Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Goh Choon Phong has been working for SIA group for the past 20 years. In 2010, He joined the board and took over from former CEO Chew Choon Seng. Under his leadership, the group has overcome challenges and survived the tough times. In 2016, CEO Goh had won the Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Innovation Award. He is the first Southeast Asian awardee. In a month alone, SIA has reversed two of its decision. This is unlike the usual well-thought execution of the company.
The two reversals of decision could just be the tip of an iceberg - On 4th Jan 2018, SIA cancelled its bid to charge a 1.3% credit card service fee on outgoing flights from Singapore. SIA capped the amount at S$50 (US$38). The policy affected only the new Economy Lite category. The financial quantum and customer impact were relatively small. Even so, the news triggered a public outrage. To address the whole credit card service fiasco, CEO Goh stepped in. He said, “We have to accept that some things may not work.” “We have to show that if it doesn’t work, that we learn quickly, and move on,” he added.
It does not seem like SIA has learnt quickly from the January saga. On 1st February, SIA spokesman announced another reversal. It was a removal of auto-inclusion of flight insurance. For customers who had booked flights online, SIA will refund the flight insurance fee. The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) noted that travellers tend to overlook details. In the end, they may pay more for auto-inclusion options without realising. Although SIA is moving in the right direction, negative publicity will prevail.
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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.
This ST forum writer explains everything that’s wrong with SIA
Once upon a time, our national carrier was beyond being just ‘a great way to fly’. Singapore Airlines was lauded as the hallmark of exemplary service and often had the whole world raving about it.
But these days, it doesn’t seem quite the case anymore. And we are not just talking about charging credit card fees or automatically including travel insurance.
As Straits Times Forum writer Rahul Gupta puts it, there’s now a “worsening experience on SIA flights” and here’s why:
- Onboard service from the flight crew
- Condition of the aircraft has deteriorated
- Food is only moderately palatable
- High-handed and arrogant attitude of the management
SIA flip-flops on another controversial policy change
The airline has reversed two unpopular policy decisions in just a month
After facing consumer backlash, Singapore Airlines (SIA) has reversed the decision to automatically charge passengers for travel insurance through an opt-out rather than opt-in feature, according to local media reports.
Accounts of the online booking inclusion surfaced weeks ago, after unhappy customers took to online forums and local media with complaints that they noticed the travel insurance payment only after booking, Singapore’s Straits Times reports.
This is the second time in a month the airline has backtracked on a policy change. In January, it decided to impose a credit card fee on some travel bookings from Singapore, only to retract the decision the next day.
Singapore Airlines ditches auto inclusion of travel insurance following customer feedback
What's leading us to have such high expectations of SIA? (File foto: REUTERS/Edgar Su)
National carrier Singapore Airlines removed the auto-inclusion of travel insurance on its website on Tuesday (Jan 30) following negative feedback from customers, Singapore Airlines has confirmed.
The online booking feature, which automatically includes travel insurance unless customers click to opt out, was introduced last year.
Some customers took to online forums complaining that the auto inclusion of travel insurance was not obvious while they were in the process of booking their flights & that it was only seen in the summary on the payment page if they clicked on “more details".
SIA removes auto travel insurance option after CASE and consumer feedback
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has backtracked on its decisions to automatically include travel insurance as part of its ticket purchase process, a move which copped it flak from customers in January this year.
Confirming the move in a statement to Marketing, an SIA spokesperson said that SIA encourages customers to take up travel insurance to safeguard their travel plans. The spokesperson added:
"We have taken customer feedback into account, however, and have amended the booking flow on our website to offer travel insurance as an ‘opt-in’, rather than ‘opt out’, feature."
The incident has also garnered the attention of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), which too gave criticism over the automatic inclusion of travel insurance. In a statement to Marketing the organisation confirmed that it had conveyed its concerns to SIA two weeks ago.
Singapore Airlines makes second U-turn in a month – this time on travel insurance auto-inclusion
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has not had a good start to the year.
The airline made another about-turn this week, this time removing a feature which automatically included insurance for customers booking flights on the company’s website.
This comes less than 30 days after they made a reversal of a one-day-old policy to implement extra fees for credit card transactions on Economy Lite fare tickets issued in Singapore.
SIA to remove auto inclusion of travel insurance in booking flow
Following negative feedback from customers, Singapore Airlines has removed the auto inclusion of travel insurance on its website.
The national carrier said in a statement that they had “taken customer feedback into account,” and amended the booking flow on their website. Travel insurance will not be offered as an "opt-in" rather than "opt-out" feature.
Earlier in January, Singapore Airlines backpedaled on its decision to charge some passengers credit card service fees for flights departing from Changi Airport. The fee would be 1.3 per cent of the total fare amount – capped at S$50 – for the airline’s lowest tier tickets, Economy Lite.
SIA, in 2nd U-turn, removes auto opt-in travel insurance
This followed an earlier U-turn on January 4, where SIA had to ditch its plans to levy a credit-card service fee on outgoing flights from Singapore — one day after news of the fee emerged and sparked outrage.
The airline had planned to levy a credit-card service fee of 1.3 per cent of the total amount, capped at S$50 (RM148), for customers who booked tickets under its new Economy Lite category from January 20.
SIA chief executive officer Goh Choon Phong addressed the credit-card service fee fiasco briefly on Monday, saying: “We have to accept that some things may not work … and we have to show that if it doesn’t work, that we learn quickly, and move on.”
SIA ought to be more sensitive to customers’ needs
It has not been a good start for Singapore Airlines (SIA) flying into the new year. Twice within a month, it has upset its customers as it garners bad press that may affect its standing in an increasingly competitive environment.
Worse, it risks shaving off some of the trust among customers as an airline that thinks first of how they may be affected before it implements a new cost policy or customer procedure.
At the beginning of the year, SIA announced a 1.3 per cent credit card service fee for outgoing flights from Singapore from January 20, only to retract the policy before its implementation following a public outcry.
‘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.
related: SIA’s credit card fee debacle: A sign of a brand with ‘inside-out thinking’?
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SIA makes U-turn on credit card fee for flights leaving S’pore after backlash
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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Here are all the ways budget airlines charge you extra
With extra fees on luggage allowance to seat selection and even to print your boarding pass, budget flights may not give you the best value.
We love to travel, and we love scrambling for cheap air tickets. But before you click “buy”, ask yourself: is it really possible that your flight costs less than S$50? Sometimes, you’ll find out too late that there are (expensive) strings attached. Here are some hidden fees to check for:
- Comparison Sites Don’t Display the Final Price
- Airport Taxes are Sometimes Excluded
- Extra Fees for Luggage
- Boarding Pass Printing Fee
- Seat Selection Fees
- Absurdly Overpriced In-flight Meals
- Credit Card Fee Charges
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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.
Nothing seemed to be going right for SIA.
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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
related:
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
