SAS (Scandinavian Airlines): be aware!!!

[AnyaGal]

Выполняю данное самой себе обещание донести историю до общественности.
Еще добавлю, что за последний месяц только в моем семействе это не единичная история с САСом.
В общем мой совет - не летайте САСом по крайней мере в ближайшее время - уж очень сильно их заколбасило.

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060406/afp/0 ... 24eco.html

Жаль, хорошая была компания.

I’ve been living in Seattle for almost 6 years, before that I lived in Russia where all my relatives currently live. This spring my mother decided to visit us in Seattle for the first time. She was going to stay for 3 weeks and we had some vacation plans.

My mother doesn’t speak English and she’s never been abroad. I knew the transatlantic flight from Saint-Petersburg to Seattle would be stressful for her, so I decided to find the most convenient flight.

I chose Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). The itinerary was St.Peteresburg – Copenhagen – Seattle and Seattle – Washington DC – Copenhagen – St.Petersburg on the way back. The good thing about this route was – there was no overnight stay and the entry point to the USA was in Seattle. Also I knew SAS had an excellent reputation, so I expected my mother would get the best service.

How wrong was I!

Below I’m going to describe all the details about my mother’s trip from St.Petersburg to Seattle.

04/06/06
My mother came to the St.Petersburg Pulkovo-2 airport on time, but the flight St.Petersburg – Copenhagen was cancelled and she was told to come the next day.
(FYI – there was no baggage storage, so she had to carry all her baggage back home).

I called SAS customer service in the US and I was told the ticket for my mother was booked for the next day (04/07/06).

04/07/06
My mother came to the St.Petersburg airport for the second time. This time the flight St.Petersburg - Copenhagen was delayed, and SAS personnel didn’t let her on board, since she was going to miss the connection flight Copenhagen – Seattle. Again my mother was told to come the next day.

I called SAS customer service in the US again and I was told the same thing - the ticket for my mother was really re-booked for the next day (04/08/06).

04/08/06
My mother called to the local SAS customer service in St.Petersburg to get information about the status of her flight and they told her - the flight was going to be delayed again - so she would not be able to fly that day, but my mother decided to go the airport anyway, because she couldn’t lose any more days from her short visit. She came to the St.Petersburg airport for the third day in a row. She didn’t call that day so I believed she was really going somewhere.

I called SAS customer service in the US to ask what happened and where my mom was and they told me my mother was on board of Flight #937 Copenhagen – Seattle.

Despite all negative feelings caused by the 3-day delay I finally felt some relief.
We went the Seattle’s airport, but my mother did not arrive on flight #937.

Soon we’ve got a call – my mother called from … Warsaw (Poland), she said the flight StPetersburg – Copenhagen was actually on-time, but SAS personnel in Copenhagen couldn’t get her on board of flight Copenhagen – Seattle since the place for her actually was NOT booked. After some waiting she was sent to Warsaw to stay at the airport’s hotel for the night. The next day she had to be on board of flight Warsaw – Chicago, and then she had to catch the flight Chicago – Seattle (the connection time was 1 and a half hours between the flights, and she had to pass the immigration control).

That was the last straw. I couldn’t believe it was really happening.


04/09/06
My mother finally arrived to Seattle at 8 PM.
(She was supposed to be in Seattle on 04/06/06 at 5 PM)

I can’t describe all the feelings my mother and I had over these 4 days, but these are all emotions.

The facts are more interesting and self-explanatory.

All actions by SAS over these four days were failures:

· SAS failed on its commitment to provide a flight St.Petersburg – Copenhagen for two days in a row.
· SAS customer service in St.Persburg provided incorrect information saying the flight St.Petersburg – Copenhagen would be delayed again, but it actually wasn’t.
· SAS customer service in the US told me the ticket Copenhagen – Seattle for my mother was re-booked, but it wasn’t.
· Moreover, SAS customer service in the US told me my mother was on board flight 937, but she wasn’t.

I thought I found the easiest way for my mom to see me in Seattle and it turned out to be the worst traveler’s nightmare.

I promised myself to share that story with many people – friends, colleagues, various internet communities, BBB etc, so more people would know what kind of service they could get for the money they paid.

[Artemk]

Ужасть! С таким точно надо боротсья всеми средствами!