INB O X YOUR LE T T E R S Star letter
DIGIT AL D OWN S IDE S Te increasing use of digital travel permits gives one pause for thought. Take as an example the US’s ESTA, which is a visa in all but name – one has to apply and pay for it. Rather than putting it in the passport as a stamp or sticker, though, it is stored digitally. An example of the downside of this is a
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trip I made from the US to Mexico. I entered the US on an ESTA, then flew to Mexico and was due to fly back the same day. However, the airline said that it had no record of me having an ESTA. Dealing with this took so long that I missed my flight. Fortunately, in the end it located an ESTA number and put me on another flight. But all of this was down to the supposed progress of a digital-only scheme. Te traditional approach of a stamp in my passport would have saved time and effort all round. From questions about vaccination
certificates to next year’s planned requirement for UK subjects to acquire an ETIAS [a visa waiver programme created by the EU] to visit much of continental Europe, the potential downside of digital-only travel permits requires proper consideration. In many regards, as my own experience shows, it will likely hamper, not help, travel. Christopher Ruane, Lanark
R EB O OKING I S SUE S In February 2020, Singapore Airlines ran a “Spontaneous Escapes” promotion so I used my credit card points to redeem a business class return trip between Singapore and Hong Kong at a miles discount. Te health situation got worse and owing to government restrictions, SIA said it would “waive all cancellation and change fees” for tickets to Hong Kong. I postponed my dates to April. However, the pandemic
worsened and as the date neared I decided to reschedule my flight again. Te staff suggested that I keep my ticket as an open date rather than potentially having to roll it over again. When I contacted SIA [in late 2020] to check on the
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status of my ticket, I was told that owing to its current policy it would not be honouring its commitment to rebook my flight at another date. I explained that it should not retroactively apply to me given that the initial policy affecting my trip clearly stated that all change fees were waived, that I had already rescheduled successfully once without any issues and that it had been suggested I keep it as an open date in the first place. Instead, SIA will be refunding my miles but it will incur an
unnecessary expiry date since I had initially exchanged it using points. Some readers may regard this as a small matter but, to me, it is a matter of principle above anything else. I am extremely disappointed considering this is a company that has historically prided itself on stellar customer service. Marcus Lee, Singapore
SINGAPORE AIRLINES REPLIES: We apologise for the delayed communication around the need to collect additional miles upon rebooking. We would like to reassure you that the same terms applied equally to redemption and commercial tickets during this time, as the Global Travel Waiver Policy permitted the waiving of cancellation and rebooking fees only, not to differences in fare. Similarly, we hope that our efforts to accommodate the requested changes as far as possible during a time that has been both challenging and beyond all of our control can be appreciated. Thank you for your understanding.
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