kept 6 hours inside of the airplane on the ground

38 replies

aviwil

Member since 08 Nov 2011

Total posts 8

MikeZ - if it was something like I suggested , nobody will ever tell you so .

The more you say on it , the more it actually sounds like that .
And if so , be thankful , worse things did not happen .
Think of this - they knew part X was coming from Switzerland ? So why on earth would they keep you on-board ? Doesn't make sense at all .

MikeZ

Member since 24 Jan 2017

Total posts 26

Agree, It was a clear mishandling of the situation by SQ onboard. The fact is that SQ was not prepared for this and had no contingency plan. Franlky, when they announced a delay I thought I was going to see how professionally SQ deals with it. Nothing like this happen. The crew was stressed and pax were angry. 

Of course it is better to have a delay or not to fly at all than to fly on the broken airplane.

Last editedby MikeZ at Jan 26, 2017, 01:48 PM.

aviwil

Member since 08 Nov 2011

Total posts 8

If this was really some part coming from Switzerland , then you can be rest assured SQ crew know exactly how long it will take to arrive , and to assemble it back on to the plane - and an exact contingency plan for it . In this case - easily 5 hours , in my estimation . And , since this did not happen , it was not a question of a part . If then , it was as I suggested , there is no contingency plan for this - just have to play it by ear . Could be OK'd for take-off in 10 minutes , or 10 hours .

kimshep

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 11 Oct 2014

Total posts 412

"Think of this - they knew part X was coming from Switzerland ? So why on earth would they keep you on-board ? Doesn't make sense at all" .

Er .. there are a multitude of reasons that SQ would choose to keep pax onboard. Most relate to cost.

  • Release to terminal - premium & loyalty pax would be headed back to the lounge. Double-handling / double cost.
  • Disappointed / upset pax get released to terminal and choose to fly another carrier other than SQ. Lost revenue.
  • Extra time & cost associated with removing affected customer's luggage.
  • Delayed passengers would want / demand food & beverage vouchers for in-terminal use. Cost.
  • Y Passengers often go 'rogue' in the terminal(s) and can delay an already delayed flight. Herding cats.
  • Depending on the fault / part, the actual time to repair may - or may not - be known.
  • A 6hr delay would almost automatically put cabin crew in an 'over hours' situation, requiring new crew. Huge cost.

Last editedby kimshep at Jan 31, 2017, 11:34 AM.

aviwil

Member since 08 Nov 2011

Total posts 8

Kimshep - if they know that it's part X from Switzerland - they know exactly how much time it's going to take - barring any exceptions . They have programs for all of this . Most of your points would apply , if they did not know how long it would take .

Packetman21

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 28 Jul 2016

Total posts 68

Why do you continue to say SQ is being a 'budget airline'. Boy can I tell you that is wrong... you got served chips, something a budget airline would make you pay for, and a budget airline would probs just cancel the flight, and leave you stranded. I believe SQ handled the situation quite well. And if you look at the points kimshep made, it will all make sense. 

AB__CD

Member since 29 Mar 2014

Total posts 23

As many people have said, mechanical issues aren't rare in the airline industry. They're part of the industry.


Could SQ have handled it better? Maybe. Do you deserve at least some compensation? Absolutely. But step in operations' shoes for a minute. As far as they knew, that plane could've been fixed at any point in those six hours, and de and re-boarding the passengers would've cost extra time. It was well within their contract of carriage with you. And as someone pointed out, at least they didn't cancel the flight, and served some form of snacks. They don't just have extra food lying around.

At the end of the day, I ultimately believe you should receive some form of compensation, maybe 1000 miles. But I would be surprised if it was more than that.

MikeZ

Member since 24 Jan 2017

Total posts 26

SQ didnt handle the situation at all - they simply transferred all the risks on passengers. They have no contingency plans for such situations. Passengers pay for their poor planning.

They could have moved to passengers to the terminal. After 2 hours of delay and the detail enroute from Switzerland - it was quite an apparent thing to do. If they had contingency plan - they would provide hot meal either in the terminal or onboard (a350 is not that large airplane). They could have informed passengers that they would be rebooked on their connecting flights. They could have promised some compensation for inconvinience while the situation was developing.

Yes SQ had to do some homework in advance to be ready for the above.

Non of it was done - they just kept passengers 6 hours onboard the grounded plane. 

Last editedby MikeZ at Feb 01, 2017, 02:29 PM.

Frank

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

Member since 09 Sep 2013

Total posts 107

I can see MikeZs point, and had the flight been departing from Singapore rather than Moscow, they may have had a better chance to get people back into the terminal. Being in Moscow I guess they dont have any clout and have to live with what happens.  Pretty ordinary just the same.

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