SERVICE DELIVERY BREAKDOWN

I have a number of complaints about the flights I took on Sri Lankan from Colombo to Hong Kong via Bangkok on January 5, 2013.

We arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport from Malé in the Maldives on January 4 around 1750 on UL116, where we had to wait around seven hours for flight UL886 to Bangkok departing at 0130 on January 5. This was expected, so we were not disturbed.

Around 2200, we were informed that our 0130 flight would be delayed to 0730, but we were told that we would be transferred to the Hotel Goodwood Plaza. That’s when Sri Lankan’s service delivery broke down.

First, we did not leave the airport for the hotel until 0030, which made some of my fellow passengers really angry about the delay, with

one of them shouting at the staff. When we arrived at the hotel, we discovered Sri Lankan only just informing the management that we needed rooms. We were told it would“take 15 minutes”to prepare our accommodation.

While waiting for our rooms, we were invited to have a complimentary meal in the restaurant, and what did we find there but a mouse scurrying around the premises. A few of us ordered drinks, which were not complimentary – after putting us through such trouble, couldn’t Sri Lankan even pay for these small expenses?

After one hour in the restaurant, there was still no sign of our rooms. My girlfriend and I only received our key at 0205, about 90 minutes after our arrival.

At 0400, I went down to enquire at reception as to the departure time for the airport to catch our Bangkok flight. I was told 0500. I returned to the room, but after a few minutes, the phone rang with the staff telling me it was time to wake up. I told him that I had been informed earlier that wake-up call was 0500 – he admitted he made a mistake.

At the airport, we were given a new flight schedule on Thai Airways, replacing flight UL422 from Bangkok to Hong Kong at 1315 that day, January 5, which we were not able to connect to.

We encountered another snag in Bangkok, and after a ping-pong game between UL and TG, we found ourselves not on the TG flight at 1600, but on UL again, departing for Hong Kong at 1650. This was again delayed by another 20 minutes, forcing us to miss our flight from Hong Kong to Taipei, our final destination.

Having gone through this series of ordeals, I naturally sent in a complaint letter, which Sri Lankan acknowledged, expressing“deep sympathy with any technical or other issues you may be suffering during this time”.

They went on to say that flights were delayed due to operational reasons that“are inevitable at times and are not exclusive to Sri Lankan Airlines, and we do try our best to ensure minimum inconvenience to our valued clientele in such instances”.

After what my companion and I went through, I believe such a response is unacceptable, even insensitive. I would expect a partial, if not complete, return of flight fee costs to my account.

SRI LANKAN REPLIES:

For your information, we have settled the complaint with Mr Knap. Thank you.

IS THERE A DOCTOR ON BOARD?

We are all familiar with that call, but what do other travellers hope will happen? I have been the doctor answering the call a few times, and I am sometimes surprised by the reaction of the airline.

Case one: On takeoff from a West African city, a catering trolley goes loose, knocks a flight attendant to the floor, and breaks her leg (tibia and fibula to those interested in the details).

There is not a single empty seat on the plane. She is cared for lying on the galley floor. The captain of this major European airline does not agree to medical requests to turn back, or to put down at the next available airport, and continues on to the scheduled destination. The injured young woman has a very painful flight.

Case two: About 1.5 hours out from Europe on the way to JFK, a passenger complains of chest pain. It could be a heart attack, but after

a lot of thought and going over the patient's history, I decide probably not. Then, a good discussion on the flight deck with the captain and we carry on. There are spare seats in F so the patient and I are moved there (with a nurse, also on the flight) and we run a mini-hospital ward and land safely – with the patient who recovers – in JFK.

The nurse and I joke between us that, if we went round F and C with a hat and said:“Our decision got you to the USA on time”, the hat would be full of folding money. As it was, the reward was (a) a grateful patient, (b) a grateful flight crew, and (c) an unusable voucher from the airline worth about € 60 (US$80).

Now, doctors don’t attend medical emergencies in mid-flight with the hope of getting rich, but what is the right way for the airline to recognise what has been done? I think that, probably, a free flight, or the refund of your ticket for the flight where you stepped in to help, is right and enough. Do other travellers agree?

I’ve obscured the names of the airlines involved in the two cases above, but for the record, Air Canada and CSA win my personal prize for thanking the doctor suitably and not excessively.

REPLIES

It’s a sad world when people expect a reward for doing the right moral thing. What about the women in Woolwich (site of the incident when two alleged terrorists hacked a British soldier to death), who intervened to prevent further bloodshed. What is a suitable reward for them? Your final point is interesting, maybe you could get some reimbursement from the passenger’s insurance company, but if one were to accept the principle that the venue of the emergency should chip in then it opens a much broader discussion. Interestingly, Virgin Atlantic sourced many, if not the majority, of their cabin crew from the NHS when they first started up. They knew the caring attitude and people orientation of nurses would make ideal cabin crew. There’s no easy answer to this question. On the one hand, it’s right that rewards for doing the right thing are not to be expected but on the other hand, the professional has had a “working” flight and probably in the above case saved the airline time and money.

The doctor could remain in his/her seat and keep quiet? I don't think so. The airline should be grateful and at least offer some recompense.