Yesterday we wrote about the new credit card surcharge coming in two weeks for those flying Singapore Airlines and SilkAir from Singapore. Well 24 hours is a long time in aviation it seems. First, let’s backtrack a little.
Initially there was some confusion over who would pay the surcharge, and SIA really had themselves to blame for that as it wasn’t made very clear, but once the dust settled it was agreed that the new 1.3% charge would apply only to those booking Economy Lite fares departing from Singapore, on both Singapore Airlines and SilkAir.
In a bizarre U-turn however, the airline has now apparently dropped the plans altogether, less than 24 hours after several blogs got hold of the news, and wrote less than flattering thoughts about it! That’s not to mention the roundly negative forum posts over at FlyerTalk and SQTalk.
Kudos to Singapore Airlines though in one sense, despite creating the confusing mess in the first place (a thoughtfully structured press release and website message would have been better), they have reacted quickly to the negative feedback, and dropped the plans.
Summary
It’s welcome news that those paying the lowest fares won’t now be stung with a charge for paying by credit card after 20th January, or more correctly won’t have to find a way to circumvent the charge, which looked from the outset as though it might still be possible (e.g. the PayPal method).
Also, as this now technically counts as the first enhancement we have seen from SIA this year, we all have reason to celebrate a little!
It’s not reversed “after one day” as I still had to pay the surcharge today
Hi Chris, to clarify this article refers to the proposal to charge some passengers a credit card fee for tickets originating in Singapore from 20th Jan. That idea was cancelled.
SIA continue to charge a credit card fee for all tickets issued in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Netherlands and the UK as they have done for some time.
With the exception of the UK where this fee will end on 13th January due to a change in the law, the others are set to stay I’m afraid!