STUCK IN THE MIDDLE

I booked a redemption ticket with Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Delhi in March, however the online seat map only offered a middle seat, with all other seats “occupied”. This was the case for both the outbound and inbound sectors. I was particularly disappointed as my son had injured his foot and I was looking to get him an aisle seat.

I am a very frequent flyer on this sector and knew that these flights are never fully booked, certainly not to the extent that only a single seat was available in the entire economy class. I had a suspicion that Singapore Airlines was forcing me to choose a middle seat because it was a redemption booking.

To confirm this, I started a non-redemption booking for the same flights on the same dates. This time, I was offered a very wide selection of seats, including several window and aisle options.

I was disappointed and felt cheated. As a frequent traveller with Singapore Airlines and a PPS club member for 12 years I feel that SIA’s Krisflyer loyalty programme has continually eroded in value for the frequent traveller, and wonder where the loyalty programmes of premium airlines like SIA are headed. Rajesh Gadodia, Singapore

SINGAPORE AIRLINES RESPONDS:

We regret the inconvenience Mr Gadodia had when choosing the seat for his son. At the point of booking, customers will be able to see a seat map indicating all seats that are available for the flight. There are some seats that have been blocked for operational and commercial requirements (this includes bassinet seats, group seats, etc). The remaining seats are dynamic as there are other passengers making their selection as well.

Between 48 hours to two hours before a flight departs, when internet check-in is open, any remaining unassigned seats will be released. At any point in time, if a customer is unable to select a seat, our call centre officers may be able to help; if not they will send a request to the seat planners or operations team.

During the course of investigation, we were glad to find that our call centre staff were able to secure an aisle seat for Mr Gadodia’s son. Nonetheless, we regret that Mr Gododia was unable to choose the seat when he checked in online and apologise for the unintended disappointment caused.