Monday, July 31, 2017 4:05 PM Mr. Paolo Riccardo Gabrieli
said:
"poor customer experience"
Content:
Facts
Yesterday, myself and my wife arrived at Beijing terminal 2 at 14.30, well in advance vs. scheduled departure time. Given that, before checking-in we went to the China Eastern desk and asked for the possibility to jump on an earlier flight. Answer was yes for the 17.00 PEK-XIY flight, though at 1.500 yuan per person charge.
This shows a lack of vision of China Eastern in my opinion (vs. many other international carriers). Allowing passengers for free on earlier flights on an availability and feasibility basis is a win-win situation:
- passengers: customer experience is improved as destination is reached earlier,
- carrier: reduces potential complaints in case of delays on subsequent flights and reduces risks in case of overbooking.
All in all, the flight MU2116 departed from PEK few minutes after 22.15 vs scheduled 18.45 and landed in XIY at 23.48, or about 3,5 hours late (the flight normally takes 1h 40'). First bags arrived at the belt at 00.19 of Monday 31st.
Given time of arrival I was not in the position to claim for damages to my checked baggage as the desk at XIY was closed.
Finally, I had to take a taxi to reach my final destination vs. public transportation I initially envisaged to rely on.