• By: RIYANKA
• Aug 22, 2024
• (1) Comments

Lost in Transit: A Journey With Singapore Airlines Worth Remembering

“Oh, you are a travel blogger! It must be so fancy!”

“So you travel for a living? That’s a dream job!”

“It must be so amazing to travel to places, isn’t it? You’re so lucky!”

I hear these comments a lot, and honestly, I do thank my stars for blessing me to live this life that lets me wander along sandy beaches, stroll through unknown streets, meet new people, and have meaningful conversations. 

But, let’s be real for a second – travel isn’t always as glamorous as it looks on social media! Sure, we love to post the highlights on Instagram and write detailed guides about how stunning a place is or list out the “must-do” activities, but there’s a whole other side to it that often gets left out. The mishaps, the unexpected anxiety, the little (or big) things that can completely derail even the best-laid plans – those stories rarely make it to the ‘gram.

So, I thought it was time to burst the bubble and share a recent incident that happened to me and my friend during our trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand. We were super excited and our plans were meticulously mapped out – but we found ourselves on an adventure we hadn’t quite planned for, thanks to Singapore Airlines!

Delayed Flight, No Updates, Poor Customer Service, and Luggage Lost: All Thanks to Singapore Airlines!

That might sound extremely overwhelming already, but wait until I spill the beans! 

When Tanisha and I planned this trip, we carefully checked our flight options and chose to fly with Singapore Airlines from New Delhi to Singapore, with a connecting flight to Chiang Mai. The plan was to depart from New Delhi at night, arrive in Chiang Mai the next morning, get some rest, and then head out to explore the city that evening!

Excited for our trip, we arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport three hours before our flight. After completing immigration, we learned that our flight had been delayed by an hour. (The original departure time was 9:50 PM, now pushed to 10:50 PM.) But as time passed, the delays kept piling up—first to 11:10 PM, then 12:30 AM, and finally to 1:00 AM.

With each passing minute, our anxiety grew. Like many others with connecting flights, we were getting nervous. I spoke to a Singapore Airlines staff member at the gate, who assured me that the ground staff at Changi would assist us with our connecting flight since the delay was their responsibility.

Boarding began around 1:45 AM, but we were made to sit inside the aircraft for another 45 minutes before we finally took off!

The original arrival time in Changi was 6.10 AM, but when we landed there, it was 10 AM already! (That was when we were supposed to be in Chiang Mai!)

Passengers were heading to destinations worldwide—from Australia to Japan, New Zealand to the States—and chaos erupted at the Singapore Airlines kiosk in Changi. However, the ground staff managed to rebook everyone’s tickets to their respective destinations, and as a token of compensation, they even handed out meal vouchers to everyone. (Kudos for that, Singapore Airlines!)

But we weren’t happy with the flights they booked for us. According to the new itinerary, we had to fly to Bangkok, and then catch another flight to Chiang Mai, with a two-hour layover in Changi and a five-and-a-half-hour layover in Bangkok!

We headed to the Singapore Airlines Customer Service Desk at Changi, where Ms. Linda Chan assisted us. We explained that we were willing to wait at Changi but expected to get a direct flight to Chiang Mai, as the journey was becoming too troublesome (by then, we had already lost a full day of our trip!). Ms. Chan took her time searching for a direct flight, making five or six calls while we waited, and finally informed us that there was a direct flight from Changi to Chiang Mai at 3:05 PM that day—meaning we’d have to wait nearly four hours, but we were fine with that.

She promptly changed our flight bookings, but when I received the confirmation email, we were shocked to see that she had booked us on a flight two days later! (Yes, that’s how attentive the Singapore Airlines staff was!)

When we pointed out the mistake, she admitted it was her fault, saying she had ‘overlooked’ the date. After making a few more calls, she reconfirmed that there was no direct flight to Chiang Mai (CNX) that day, leaving us with no choice but to take the connecting flight to Bangkok and then to CNX.

After the bookings were finally sorted, she handed us a handwritten bag tag, stapled to our tickets. By that point, we were too exhausted to question it—our brains were practically fried!

We grabbed a quick bite with our meal vouchers (thanks again, Singapore Airlines!) and rushed to the gate for our flight to Bangkok. After a five-hour layover there, we finally boarded the last leg of our journey to Chiang Mai. Despite everything, Tanisha and I tried to stay upbeat, laughing off the chaos of the past 24 hours. But little did we know then, that more surprises were waiting for us ahead!

It was around 10:30 PM when we found ourselves waiting at the conveyor belt at CNX, watching as everyone else from our flight collected their bags and left. The flight number on the screen changed, yet our luggage was nowhere to be found!

An elderly staff member, who spoke very little English, noticed our distress and asked to see our tickets. When he saw the handwritten luggage tag, he said in broken English, “No scanner, bag no come.” That’s when the reality hit us—our luggage was lost in transit, with no barcode on our tickets to track it.

This kind man took down all our details, including our flight information and the delay complaint, and assured us that he would contact Singapore Airlines to help locate our bags.

Luggage Lost. Heartbroken. We reached Chiang Mai!

We booked a cab and stepped out of the airport. It was already 11.15 PM and the calmness in the streets of Chiang Mai felt soothing somehow.

When we finally reached our Airbnb in Baan Kang Wat (Chiang Mai), we decided to contact Singapore Airlines Customer Care to inquire about our bags. We were on hold for nearly 37 minutes (I’m being precise here—I’ve got the call records to prove it!), only to be left completely clueless. Ms. Mer, the Customer Care Executive, kept insisting that it was Chiang Mai Airport’s fault that our luggage didn’t arrive. She repeatedly told us, “Your destination airport will help you,” without acknowledging that the responsibility actually lay with Singapore Airlines.

To make matters worse, when we tried to file a complaint for our lost luggage on the Singapore Airlines’ official website, we couldn’t even register it because they hadn’t updated our new flight details on their end!

Quite hopeless, and exhausted – we called it a day!

But we couldn’t sleep well that night, thanks to the anxiety that had set in.

The next morning, Tanisha woke up with a severe headache, while I couldn’t stop stressing about our missing luggage. I kept trying to get in touch with someone from Singapore Airlines who could help, but every effort was in vain. According to our original plan, this was supposed to be our second day in Chiang Mai, exploring the city’s temples—but instead, we found ourselves anxiously wondering whether we would ever see our luggage again.

Then, around 2:00 PM, I received a call from Singapore Airlines. Ms. Sarah informed me that our bags had finally arrived at Chiang Mai International Airport and that we could go collect them. She also mentioned that we could claim compensation for all the inconvenience we had faced and kindly provided an email address for the claim (which was a thoughtful gesture on her part).

However, when we reached the airport, only Tanisha’s bag was there! Mr. Bond from the Lost and Found Department at Chiang Mai Airport explained that only one bag had been sent—not both.

I was beyond frustrated and convinced that my bag was gone for good. Despite my anger, there was nothing we could do, as no one from Singapore Airlines was willing to help. I called Customer Care again, and this time, Mr. Afzal informed me that my bag was at New Delhi Airport.

I was shocked. “How can my bag be in Delhi? I traveled two days ago!” I yelled. He quickly corrected himself, saying, “Sorry, ma’am. The system shows your bag is in Changi, but since you traveled with our partner airlines, we can’t help you. You’ll need to speak to the Chiang Mai Airport staff.”

Clearly, the Singapore Airlines staff was trying to pass the buck, and every conversation felt like a dead end. I wrote a long email to the Baggage Claim Department (the address of which was shared with me by Ms. Sarah), mentioning all the details, but there was radio silence – and I still haven’t heard from the airlines!

We decided not to let this ruin our trip. I went out and shopped (a silver lining—I got some new clothes and a pair of slippers!) and tried to make the best of the situation.

In the back of my mind, though, I couldn’t stop thinking about how a premium airline could have such poor service. Tanisha, who works as a consultant, joked, “Singapore Airlines definitely needs some consultancy!”

The luggage arrived just a day before the trip ended!

Even though I was trying to enjoy the trip, the thought of my lost luggage kept nagging at me. “It’s good to let go,” I kept telling myself, but it wasn’t easy.

I continued calling Customer Service every day, and finally, just a day before our trip ended, I was told that my luggage would be arriving that evening from Changi. They even gave me the flight details (quite thoughtful of them!).

Singapore Airlines, of course, didn’t bother to notify me themselves—no email, no call. It was only when I called them that I found out about the arrival of my luggage!

Had I not called, would they have ever reached out to me? Who knows?

Anyway, at last, my luggage that had been “lost in transit” was found.