Slow flight to Singapore
KT TeoPublished: Mar 12, 2001 1:05 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
I was put on a long wait of some eight hours at the KL International Airport while trying to catch a flight to Singapore via the shuttle service. My aunt in Singapore had passed away and I was to attend her funeral. Thinking that flying was the fastest way there, I was driven by my son to the LRT station in Bandar Tun Razak, the nearest to where I stay, where I took the LRT to Chan Sow Lin station to catch a connecting shuttle bus to KLIA.
The bus left at about 12.30pm and I reached the airport at about 2pm. I collected my queue ticket and my number was 348. I could see that I was due for a long wait as the number shown on the announcement board was 147 then. I waited until 5.30pm when I could not stand it any longer and decided to see the manager and told him my situation. I was told all flights were fully booked that day, but on compassionate grounds, I was granted a special seat on the next available flight.
My flight took off at 9.45pm, I touched down at Singapore at 10.30pm and reached my cousin's place at 10.50pm, without having any food for some 10 hours.
I do not understand how shuttle flights are supposed to work. I always thought they are meant to be like buses, where you purchase a ticket at the airport and board the next plane that comes in. So how is it that there were bookings on such flights, as I was told, with confirmed tickets and all that jazz?
Another question that puzzled me then was that while on the plane, I discovered that there were a number of empty seats, including the one next to me. Now, why were the poor waiting customers at the airport told that the flights were full when there were empty seats?
No wonder MAS is making such huge losses. This is total mismanagement and it is going to cost not only the airlines, its staff and the country a lot of money, but also the people, as the shares in this airline were bought up at RM8 per share. What justification is there? Is it worthwhile trying to salvage a company that has not been maximising its resources? This inefficiency is one of the factors caused the country's economic downfall.
The bus left at about 12.30pm and I reached the airport at about 2pm. I collected my queue ticket and my number was 348. I could see that I was due for a long wait as the number shown on the announcement board was 147 then. I waited until 5.30pm when I could not stand it any longer and decided to see the manager and told him my situation. I was told all flights were fully booked that day, but on compassionate grounds, I was granted a special seat on the next available flight.
My flight took off at 9.45pm, I touched down at Singapore at 10.30pm and reached my cousin's place at 10.50pm, without having any food for some 10 hours.
I do not understand how shuttle flights are supposed to work. I always thought they are meant to be like buses, where you purchase a ticket at the airport and board the next plane that comes in. So how is it that there were bookings on such flights, as I was told, with confirmed tickets and all that jazz?
Another question that puzzled me then was that while on the plane, I discovered that there were a number of empty seats, including the one next to me. Now, why were the poor waiting customers at the airport told that the flights were full when there were empty seats?
No wonder MAS is making such huge losses. This is total mismanagement and it is going to cost not only the airlines, its staff and the country a lot of money, but also the people, as the shares in this airline were bought up at RM8 per share. What justification is there? Is it worthwhile trying to salvage a company that has not been maximising its resources? This inefficiency is one of the factors caused the country's economic downfall.
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