The useless new website, launched in May 2011

[Dickson]

One of my bookings has done this. I have flights to and from LHR, one in 2A the other in 3F, both on the 380 and according to the website I am in Business Class for both.

I finally figured out this mixed class booking problem. When you display any booking, there's a disclaimer clause right at the bottom of the page that says something to the effect that -- if it is a mixed class booking, we are unable to correctly display the correct class of travel for each sector. So what we display is erroneous and can you please refer to your e-ticket instead to figure out the actual class of booking. And when you click onto "Tickets and Bookings", the same problem occur but this time they forgot to remind you about this disclaimer clause.

In other words, SIA does not have the technology to properly display mixed class booking. Rather than NOT displaying the booking, they rather display something erroneous and tell you to ignore it in the Disclaimer clause.

Anyway, I ran into several new problems today.

When I click onto "My Bookings", it no longer displays ANY booking. Instead, I'm required now to remember my booking PNR and key it in.

Thinking that it will be easier to try "Tickets and Receipts", I now get a page with Chinese character instructions. This is hilarious !!

So I went back to "My Bookings", dug out my PNR from my emails and when I key this in, I get "Please enter valid Booking reference or ticket number and Last/Family name." and the system hangs after that.

Looks like the website is getting worse !!

[SQtraveller]

post deleted

[SQflyergirl]

So, almost two months on and they haven't got their site to work?

It's one thing to have a boo boo, admit it, take the thing offline and go back to the drawing board and come back when the thing actually works properly.

It's another thing altogether when you doggedly stick to it and expect your customers to do UAT whether they like it or not. That's either sheer pride or stupidity. Take your pick.

Listen up SQ: Your customers are on your site to check their bookings, buy tickets - that sort of thing, NOT to iron out the bugs on your site.

[flyguy]

2 months! and havent slove out the bugs yet is a very loooong time and bad for such airline.....sigh...

[ozdude]

I doubt anything would change unless the media makes some noise. So, not being rude, but how many people here have taken their problems to the letters to the editor sections of the papers?

I haven't, but I have not had to do any bookings.

[demue]

Anyway, I ran into several new problems today.

When I click onto "My Bookings", it no longer displays ANY booking. Instead, I'm required now to remember my booking PNR and key it in.

Thinking that it will be easier to try "Tickets and Receipts", I now get a page with Chinese character instructions. This is hilarious !!

So I went back to "My Bookings", dug out my PNR from my emails and when I key this in, I get "Please enter valid Booking reference or ticket number and Last/Family name." and the system hangs after that.

Same problem for me. I have given up on it for now. Lucky most of my upcoming flights are BD awards of some sort even though they involve SQ. I just use BD's Amadeaus booking reference and add them to my LH M&M Booking overview and from there I can monitor them and assign seats etc. (at least or LH, OS, LX, TG, SQ, NH ...)

Currently my next 'pure' SQ booking made on the old website is for April 2012 so by then I hope it will work just fine

[MAN Flyer]

Well it's taken a while, but finally an apology from the CEO himself.

We may have got to 34 pages and over 500 posts on this thread alone, but fair play to him, at least they are holding their hands up and admitting it's bad. Hopefully it won't be too much longer before it's working properly and we can actually use it to buy tickets again without the current worry of it all going pear shaped.

Dear Mr MAN Flyer 14 July 2011

On behalf of Singapore Airlines, I would like to offer our sincere apology for the inconvenience caused as a result of issues that arose from the launch of our new website on 22 May 2011.

As with all new initiatives that we undertake, the intention behind the website revamp was to improve on our customers’ experience with us. I am truly sorry that the new website, with its technical problems, has instead caused much aggravation for many of our customers. We make no excuses for our failure to deliver an acceptable level of online service.

We have committed full resources to resolving the website problems and have made significant progress in rectifying many of the defects. We will continue to relentlessly pursue all other outstanding issues. An in-depth investigation as to how the issues that arose went undetected is well underway, and we are treating this with utmost importance.

At Singapore Airlines, we strive to put our customers at the centre of everything we do. I am well aware that there is a wide range of travel options to choose from, and thus, am grateful that many of you have continued to support us. We do not take this for granted.

Thank you for your continued patience during this period. I know that you have high expectations of us, and we failed to meet those expectations. On behalf of the Company, I offer our unreserved apology, and pledge to win back your confidence.

Yours sincerely,

Goh Choon Phong
Chief Executive Officer
Singapore Airlines

[SQJunkie]

I received the same email too.
Was not expecting that at all.

[Concorde]

Agreed, the switch from denial to admission is good.

But seven weeks later ? The deep problems with the website were understood by most of us by late May, as a perusal of earlier pages will attest.

[milehighj]

Agreed, the switch from denial to admission is good.

But seven weeks later ? The deep problems with the website were understood by most of us by late May, as a perusal of earlier pages will attest.

Well first they needed to recruit all their customers as alpha-testers, then they needed to compile the data, write the necessary reports, have the necessary committees review the reports. Then maybe sometime about 6 weeks ago IT Committee #17 published the minutes of the meeting raising a serious problem to a middle manager who discussed a problem to a senior manager who mentioned a minor technical issue to the PA to the CEO. And at some point thereafter the proverbial sh*t hit the proverbial windmill...

[cmy]

Apology from SIA's CEO

Hey guys, I believe you have received the email from them by now. A long overdue official response from the top managment!

=================

Dear XXX,

On behalf of Singapore Airlines, I would like to offer our sincere apology for the inconvenience caused as a result of issues that arose from the launch of our new website on 22 May 2011.

As with all new initiatives that we undertake, the intention behind the website revamp was to improve on our customers’ experience with us. I am truly sorry that the new website, with its technical problems, has instead caused much aggravation for many of our customers. We make no excuses for our failure to deliver an acceptable level of online service.

We have committed full resources to resolving the website problems and have made significant progress in rectifying many of the defects. We will continue to relentlessly pursue all other outstanding issues. An in-depth investigation as to how the issues that arose went undetected is well underway, and we are treating this with utmost importance.

At Singapore Airlines, we strive to put our customers at the centre of everything we do. I am well aware that there is a wide range of travel options to choose from, and thus, am grateful that many of you have continued to support us. We do not take this for granted.

Thank you for your continued patience during this period. I know that you have high expectations of us, and we failed to meet those expectations. On behalf of the Company, I offer our unreserved apology, and pledge to win back your confidence.

Yours sincerely,

Goh Choon Phong
Chief Executive Officer
Singapore Airlines

[Megatop]

Better late than never.

[charvy]

yeah received that email too. took them that long to offer their apologies for the mess - the CEO has to step in now since the public affairs vp is not doing that great a job to appease the public.

i'll be interested to find out the results of the investigation into the undetected issues. someone's head gonna roll somehow.

[UMD]

I haven't received anything yet from SQ.

[cmy]

I haven't received anything yet from SQ.

maybe they will show you some love by calling you personally?