INB O X YOUR LE T T E R S
R EDEMP TION IMP O S S IBL E I am writing in reference to Mr Eddie Ang’s letter in the July/August 2018 issue of Business Traveller Asia-Pacific, who in turn was writing in reference to Mr Quek’s letter entitled “Ghost Passenger” back in September 2017. Aſter having read about their
concerns regarding redeeming Singapore Airlines (SQ) first class award seats, I realised it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me that it was impossible for me to redeem them using my Asiana Club miles (under its partnership with Star Alliance), given that even KrisFlyer members themselves have difficulty. Yes, I am aware and I do understand
that only a limited number of seats are available for redemption on a first- come first-served basis. But what I found highly suspicious after booking with my local Asiana Airlines ticketing office was that there was absolutely zero availability for SQ first class seats between Manila (MNL) and Singapore (SIN) for eight consecutive months from August 2018 to March 2019. I highly doubt that award seats for March 2019 have been booked as early as July 2018, so I believe there was no allotment in the first place. This makes me question the point of both airlines having an alliance. Ultimately, on my MNL-SIN flight on September 7, only four of the eight first class seats were occupied on SQ917. After speaking with the local Asiana
Airlines and Singapore Airlines offices, and ultimately the SQ ticketing office in ION Orchard Mall Singapore, they made it clear that once any two airlines have agreed and decided on a fixed number of seats to be offered as award seats, there is absolutely no way to change that. To echo the sentiments of Mr Ang:
“The fact that the airline would rather leave the seats empty than give them up for redemption really disappoints me.” I concur. I don’t doubt that SQ is the best
airline in the world and has the best service, as consistently rated by travellers worldwide. But I personally
found that the business class seats on their Boeing 777 and notably their B787 (supposedly their new regional business class product) were particularly devoid of extra space for comfort – and this is coming from someone who stands only 165cm tall – especially when I compare them to the first class-level business class of some airlines like Oman Air.
Kevin Tsai, Philippines
C OMING TO TERM S I came across a clause relating to Royal Jordanian’s online ticketing practices that I think is worth warning fellow travellers about. According to their terms: “The
Payment Card holder must be travelling with the passenger and should present the card used to purchase the ticket(s) (purchased from
rj.com) at the check- in counter for verification. Royal Jordanian reserves the right to deny boarding to any passenger who fails to present the payment card used to purchase his ticket (purchased from
rj.com). “If the cardholder is not travelling
with the passenger then the passenger has to present the original payment card used to purchase the ticket(s) (purchased from
rj.com) and a copy of the card holder’s passport/national ID at the check-in counter for verification to be able to travel. Royal Jordanian reserves the right to deny boarding to any passenger who fails to comply. In case of an expired/stolen payment card before departure date, a formal letter should be provided from the issuer bank which proves identity, all required information of the card holder and the previous stolen/expired card number, which is mandatory to be sent to
ibesupport@rj.com prior to departure date, as it is not acceptable to be provided at the airport. “If you are using a virtual payment
card to purchase online then you will have to present your virtual card certificate, supplied by your bank as part of the use of a virtual card process, before we can accept you onboard.
T E LL US ABOU T YOUR T R A VE L S AT EDIT ORIAL@B U S INE S S T R A VE L L E R A S IA . C OM bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om DE CEMB E R 2 0 18 “The above rules shall not apply to
PayPal, Giropay, UnionPay and Ideal.” Is this not extraordinary, and
potentially a big problem for passengers? But Royal Jordanian really means it: I could not check in online because my ticket had been purchased by credit card. At the airport I was indeed asked for my credit card, which fortunately I had with me, but imagine if it had been lost that day – how would it be possible to get a letter from the issuing bank in time to “prove identity” (which, of course, a credit card does not prove). Just imagine the frustration of not being able to travel with a valid ticket when Royal Jordanian has already got your money. Even odder is exempting PayPal
(which is essentially a credit card with an extra fee to PayPal) and UnionPay (which is a credit card no different from Visa, Amex or Mastercard). I have no idea what a “virtual payment card” may be. This is an interesting example of
not considering the practical needs of the customer.
John Cannon, Hong Kong 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76