Originally Posted by
Lonely Flyer
We were on SQ 322 (A380 flight) in economy on 14/09/2008 which broke down. Departure was 11.30pm
We left 16 hours later on a 747-400
The issues
We were left for 9 hours in gate area before being sent to hotel.
Our miles for SIN-LHR have not posted
My suitcase had its handle broken (this would have required extreme force. It was not a cheap unit) I joke that they must have tied it to one of the airport vehicles and dragged it around the tarmac.
They failed to get a message (after I explained the issue to them) to our daughter who was on QF 9 and expecting to meet us in London arriving originally about 30 minutes before our original flight.
Its funny you say that, because I was scheduled to fly LHR-SIN on SQ317 on 15th Sept, the very same A380 plane which ultimately did not make it to London. I arrived at the airport at 9am, only to be told that the flight had been re-scheduled for 2310hrs and it too was to be a 747-400. No advance warning was given eventhough check in staff claimed that all passengers had been notified by phone.
After negotiating a 3hr queue, all passengers were sent to the nearby Sheraton, and given lunch and dinner (they had started ferrying passengers to the hotel from about 11am onwards). I was lucky in that they got me a seat on SQ321 that same evening, which was an A380, but I got to S'pore only to be paged and told that my luggage was still in London.
In fairness to them, they were very apologetic, I was given a cash advance on the spot and they assured me the suitcase would be delivered the next morning, which it was. I sent in a letter of complaint, together with receipts for the items of clothing & toiletries I had to buy, and I have, this week been sent confirmation that my claim will be paid in full.
In short, send in a registered letter of complaint and don't give up until they resolve the matter to your satisfaction. I know some will say that being a PPS club member helps, and it probably does, but I've also had similar experiences long before I was even an KF Elite Gold member. SQ tries to pride itself on its customer service and eventhough it may fall short sometimes, as long as you keep working your way higher up the chain of command, you will eventually get to someone who has the authority to resolve it amicably. Nearly forgot to add that from my experience, sending a registered letter of complaint to the Customer Affairs Department in Singapore always draws a quicker response than sending one to the local (London) office, plus there's a less chance of it getting 'lost'.