It pays to be loyal
Saturday, September 12, 2009
By mostly default, I do most of my flying on Singapore Airlines although, I do have another great option to Australia with Qantas. I've been trying to build up my frequent flyer miles on Singapore Airlines so I have just stuck with them. Today it not only paid off but it also reminded me why I like flying them so much.
I arrived at the Adelaide airport the required 2 hours before my international flight. It quickly became clear that the flight was going to be full by the really long line of people waiting to check-in. Since I have preferred status I strolled right by them all and was able to check-in at the business class counter where there was nobody waiting. I think I ended up having the most pleasant airline worker ever. She was just the right amount of chatty (she commented on the winery I had been to) and was really nice. She also upgraded me to business class without my even noticing it. She then directed me to the business class lounge so I could wait out the rest of my 2 hours in comfort.
As an aside, I had to clear security, immigration/customs, and then security again to reach the lounge. I am continually surprised at how people just don't follow the rules and try and get away with not complying with them. Some of them even act as if they have never heard of them...I guess it is possible but just seems so unlikely.
Anyway, arrived at the lounge without any delays in immigration. The gentleman behind the counter politely verified my account and then got up and walked me to the lounge area. He pointed out the food and drinks as well as the restrooms. He then told me he'd let us know when it was time to board. He did this for everybody who entered the lounge. It may not seem like much but most of the time they just leave you to fend for yourselves. Even the waitress was exceptionally friendly.
As mentioned, I was upgraded to business class which is always nice...especially on Singapore Airlines. Very early on in the flight it became clear that the entertainment system was having some issues. The head steward re-booted the system four times and actually got on the phone with the manufacturer in Singapore but just couldn't get it to work. He and the rest of the crew apologized to each person individually. What can you do? It was a little annoying since it is an 8 hour flight but no reason to dwell on it. A couple of hours later the head steward stopped by and gave me a $100 voucher for the in-flight duty free as an apology for any inconvenience the non-functioning entertainment system may have caused me.
When I arrived in Singapore I didn't have to wait longer than 5 minutes for my luggage. And to add to this great travel day that I was having, my bags were the first two that came out. It was great!
1 comments:
So, what did you buy?
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