A passenger has criticised an airline over alleged premium economy defects on a 13-hour flight, claiming inadequate compensation and poor service.
A PASSENGER aboard a foreign airline recently alleged that they did not receive adequate compensation after experiencing multiple facility defects during a 13-hour flight from Germany to Singapore.
In a Reddit post, the passenger claimed to have encountered several malfunctions in the premium economy cabin, ranging from a defective seat to “blinding” in-flight entertainment screens.
The passenger alleged that they had paid S$1,400 (RM4,436) each for two premium economy seats.
The passenger also claimed that the cabin crew had prior knowledge of the defects but allegedly did not offer any alternative seating or sleeping arrangements.
According to the post, the defects included a broken leg rest, which was later confirmed by an airline engineer to have been caused by a faulty cable plunger, as well as malfunctioning in-flight entertainment screens. The screens remained illuminated with a bright white light throughout the entire 13-hour flight after the entertainment system failed, making it difficult for passengers to sleep.
The passenger further alleged that they and their wife were assigned separate seats without their knowledge, despite having selected specific seats when they booked the flight six months earlier.
Following the complaint, the cabin manager allegedly offered the affected passengers S$150 (RM475) airline shopping vouchers and “explicitly” informed them that this would be the final compensation.
The passengers said they were then advised to take the matter up with the airline’s head office.
“We explicitly stated that we were not accepting the vouchers as a final settlement,” the passenger wrote.
According to the post, the airline later rejected the passengers’ request for a partial refund, allegedly stating that, under its policy, it had fulfilled its contractual obligations as long as the aircraft landed at its intended destination.
The passenger is now planning to escalate the matter to the German Travel and Transport Arbitration Board.
Netizens largely sided with the passenger, supporting the decision to escalate the complaint and criticising the airline for allegedly failing to provide adequate customer service.
