Silkair explains why customer who made a second booking for more tickets had to fork out a much higher price.
I refer to Mr Lim Chwee Huat's letter last Sunday, 'Sudden air ticket price hike unfair'.
Mr Lim had stated that on his family's first attempt to book tickets to Kota Kinabalu, the system allowed only three tickets to be booked at the rate of $425 a person.
As he needed six tickets, he tried to book another three, but the rate quoted was $700-plus a person.
There was a difference in fares because the three tickets which Mr Lim had booked earlier were for the last few seats available at the lower fare level. Thus, when he tried to book a second time, the system automatically offered seats at the next tier of fares, which was priced higher.
The higher fares were also due to the limited number of seats remaining, as it was an almost full flight.
Generally, airlines offer a range of fares in different booking classes, for which seat availability depends on demand and supply.
As for the cancellation fee of $75 per person, this is stated in the fare conditions before one proceeds to pay for a ticket bought online.
SilkAir imposes cancellation fees on certain itineraries because of the administrative duties involved in processing a refund.
This is also to prevent abuse of the online booking system, which may deprive genuine customers of desired seat and flight availability.
We will personally contact Mr Lim to address his concerns and work out a suitable travel arrangement for him and his family.
We thank Mr Lim for his feedback and hope for his kind understanding in this matter.
Soraya Salim (Ms)
Head Public Affairs
SilkAir
This forum letter was first published in The Straits Times.
For more The Straits Times stories, click here.
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