The ECT Act of South Africa is a step in the right direction to provide some governance for E-Commerce websites, but many websites still enjoy a level of autonomy and abuse this lack of regulation with irresponsible or in some cases, fraudulent behaviour.
South African Airways is a force unto itself. A recent experience of my own highlights the need for companies that embark on Internet self-service strategies to ensure that they get it right. Furthermore, there is a pressing need for companies operating online to be more rigorously regulated within the various jurisdictions that they operate.
I recently booked a flight for my wife & myself from Cape Town to New York.
I chose the ‘Voyager Upgradeable’ option during the booking which:
(a) creates the impression that Voyager Upgradeable seats are available (when using SAA Voyager miles to upgrade to business class there are only a certain number of ‘upgradeable seats’ available on each flight)
and
(b) costs nearly R 2,000 more per passenger than a non-upgradeable seat!
I then phoned SAA to upgrade my seats with my air miles to business class & was told that no upgrades are available. When enquiring why ‘upgradeable’ seats were still being sold, I was informed that I am supposed to call SAA in advance before booking! How was I supposed to know this and why have I now paid more for two seats that are identical to cheaper seats? In fact, since my air miles should provide me with the priviledge of upgrading a normal economy seat to business class, why am I even paying more for ‘upgradeable’ seats in the first place?
After I was told that no upgrades were available, FlySAA continued to sell ‘upgradeable’ seats on their website, at a higher cost!
Surely an organization that manages international flight bookings can handle the simple logistical challenge of showing a certain class of seat as ’sold out’ when it is sold out…?
SAA sells unavailable seats at higher cost
What is more frustrating is that SAA respond with a simple ’sorry’? When you’re paying for something based on a respresentation made on the website, I think ’sorry’ doesn’t cut it. How about – ‘we’ll make a plan, leave it with us’, or ‘we will credit you the excess you paid for supposed upgradeable seats and make sure that our systems are fixed to avoid future dissapointments for other customers’?
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me. Last year I planned a trip to Italy and when I phoned to use airmiles for the booking, I was told that I need an additional 20,000 miles per person. I told SAA that their website was wrong, to which they responded: ‘we know’? So, your customer incentive program is misrepresenting itself on your website, you know about it, and haven’t taken any measures to correct it?
When a customer makes a purchase online and is mislead during the buying process, it amounts to fraud and deception. In this instance SAA have profited from their deception and failed to deliver on their air miles committment – many customers use a specific airline because of the air miles benefits. When the airline makes it close to impossible to use those air miles one has to ask questions about the integrity and legitamacy behind the incentive program.
At the time of writing this article, business class seats remain available on FlySAA…
FlySAA today - Business Class Seats Available!
