Singapore Airlines
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Not viable for most travellers anymore due to illegal practices
Singapore Airlines used to be a decent airline, and I used to like travelling through Singapore, but their luggage policy means it's just not viable anymore. They only allow about 25kg, or 30kg on flex tickets, which if you're doing any kind of sports like Scuba diving is often not sufficient. Normally airlines offer to let you take a dive bag for this situation, or discounted sports luggage. This is especially true given they have one of the worst hand luggage allowances in the industry of 7kg when companies like KLM offer you 12kg and British airways offer you 23kg hand luggage. This really highlights how utterly unsuitable Singapore's luggage policy is for long haul as they've squeezed allowances down to the level where it's no longer possible to fly with them. I don't even mind paying for extra luggage, but here's where the problem came in - their website said an extra 15kg would be 405 USD (£320), and as part of our flight was with Scoot that we had to phone them as we'd get a further discount on this. Upon phoning them I got an incompetent customer service rep who insisted it would be £388 each way, which is more than their advertised price, much less discounted as they advertise on the website. This is a firmly illegal bait and switch tactic that is banned by law, yet Singapore Airlines not only do this, but actively repeat it when challenged. He tried to argue the website is advisory but it's not - the price is clearly and explicitly stated with no clause about it being a pretend number or otherwise. It states that those are explicitly the costs, so for them to pretend there is a discount when in fact they charge significantly more is insane. The customer service rep wouldn't even let me speak to anyone else or their manager, so the customer service itself is abysmal, he also told me he wouldn't accept a complaint. The worst part is Scoot give you a free dive bag but Singapore Airlines itself doesn't, so they want you to pay for something that's free for part of your journey on top. As such Singapore just isn't viable anymore for anyone wanting to take much with them other than a few clothes etc. From the UK Emirates is now a much better option, the service is much better and they have far better luggage policies. They don't lie on their website and try and rip you off, they charge you what they advertise. Go Emirates, ditch Singapore and save yourself time, money, and having to deal with incompetent staff. Let's hope they're not also breaking any other laws, like airline safety standards if they think laws on bait and switch don't apply to them.