[!SG]

part II

Dear All,



Below is the response letter I received from Alaska Air's Customer Care Representative after my initial letter to them (which can be viewed in my last note on my wall)... Considering the issues that i brought up, this letter was absolutely unacceptable, and I let them know in my reply to them which I've also attached at the bottom.



Again, please feel free to 'share' my experience.



November 29, 2012



Dear Mr. Cheung,



I appreciated receiving your phone call regarding your recent travel experiences. By taking the time to contact us, you have given me the opportunity to assist you with your concerns.



We recommend that you check in 2 hours prior to departure to allow yourself enough time to proceed through the ticket counter line and reach your gate for boarding at least 30 minutes prior to departure. While we understand the importance of a quick, convenient check in process, there are factors that will occasionally cause long lines at the ticket counter. I apologize for any inconvenience you both experienced. I have forwarded your comments on to the Bellingham Customer Services Manager.



To suit the travel needs of a diverse customer base, Alaska Airlines offers a wide variety of fares, from value-oriented, advance-purchase fares that come with certain restrictions, to our “full flex” fares, which carry little or no restrictions. The number of tickets sold at each fare level is carefully managed by Alaska Airlines to ensure the fine balance between competitive fares that offer a good customer value and providing for a margin of profit. When it becomes necessary to change your ticket after it has initially been purchased, it is often necessary to re-price your itinerary and collect any difference in fares, should the new itinerary be of a higher cost. Additionally, many of our value fares also require a change service fee of $100.00 (USD) if your reservation is changed through our Reservations Sales Agents or Customer Service Agents, or $75.00 (USD) if changed online through alaskaair.com.



Mr. Cheung, as a customer service gesture, I am including two Discount Codes. The discount is available for your use for one year from the date of issue. Please reference the appropriate code below at the time of booking on alaskaair.com. Discount Codes do not require a pin and need to be entered in the Discount Code box at the beginning of your reservation. Complete rules and restrictions can be found online at alaskaair.com.



Allan Cheung, Discount Code xxxxxxxxxxxxx, in the amount of $75 Michelle Lee, Discount Code xxxxxxxxxxx, in the amount of $75

I hope that you will accept my invitation to join us on another flight. I'm confident that we will once again live up to your expectations.



Sincerely,

XX



~~~~



Dear XX,



Thank you for replying to my complaint. Unfortunately, your response shows no signs of investigating into the matter. The fact that you "...appreciated (my) phone call regarding (my) recent travel experiences." Shows that no care nor thought has been given to this inquiry as I had never called customer care. My complaint was in written form via Alaska Air's customer care message portal.



Once again, I'm led to question whether Alaska Air cares about customer satisfaction, and how much they are investing in the training of their customer service representatives.



Your letter nicely tries to justify the fare system of Alaska Air, but nowhere does it address how and why our return flight was cancelled without notice, which cost us approximately an extra $400 to make a separate booking for November 15th. Nowhere does it explain why our reservations for November 15th were then not booked, which led to our spending extra approximate $200 for tickets that were supposed to be booked in the first place.



Nowhere does it explain why I was greeted with an invitation to file a law suit, by a supervisor, no less. Is that how Alaska Air trains their employees? If it is, please let me know and I will stop badgering you about it and simply inform friends, family and anybody who is looking to fly Alaska Air.



Thank you again for replying, but the $75 vouchers don't nearly make up for what booking with Alaska Air has cost us in extra money spent, time lost, and stress caused. To me, your reply and the voucher is a gesture that says "Here you go, now go away". Considering it took you over a week to reply, this is disappointing.



Again, we consider ourselves fair people. We are simply expecting to be reimbursed for costs that we should not have had to incur had our original booking been honored. These costs include:



- 2 x tickets from Las Vegas - Bellingham: $640

- 1 x extra night stay at the Planet Holleywood Hotel: $100

- 2 x cab fare to and from the Las Vegas Airport - $50



Total $790 USD



Note that we have not asked for the original flight from Bellingham to Las Vegas. While we were displeased that we were not properly informed to move ahead of the line, we take responsibility for not arriving at the airport far enough in advance.



I hope that your next response will show a little more effort in looking into the matter. If it is just another attempt to avoid truly solving the problem, I'm afraid we will have to resort to telling our experience to somebody who will care, such as the US department of Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement.



Regards,

Allan Cheung