In a U-turn, national carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) has ditched its plans to levy a credit-card service fee on outgoing flights from Singapore, just a day after the news sparked a public backlash.
In a sales circular seen by TODAY on Thursday (Jan 4), SIA said it will not go ahead with plans to put the fee in place after “a further review”.
Earlier this week, the airline said on its website that from Jan 20, customers who book tickets under its new Economy Lite category will be levied a credit-card service fee of 1.3% of the total amount, capped at S$50.
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SIA’s credit card fee debacle: A sign of a brand with ‘inside-out thinking’?
Singapore Airlines has decided not to implement credit card service fees for selected classes of fare types – namely its Economy Lite fares. The move came quickly after the airline faced public backlash for the move announced just yesterday.
In a circular addressed to business partners obtained by Marketing, Singapore Airlines decided that “following a further review”, it would not be proceeding with the implementation of the credit card service fees. It also did not reveal what prompted the decision when contacted by Marketing.
The move to implement credit care service fees was initially only limited to its Economy Lite fares according to SIA responses to consumers on its Facebook page. However, the airline faced criticism as credit was regarded a common payment method for consumers. Moreover, transactions made via debit and PayPal were not affected by additional fare charges. The announcement also came shortly after SIA revealed in December new fare types for travellers with different levels of fares, privileges and flexibility – this included Economy Lite, which is the lowest of the three levels.
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Singapore Airlines reverses plans to impose credit card surcharge
The fun thing about traveling and being 8 hours removed from Singapore is that waking up and checking your phone is kind of like opening your Christmas presents. You either get coal in your stocking (e.g 100 messages telling you that the site is down) or a somewhat pleasant surprise, like this:
Thankfully, common sense has prevailed at SQ and the airline will no longer be imposing the proposed 1.3% credit card surcharge on economy lite fares.No explanation for the change of heart was given, but it’s safe to say they probably got some rather pointed comments from their customers in the wake of the announcement. I’m surprised by the U-turn but happy nonetheless. As I mentioned in my earlier post, adding a credit card surcharge was the wrong thing to do, and I’m glad that SQ has seen the light (albeit belatedly) on this.
related:
More thoughts on SQ’s new credit card surcharges
SIA's move to charge credit card fees is a disgraceful money grab
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After backlash, SIA ditches plan to impose credit card surcharges for flights departing from Singapore
To no one’s surprise at all, a tide of backlash rose against Singapore Airlines (SIA) yesterday when it was revealed that it was planning to charge customers extra, should they use a credit card to pay for flights departing from Singapore. What’s more, the “service fee” would only apply to those booking the airline’s upcoming Economy Lite seats.
Yeap, extra costs for those who book economy seats. You can see why folks were miffed.
The flag carrier airline of Singapore has since canceled its plans to do so amid loud reprisals, Channel NewsAsia reported. In a sales circular obtained by the publication, SIA informed its sales agents and business partners that it has decided not to proceed with the implementation of the Credit Card Service Fee (CCSF) after all, following a further review.
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SIA cancels plan to charge credit card fees for flights departing from Singapore
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has cancelled its plan to charge credit card fees for flights departing from Singapore booked under certain classes, amid a backlash from customers over the move.
In a sales circular issued to its sales agents and business partners on Thursday (Jan 4), the national carrier said it has decided not to proceed with the implementation of the fee "following a further review".
No further explanation was given for the change.
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Whose bright idea was it for SIA to charge credit card fees?
Be smart - Don’t be like SIA
Not too long ago, SIA announced that they are going to start charging credit card fees for flights departing Singapore. The plan was that form Jan 20, there will be a 1.3 per cent “service fee” based on the total cost of the booking, capped at a maximum charge of S$50 per passenger. Those fees would have applied to tickets issued under SIA’s Economy Lite category.
All across Singapore, you can probably hear a collective ”wa lau eh!”
What’s SIA trying to do? Because unless there is some way that you can still get SIA tickets over some counter and pay for them in cash, it’s not like we can get get SIA tickets without using credit cards. Or is SIA trying to encourage us to use cash? Aren’t we supposed to be a Smart Nation moving toward being cashless? Or did SIA not get the memo?
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Singapore Airlines’ move to charge credit card fees is a disgraceful money grab
From 20 January 2018 (incidentally, the same date SQ’s new fare buckets kick in), Singapore Airlines will levy a 1.3% non-refundable credit card surcharge, capped at S$50, for air tickets booked through Singaporeair.com, the SIA office or your travel agent.
This non-refundable surcharge will not apply to:
- Redemption tickets
- Ancillary products like preferred seats or excess baggage
- Additional fares or fees collected when changes to original booking are made
- Payments made with debit cards or alternative methods like Paypal
- Payments made with the Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Credit Card
related: More thoughts on SQ’s new credit card surcharges
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Singapore Airlines ruffles feathers by announcing credit card charge, then does surprise U-turn on decision
Singapore Airlines has made a surprising U-turn on a decision to implement extra fees for credit card transactions on Economy Lite fare tickets issued in Singapore, less than 20 hours after news of the decision was first reported.
On Wednesday (January 3), it was reported that SIA would be implementing a credit card service fee of 1.3 per cent, capped at S$50 (US$37.60), for Economy Lite fare tickets issued in Singapore.
The fee is already existing for flights departing Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, but was new to Singapore.
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S’pore Airlines charging 1.3% credit card fees, explained
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is introducing a 1.3 percent credit card service fee
The charge is incurred when booking its new lower cost Economy Lite tickets issued in Singapore.
This change will kick in on Jan 20, 2018.
However, the fee will be capped at a maximum charge of S$50 per passenger. In other words, the S$50 cap will be triggered if the all-inclusive fare is more than S$3,846.
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SIA, in 2nd U-turn, removes auto opt-in travel insurance amid public outcry
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has back-tracked on a decision to automatically charge passengers for travel insurance, the 2nd time in a month the national carrier has had to make a U-turn in the face of a public backlash.
"We have taken customer feedback into account, however, & have amended the booking flow on our website to offer travel insurance as an 'opt-in', rather than 'opt out', feature," an SIA spokesman said in response to queries on Thursday (Feb 1).
The "auto opt-in" feature, said to have been introduced last year in Singapore, Thailand & Hong Kong, sparked public anger after some passengers wrote complaint letters to The Straits Times. Some of the passengers said they only realised they had been charged for travel insurance after their bookings were confirmed, while others said the process of asking for refunds if they did not want the insurance was tedious.
‘Topping up’ mindset: Does S'pore Airlines suffer from it?
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has made headlines once again. This time it upset consumers by automatically including travel insurance as part of the purchase, unless travellers carefully opt out. According to The Straits Times (ST), this new online booking feature was introduced in 2017 in Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand.
The brand also saw a credit card debacle recently which caused a fair amount of uproar, and eventually caused SIA to scrap the idea of imposing a credit card service fees for selected classes of fare types – namely its Economy Lite fares -a day after being implemented.
However, the negative headlines did not stop SIA from making digital a focal point for 2018. In a New Year message to staff members, chief executive Goh Choon Phong said the airline will push forward with “digital transformation” that will not only be “significantly enhanced”, but foster a digital mindset and digital-first culture amongst its employees.
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In 1980, Lee Kuan Yew told SIA pilots’ union he was prepared to ground airline & start over
Back in 1980, Singapore Airlines (SIA) hit a pretty rough patch and its reputation took a bad hit.
Profits were down for the airline, it had a dispute with its pilots’ union, and it was accused of shoddy treatment of its passengers affected by a strike by Australian refuellers.
related:
SIA, in 2nd U-turn, removes auto opt-in travel insurance
‘Topping up’ mindset: Does S'pore Airlines suffer from it?
S’pore Airlines charging 1.3% credit card fees wef 20 Jan 2018
Changi Airport May Increase Fees To Build Terminal 5
Changi Airport to increase fees for departing passengers
SIA and the Peanut Allergy
SIA, in 2nd U-turn, removes auto opt-in travel insurance
‘Topping up’ mindset: Does S'pore Airlines suffer from it?
S’pore Airlines charging 1.3% credit card fees wef 20 Jan 2018
Changi Airport May Increase Fees To Build Terminal 5
Changi Airport to increase fees for departing passengers
