Thai Airlines a disappointment<\/p>\n
I have flown almost 60,000 miles on Thai Airlines this year
\nalone. I hold a gold card and I always fly business class, but I
\nhave become increasingly disenchanted and angry at the level of
\nattention and respect given to passengers.<\/p>\n
On Oct. 12, I was about to board TG 431 to Bali from Bangkok
\non the return leg of my trip when my wife called me from Jakarta
\nto tell me about the bombing in Kuta. The Thai Airways lounge
\nknew nothing but I called the assistant GM of one of the star-
\nrated hotels I use in Bali and he told me not to come to Bali.<\/p>\n
I then asked the staff if they would re-route my ticket to
\nJakarta, but they were not able to do this so I had to buy a new
\none-way business class ticket to Jakarta with the understanding I
\nwould get a refund in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Back home in Jakarta I tried for three days to establish
\ncontact with the Jakarta Thai Airways office to no avail. I asked
\nmy wife to go in person to the office in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
A staff member told my wife in a decidedly rude fashion that
\nbecause I had purchased an economy ticket with a US$125 upgrade
\nto business I would not be able to get a refund other than a $5
\ntax refund and that was that. I then contacted the airline
\npresident's office in Bangkok and was asked to send my two
\ntickets. I did via DHL and they offered me the mileage for the
\nBangkok-Denpasar leg. I accepted that but because they only had a
\ncopy of the Bali ticket, they were not able to do anything, they
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Eventually the Jakarta office sent me a letter of halfhearted
\napology (attached) and a leather agenda for all my troubles. What
\nI needed was to have a decent flight, not an agenda. In
\nCopenhagen, I bought a business class ticket for a colleague
\ncoming back to Jakarta with me, at full fare from a travel agent,
\nat almost $4,000.<\/p>\n
When we checked in at the airport in Copenhagen we were given
\ntwo seats apart, not together, and the woman at the counter, in
\nresponse to my complaint about this, told me that we had no
\nchoice. I then asked if they could upgrade us to first. No way, I
\nwas told, as if I was just trying to get a freebie or something.
\nThat was the salt on the cut that they just gave me.<\/p>\n
Because of the restricted leg room in the configuration of
\nthis particular aircraft the passenger behind me was not able to
\nbring his table up to eat so they woke me up. Now, remember that
\nthis is business class. What a joke.<\/p>\n
MIKE POULOS, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/thai-airlines-a-disappointment-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }