I’m not new to taking flights, obviously. I’ve had my fair share of good service and bad service. Years ago, I had terrible service from Fireflyz and I wrote a scathing post about the experience here. I still think it serves them right, and if you google ‘Fireflyz’ my blog post is the second link, right after the Fireflyz website.
Today Malaysia Airlines screwed us over and that’s why I’m writing this post.
We booked flights back to Penang for Chinese New Year for today, 26 Jan 2017. With one toddler and one baby, we didn’t want to take the risk of getting caught in the highway jam. We used our Enrich points to redeem us adults and Fighter’s tickets. Penny is still an infant and we purchased her infant seat with cash. Our flight was MH 1140, scheduled for 11.15 am, from KLIA.
We arrived at the airport at 9.45 am, a whole hour and a half before the flight. Ample time right? Considering that this is a domestic flight and we didn’t even have luggage with us to check in – we had sent our luggage off with my brother in law who was driving down to Penang.
Since Fatty is an Enrich Gold member we went to check in as usual at the Business Class counter.
This is the conversation that took place between Fatty and the counter staff.
Staff: I’m sorry, you checked in too late.
Fatty: Huh what do you mean too late? We’re here 1.5 hours before the flight to check in.
Staff: Yea, because check in is open 48 hours before a flight…. Other people already checked in before you so there are no more seats.
Fatty: So? I’m not late to check in what. And I have my tickets!
Then only the staff sheepishly admitted that the flight had been overbooked, and that she would put us on the next flight, at 4 pm.
I was managing the kids behind Fatty and overheard bits and pieces of their conversation. By the time I came up to the counter, the staff had disappeared, presumably to talk to her supervisor. Waited a bit for her and my blood boiled in the meantime wtf. She didn’t come back so I took Fighter with me and tried to find someone else to talk to.
Counter we were at.
Which had this sign standing next to it. 60 minutes before? I have 30 minutes more! What are you going to say?
I went to another counter and demanded an explanation and got one – the second counter staff explained that an earlier flight had been canceled, and they had put the passengers on our flight, effectively kicking us off our flight even though we had done nothing wrong.
By then, she informed me that the first staff serving us had returned and asked me to go back and talk to her, probably very relieved to get me out of her hair.
We ended up not taking a flight back; instead we went back to get our car and drove all the way to Penang with no supplies – no potty for emergencies in the car, no milk powder, extra diapers or change of clothes. Nothing that we would need for the kids.
Stuck in the car suffering with no space between two car seats because our BIL drove our van back. Thanks to MAS, my shoulders and back hurts from not being able to sit properly for 4 hours.
TL;DR: Here’s what MAS did to us.
1.Gave away our seats to other passengers even though we’ve paid for them and booked us on the next flight, without considering the implication and inconvenience to us. How are we supposed to wait for 6 hours in the airport with two toddlers?! They offered us lounge access – which is useless cos we already have it as Enrich members; this is not a compensation at all!!!
2. Did NOT inform us beforehand so we can change our plans. If we had known earlier we wouldn’t have rushed to the airport so early. As it is, we made our way to the airport so we can be stranded there for the next 6 hours.
3. Did NOT process a refund for us. The counter staff told us it was their policy that passengers who want a refund have to write in and apply. Later when we spoke to the duty manager, he told us that Enrich does not normally refund points, maybe only 1 person out of 100 gets refunded. So we basically have a 99% chance of losing the points that we used for our tickets.
4. Although Fatty told the staff to cancel our tickets and give us a refund, she printed out boarding passes for the 4pm flight anyway before hustling us to the duty manager. In the haste, I just took the passes together with our ICs and passports and it didn’t occur to me until now that she effectively checked us in. EVEN THOUGH WE SAID TO CANCEL. So it becomes our fault now that we did not take the flight.
WHAT THE FLYING FUCK.
HOW CAN THEY KICK US OFF A FLIGHT WHEN WE ARE NOT LATE? HOW CAN THEY SIMPLY GIVE AWAY OUR SEATS LIKE THAT? WHY IS IT THAT THEIR INCOMPETENCY BECOMES OUR BURDEN TO BEAR?
If we were late to check in, I can understand assuming we’re a no show and giving our seats away. But they CANNOT preemptively give away seats like that la FFS. Those earlier passengers sorry dudes but they should be on standby, until we give up our flights. Not the other way round!
HOW CAN THEY ASSIGN A FLIGHT TO US FOR NO GOOD REASON WHEN THE LATER FLIGHT IS SUPER TROUBLESOME AND IMPOSSIBLE FOR US?
If we took the 430 flight, we would arrive in Penang at 530. By the time we arrive home, it would be 7 pm at least. Kids don’t need to eat dinner? Don’t need to sleep is it?
HOW CAN THEY REFUSE TO REFUND US IF WE USED POINTS? POINTS IS NOT MONEY AH?
So basically MAS just cheated us right!? Took our money and never delivered the service. The duty manager told us to write in, but why should we even have to do that!? They caused us this extreme inconvenience and we are further inconvenienced by having to write in to get a refund. Your fault you just freaking give us back our money la! And we won’t even get the refund for sure, according to the duty manager, because they already gave us another option, so it’s our choice to not take the flight.
WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS? IT IS NOT MY CHOICE TO FLY AT 4 PM. HOW IS THAT MY CHOICE? YOU GAVE ME NO CHOICE AT ALL, MAS.
HOW CAN THEY CHECK US IN ANYWAY WHEN WE SPECIFICALLY SAID ‘PLEASE CANCEL AND GIVE US A REFUND????
It is further putting the burden of blame on us right!? Cos then they can say, oh you already checked in ma, means you are taking the flight already. Let me be very clear: WE DID NOT CHECK IN. WE ASKED FOR A CANCELATION AND A REFUND. YOU, MAS, CHECKED US IN WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION.
I cannot believe the utter ridiculousness of this whole scenario. It’s disgraceful, the utter disrespect MAS is showing to us. They blatantly swindled us, then treated us with contempt by assigning a random flight that is at a terrible time for us, and issued no compensation or refund.
And if you think we’re the only unlucky ones, you are wrong. I saw people talking on social media that MAS has been doing this over the last two days to unfortunate passengers. Even the duty manager himself admitted to us that “today is not as bad as yesterday”, we can get the next flight considered good already.
EH SUCK MY NON EXISTENT DICK LA MAS. YOU ARE NOT A BUDGET AIRLINE. You can say, this happens with budget airlines all the time, and yes it does. But the difference is at the price we’re paying, we’re getting service equal to or worse than budget airlines. You are so disrespectful and incompetent and inconsiderate, I cannot.
When MAS went through all that missing plane sagas, we still continued to fly them. Some people switched to other airlines on purpose but we still flew MAS when we could to support them. We believed that those incidents are out of their control and it doesn’t mean that they’re a bad airline.
Now? Don’t make me laugh. To screw us and all the other passengers like this, you don’t deserve my faith, liking, respect. You definitely don’t deserve our patronage. If they were really apologetic and showed effort in trying to refund or compensate us, I could still accept it and move on. Just give me a reason to believe in your sincerity! Sadly, you did not. Thanks for ruining the start to our Chinese New Year. That was really fun.
You got your chance. Now this is my turn. I am going to blow this up as big as I can. I’m going to share this blog post on all my social media platforms and I hope you guys can help me do the same. Send to everyone you can. They cannot be allowed to get away with such cheating and deplorable customer service. If they do, they will continue to do this in future. I’m so angry I’m considering buying Facebook and Instagram ads to spread the word HAHAHAHAH.
Please comment here if you have been screwed over by Malaysia Airlines in this manner this festive season so they can take notice. I am going to lobby for a refund and compensation over the extremely shitty way they’ve treated us paying customers.
Thank you for reading! Sorry my post is so long and ranty.
Aud.
P/S: Looking at the comments coming in, OMG MAS is horrendous! WTF kind of service are they running!? Duh but I will strongly say PLEASE DON’T EVER FLY MALAYSIA AIRLINES IF YOU CAN HELP IT. People say fly at your own risk, but besides the risk of flying itself, you also have the risk of getting effed over by unscrupulous scumbags so yea.
PP/S: Fatty’s account of this incident here.
UPDATE 7.35 pm, 27 Jan 2017:
MAS reached out to me at 9.30 am today. I just didn’t have time to update until now.
I really appreciate that they have extended contact and tried to make amends! But I can’t help feeling that it’s only because my blog post went viral (thank you so much for sharing it btw!!!). I told them I don’t expect anything besides what I’m entitled to (a full refund) so I’m appreciative.
But I don’t want to be singled out for special treatment because of my blog post. I’m not the only person affected by their overbooking this CNY and I asked if they would make amends for everyone else affected this time. I would ask for everyone else ever wronged hahaha but I think that would be too difficult and too much for them to stomach. One step at a time. Cross fingers for their reply!
UPDATE:
Malaysia Airlines have issued a response to my request. See the update HERE.
Comments (242)
The issue here is not about patriotism. It’s about a company that has handled the unforseen flight cancellation in a poor manner, which deserves it’s fair share of criticism. Sure, there’s always 2 sides to the story, and from my experience, dealing with MAS, they have always asked before bumping off passengers into the next flight. Imagine if you had to take that flight to attend a wedding or funeral, and therefore unable to accept the changes in flight plans? I previously had a similar experience with last minute cancellation while waiting at the boarding gate and the airlines in question (incidentally it was KLM) helped us to arrange alternative flight. This was done without bumping off any passengers on that alternative flight. In any case, passengers on an affected flight has to be put on standby and only when it is confirmed that the seat is available (i.e. AFTER checking in is closed) should be allocated the seats on the next flight. It is highly suspicious that MAS has resorted to this solution to ensure minimal compensation to the passengers affected by the initial flight, at the expense of passengers who should not be affected by the cancellation of an earlier flight. That is why MAS is being criticised.
Not true dude. Self check-in is mandatory, not online. But, like myself and countless others have mentioned, self check-in would not solve the issue as MAS had already passed their seats to other passengers. This was done at least 30 minutes BEFORE self check-in kiosks are closed. As others have pointed out, this happens from time to time, especially when you have a ticket redeemed from mile points, but it doesn’t make it right.
To people who keeps on harping that overbooking is a common business practice, yes it is, bt that’s not the point. Also overbooking relies on statistics… If people who are supposed to go on flight all turn up, it means they end up with their worst case scenario and so it is THEIR responsibility to compensate. Also overbooking is done in a way that the scenario -where more than available seats turn up it- happens so often. It means theyre not doing their research for statistics properly.
Another thing is just because something is industry practice doesnt mean as customers we cannot demand it to change. If it is unethical, this may put a stop to it. Dont u find it ridiculous that you pay for a ticket in advance and still have to RACE to be first to “confirm your attendance”
the awkward moment when one can’t tell the difference between web check-in & self check-in.
in airasia’s terms, self check-in includes web check-in while for mas, self check-in means checking in at the self-service kiosk.
for mas, nowhere does it say that web check-in is mandatory ya.
and Khishaan is right. since their seats were already given away anyway, what difference does it make if they self checked in at the self-service kiosk vs. checking in at the counter?
you must be confused.
dear fourfeetnine, i am sorry for the miserable experience u have gone through. However, i feel obligated to explain the confusion between the ground staff and the airlines. I dont blame pax either because most still dont know this. The ground staff including ticketing counter , pax handling is not from the airlines, they are ground handler appointed by the airlines. Hence any decision even on the flt is not up to them but the airlines including overbooking or transfer of pax. When pax getting mad due to overbooking or delayed flt, they will shout at ground staff when actually we are barking at the wrong tree. That is why the staff ask to write in..the only thing they could do is offer meal voucher or lounge access, that subject to the airlines approval. They dont have the authority for cash refund or such. It is unfair for them who is just doing their job by communicating any info abt the flt to get scold and such too. Working in the airport, this thing happens mostly during festive season and to most airlines too. It is up to you to say no to malaysia airlines after this, but please stop inviting other people to join the team too. It might just be a bad experience for u this time but not necessarily it will happen to most of people too. We are talking abt a national carrier for goodness sake.
Hi Audrey
I was travelling last year near Christmas day using MAS for flight KUL-KK (Sabah) with my husband and 3 children including a 2 year ++ and a 1 year ++. I did not do the online check-in and arrived at the airport about 2 hours before the flight. When my turn came, the counter lady was asking me, “why didn’t I do web check in?”. At first I just shrugged it off as I thought MAS still allows for counter check in. Then my check in process took quite a while and the counter lady even went away for a while. When she came back, she explained the situation to me. Our aircraft had been downgraded to a smaller capacity aircraft and the flight was full so they proposed that my husband take the next flight to KK and I travel alone with my 3 kids! They offered me special assistance like accompanying me to the aircraft. I know some parent (travelling alone with no spouse or other people) are probably OK to travel even long haul flights with 3 or more kids but unfortunately I am not that parent. The flight to KK is about 2 hours and 30 mins. So I said “No!” to the proposal. We asked about other options – business class was full, can we ALL change to the next flight or even the next day flight? It took some time (and pressuring hehe) but they finally decided to solve the issue for me by calling up passengers travelling alone who had already checked in and are willing to change to the later flight. Luckily there was one passenger travelling alone who didn’t mind the later flight (Thank you whoever you are! We appreciate it so much!) and my husband was allowed to travel with us. The duty manager that night was also helpful and accommodating to my request to not travel separately from my husband. So thank you to him too!
On hindsight, I guess the whole issue would never happen if I had just done the web check in earlier and confirmed my seats. Thus, I urge all those who travel with MAS to always do web check in earlier to avoid any potential last minute hassle or worse, change of travel plans. I guess this problem of flight bumping is common during peak holiday season.
Of course more can be improved in terms of MAS customer service. They should also be more considerate for families travelling with young children who might not have much flexilibilty in their travel plans. We chose specific times to travel for a reason and MAS should not just easily and nonchalantly dismiss us to later flights thinking it would be no problem for us to wait 6 hours in an airport with toddlers and babies in tow.
Anyway happy chinese new year to you and your family! 🙂
They had to check in at the Business counter. Which is clearly stated in the post. Learn to read before you throw out the critics for nothing.
As sorry as I am to the ground staff I still find that she owed fourfeetnine a good explanation as she walked away on her. She could have explained in a better way instead of printing her tickets without telling her propeely.
And to those who kept claiming about check in first, seriously? Say someone with limited resources no being able to check in online etc, don’t fly then?
Again, READ the post and stop your foul mouth!
And Fatty is her husband. Have you ever even been here before? I highly doubt it! It seems you just came by to be nasty, poor you, was your coffee too bitter this morning?
Oh my goodness, what is wrong with you?
He doesn’t get it, no matter how often you explain it xD
OMG i JUST GOT SCREWED OVER SO BADLY BY THEM! And it’s still ongoing. I bought a ticket for CNY back to KL from SG over a month ago – booked over the online system. Payment went through, and was deducted from my card. Received an email from them a few hours later saying my ticket wasn’t confirmed and I had to call customer service. Spent over 4 hours on the phone with their reps – no one had a clue what to do. Basically the low down was their online booking system was “not updated’ so even though they charged me, the booking didn’t go through. Promised they would issue me a refund, and I booked a second ticket with them over the phone. Last week, I realised that they hadn’t sent me a travel itinerary. Called in and they told me I had no freaking tickets issued to my name. Checked my credit card statement and found out I was charged for two tickets amounting to 500+SGD. Basically woman either lied or was grossly incompetent when she said she would issue me that refund over the phone.
Still trying to get my refund back as they charged me twice and didn’t issue the tickets to me. So I had no tickets to go home for CNY. Customer service rep on the phone said the exact same thing to me, that I had to write in to get that refund. Wrote in close to a week ago, and (as expected) no response. There’s even more to this story (eg. got shouted at by the Rep at one point, alot of blame pushing internally, tried to push me off the phone at several points etc. but I won’t bore you with the details) if you want to buy up ads or start a campaign against them I will happily contribute. For real, feel free to hit me up.
Patriotism is one thing. Being kind to other people and not being disrespectful while explaining your stance is another thing. On another note, when you see so many people counter argue with a person, you know that the problem lies within that individual, not the crowd.
Malaysia Airlines is nothing more than a LCC. It’s sad but that’s a fact so we need to lower our expectations. https://brandconsultantasia.com/2017/01/27/malaysia-airlines-will-soon-make-a-profit-but-at-what-cost-to-the-brand/
All I can say is MAS sucks. That’s why I only fly MAS if I don’t have any choice
Delayed flight? Happens. Cancelled flight? Less often but happens nevertheless. But getting bumped off your flight that’s not cancelled to accommodate passengers from an earlier cancelled flight without your prior approval? That shouldn’t be happening.
My previous experience has always been to be on standby until unclaimed seats are available or released with a passenger’s approval to accommodate myself. What if the passengers that were bumped off had to take that particular flight? Shouldn’t the airlines have the common courtesy to at least notify the said passengers before this is done? There’s no doubt MAS had to find a quick solution to accommodate the passengers of the cancelled flight, but most passengers are willing to delay their travel provided it fits their itinerary and are allowed to make the decision on their own. That’s where the ground staffs have made an error in judgement, and therefore, in this scenario, they are NOT barking up the wrong tree. The ground staffs ARE responsible for this situation happening.
If all flights are full, and no passengers are willing to let go of their seats, then the ground staff should have offered the same option (write in for refund) to the earlier flight passengers, instead of this lady and her family who is not affected by the cancellation.
OMG i JUST GOT SCREWED OVER SO BADLY BY THEM! And it’s still ongoing. I bought a ticket for CNY back to KL from SG over a month ago – booked over the online system. Payment went through, and was deducted from my card. Received an email from them a few hours later saying my ticket wasn’t confirmed and I had to call customer service. Spent over 4 hours on the phone with their reps – no one had a clue what to do. Basically the low down was their online booking system was “not updated’ so even though they charged me, the booking didn’t go through. Promised they would issue me a refund, and I booked a second ticket with them over the phone. Last week, I realised that they hadn’t sent me a travel itinerary. Called in and they told me I had no freaking tickets issued to my name. Checked my credit card statement and found out I was charged for two tickets amounting to 500+SGD. Basically woman either lied, grossly incompetent or most probably was simply filing her nails spewing out happy little lies when she said she would issue me that refund over the phone. God I feel stupid.
Still trying to get my refund back for them charging me twice and not issuing the tickets to me. So I had no tickets to go home for CNY. Customer service rep on the phone said the exact same thing to me, that I had to write in to get that refund. Wrote in close to a week ago, and (as expected) no response. There’s even more to this story (eg. got shouted at by the Rep at one point, alot of blame pushing internally, tried to push me off the phone at several points etc. but I won’t bore you with the details) In all honesty, I had always been a huge supporter of MAS despite the fact that I’ve had so many terrible previous incidences with them (so much so that it’s become a joke amongst my friends) – I’m clearly a sucker for torture. But this time they really went too far. Nowadays flying with them is like taking a bite out of a giant turd sandwich. Crap is still crap, whether it is a big bite or a small one. Sadly for me, I took a humongous bite and I’m stuck with its lingering taste. Shitty life choices huh…-_-
It’s such a mighty shame that they can turn a massive fan of their airline into someone who now wants to dig their grave…knowing their lack of accountability, I’m resigned to believe that my refund is sunk cost and at the very least this will be my one last act of charitable goodwill to this horror house of an airline. If you want to buy up ads or start a campaign against them I will happily contribute. For real, feel free to hit me up.
I think it is alright for airlines to overbook flights. After all, they do it because some passengers don’t turn up but the issue here is that Malaysia Airlines personnel don’t know how to deal with the inevitable fall out when it occurs. Any good will the airline has created will be evaporated. When it tries to list in 2018, its reputation and goodwill will count a lot to the price of the IPO. https://brandconsultantasia.com/2016/08/18/a-negative-brand-experience-with-malaysia-airlines-can-be-a-lesson-for-all-brands/
It’s a classic corporate tactic – ignore the customer till they give up. The difference is that social media means you don’t ever need to give up and you can shame the firm into doing the right thing. And I strongly recommend you keep posting and sharing your posts until you get a refund. I would also check this out http://www.ssm.com.my/en/ecomplaint-mainpage
Hehe I always do online check in for MAS so I can pick my preferred seats 😀 The updated app makes it even easier now
Hi Syzyzgy, I guess you’re not aware that passengers traveling with infants cannot check in online OR self check in.
especially during a festive season, how native can u be to be expecting it will be like normal days…. when pointing fingers at the incompetence airline, one has to ask themselves have they self reflect for choosing such airline? and have they do their part on their end? nope…. ignorance is bliss i guess
I know right…i hv always loved MAS..I hv been flying with MAS for so many yrs now…I hv been on many airlines before too…Emirates…BA…Etihad…Qatar etc…but MAS is still the best…at least to me…LOL…if this is about Emirates wud she be so pissed off ? She wud…but thts all…I don’t think tht she’s going to hv this discussion to bash Emirates…LOL
So sorry to learn about your awful experience during this festive season. However I think that you may have a valid claim against MAS for their mistakes, fault and/or negligence if premise on the alleged facts of yours (presumably the facts alleged are the whole truth). It’s apparant that you may have been unfairly treated and it’s your right to claim for rightful compensation.
LOL…then don’t…you can always fly with AA…MAS still is the best…the crew yelled at you? I won’t buy a one-side’s story…who are you? Mariah Carey ?
My advise is to lodge your predicament to the Consumer Tribunal.
Please advise accordingly and started the new year with a happy note and positive aura.
You can file complaints here, I just did mine, http://www.mavcom.my/en/home/
Hahaha oh wow you are hilarious! Are you a professional comedian?
You don’t have to buy my story and you don’t have to disrespect my experience; not here to justify anything just merely sharing my experience as everyone else is here. And yeah I don’t ever fly MAS, it’s this awesome thing called choice and I exercise it.
She did not buy business class, she can check in business because Fatty is an Enrich Gold member. being an Enrich Gold member allow you to check in at that counter even if you fly economy.
Agree. Even as a Platinum flier, I make sure I check in 3-hours before flight – and enjoy the waiting time in the lounge, which Fatty is also entitled for. Arriving 1.30 before flight is suicidal.
Could you potentially do a chargeback on your credit card?
MH370 again? ~yawn~…move on pls…extremely rude cabin staffs? What are you talking about…?how rude tell me…define rude.. You obviously not a frequent traveller darling…comparing a direct-flights tickets with flights with a layover of course Emirates are cheap…duhhh…i don’t know what’s so hype about Emirates…totally overrated…you think they are good cuz the crews are not Malaysian? Even if…if they are rude to you…you’re still OK cuz it’s Emirates with some latinos serving you? I hv been flying with them many times (to Europe mainly)…I don’t see anything special about the crews and the food…yes they are cheap compared to MAS…it’s understandable (direct and with layover)…stop acting like a Diva and giving so much hatred…unless you are attached to AA then I’m good…cuz I get it…
My last encounter with MAS was my mum’s ticket. As my mum passed away before that and we will not be using her ticket anyway. So I called and asked if it is possible to change the passenger name but keeping the destination, date and etc the same. They said, nope they dont allow but for deceased reason, they do refund part of the ticket. Asked me to send in an email with all the details and death cert. So I proceeded ahead. The first lady was kind enough to separate our bookings so I could still fly on the intended date with no issues. 2 months later, no reply of email or any update. I rang again and was told that the ticket was converted into an open ticket for a year till Oct 2017. I was confused on why?? You dont allow me to change passengers name and my mum cant possibly use the ticket… what did that mean? Sounded like they didnt intend to refund me but force me to leave my ticket there till it expires, leaving me with no options when they said to me deceased is a valid reason to ask for a refund. I told them I have submitted my request long ago and the guy requested me to submit again as it might have got lost in the email Q. *boils* I was going to scream and was wondering how can a proper airline treat customers like that? You said can refund then change my ticket to open and then say my email lost in Q. Worst of all – no replies to email for months or even an auto reply saying email that it has been received. I am still waiting for my refund until now. Time for me to ring them again and see what nonsense they give me again.
Well said and shared. The bumped off passengers likely to get an upgrade to business for his kindness. 🙂
You again? Ok mate, really don’t appreciate all these assumptions you’ve made about me and the name calling when you have no clue about me at all Leaving it at that, please next time learn to be a bit more mature in your discussions. Have a good day.
i’m in talks with my credit card now to file a dispute – because at the moment MAS have just kept silent
thanks! super helpful! will def look into it 🙂
In that case good luck, it seems you have a solid case so you should have a good chance of getting your money back
I rephrase my statement to make it clear, malaysia airlines and the ground handler are two different entity..different operator. That is why everything related to cost and decision must be referred to airlines. Just because they wear the airlines uniform, people mistakenly thought they are from the airlines. Same thing if our company hired office cleaner, they clean but if you ask them to do management decision, for sure they r not entitle to. The best the ground handler do is to offer meal voucher or lounge access…any complain and refund only could be done by the airlines. however, if pax getting offended by the ground staff respond towards them it is merely personal attitude of the staff. Ground staff tries to be compassionate even when the problem doesnt come frm them… They are many issues contributing to this, engineering, technical, commercial and etc.
MAS overbooking has happened too many times. My bf has had this happened twice to him. Once he was flying back from Taiwan and had to buy another ticket from Air Asia at the airport, because MAS said they just cancelled his booking with no prior notice, no refund, no nothing.
It even happened to Malaysian racing teams from my event on a trip to india. we wrote a story and got it published in the papers, but still this keeps happening.
http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/176999/malaysian-riders-fim-asia-road-racing-championships-endure-horror-journey-india
Came across this article awhile ago, hopefully it can help you clarify some questions you have about airlines overbooking.
Why airlines always overbook flight
http://www.thisisinsider.com/why-airlines-always-overbook-flights-2017-1?utm_content=buffere98ea&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Wishing you and your family a Happy Chinese New Year.
You do have a choice then go ahead…I don’t see it as “sharing” but more like bashing or making your filthy predicament as a ticket to brainwash others to dis MAS and start flying with other airlines…and that is what you called “mature comment”? LOL you are even funnier sweetie…I hope…really hope..if you happen to board on MAS in the future…you should remember this sweet discussion we had…should be ashamed of yourself like really..anyways..I do love MAS…the most friendly and spontaneous crews I hv ever had..have you been on BA? oh my..they are fat and the rudest in the whole world…try them..who knows…might be your cup of tea ~wink~
I understood your initial comments but I’m afraid you didn’t understand mine. So allow me to rephrase it with a simple question.
Who made the decision to bump this lady and her family off her scheduled flight in favour of passengers who were affected by the flight cancellation, without prior acknowledgement from her to do so? Was it the ground staffs’ decision or the airlines’ decision?
If it’s the airlines’ decision, then I apologise for my comment. However, if it’s the ground staff’s decision, then my comment is valid.
Hi Audrey,
From a legal standpoint, this is a breach of contract on the part of the airline. Their inability to give flight access tantamounts to a total failure of the contract. This entitles you to sue for any losses sufferred or even to terminate the contract (termination would warrant a full refund AND all costs and expenses required to bring you back to as the point as if no contract was entered into).
The fact that the airliner offerred you a later flight was what we would legally call, mitigation. Whether or not you chose to take this would truly depend on the reasonableness of the circumstances. Had you accepted this and allowed the contract to be varied (change of flight), it would have waived your right to terminate and ask for a full refund. You can still sue for losses.
Seems like there was no acceptance (the airliner cannot assert that u accepted if they are unable to show written proof). You may be able to claim for losses (transport from KLIA to Penang and all additional costs incurred).
However, one would advise that the airline exerts caution and be responsible when replying to you on this issue. At all costs it is best to avoid legal intervention as this would be so time consuming and reflect very poorly on them and its lack of corporate governance responsibility (there should be proper standards and systems in place fr this). Know yr rights above, when speaking to them. On the other hand know their rights in law, and be cautious with what to say on social media.
We do hope they address this promptly. It reflects on them so poorly.
Thank you for sharing yr story and I hope they put customers first for their own sake.
Martin
Val did but being on that level of pettiness, he’d like to think Bob works for MAS.
Will everybody just stop answering sysyzgy. Either that guy is simply trolling or just being plain ignorant because he had been caught saying the wrong thing. Just ignore him.
Yo she can’t web check-in since she’s got an infant travelling with her.
good good.. complain more.. when people hear many complaints about MAS, there will be fewer people who would want to fly with MAS. As demand drops, prices drops and people like me (who fly long haul flighs with MAS) will get even cheaper rates! 😛
Now this is a good reason to rant/complaint.
Pretty sure she’s a native.
It is something common for most of the airlines around the world in overbooking, obviously is part of their bussines strategy. A lot unlucky ones shared the same experience. Just google it…
http://www.independenttraveler.com/travel-tips/air-travel/bumping-and-overbooking
Anyway, glad that it’s still a local trip, else it’s gonna be a real bad CNY for you. Happy CNY!