1 week Ago
MY colleague and I booked seats on a domestic airline for a short hop from Subang to Penang on Sunday, departing at 12.45pm. We turned up early at the airport only to be told – nonchalantly – that there was no flight.
None until 8.35pm. Not delayed by an hour or two, but shoved a full eight hours later into the day! And what of the duty to inform passengers of such “minor” changes? Ah, the airline had sent an e-mail.
To just one of us. At 6.30pm the evening before.
An e-mail, mind you. Because expecting people to check work e-mail on a Saturday night is apparently normal behaviour now. When we asked why no text messages were sent – both of us had provided our mobile numbers during booking – we were treated to this masterful answer: “We don’t send SMS because phone numbers might not be updated.
” Because, obviously, unlike e-mail phone numbers are apparently beyond the reach of 21st-century technology. And if you did want the revolutionary service of being notified via your mobile, you should have magically known to tick an obscure box during booking and pay an extra RM2.50.
Because yes, in 2025, basic communication from an airline is now an à la carte service you have to pay for. Let me call this out for what it is: This airline doesn’t respect passengers enough to treat basic communication as a right, not a privilege. In what sane universe is it reasonable to cancel an entire half-day’s worth of flights and assume that a single Saturday night e-mail covers all obligations? Where is the recognition that passengers have work, commitments, families – lives that do not orbit around an airline’s operational mismanagement? When asked about refunds, we were told to basically fend for ourselves – go find another airline (good luck), head to KL International Airport (have fun fighting traffic), and maybe, if the stars align, find a seat elsewhere.
The message was clear: “Not our problem.” This isn’t just terrible service. This is institutionalised negligence.
This is an airline that seems to have forgotten that flying people isn’t just about taking off and landing, it’s about trust. And trust, once broken, is not easily rebuilt with RM2.50 apologies and half-hearted e-mails.
Passengers aren’t asking for the moon. We’re asking for basic respect. Clear communication.
Accountability. A sincere understanding that behind every ticket is a real person with real consequences when airlines mess up. PROF MOHD SAID BANI Subang Jaya, Selangor.
