Inflight Review by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
For passengers departing from Singapore Changi Airport, it is wise to remember that natural disasters at the airport appear in the form of bird strikes and animal attacks as these will lead to aircraft engine failure.
On 31 December 2019, a severe bird strike forced a Batik Air A320 aircraft registered PK-LAK to be grounded at Gate A12 of Changi Airport Terminal 3.
According to the the check-in staff's account, the passengers who had entered the boarding gate were only notified at 11.50 am that an earlier bird strike had forced Batik Air flight ID7154 to be stranded at Gate A12 although the passengers of the previous flight were safe.
There was miscommunication between Batik Air Head Office and the passengers of flight ID7154.
Passengers received email reminders before sunrise, at 9.20 am and at 12 pm plus to check-in for the flight three hours before departures. The check-in information remained unamended in Batik Air's reservation system. The affected passengers were not informed of the bird strike by Batik Air. Therefore, the flight-handling staff have to manually process and print Lion Air boarding passes for the affected passengers.
At 11.50 pm, the ID7154 passengers were given two options by the flight-handling staff, either transfer to Lion Air flight JT163 or wait for the grounded aircraft to resume flight at 4.35 pm under another flight code. Those who chose the 4.35 pm flight exited and checked-in again at 1.35 pm.
Ironically, the passengers who chose JT163 are blessed that they were able to continue their journey towards Jakarta and reach Soekarno-Hatta Airport Terminal 2, Cengkareng (CGK) safely. There were only about 10 Lion Air passengers on flight JT163.
However, for some passengers who had gone through sudden flight cancellations by Batik Air, they will think again whether to book Batik Air flights or proceed with another Batik Air flight. On the other hand, they are grateful for the fact that they can be transferred to the sister airline's flight for free since Lion Air and Batik Air operate flights on the same route as members of Lion Air Group.
Flight JT163 departed for CGK at around 1.35 pm actually and arrived at CGK 1 hour 50 minutes later.
A customer service officer of Batik Air at CGK told the reporter that full-service carrier Batik Air does not contact passengers in Singapore on flight delays as is the practice for Lion Air and Wings Air. These airlines only notify passengers in Indonesia on flight delays through SMS messages.
It is crucial the Lion Air Group of airlines must improve their international customer service quality to prevent further reductions in their profits.
/ KUCINTA SETIA
For passengers departing from Singapore Changi Airport, it is wise to remember that natural disasters at the airport appear in the form of bird strikes and animal attacks as these will lead to aircraft engine failure.
On 31 December 2019, a severe bird strike forced a Batik Air A320 aircraft registered PK-LAK to be grounded at Gate A12 of Changi Airport Terminal 3.
According to the the check-in staff's account, the passengers who had entered the boarding gate were only notified at 11.50 am that an earlier bird strike had forced Batik Air flight ID7154 to be stranded at Gate A12 although the passengers of the previous flight were safe.
There was miscommunication between Batik Air Head Office and the passengers of flight ID7154.
Passengers received email reminders before sunrise, at 9.20 am and at 12 pm plus to check-in for the flight three hours before departures. The check-in information remained unamended in Batik Air's reservation system. The affected passengers were not informed of the bird strike by Batik Air. Therefore, the flight-handling staff have to manually process and print Lion Air boarding passes for the affected passengers.
At 11.50 pm, the ID7154 passengers were given two options by the flight-handling staff, either transfer to Lion Air flight JT163 or wait for the grounded aircraft to resume flight at 4.35 pm under another flight code. Those who chose the 4.35 pm flight exited and checked-in again at 1.35 pm.
Ironically, the passengers who chose JT163 are blessed that they were able to continue their journey towards Jakarta and reach Soekarno-Hatta Airport Terminal 2, Cengkareng (CGK) safely. There were only about 10 Lion Air passengers on flight JT163.
However, for some passengers who had gone through sudden flight cancellations by Batik Air, they will think again whether to book Batik Air flights or proceed with another Batik Air flight. On the other hand, they are grateful for the fact that they can be transferred to the sister airline's flight for free since Lion Air and Batik Air operate flights on the same route as members of Lion Air Group.
Flight JT163 departed for CGK at around 1.35 pm actually and arrived at CGK 1 hour 50 minutes later.
A customer service officer of Batik Air at CGK told the reporter that full-service carrier Batik Air does not contact passengers in Singapore on flight delays as is the practice for Lion Air and Wings Air. These airlines only notify passengers in Indonesia on flight delays through SMS messages.
It is crucial the Lion Air Group of airlines must improve their international customer service quality to prevent further reductions in their profits.
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