Joe Cristina, Mosta
Benefits frequent fliers should be entitled to
On November 26, 2009 I travelled to Brussels on an Air Malta flight and, being a permanent member of the Flypass Frequent Flyer Programme, I duly presented my card for eventual KMiles credit. For the return flight three days later I did the same.
Last week, I received a statement from Flypass listing my activity to the programme as at November 30, 2009! But the statement date is not my bone of contention although it is questionable.
My initial complaint is that the above-mentioned flights were not listed in the statement and, therefore, no credit in KMiles was given to me. I therefore phoned the Flypass office to enquire. Here my complaint goes further.
To my surprise, the only help offered for me to have what is due to me was only a question as to whether I still held the boarding passes for the flights. Replying that I only had the outgoing one, the solution offered was for me to computer-scan the boarding card held and send it in via e-mail indicating the date of return.
When I asked why I had to go through this hassle once Air Malta staff could easily scan through their computer system and confirm my flights, I was told they are precluded by the audit office to do so and the only way for me to have my KMiles credited was as indicated.
I am writing this letter so that, maybe, someone at Air Malta may be interested to know that the Flypass computer system might need looking into.
Why are statements dated November mailed in January?
Why do customers themselves have to prove they flew Air Malta when all flight activity is computer-generated and stored?
Does the Flypass office realise that not all Air Malta customers may be computer literate and may not have all peripherals, scanners in particular?
If, as indicated, customers' activity cannot be searched by Flypass office staff due to an audit issue, was this ever raised by Flypass to solve this situation rather than hassling customers?
Finally, and most glaringly, why are permanent members of Flypass and other higher tiers not automatically recognised by the system and credited on the outgoing flight from Malta without even the need for them to present their permanent card?
I have been flying Air Malta since 1975.
Popular Stories
In Discussion
1 Comment
Post comment
Please sign in or create your Account to post comments.
Phil Humphries
Feb 1st 2010, 14:21
I couldn't agree more. It seems to me that this scheme is high on style and low on substance.
There was period when my wife and I made several flights together, yet our Flypass statements were completely different for that same period. In fairness to Air Malta, they did eventually correct it, but not before I had spent a great deal of time and effort proving my points ( no pun intended). As for an apology, or even an acknowledgement of their error - I'm still waiting.
And don't get me started on how many hoops you have to climb through in order to convert KMiles into flights, not to mention how much it actually costs! In my experience it has been cheaper to buy a budget ticket with another carrier than utilise my KMiles, so where is the incentive in that?
Otherwise, I really like Air Malta. It might not be perfect, but it's a great deal better than many I could mention and I would hate to see it disappear.