Goldorak

I flew several times PG and always found the service excellent, sometimes overpriced especially on their monopoly route BKK-REP where they charge a premium but this really an excellent airline. However my today's flights gave me another "not-so-nice" view of PG. I flew today from REP (Siem Reap, Cambodia) to THS (Sukhotai, Thailand) via BKK. I booked the ticket on PG web site. The connection in BKK was short (1hr) but it was the only one offered without spending 4 or 5 hrs in BKK (there are only 2 daily flights BKK-THS) and if they are selling this connection, it should be feasible.

When checking-in in REP, the agent called a colleague of her and spoke in Khmer (which I don't understand) and the guy who came (speaking good English) explained me that because I have booked a very tight connection :
- they cannot guarantee I will make it
- they cannot check-me in (in REP) for the 2nd flight. My bag was also tagged only to BKK
- if I miss the connection, PG is not responsible and I will be on my own to find a solution, which can be purchasing a new ticket And he presented me a waiver form that he wanted me to sign to attest this.

I was completely astonished as this was purchased on their web site as a single booking so why do they let pax purchase this if it's not feasible . The PG agent told me that there should have been a warning during the booking process but clearly there was none. I of course refused categorically to sign his waiver form and he did not insist (I think he was completely understanding my position but this policy was not decided by him - he was just applying it).

Finally the flight REP-BKK left (and arrive) 20 min early giving me more room and an agent was waiting for me in BKK to facilitate my transfer. This was nice as immigration was completely crowded as usual and he made me use the 1st class fast track lanes. He waited with me for my checked luggage and bring me after to PG check-in counters, where the agent was expecting me and had already prepared by BP and the new luggage tag to THS.

So, as a whole, the transfer experience was excellent thanks to this guy but I really found that what happened during check-in at REP was unacceptable for an airline like PG.

What do you think guys about this ? If I would have missed the connection due to delay or long lines at immigration, do you really think that I would have had to buy a new ticket ? Is there similar customer protection rules in Thailand as in Europe or USA ?
thanks

moondog

I honestly don't know, and it's difficult to speculate because you don't misconnect. Had I been in your shoes, I probably would have put up more of stink in REP (i.e. demanded a better resolution), not out of fear of missing the connection, but due to a combination of my dislike for collecting bags during transfers and general principle.

Failing that, you can bet that I would become one of those customers that are easier to appease than ignore, had I missed my connecting flight.

jiejie

I think I know what the problem is, and actually, PG website should not have let you book this particular combo. Seems like you found a website booking loophole which in this case was not in your favor to find.

The issue is twofold, which if you are an experienced traveller in or through BKK as your post comments seem to imply, you should have already known regardless of what a booking website is showing:

1) You are required to go through immigration upon arrival at BKK, when arriving at BKK from international flight and then connecting onward to a domestic Thailand flight. This in and of itself makes the 1-hour connecting time a no-go. For a Thai national who doesn't have to wait in long Immy lines, it might be a dicey-but-doable connection if they have no checked bags, which may be why it is available on the website.

2) Because THS is not a domestic airport with Customs clearance facility, your bags could only be tagged to BKK, full stop. REP staff was not wrong on this and they did not have discretion. (If your onward flight had been to an airport like CNX, CEI, HDY, HKT, USM that had Customs, then they could have tagged all the way through.)

Actually, your beef should not be with PG REP staff who were only following the rules, it should be with PG website allowing you to book this. You might want to email or letter them that this particular flight combination with only one hour connection time should either be made non-available, or with warning when trying to book. I personally would not attempt this particular flight connection in one hour, even with carry on baggage only, due to having to go through Immy. You had a rep waiting for you in BKK, so maybe it is PG policy to provide an Expedited Transfer to the (relatively few) people making this particular connection. Or maybe PG REP alerted PG BKK that they had a runner coming. Either way, I'd say it was good service, and maybe a bit of luck also that your first flight was early and gave you a little extra time.

As to Consumer protection rules, no they do not exist in most of Asia as they do in Europe or North America. Buyer beware, and in most situations you are on your own to resolve with whatever creativity (or force) you can come up with. And the mercy of the decency of the company and the company agents you are working with. Sometimes, in Asia, this can be a good thing as it does allow for resolution outside of "legal" rules, regulations and frameworks. PG is a decent company though, and I suspect if you had gotten into a misconnect situation, PG would have automatically (or you could have easily persuaded them) to put you onto the next flight at no additional charge, as the illegal routing was their website's fault. The only issue would have been if there were no available seats. All things considered, you should have no reason to find fault with PG service at any point on the way. Except that the REP agent wanting you to sign the waiver was uncool, and you were right to refuse to do so. Your real issue is that their website allowed you to make a booking it shouldn't have allowed you to make. But seriously, if you are an experienced traveller in BKK, you should have known better than to try to book this combo in the first place.

Moral: Many things in Asia are physically (or electronically) doable, that doesn't mean you should go ahead and do them.

bescobar

It sounds as thought Bangkok Air did an excellent job in meeting your flight from REP, helping you transit BKK immigration, assisting in getting the arriving luggage and then having a boarding pass pre printed at the check in counter. Clearing BKK customs is hit and miss. Some times it is less than 20 min from exiting the aircraft to grabbing a taxi into town; other times the lines seem to stretch from the immigration counters back to the shopping plaza.

I disagree with the comment from a poster that you should have made a "stink" while checking in at REP. A smile and gentle persuasion is much more effective in SE Asia than a "stink". Had you lost your temper and consequently "face" or caused the ground staff to loose "face" your experience might have been totally different.

TPJ

I see this connection in both Sabre and Amadeus as a legal connection. Sabre shows that Minimum Connex Time for PG (int-to-dom, from a PG flight to a PG flight) in BKK is 1 hour:

PG-PG ID 1.00

The OP didn't do anything wrong...

Goldorak

Thank you guys for all your very interesting comments and analysis of my "case". Again, as you said, excellent service for the transfer (and in general). Many airlines in the world could learn from PG. Just very strange that they allow such bookings.
I know it would be short and risky but again, using the previous flight from REP would have resulted in a long layover in BKK. Although I made several connections in BKK intl to intl, it was the 1st time I was connecting intl to dom and I was sure that in this case, my bag would be tagged to the final destination and that they have special counters for immigration for connecting pax to dom flights (different from those leading to baggage claim and customs/exit). So this made me think that it was feasible and the fact that their web site was allowing me to do it was another positive factor.

This would not change the fact that I will continue to fly PG becauseof their excellent service but I will be definitely more careful while booking on their system

UAAAPeter

... and then create a stink in SFO when your plane is late, or your bags are late, or you are late, or more to the point the immigration lines back up down that awfully unfriendly "welcome to America" corridor. There are some men dressed in blue just waiting for that kind of thing,and you will make their day. And you won't have UA or AA waiting to get you specially off the plane either. Get my drift?