I am enthralled by this website sent to me by a friend in South Africa.


www.NeverFlySAA.com


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MD
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
Hilton Gold
Sheraton Gold

Thanks for the link. Someone should recruit him over to FT.

Thanks. Yes, he is brave. He is getting death threats. I am impressed by this guy.
I will send him a link to FT, as I have done for a couple of people.

Actually, it is not a bad idea, like www.untied.com . I know there are more of those out there. Hate an airline and start a website about them, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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MD
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
Hilton Gold
Sheraton Gold

LOL

I thought they assaulted this guy's wife or something!

Seat assignments? Toilet problems? IFE not working??

Obviously the end of the world.

I think a reality check is in order.

This guy needs a reality check. In his website he states that he had a goodtime on his vacation in South Africa in spite of his SAA experience. To then ask for 20K to recreate his honeymoon is unreasonable and outrageous. Loosing seat reservations is inconvenient but should not be the end of the world. He could have always asked once he was onboard to switch with someone. While I think his complaint about the toilet is valid, it would be interesting to know more details about how wet he got. The press that this has gotten in South Africa has been mixed most people are appalled by SAA to begin with but feel that this guy does not warrant that kind of money. There is also growing sentiment that he is �just another whinny American.�

I have flown on SAA more times than I care to remember and have had a host of problems, including a six hour delay in Accra followed by an unscheduled flight to Abidjan before going to Johannesburg. I now actively avoid SAA but sometimes one has no choice.

SAA used to have an ad campaign with a tag line like, �the best airline to Africa.� It probably still is the best major airline in Africa but when you look at the competition that is saying absolutely nothing. While in Southern Africa I stick with Comair wherever possible and have been exceedingly pleased with their service.

My wife is South African, and I have spent a fair amount of time in South Africa. *shrugs* I'm not sure what the guy's point is. Sounds like his flight was a typical South African experience. If he wanted different, he should have chosen BA, VS, LH, KL, or some other western European carrier. Otherwise, he needs to develop a sense of humor and appreciate the experience.

SAA has toilets now?

Give him a break. While I readily concede that 20K is a bit much to demand on his part, I applaud him for the spirit of his endeavor. (Incidentally, I get the sense that the money isn't the core issue here.)

As for the "whiny American" flavor of the website, it's worth considering the fact that such whining benefits the traveling public and, arguably -- in the long term, the company itself. In this case, SAA has no choice but to acknowledge and deal with the issues raised by Mr. Six.

$20K for a honeymoon and he flew economy???? After two weeks in London, Paris and Rome, flying in J/C the entire way, staying in top hotels, eating in incredible restaurants AND shopping me bankrupt our honeymoon was WAY under $20k! SAA owes him a can of Lysol and his money back on the tickets at the most.

I completely agree with moondog that there is a principle at stake in here- SAA did not address his complaint adequately. The real lesson here, as you allude to, is for SAA not ignore people with complaints (because they can start a website that will be far more costly). However, I think that Six would get far further if his complaint was reasonable (and would not be labeled as someone looking to make a buck (actually 20,000 bucks) off a bad experience). I think the principle is lost because his demand is so unreasonable.

[This message has been edited by globalflight (edited 02-07-2002).]

I agree that SAA owes the guy an apology. I have been a frequent flier on SAA from Europe to JNB/CPT in the past, and had a number of similar experiences (lost seat assignments, broken equipment). Only once - when things really went wrong - I wrote a letter to complain and had to follow it up by e-mail six weeks later.

While SAA did not accept any 'legal' responsibility, they offered an upgrade for my next flight to Europe, which I considered to be fair compensation. So much for good customer service - and all without starting a website :-)

I strongly suspect that SAA did in fact offer an apology at one time; probably before Mr. Six tried to get $20,000 out of them.

islandcub

Hey guys, this is fun. Amazing how many responses have come up in 24 hours.

First, I thought he was a Britttt. He is a yank? He flew to London. Whatever.

I have flown SAA and have had good and bad experiences, like any airline. You have to admit that leaking toilets is icky.

I am glad to hear the positives about Comair as I will be flying them within SA, maybe over to Namibia.

SAA should have offered him something as compensation. Going for the $20K does make me mad as it takes away from the right to protest bad service. Then they just look greedy like the $2 M for spilled hot coffee in this country, UGH.

Might I recommend SAA fix their toilets!? SAA is seen as the best African airline to Africa, separate from the Euro and Asian carriers, I am going to Jo'burg on Cathay in a few months, which I am sure will be wonderful. They need to uphold that reputation.

I hear all kinds of nightmares about African and 3rd world airlines, wish that they would publish them on here.

My friend works at CDG and tells me about the constant problems with airlines like Cameroon Air. Always planes breaking down, cancellations, and passengers stranded and sleeping in the airport.

We need more posts on that stuff. Cheers.

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MD
AA PLT,1 MLN Miles+
Hilton Gold
Sheraton Gold

$20k cash for that?? Seems a bit excessive to me, and oddly reminiscent of this complaint

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/006337.html

I've been pondering Mr. Six's $20K request. I still feel that that sum is grossly out of line with the said infractions. However, when one approaches matters from a PR perspective, the $20K figure makes a little more sense. I wouldn't be surprised if the potential lost revenue to SAA caused by the website is much greater than $20K (I know Iwould never fly SAA if offered other options, at least). If so, then a payoff in that neighborhood to get rid of Mr. Six might not be such a bad move for them.


[This message has been edited by moondog (edited 02-07-2002).]