JFK-BRU on 9 January - SN502 cancelled

[rix]

Hello,

Does anyone happen to know why today's SN502 flight got cancelled ? I was scheduled to take this flight this afternoon but received a SMS message informing that it got cancelled.

SN's New York ticketing office is pretty much useless here - called the number +1 (866) 308 2230 several times but there does not seem to be any operator on duty

[HighInTheSky]

Technical problem with the aircraft. Never left Brussels

[inapa]

Dear Rix,

We apologize for the cancellation of your flight today. Our OO-SFW had a technical issue and didn't leave for New York. Was a convenient solution provided for you to get to your destination?

Kind Regards,
Kim

[rix]

Thanks for your responses. Finally made it to BRU via GVA with Swiss, landing in BRU at 12:06 yesterday instead of the scheduled 06:40 (i.e. a delay of 5h06 minutes). So we could not resume work yesterday morning as planned.

I will e-mail SN this week-end to request compensation for the 2 of us for the delay, plus the following:
- despite having paid in advance for an extra bag and showing the paper proof, Swiss check-in staff declared "we don't know anything about that. You'll have to pay 100 USD per bag then deal with Brussels Airlines later". There was no SN representative in sight, so we had no choice but pay and now expect refunds from SN.
- We had to negotiate to get a carry-on bag of 11kg through. Swiss' limit is 8kg. Well, sorry check-in lady, until a few hours before we were planning to fly SN and packed accordingly.
- My lactose intolerant partner did not receive her requested special meal, so went hungry throughout the flight.

I only read/heard apologies once, in the SMS sent by SN. When I did manage to talk to someone at the NY ticketing office, the lady at the end of the line was almost robotic, no "sorry for the inconvenience, Sir" or anything like that, but it felt like talking to the tax office with lots of "that's correct".

The JFK-GVA flight with Swiss was nice and service was a notch above SN's. Crew was super friendly (one can feel that there was less "distance" between the crew and passengers) and real silverware is always a big plus!

Will keep the forum posted on how SN handles this.

[Inquirer]

Good to hear you've made it back from NY with just minimal delay following the cancellation of your flight: a rerouting with a delay of just 5 hours on a transatlantic trip is a pretty good show, IMHO.

A few questions:

1- one always complies with the travel rules of the operating airline: it's the same on codeshare flights.
There's no need to discuss at check in over any differences with the rules of the airline you've booked the ticket through, so I don't understand why you think you were entitled to some exception?

2- I am sure you'll be refunded for the additional fees for your bags from SN: why did you expect all these minor stuff to be sorted out prior to your delayed departure?

3- I've noticed myself that special meal requests are often going wrong in this industry (low fat meal in my case, due to high cholesterol), especially in case of reroutings: if it is really that important to you, why didn't you have some back up of yourself, for instance during the extra time spent on ground: surely JFK has sufficient food courts?

[b720]

Exact same thing happened to a friend of mine in Dec. The SN flight from JFK was cancelled.. he was re-booked on the UNITED .. (change of airport) .. was flying C class, his travel agency took care of the re booking as SN was very slow to react, had he relied on them he would have had to spend an extra day in N.Y.

[inapa]

Dear Rix,

We apologize about the extra baggage mistake. Because we had to find suitable solutions for our passengers as quickly and efficiently as possible, this slip-up happened on our side. Please do open a claim at our Customer Relations for compensation:
http://www.brusselsairlines.com/en_be/c ... elled.aspx

Thank you for the feedback about our agent in New York, we will definitely pass it on to our Customer Service department. This helps us to improve our service.

Kind Regards,
Kim

[Flanker2]

Aren't you the same guy who had a rejected take-off on your way out to JFK just a few days ago?
Are SN's A333's falling apart? It almost seems like they don't want to fly?
Maybe it's time to start investing more into maintenance?

If I get a SN ticket that says 11kg is ok, and I get rebooked on LX, why should I need to negotiate with the LX check-in lady? Unbelievable arrogance, only as seen in Europe.

Would you still book with SN after having had this experience?
How were other customers reacting about it?

@inquirer: taking your own lactose-free food is not a very attractive thought. By the time you board, most of it is no longer fresh. In my opinion, if airlines can't enforce it, they shouldn't offer it in the first place.

I always ask for a special meal, I never got it of my life. So I eat the 30 cents chicken or pasta option.

[rix]

@Flanker2
Indeed, I posted about it after landing in JFK. Here's the topic viewtopic.php?f=4&t=49545 So both ways there were "issues" I wonder if it was the same aircraft?

Yes, I would still fly SN. I hope that these issues are glitches that will be fixed soon, and I wish our national carrier lots of success. Bu then let's see how they deal with my complaint. I hope SN's management realizes that beyond all the marketing, what matters most to customers is their overall experience with the company, from the moment of ticketing to dealing with any issues after the flight, and that a disappointed/unhappy customer will not only refrain from flying with the company again, but will also share his experiences with all his friends and colleagues.

@Inquirer
Of course none of what happened was dramatic. But then, I tend to hold companies with whom I do business to high standards and I expect everything to go smoothly. If all customers were to make contingency/backup plans and decided that nothing is a big deal, that they''ll just sort it out later, then nothing will ever improve I'm afraid.

UPDATE 20.01.2013
After 2 e-mails to Brussels Airlines' Customer Relations, contacting their Call Centre, and filling the form recommended by Kim/Inapa above (thank you!), I finally received an e-mail reply after 5 days saying "We will investigate your claim and have made up a file in your name. Kindly be advised that, at the moment, the handling of a claim can take up to five weeks." Yes, that's five weeks
Will keep all of you posted on how this gets resolved.

[rix]

As indicated above, here's the follow-up from SN Customer Relations department:

- Flight delays: commercial gesture 50% reduction on the fare (excl. taxes and fees) of my next booking; valid until 31/03/2013 on all SN operated flights for travel until 30/06/2013. [Given all these restrictions, I will not be benefiting from this, but a nice commercial gesture nonetheless]
- Extra luggage charged twice: Received the refund on 19 Feb
- Problems with special meal request: 3,000 compensation miles credited on 26 Feb

Most importantly to me, I received a professional, attentive e-mail with apologies and assurances that they will strive to improve on their service and customer care.

[airtrainer]

Flight delays: commercial gesture 50% reduction on the fare (excl. taxes and fees) of my next booking; valid until 31/03/2013 on all SN operated flights for travel until 30/06/2013. [Given all these restrictions, I will not be benefiting from this, but a nice commercial gesture nonetheless]

I would rather call this a joke

[B.Inventive]

@airtrainer
what did you expect, a golden ticket valid for life?...........

[airazurxtror]

what did you expect, a golden ticket valid for life?...........

Perhaps not - but when you exclude taxes and fees, a 50% reduction on the remaining means perhaps 25% reduction on the total price, sometimes less ... Rather mean.

[B.Inventive]

true but still, taxes are not airlines' choice... fuel prices neither...

[airazurxtror]

When you make someone a present, you don't ask him/her to pay the VAT, do you ?

[OO-ITR]

When you make someone a present, you don't ask him/her to pay the VAT, do you ?

When claiming with Ryanair you would receive a big middle finger as an answer to your claim ( if you receive an answer at all).
And btw the middle finger would be VAT included

[Inquirer]

As indicated above, here's the follow-up from SN Customer Relations department:

- Flight delays: commercial gesture 50% reduction on the fare (excl. taxes and fees) of my next booking; valid until 31/03/2013 on all SN operated flights for travel until 30/06/2013. [Given all these restrictions, I will not be benefiting from this, but a nice commercial gesture nonetheless]
- Extra luggage charged twice: Received the refund on 19 Feb
- Problems with special meal request: 3,000 compensation miles credited on 26 Feb

Most importantly to me, I received a professional, attentive e-mail with apologies and assurances that they will strive to improve on their service and customer care.

Allow me to say one doesn't often see people post follow up reports after public their complaints, especially not in case of a a satisfactory outcome. I think you got dealt with in the correct way (and beyond). Thanks for your update.