pricing/profit/operational algorithms. I've actually found my last few interactions with Qantas call centre to be a lot more friendly (domestic rebookings after flight changes - I travel a lot between Syd-Melb)...Singapore airlines is certainly not making life easy for their call centre staff.
My original intent was to: change 4th leg to a new date, ask if that leg can be upgrade and book additional flights to link the itinerary so I wouldn't have to do self-transfers at Changi. Pretty "out there" asks and I was aware of the low chances of the latter change, but the first 2 I thought they'd accommodate easily. I've learnt a tough lesson for sure. And wasted a lot of time.
Your thoughts/suggestions/support/scolding are all appreciated:
PS: after the first call, the operator said he has "enabled" online changes so I can take a look online myself, but of course it is still greyed out.
I have a trip booked with Singapore Airlines (Syd-Delhi return via Singapore) but had to make changes as my work has planned a mandatory offsite (that's a whole another off topic rant)...
Now, I couldn't make any changes online (singaporeair.com) as the change button was greyed out indicated I had to call them.
So the drama begins, it took 3 calls and repeated requests to speak to a supervisor for them to do something. I was asking for a change of date of the last leg (and I was willing to pay any fare difference as my company would cover costs). Singapore said they could not because it's a connecting flight so the previous leg would also need to be changed. Not very helpful.
I maybe ignorant on this item, but as a customer, I don't see why this is my problem (e.g. what if I wanted a stop over for a few days). I did check if "changes" are allowed on my booking type/fare class at time of booking, but did not get into the nuances of connected flights. I will definitely check next time.
So they came back to me with NO options to move flights because they weren't available for rebooking even though "new bookings" were available. Seemed like primarily issue was with 3rd leg and the fare class it was on. Yet I only wanted to change the 4th leg, so if they needed to move both 3rd leg and 4th leg up a class, I was happy to pay the difference. And then it was an assertion that the "system" did not allow it. I asked for an escalation, which was responded rudely with "why, they will say the same thing", "oh they are not available", "oh we can't call you back" etc etc. Eventually (after a 5-10 min on hold), the operator came back and said they can try a manual adjustment, which they managed to do and moved only the 4th leg to the desired new date. Fare difference of $60.
That seems like a whole lot of pain, very customer UNfriendly - presumably Singapore restricts options available because of their pricing/profit/operational algorithms. I've actually found my last few interactions with Qantas call centre to be a lot more friendly (domestic rebookings after flight changes - I travel a lot between Syd-Melb)...Singapore airlines is certainly not making life easy for their call centre staff.
My original intent was to: change 4th leg to a new date, ask if that leg can be upgrade and book additional flights to link the itinerary so I wouldn't have to do self-transfers at Changi. Pretty "out there" asks and I was aware of the low chances of the latter change, but the first 2 I thought they'd accommodate easily. I've learnt a tough lesson for sure. And wasted a lot of time.
Your thoughts/suggestions/support/scolding are all appreciated:
- On the upgrade, on the last call, they said there are no availabilities, however call back later and there may be an option. That didn't make any sense to me and I didn't get any clarity from the operator (and did not have the energy/time to escalate). There seems to be availability (checked for a new booking) so again it may be a rebooking/fare class/connected flights issue? What are my chances here?
- What happens if I do a "no show" on the last leg and have a separate booking on the same flight (to get the upgrade)? Same name/details, booked on the same flight, will this cause issues? I feel like it would or least cause some grievance at check-in.
- Is it possible to book another trip (in this case Singapore-BKK return) and link the itineraries so I can get check-through benefits and avoid self-transfer at Changi?
PS: after the first call, the operator said he has "enabled" online changes so I can take a look online myself, but of course it is still greyed out.
