The next flight I was scheduled to take was from Hong Kong to Singapore. I was due to land at 6pm but ended up arriving at 8am the next day. There was a typhoon near Hong Kong that night so I’ll classify the delay under ‘act of God’, but the way it was handled was positively hellish
United Airlines were responsible for this leg of my journey, and I paid a very reasonable $100 for the one way trip. My flight was due to leave Hong Kong at 4pm so I showed up at 2 and immediately noticed how quiet it was. Thinking I just got lucky I moved to the front of the queue for check in, then they dropped the bomb on me. It’s a conversation I don’t think I’ll ever forget, first they told me there was a slight delay on the flight then they told me the plane had only left San Francisco an hour earlier. My new departure time was 13 hours later than scheduled
I did not want to judge them on the delay, more on how they handled it. Here is where United lost my business. I felt with a delay of 13 hours, they would be throwing some compensation at me, be it an upgrade or a free return flight at some point in the future. They kept a straight face while handing me a food voucher for HK$75, approximately £5 ($7) at the time of writing. To suggest that a £5 voucher would keep me occupied for 13 hours is quite shocking. I politely declined this paltry offer, checked in and returned to the city centre for my usual pre-flight preparations. For those of you who don’t know, this involves a bar, beer and scotch
When I eventually returned to the airport, slightly worse for wear, I kept myself busy on my laptop using HK Airports fine free wi-fi. I decided to treat myself and book an executive suite at the Mandarin Oriental in Singapore. In hindsight, a move born out of frustration more than necessity since I was already booked into a very nice hotel but I do have a soft spot for Mandarins, in my opinion the world’s finest chain of hotels. After no further delays I departed Hong Kong, at 415am, bleary eyed and exhausted
Hong Kong at Night
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
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