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SINGAPORE AIRLINES CUSTOMER CARE

VOLCANIC ASH CLOUD IN EUROPE

Some Common Questions(Thursday 22 APRIL 2010 – Edition Number 2) 

Thank you for your continued patience. This issue of our Q&A isdesigned to aid your understanding of the scale of the problem we facein returning our stranded customers home.

We seek to provide as much information to you as possible in regards tothe actions we are taking on a global basis to hasten your return.

The Scale of the Event (Global)

• The volcanic eruption has caused the most extensive shutdown ofairspace since the September 11 attacks in 2001. 

• More than 6.8 million passengers have been affected, according toOlivier Jankovec. – Head EU Airports.

• A total of 313 airports had been paralysed by the restrictions. 

• All airlines that operate services to these airports have been impacted. 

• No airline (or aircraft for that matter) can offer a direct service non-stopto Europe from Australia. Everyone has to travel via hub airports, whichhave their own backlog of customers. 

• Singapore Media report that approximately 40,000 customers are

stranded in Singapore from all airlines. 

The Scale of the Event (Singapore Airlines)

At the current time we have the following number of customers stranded inmajor ports, waiting to head to UK and Europe:

• 2,700 overseas customers in Australia and New Zealand (not includinglocal customers who are waiting to commence their travel).

o 1,379 destined for Londono 324 destined for Frankfurt

o 289 destined for Manchestero 226 destined for Amsterdam

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o 170 destined for Zuricho 132 destined for Copenhageno 192 destined for other European ports

• 5,000 customers were stranded in Singapore, but many have returnedto their origin. At the moment we have approximately 2,000 customersstranded in Singapore.

• 2,000 European customers are stranded in Bali.

• Thousands of customers are stranded in our European airports, waitingto travel to all our destinations.

Has Singapore Airlines launched additional flights?

Yes, to date we have launched additional flights to Rome (2), Frankfurt (2),Amsterdam (2) and London (2). We are planning additional flights each dayto Frankfurt (1 each day), Amsterdam (1 each day) and London (1 each day)in the days ahead, but we are waiting confirmation from the authorities forflights to operate.

We will launch as many additional services as possible, but there areconstraints on this;- We have to have aircraft available to fly. Unfortunately airlines do not

have “spare” aircraft for emergency situations that we can suddenly use.

However, be assured all efforts are being made to utilise fully all aircraftavailable.

- We have to obtain permission from airports and authorities. For example,London Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports and we mustobtain a slot in order to take off and land. This situation applies at manyairports.

- We need pilots and crew in the right place to operate the aircraft(outbound and return).

We also have a number of A380 aircraft. We are taking these off some routeswhere demand allows, and using them to operate additional flights or as

replacement aircraft. This allows us to carry more customers on these flights.

Are we clearing customers from Australia on these extra flights?

Yes, Australia and New Zealand are being allocated seats on these flightsand we are using them to assist stranded customers in Australia and NewZealand to return home. However, the seats are being spread around thenetwork in order for all stranded customers in all destinations to have anequal chance.

We are also offering seats on these additional flights to stranded customerswho may have been booked to other destinations in UK/Europe. We urge

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customers to seriously consider offers to an alternate destination, as it couldbe a longer period before we can offer a seat to your original bookeddestination.

We are also using spare seats on scheduled services where possible.

When will I travel?

We cannot answer this as we are working in date order. It will also depend onwhat additional flights we are able to secure.

When will you contact me?

We are now receiving information from Singapore each evening confirmingwhich flights and how many seats are available the next day. As such, youshould attempt to be contactable at your hotel, or by other means, from 6pmonwards. Should the situation require, we will phone late at night if we canoffer you a seat.

We do encourage customers to be prepared to leave at short notice in theevent we receive last minute notification of additional flights.

Is Singapore Airlines uplifting any customers to UK and Europe?

With the progressive opening up of European airspace, Singapore Airlinesintends to operate all scheduled flights to and from Europe from Thursday, 22April 2010.

Customers already booked on the flights will be able to travel as planned.

Customers who had their previous flights cancelled will be re-booked on thedeparting flights subject to availability. Priority will be given to special needs orelderly customers, and those with infants or young children. Following that,customers who have the earliest original departure dates will be assigned

seats as available on the flights.

Additionally services are being finalised at this time and we will contactcustomers as soon as possible.

What is the status of European Airports?

All airports on the Singapore Airlines network to UK and Europe havereopened.

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What about rebooking my travel?

Rebooking is being undertaken by our reservations center, and we will contactyou with revised booking arrangements.

Rebooking or Cancellation information

Singapore Airlines will waive cancellation and change fees for confirmedtickets to UK and Europe. This waiver is valid for tickets issued up to andincluding 15 April 2010, for travel up to and including 2 May 2010. This meansthe fees are waived for travel in the future within the validity of your ticket.

The same conditions will apply for Kris Flyer redemption tickets.

If I have a booking to Europe today, should I come to the airport?

We are able to uplift customers who hold confirmed bookings from Thursday22 April 2010 on Singapore Airlines flights. If you do not hold a confirmedbooking,

Please do not come to the airport. Please remain at home (or your hotel)and ensure we have your contact details. We will contact you with revisedbooking arrangements.

We do seek your understanding and co-operation and you have ourassurance we will get you to your destination as quickly as possible.

Who gets priority?

Customers booked to travel on flights will be able to travel. Those customerswho have been stranded will have priority access to take any available seatsto return them home, based on the number of days they have been stranded.

What is Singapore Airlines doing to provide additional seats and

preserve currently vacant seats for stranded customers?

We are taking a number of steps to ensure we have seats available totransport our stranded customers home. Stranded customers are our priorityand we want to get them home as soon as possible. Our plan is to:

⇒ Launch additional flights and increase the size of aircraft to provide extraseats where we can.

⇒Block all currently unoccupied seats on all flights to UK/Europe from nowuntil 02 May. This has already been done, and means that no seats can bebooked by anyone except Singapore Airlines. We will preserve these seatsfor our stranded customers

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⇒Ask local customers who have not commenced their travel to reconsidertheir need to travel to UK/Europe. Already, many are postponing their tripsand this will free up additional seats for stranded customers trying to headhome.

We are confident these moves will assist us to obtain the maximum number ofseats to return all customers to their homeports.

What order will people be uplifted?

Customers who had their previous flights cancelled will be re-booked on thedeparting flights subject to availability. Priority will be given to special needs orelderly customers, and those with infants or young children. Following that,customers who have the earliest original departure dates will be assigned.

Conversely, customers can elect to defer their return travel without penalty,and we encourage them to do so to free up space for those with an urgentneed to travel.

Why can’t Singapore Airlines simply put all stranded customers on thefirst available flights, and leave other customers behind who have notbeen stranded?

As part of our conditions of contract and carriage, we are obliged to keep

seats for customers with confirmed bookings. However please be assuredthat we will do our utmost to get stranded customers home as quickly aspossible.

When other carriers start to fly, will Singapore Airlines transfer mytickets to them so I can get back earlier?

Singapore Airlines is unable to transfer tickets to other carriers. 

Why is Singapore Airlines not taking customers to Singapore to wait foravailable seats on flights to Europe?

There are many customers already in Singapore waiting for their flights toEurope. There is still little hotel accommodation available. We will advise youshould there be any change to this situation.

How is Singapore Airlines assisting its customers?

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