I want to share an experience regarding a schedule change on a flight I booked with Tiger Air.
A couple of months ago Tiger Air introduced a new route from HKG – CGK (Jakarta) and I guess the schedule wasn’t working too well for them so they changed the schedule quite a bit. I had a domestic connection on a separate ticket so the new time wasn’t going to work for me and wanted a refund, as indicated as option 4 in the e-mail, shown below. Here’s what happened:
Called the customer service line and they picked up quickly, requested a refund due to schedule change, agent did some checks on the reservation and told me I cannot get a refund. I told him I’m requesting a refund per the e-mail, agent sounded hesitant to provide one and put me on hold.
Agent came back on the line and said I wasn’t eligible because the change wasn’t over 4 hours. (it was 3:55 hr:min.) Told him I’m requesting a full refund as indicated on the e-mail and I’m not going to argue, agent put me on hold again.
Agent came back and said they’ll offer me a flight credit, blah blah, didn’t want to hear it and just told him I’m requesting a full refund as indicated in the e-mail as an option. Obviously I’m very pissed at this point and figuring I’ll just have to just claim this against my credit card. Agent put me on hold again.
Agent came back and said they’ll process the full refund to my credit card in 3 – 4 weeks, and lost me probably as a customer for a long time. Let’s hope I actually get the refund, although I did confirm the amount with the agent, named “Em”.
Is this a scam / purposely misleading business practice???
I think it is. While I believe legally they are obligated to offer a refund, and even though it’s spelled out very clearly in the e-mails Tier sends, they’ll try to convince customers to take the schedule change or take a flight credit. I think the agents just play pretend that you can’t get a refund and probably eat a snack while they put you on hold, and don’t really talk to anyone or do anything in the background. If this is the case, I can’t blame the agents since this is how they’re trained, but it’s really sneaky of Tiger Air.
I’m very disappointed with Tiger’s customer service and hope my readers learn that they should stick with their demands when talking with Tiger Air or any airline.
ORIGINAL SCHEDULE
RI 841 Sat, 14 Sep 2013 Depart Hong Kong ( HKG ) 2:30 AM Jakarta ( CGK ) 6:30 AM
RI 840 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 Depart Jakarta ( CGK ) 8:10 PM Hong Kong ( HKG ) 1:50 AM
NEW SCHEDULE NOTIFICATION E-MAIL
Dear PASSENGER NAME,
Your flight has been rescheduled due to a network review. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Your new flight details are as follows :
RI 845
Sat, 14Sep2013
Depart
HKG 06:25hrs
Arrive
CGK 10:25hrs
RI 840
Wed, 23Oct2013
Depart
CGK 00:10hrs
Arrive
HKG 05:55hrs
All flight times listed are local. Do note that your flight has been retimed to depart about 4 hours later from your original schedule. Please ensure that all passengers in the travelling party are aware of the revised flight itinerary.
Simply click below to acknowledge the changes in your flight details:
CLICK HERE TO ACKNOWLEDGE
If the revised flight schedule is not suitable, please contact our Call Centre to :
1. Change the Departure Date
Depart within 7 days from the original departure date, and we will waive the change fee and fare differences.
2. Change the Destination
Depart within 7 days from the original departure date, and we will waive the change fee. Please note that differences in fare and/or taxes & charges apply.
3. Flight Credit
The flight credit will be valid for 6 months.
4. Cash refund for the unused portion of the fare.
Please print the updated copy of the itinerary from “Manage My Bookings” at www.tigerair.com and bring it with you when you travel.
Yours faithfully,
Reservations Team
Tiger Airways
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