Part 1 – Ridiculous Upgrade Fees

Note: This is an on-going review. No conclusions yet. I will update as this situation plays out.

I bought a ticket late August'12 for a ticket to Taipei. Will be going on a few treks with a couple of friends of mine from late December to early January'13. Btw, my ticket to TP is one way because I'll be going to KL on Airasia after that.

So, typically, the earlier you book, the cheaper the fares yea? But surprise surprise, I got an email this morning for discounted rated for the 'ScootBiz' seats. It's the 'Budget Business Class' on scoot, which comes with more seating space, 20kg of check-in luggage allowance and a complimentary meal.

I checked online for the new offer and it was pretty good at $298. I bought mine, which was a 'FlyBag' with 15kg check-in luggage, for $288. $10 more for larger seats, a meal and more check-in space. Why not?

First, I tried the online gateway. Using my booking details to login, I went to search for my wanted flight and…whadya know…all seats are 'Sold Out'.

Yea Right. What a lame way of saying that the seats are reserved for the special offer.

Next, I called them, which connected me to a call centre in Manila. Well, it's a budget airline after all, and it's not in India, so it's fine. Apart from the slightly irritating fake-ish American accents that Filipino call centres seem to have, I've always preferred them to the Indian reps because the Filipinos tend to have better training, attitudes and much more common sense.

Anyway, this is about scoot, not my peeves with outsourced call centres. After confirming my details, I asked if I could upgrade. He was all 'oh sure! let's see…the upgrade will cost you…$98'.

Wait. What? 98 Bucks?

So I told him, ok, I've got the booking screen in front of me and the difference should only be $10. He proceeded to tell me that there was a handling fee of about $70+ and some other fee that's like $8. Can't remember the exact details but I just know that it was ridiculous.

Alright, so I was a little sway, but I was not late or making a last minute change. The flight is 3 months away for crying out loud. Even then, I was actually prepared to pay a small fee for the upgrade. Maybe $10, or $20 even, then if Scoot really want to be a prick, don't include GST and add it on. But paying about 27% of my old ticket price as a HANDLING FEE. What, it takes 27% of the effort used to fly me to TP to upgrade a ticket? You have got to be kidding me.

Most businesses I know reward you for upgrading. Apparently, Scoot punishes early birds and upgraders.

Dear Mr. Campbell Wilson. The purpose of this offer was to encourage people to try out your ScootBiz package right? I'm already a commited customer; I've got a ticket that's paid up in full. Those of us who've booked, shouldn't we be amongst the first  to be encouraged to try it out? This early , I'd allow all those who have already booked to get the upgrades and they only need to pay the difference wherever applicable. It's not like other products where it's already been consumed or are being used. Your service has yet to be rendered. A 27% fee is a joke. Again, it's was not like I was doing a last minute change. I wonder what Ron Kaufman would say.

I've been impressed with the setup thus far. A clean, effective and easy to use booking system and from many accounts so far, the flying experience is a-ok. Then this shenanigan.

I've sent an email to Scoot. Let's see how they respond.

Part 2 (In the works, waiting for a response)