INB O X YOUR LE T T E R S Star letter
P A PE R S , PL E A SE I am writing to express utter disappointment in my experience with Swiss International Air Lines. The customer service team’s first instinct seems to be to deny responsibility, rather than to serve the customer. I travelled from Singapore to Freetown (Sierra Leone)
on Swiss Air with three other companions. Our flight departed Singapore on May 3, arriving in Zurich at 6.10am on May 4. As we were transiting through Zurich to Brussels, a
companion of mine was denied entrance to the flight because she lacked a Schengen visa that prevented her from proceeding on to Belgium. We split ways, with two members going ahead while
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I stayed behind to help my friend and prevent her being deported. After three hours of negotiation, Swiss Air offered new tickets that would take three additional days to get to Freetown, via a two-night stop in Johannesburg – for which they refused to provide accommodation. With no monetary resources to hand, and no access to wifi, I was pressured into accepting any way out. With the matter “resolved”, my friend was released from
the security area and I was finally able to connect to wifi. I got in touch with another friend in Singapore who helped us book entirely new tickets to get to Freetown just 12 hours later than originally intended. The ordeal was further extended by the
airline’s bungling the handling of our luggage, which we were only able to retrieve four days later, plus Swiss Air’s consistently sluggish response to emails and inconsistent replies via multiple phone calls. While I fully acknowledge that there was fault
on our part by failing to ensure my friend had valid documentation, Swiss Air was extremely negligent of their responsibilities. The Convention on International Civil
Aviation Annex 9 Section 3.4, states it is the responsibility of airlines to: Clause 3.34 1: “Examine passengers and
ensure that they have the correct documentation (passport/travel document and visa where required) and to deny boarding to improperly documented passengers”; Clause 5.4: “Ensure return conveyance of persons
who are refused admission, within a prescribed time frame and to advise the authorities of the travel arrangements”, and; Clause 5.9: “To pay the costs of returning an
inadmissible person that may include accommodation, transport, costs of escorts including travel and accommodation costs, fees to obtain travel documents and visas for the passenger and escorts, meals, wages paid
DE CEMB E R 2 0 18
STAR L E T TER PR I Z E
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to escorts, expenses incurred for interpreters and medical and other personnel who may be involved in the removal.” Instead, Swiss Air has been entirely
uncooperative. It has refused to offer any sort of refund for any segment of the flight and additionally voided my return because I had not fulfilled the entire segment of the flight. I am extremely disappointed with my
experience with Swiss Air. They have proven themselves to be completely disinterested in their customers, and I hope that this time they will at least be willing to clarify their commitment to decent customer service. Jensen Chiang, Singapore
SWISS AIR RE S P ONDS : We regret that the passenger had an unpleasant experience and understand her frustration. However, the review of the case showed that she was denied transportation, as she could not present all necessary travel documents for her flight. Yet, as stated in our conditions of carriage, it is the passengers’ responsibility to present themselves at the gate in possession of all required documents/ visas. Generally speaking, should there be any clarifications needed for such documents, it is the embassy or the local consulate that would need to be addressed before travelling.
B Y THE NUMBER S The new Terminal 2 at Incheon Airport has much to commend it. The public spaces are thoughtfully designed. The use of tall ceilings and trees makes it feel calm and quiet. The transit lounges where passengers can rest free of charge are excellent. In its strive for modernity, however, the
digital element of the airport needs to be more fully considered. One example was on a recent transit flight I made. There was no transit desk and I had to go through an unmanned electronic gate to transit. It told me to input my flight number but displayed examples with alphanumeric flight codes while only having a numeric keypad. It took me some minutes of frustration before I realised that the number element alone was what was needed. Technology can be a good thing but
not when it worsens rather than improves existing time-tested approaches. Christopher Ruane, UK
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om
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