mohamed shafeek

Aug 24, 2022

Pathetic Service

My self and family came on holiday from Canada to Sri Lanka on 24th July 2022 and were scheduled to fly back on Sri Lankan UL0505 (booking ref 4NHFCR)to LHR on 19th August and via Air Canada AC0863 to Vancouver on 19th at 16:10hrs (London time). I received below mail from Sri Lankan on August 10th “Dear Passenger, Sri Lankan Airlines regrets to inform the schedule change on UL505/19AUG. Your flight will depart CMB 0720Hrs/19AUG and arrive in LHR 1535Hrs/19AUG Sincerely, SriLankan Airlines Team On receipt of the mail, I immediately spoke to my agent in Canada who issued the tickets and was advised that Sri Lankan needs to provide me an alternative solution since this was not factored in the ticket and delay is from Sri Lanka sector. At the time I received the mail I was out of Colombo, 11th being a Poya day I had to cut down my trip and came to Colombo on 12th morning to reschedule my flight. My wife and I visited the Sri Lankan office at the World Trade Centre at 9.30am on 12th August, to reschedule my flight since I do not have sufficient time for the connecting flight from LHR (0.35mnts). I was told by the agent Ruwini the delay is due to re-fueling in COK. I was assisted by a trainee staff member who was not knowledgeable and understanding her position. She said cannot help me and since the ticket was issued in Canada and there are no seats in any of the Sri Lankan flights, it needs to be rescheduled in Canada. Subsequently I spoke to the Air Canada office in SL and they too advised that Sri Lankan needs to reschedule my flight. At this point of time another agent by the name Ruwini came to the rescue of the trainee agent and stated that I was supposed to come within 24hrs of receiving the mail. We stated that the mail does not specify this requirement. Moreover, the next day of receiving the mail was a holiday in Sri Lanka (poya day) . She was so arrogant and argumentative the way she spoke to us. Ruwini said she will try to get four seats on the 18th flight however we need to get the tickets issued within one hour. I said it is around 2.00am in Canada. I need to speak to my agent in the morning. She was not willing to accommodate, with no choice I had to wake my agent and speak, he said that he needs to check with Air Canada office in the morning and agent spoke to Ruwini in our presence and requested to hold the booking for 24hrs which she did not agree and said the system will automatically cancel the booking after one hour. My agent spoke to the Air Canada 24hrs helpline and they also said the tickets can be issued only once the office is opened in the morning. I was left with no choice, no alternative given, Ruwini instructed me to call the Sri Lankan call center on 1979 every hour and confirm the booking, which was not practical at all. I tried calling the given no and had to wait on hold for a minimum of 45minutes, spoke to an agent called Stefan and then another 30 mins to get it confirmed. When I called the second hour at the same wait time and when I spoke to an agent the booking was deleted/cancelled and I was not able to use the ticket to fly back. Since I did not have a choice and had to get back to Canada to report to work, I had to pay an additional CAD5200 and purchased four tickets through my agent. I seek financial compensation for the loss and mental trauma myself and family went through due to the fault of Sri Lankan Airlines. If no settlement is received, I will take this matter with the higher ups and on social media. I will also advise the Sri Lankan community in Canada regarding the service and to think twice prior to flying on Sri Lankan. With such poor customer service and unprofessional staff assisting customers I am not surprised why the Airline is making such losses.