MARCH 24, 2008
Dear Johann, Angie,
I took note of what happened yesterday by documenting the timeline. It was done out of frustration,and also to relieve me of the stress that was building up inside me. I could not say anything because we exchanged plane tickets remember, and so I am asking Johann to verify the information on this email and feed this back to Stingray, who I believed, book over 50 guests of Del Monte.
I am also doing this because I believe we Filipinos, should learn to speak more about fairness and I always believe in giving and getting feedback, so we can improve. When I saw Seth storm the Seair counter yesterday, I was reminded in the difference in our cultures, and thought that we have always been taught to obey, perhaps, the lasting cultural effect of over 300 years under the Spanish rule. And then there was that line in the Simpson movie, oops it's Southpark when Cartman wanted Mel Gibson to return his money for The Passion of the Christ, he said " This is America, we can complaint, and get our money back.." or something to that effect. But I digress...
Anyway, there are 5 points for Seair to answer/consider:
1. Why was plane DG040 bumped off at the last minute, causing a 4 -hour delay, making us head for Kalibo? There is a reason people pay for a PREMIUM. Plane fare from Kalibo is P2690 via Cebu Pacific versus seair's which is double the price.
2. Why were 2 of our group mates (Mike and Johann) bumped off from their 4:35 flight and instead, they went to my flight of DG040, scheduled to depart at 4:05?
3. Why were other passengers allowed to jump seat? (Phillip and wife)
4. Why were there no announcements about the alternative options? We could have been informed about the snafu, and went on the bus so that we could be in Manila earlier than 8:24 (landed time in NAIA)? Or FIFO- the last flight takes the hit, not the earlier ones? Instead, the crew did not say anything about a boarding time or the situation they were facing.
5. Lastly, I took the meal which they provided us, after we landed at NAIA, not because I was hungry, but because it was really a pathetic way of appeasing their customer. I mean who eats rice with french fries? ( not my main point)
Timeline of Events
2:45 Pm . Inside the pearl of the pacific van while on our way to caticlan's airport, Kim from our del monte group, gets a text message that our flight is cancelled and we have to go to kalibo. I couldn't believe it and wanted to confirm as soon as we get to the aiport.
3 pm: we check in to confirm this ;the ground crew gave our boarding passes and told us they will make an announcement within 15 minutes as to the boarding time. There was no mention of airport transfers to kalibo, no reason given as to the delay.
4:05 no announcement on flight DG 040 as previously committed. There was an announcement that flight dg040 will be delayed and they will make announcements every 5 minutes for updates. I brace myself because i dont know how long the wait will be.
4:37 some of our colleagues from del monte with sea air flight DG 042 and a departure time of 4:35 were called to board the plane. I expected that this will be the only flight that will go on ahead of us. In the meantime, a succession of flights from cebu pacific,asian spirit and sea air were called.
4:40 pm. i got up to ask the guys manning the sea air boarding counter when i heard another sea air flight being called, and it seemed they were on schedule. That certainly didn't sound right and asked asked why we were being bumped off and the latter flights were going on time. It would be polite to let the earlier flight proceed and find ways to ensure the last one leaves on time, or give an option so they meet their scheduled departure. I asked if i could be on flight 044,they said it was full.
5pm: When I saw Philip and his wife, also from our del monte group boarding flight 044, and announcement about flight 046 being called to be ready for boarding, I went back to the counter to ask if they could include me in the flight, surprised to see Mike and Johann in my flight- they were supposed to be in the 4:35 flight. We were all asking for alternatives- book us in another airline, book me for a solo seat. The crew was saying all flights are full and mentioned that flight 046 is the last flight since Caticlan has a sunset flight restriction, which was never mentioned earlier on. By this time they said that they were they were making arrangements for this flight to go to kalibo (they were already making bus arrangements and Kalibo airport arrangements earlier).They just had to complete their documentation.
At this time, a foreigner (Seth) surged towards the Seair counter asking why they allowed a guy and his wife to board an earlier flight. Why are we being asked to go to kalibo when it was precisely the reason we paid a premium to fly straight from caticlan to manila. He demanded a full refund, an explanation. That this was bullshit. (He said it all, that's exactly how I felt)
Mr. Tolinero, the head was somehow able to pacify Seth, but also maybe because we know we were at their mercy, and there was no longer an option but to go via Kalibo.
Seth was confused why there was just the 6 of us bumped off, I said that no, the entire 32-seater flight DG040 has been bumped off, but we were the only ones complaining.
Apparently, on the bus, there were just 28 passengers, and 4 crew members. Mr. Tolinero mentioned that some of the crew had to give up their seats. (duh! to allow maybe the guy and the wife to jumpseat?)
5: 30 We board the bus going to kalibo. We want a refund! This is total inconvenience, a waste of our time and energies, and really a horrible way of ending a holiday and beginning a week.
7:11 we arrive at kalibo airport, hungry and tired.
7:28 boarded the plane
8:24 landed in Manila
By 9 PM I was home, and called for a massage service.
Johann/Angie, please send this to Stingray or Seair.
A. also known yesterday as "Rapeepan S."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Butch[mailto:butch@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 10:55 AM
Subject: Fw: Fw: Flight DG040 Seair 3.23.08 Caticlan to Manila
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Patrick Tan
To: But Lagda
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 10:48:26 AM
Subject: Re: Fw: Flight DG040 Seair 3.23.08 Caticlan to Manila
Dear Butch:
Thanks for the Heads Up!
We are sorry that this happened and are taking steps to make sure it does not happen again.
In the meantime, we will work out what we can with Sedaius and Armi.
--
Patrick T. Tan
Vice President Commercial Affairs
Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR), Inc.
1000 Arnaiz Avenue cor. Makati Avenue, Makati City
1400 Philippines
Tel: (+632) 849-0240
Fax: (+632) 849-0219
Mobile: (+63919) 7432552
E-mail Address: ptan@flyseair.com
On 3/25/08, But
Hi patrick
heres the email from the wednesday group
i hope thiscan help you resolve their concerns.
best regards
butch
----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Angie>
To: butch
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 7:20:19 PM
Subject: FW: Flight DG040 Seair 3.23.08 Caticlan to Manila
FYi, Butch.
But, I think Patrick needs to see this.
(refers to my email, and Sed's)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: A
Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 5:51 PM
To: Sedarius Tekara Perrotta; Angie
Subject: Re: Flight DG040 Seair 3.23.08 Caticlan to Manila
Oh its Sed- not Seth. Angie will meet with the owner of Sea Air, Patrick Tan on Wednesday.
That's what our group will be doing. They have this letter from me, plus they have other complaints based on their group's delays last Wednesday going from Manila to Caticlan.
I suggest for you to please write or get in touch with them from your end (item 1 and 2), so it will not just be coming from our end.
We will let you know what happens based on their meeting.
On Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 5:41 PM, Sedarius Tekara Perrotta
Hello All-
Please let me know how i can help and contribute.
I have the names and contact information of the people on the flight
and an executive assistant who can push through some tasks for us.
I suggest we do the following;
1) Write a letter to the Person in charge of Customer Service detailing
how poorly the acting manager in Boracay handled the situation
2) Another letter asking for a partial refund because we flew out
of Calibo instead of Caticlan which is a much cheaper airport.
3) A phone call to the person in charge 3 days after the letter/ email
is sent to follow up on progress.
If nothing is done on our behalf we have the additional options;
Letter to media & newspapers about SEAIR
Letter to government about the quality of SEAIR service (actually we can
also suggest that they do an inspection of their entire air fleet- which
will ground them for a couple of week)
Look forward to hearing from you.
All the best,
Sed
Sedarius Tekara Perrotta
President
Neuron Global Inc
1025 Connecticut Ave, NW
Washington , DC , 20036
Ph: 202 828 1234
www.neuronglobal.com
LAST EMAIL SENT FROM MR. TAN, who had no reply whatsoever.
APRIL 1, 2008
Dear Mr. Tan,
I am furious with how SEAIR mismanaged our flight back to Manila on March 23, 2008 as you may have heard from some other people (who I am copying in) who have already written you. I may have a different story to tell that's why I feel it would be best that I tell you. I was booked for the 435 PM flight DG042 and made sure I left the hotel at exactly 2PM. On the way to the airport, one of my colleagues (Kim Manalo) got a text message from one of our friends who were already at the airport saying that a lot of people in the airport are mad as their 405 PM flight had been cancelled and that they were going to be flown out via Kalibo. I felt outraged for them myself because the main reason why we are taking Seair in the first place is because it claims to have the fastest flights to and fro the island plus the convenience of skipping the arduous 2-hour land trip if via Kalibo. I even told my friend that that is unfair and that they shouldn't allow this to happen because these are exactly what we paid for. Little did I know that I'd find myself entrenched in this crazy situation.
Having booked for the 435 PM flight, I was surprised, together with three other people in my group of seven that our group would be split into two. The first batch (4 pax) to take the 405 PM flight and the second (3 pax) to take the original 435 PM flight. Being part of the first group together with Johann Tan Pho, Philip and Salima Macahilig, we took it as a welcome opportunity to get rest earlier after a week-long stay in Boracay. There was no mention when we checked in that the 405 flight we were transferred to was the one that was cancelled so we thought that everything was fine – we were in the original "safe" flight anyway of 435PM so there's no chance that we'd be flying out of Kalibo, its probably a new flight they opened for us so they could accommodate more given the situation. We however were informed that our flight would be delayed and that we would leave after 5PM - probably the last flight I told myself. I was chatting with some friends who were likewise taking the last flight and noticed that we had different flight numbers -- theirs was Flight DG 46 and mine was DG 40. Up till then, we received no word that we were part of the affected flight so we continued to behave like regular and unaffected travelers.
So we waited and we waited until one of our colleagues (Philip) told us that he tried his best to get myself and Johann on board the last flight to no avail. It was already 5 PM and only then did we discover that the 4 of us were actually bumped off from our 435 PM flight and then transferred to the cancelled 4PM flight. Lucky for Philip, he followed up the flight status as it has already been delayed, and was told of the situation much earlier and after much arguing, was eventually allowed to board. For myself and Johann however, we were caught unaware of these developments as there were no announcements made (we were on the 435PM flight remember?). We went straight to the counter to complain and told them that our tickets bore a 435 PM trip and questioned why we were being placed in the 405 PM trip which was cancelled. Nobody could give us a proper explanation. All we were told was that the manifesto has our names in the 405 PM flight and that it was the Manila Reservations Office's fault. Which then makes me question, why were we not even informed in the first place?? What if we arrived later than usual (as our flight is at 435 PM) and the 405 PM flight was on time? We would have then missed our flight!
We complained until there was nothing to complain about. Sed and another friend, Armi, Johann and myself were there at the counter. It was too late for us as all jump seats have been taken. There was nothing we could do because we were never told of the situation earlier. Seair preferred to keep quiet to lessen the number of angry people storming their counter. A deliberate way to trick us into believing that everything was fine. I told myself that I will not let this pass as again, the reason why Seair is what it is is because of the supposed convenience it offers. People pay a premium for these things! And yet, what I have been avoiding in my last 30 trips to Boracay – the agony of driving for 2 hours for someone who easily gets migraines out of long trips – caught up with me due to a stupid mistake. I was so tempted to ask that I be flown out the following morning, all expenses paid, to avoid the inconvenience BUT what stopped me was the fact that I had to be home that evening as my family was leaving for the US early morning the following day. Just to emphasize the importance of me being at home early for dinner -- that was the last time I'd see them as they would only be back home in June while I would have left for an out of country assignment for 3 years starting May. Thanks to Seair, I missed my last family dinner.
I have more than ten other friends who were inconvenienced and have stories to tell (Wednesday flights to Boracay where everyone waited for 10 hours at least). This is just one of them. I honestly feel cheated with the turn of events. I question the process and the crisis management. Advising us ahead of time could have helped - a phone call would have helped. Prioritizing us in the original 435 PM flight should have been mandatory. Flying us out via Kalibo should have been an option, not the ONLY solution. The most Seair could do was provide us with a meal of rice and French fries (wow) with a few pieces of pork upon landing at 830 PM. Not something I wanted to bring home with me because it was too pathetic but took it just the same for the sake of getting something from Seair. What transpired ruined an otherwise perfect holiday. We should be paid back for the inconvenience and the stress. With this experience, Seair just lost a lot of loyal clients and will continue to lose more if not addressed.
Mike M
1 comment:
salamat sa paalaala! noted!!!! as in!
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