Air China delays

On Dec. 27, 1996, I flew Air China to Beijing, assuming that the country's "Visit China 1997" program would guarantee good service. I bought a return Jakarta-Beijing-Jakarta ticket.

The flight (CA972) to Beijing stopped in Xiamen, a provincial capital in China, due to reported engine trouble. Passengers were asked to wait in the airport.

It took a long time to repair because they had to order the spare parts from Beijing. Following heated arguments with the Air China representative in Xiamen, the stranded passengers were housed in a small hotel with minimal facilities. On Dec. 28 we still had not been given definite information concerning the rest of the journey to Beijing, except the management's statement that due to bad weather in Beijing the flight might be further delayed.

When we heard television and radio reports that the weather had improved, we contacted Air China to enquire about the matter. But I was dealt with impolitely and unprofessionally. Only a few of their staff could speak English, which made things worse. Finally, at 6 p.m. local time, we departed for Beijing.

On the return journey to Jakarta on Jan. 2, 1997, I had a similar experience. The flight (CA971) was delayed for unclear reasons. Again we exchanged heated arguments with the management, which managed to secure a Russian-made aircraft to fly us to Jakarta at 5:30 p.m., a delay of about eight hours.

Thank God I arrived in Jakarta safely.

R. ROKHIM

Jakarta