Dean1953

have a round trip ticket on Singapore airlines, Seattle to BKK. I used the outbound portion but 2 weeks before my scheduled return, my brother died. I contacted Singapore Airlines Bangkok office and was told I could change my ticket but would be charged $1,650, the difference in air fare on my economy ticket. I purchased a one way ticket on another airline for $615. Since I’ve been home, I understand that Singapore airlines brevement policy allows you to change your ticket up to 90 days in advance of the original departure date. I wouldn’t mind going back and using the return portion, particularly if there isn’t much difference in the fares from when I bought the ticket. The third party agency that I bought the ticket from, Budget Air, wanted $1,650 no matter what date I chose to return Singapore airlines wouldn’t change the ticket on their own. It’s been a really stressful 2 weeks and I didn’t need Singapore airlines and Budget Air using the excuse that it was the other party’s fault on why I couldn’t change the ticket for less than $1,650. I wanted them to change it to the end of January but the price to do it remained high. . I’ll never fly Singapore Airlines or use Budget Air again

jemabate

So sorry for your loss.
did u buy travel insurance? If u did u can claim yr cost for the airticket to go back n return to bkk.
if you don't hv travel insurance...uay call Singapore airlines again and ask for a free change of date under compassionate ground. The bbk office will call Singapore office for approval....
I am so sorry for your loss...

itadakimasu

I'm truly very sorry for your loss - it's in moments like this that words may not bring much comfort, but compassionate actions can really go a long way.

Regrettably, in my personal experience, 3rd party travel agents tend to be very inflexible, which is the main reason I gave up booking through travel agents a very long time ago. I always book direct with SIA now and in such circumstances, as long as you furnish them with some proof (e.g certificate of death), they usually waive any fees associated with changing your booking, but you will almost certainly have to bear any fare difference, which now can be quite substantial.

It's a little difficult because SIA will almost certainly ask you to make any changes through the third party, as they are your rightful contractual partner, but there certainly isn't any harm trying - if all else fails then perhaps consider asking for help on their official FB page and they social media team may be able to mediate in some way.

Dean1953

In my personal experience, I’m extremely flexible and relatively healthy for a 69 year old male. In the U.S., I’m used to flying Southwest using points. There are very few consequences in changing your flight except paying the fare difference.3 years ago, I had to burn the equivalent of $650 in points to get my daughter home because her father in law died. I’ve never had to change a flight on an international flight that was going to financially strap me until now. I’m communicating with Singapore Airlines on Facebook and maybe something will come from it. I’m still very flexible on changing the return date. If we can work anything out, I’ll post it here

Dean1953

After going back and forth with both Singapore airlines and the 3rd party travel agency (Budget Air), I got a reply yesterday from Budget Air that Singapore Airways will refund my unused return ticket. They require a copy of the death certificate and something, like the obituary, that mentions me as a sibling. I emailed them back that I sent that to both them and Singapore Airlines 6 weeks ago but can send them again. They also wanted some legal proof that he was my brother. I’m not sure if that means that I have to hire a lawyer and have him question me under oath that we were brothers. I could then supply written proof supplied by a lawyer. Has anyone else had to do this and is there a simpler solution?

carrotjuice

Send a copy of your birth certificates showing the same dad and/or mom?

Dean1953

Here’s the response that I got when I sent the death certificate and the newspaper obituary which mentioned his siblings, including me.


Hello Decoursey,
​

Thank you for contacting us, We are happy to help you.
​

We are sorry for your loss. We send our deepest condolences to you and your family.

To request a refund waiver from the airline we should have the proof of relationship between the passenger and the deceased person.
​
If the documentation is unclear or incomplete, it will cause delays or rejection in obtaining the statement.

Kind regards,
Budgetair Customer Service
Abdul
On Fri, 6 Jan at 4:45 PM , Decourseyfloors <[email protected]> wrote:
I replied that I need to know EXACTLY what documents/certificates he needs for proof of relationship. I also need to know the EXACT amount that I will be receiving from them because I don’t want to spend more on documentation than I’ll get in compensation.

I keep getting replies from employees that live in India, based on the time that I receive their emails. I doubt if they have much contact with Budget Air’s corporate office, or with Singapore Airways, for that matter. They want to string me out as much as possible, in the hope that I will give up and go away. They will be sadly mistaken in my case.

yauee

can u try
1) U.S. STANDARD CERTIFICATE OF DEATH
2) U.S. Birth Certificate (we believe birth cert contains PARENTS name)

no need to waste money on lawyer

Dean1953

I no longer trust either Budget Air or Singapore Airlines to not keep changing the goal posts. I’m not going to waste $70 on birth certificates until they tell me the birth certificates will be considered proof. I also want to know the amount of money that I will be refunded before buying the birth certificates. Since Singapore Airlines changed one flight segment by 4 hours, I can sue them for the refund just based on the schedule change. In any respect, I doubt if they want the bad publicity that I’d bring to them.

yauee

We are unsure how your country works but in Singapore we only need my brother death cert , his birth cert(parent name same as mine), and my birth cert(Parent name same as my brother) (99% of Singapore born will have their birth cert at home) and Singapore airlines use it a proof for us.

why not claims against travel insurance if u uncomfortable dealing with 3rd party travel agent ?

lokijuh

If you were in Singapore or a Commonwealth country a statutory declaration attesting to the relationship would suffice, and depending on the country these don’t need legal sign off (for example in Australia pharmacists can do this). Not sure if there is an equivalent in US, but Stat Decs are recognised in Singapore and would probably be accepted by SQ.

Dean1953

I may be able to get a copy of my brother’s birth certificate from his wife. I’ll see her tomorrow. In my case, I haven’t needed a birth certificate since I was a team Agee. I’m now approaching 70 years old. I would have to get an official birth certificate from the State of Kansas, where I was born and where I presently live. It would cost me $35. At my age, it would be a good idea to have it for my wife’s benefit when I die. I don’t know why Budget Air doesn’t name the birth certificate instead of saying a “document “. At this point, I want to know how much money I will be receiving and then deciding whether it’s worth it to provide the birth certificate, or just sue both Budget Air and Singapore Airlines. I’m tired of listening to their “good cop/bad cop” routine.

Dean1953

“Hello Decoursey,
​

Thank you for contacting us, We are happy to help you.
​

Kindly share us a copy of passport or birth certificate for verification.
Please be informed i will not be able to check for refund since airline has to accept the waiver,
​
kindly wait until we get a response from airline after requesting the waiver.

​

Kind regards,
Budgetair Customer Service
Abdul
“

I guess I’ll send them a picture of my passport information page and see what happens. I just received this last email from the Budget Air agent in India

Singapore_Air

Why would you use BudgetAir ?

hdogan

As you were advised in the other thread, you will probably just be wasting your money suing Singapore Airlines, because they have nothing to do with how your ticket was processed. Your agent is the only entity to "blame" for anything that happens to your ticket. Don't let your anger and resentment get in the way of good judgment.