If Thai Airways ever disappoints you in some way, make sure you know what you’re doing before you air your grievance on social media, as one disgruntled flyer has found out the hard way.
Four hours late due to fog
Thailand’s flagship airline is reported to be taking legal action against a passenger who posted a complaint on Facebook about a delayed flight from Bangkok to Melbourne (MEL). Poor visibility at the destination was blamed for the diversion and delay of flight TG465, which was scheduled to arrive in Melbourne at 07:20 am (local time). Instead it flew to Sydney (SYD), where it sat for 1 hour and 38 minutes. It eventually flew on to Melbourne, only landing over four hours late, at 11:41 am.
The passenger’s Facebook posts claimed the delay and diversion were due to low fuel supplies, not fog, as the airline had said. He also criticised the crew’s language skills. The airline however did not take kindly to his remarks, saying it had been “damaged” by them.
“Thai Airways’ response and legal proceedings against the passenger reflect its commitment to maintaining a high standard of safety and security,” the carrier said in a statement, adding the legal action was also aimed at “safeguarding its reputation against harmful and inaccurate public perceptions.”
Tough love?
Thailand has some of the world’s toughest laws and penalties. Although the flyer promptly deleted his posts after being corrected by the none other than the pilot himself, the airline has not withdrawn its intent to sue for defamation.
Another Canadian flyer found himself falling foul of Thai’s legal system after he opened a plane door and deployed the emergency evacuation slide at Chiang Mai International on 7 February. He has been sent for psychiatric assessment but could in theory face the death penalty.
But do such harsh responses act as a deterrent and are they counter-productive? Some commentators are questioning whether the Thai Airways response will have the desired effect of cooling off internet complainers.
“Complaint publicization”
Complaints on social media began to see a lot of traction in the early 2010s, with companies wordwide setting up Twitter-based customer-facing pages to demonstrate their commitment to good service.
Since then Harvard Business Review has questioned the wisdom of what it calls “complaint publicization”. In an analysis of Twitter traffic for 375 S&P 500 companies in 2014 and 2015, it found the “negative effects of complaint publicization consistently outweighed any positive impact of signaling care for customers”. Essentially, engaging with angry customers online only served to draw additional attention to the complaint, which immediately became visible on the company page due to the interaction.
Perhaps Thai Airways would do well to think about the phenomenon of “complaint publicization” too. As Simple Flying put it, their reaction makes the carrier seem thin-skinned and “paints the airline as one that refuses to improve and deal with passenger complaints.” Never a good look.
