So, in continuation of my earlier post, today I went about getting our daughter added to the two AY segments in our MCA.
Seeing as calling an outstation had worked well for me in the case of QR, I first tried to give AY in HKG a ring, only to find that their line was constantly engaged. After multiple attempts over half an hour, I called their number in Singapore instead (+65 6701 6906). I was surprised to talk to an agent who seemed to have a (very thick) Eastern European accent, but aside from the strong accent his English was very good. Unfortunately, initially he, too, tried to tell me that - as my award ticket had been issued by CX - it was CX who would also have to sell me the infant ticket. With my newly gained knowledge and confidence, I politely but firmly told him that this was incorrect, and that it was, in fact, AY who were the ones holding the powers to issue said ticket. I cited my recent experience with CX and QR, and after two minutes of hesitant pushback, the agent actually said something along the lines of "Okay, allow me to put you on hold while I talk to our back office about this". Ten minutes later he said that he had still not found the answer, but that he would continue to look into the matter for me and call me back later in the day once he had got the relevant information internally. About 1.5 hours later, out of the blue, I received an email from Finnair with the infant tickets generated for both sectors in question. They were free of charge! Half an hour after that, my mobile phone rang, with an unknown number from London calling me; it turned out to be my "SIN"-based agent, who was actually sitting in Europe. He confirmed that the tickets had been issued and that he would send them to me via email shortly; a couple of minutes later, I therefore received my second email from Finnair which contained the infant tickets. The agent helpfully also suggested that I should print off the email and bring it along for check-in, as - while there should not be any problem - it could do no harm and might help clear up any misunderstandings if the system was not showing our daughter's ticket as attached to our own. ^
In summary, the take-away for myself has been pretty much the same as I mentioned earlier with regards to QR:
1. The operating airline is the one who can issue the infant ticket for you.
2. Many agents that you talk to over the phone may not have been trained to know this, so a lot of them will erroneously tell you that CX is the responsible party. If that happens, first try to enlighten them, and if they remain stubborn, hang up and call again, if necessary, at a different outstation.
3. The outstations may have more experience in servicing such requests than head-office. Even there, you may have to try multiple times until you find something who will support you in your quest and either have the tickets issued themselves or escalate the matter internally.
4. Never give up! You are in the right, and it can be done!
