In a letter of apology to members of its KrisFlyer frequent flyer programme, chief executive officer Goh Choon Phong said the carrier made “no excuses for our failure to deliver an acceptable level of online service”. But technical problems are continuing to cause aggravation for some customers.
“I know that you have high expectations of us, and we failed to meet those expectations," he said. "On behalf of the company, I offer our unreserved apology, and pledge to win back your confidence."
An in-depth internal investigation is underway and has made significant progress in rectifying defects, Goh added.
Singapore's national carrier introduced a revamped website on 22 May this year, as part of its ongoing efforts to refresh and enhance its online services. But significant numbers of users reported problems of website crashes and multiple billing, subsequently venting their disappointment on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, as well as on online news portals.
Some described it as “a total disaster”, saying that the new website was not user-friendly and made it virtually impossible to book a flight online.
A Singapore Airlines spokesperson said the carrier understands its customers frustrations and has subsequently expressed its apologies through various communications. The airline confirmed that its technical partner for the website project was Sapient Limited.
Asked whether a new agency was being sought, the spokesperson said, "At this point in time, our priority is to resolve all outstanding issues and deliver the improved online experience that was the objective behind our website revamp. Our in-depth investigation on how the defects were not detected during the testing period is still ongoing."
In 2009, digital marketing services group Sapient Interactive was put in charge of Singapore Airlines’ online brand identity. At press time the agency had not responded to Campaign's query about the website.
An advertising industry veteran told Campaign that Singapore Airlines' brand name had been severely damaged by the backlash. The most important issue should be how Singapore Airlines is going to win back those disgruntled passengers, he said.
“Many people I know of have moved away from booking Singapore Airlines (due to the faulty new website). There are so many bad comments (about Singapore Airlines) on the internet and their response in dealing with this issue has been slow. This has seriously damaged the brand name, which subsequently affects their sales. It is a lot of work for them going forward in regaining the brand name,” he added.
