Beware of cost options

Beware of extra cost options.

We paid extra to ensure that we were allocated specific seats to the amount of ZAR 1,276.00. We incurred this costly option because my wife is deaf and needed my assistance during the flight. I am also fairly tall and have to have an aisle seat.

We did an on-line check-in. We received our boarding passes via e-mail stating the same seat numbers. We arrived at the airport two and a half hours prior to departure. The queue was very long and we reached the check-in counter two hours before the departure time.

We were then told by KLM staff that there was a problem with the originally scheduled aircraft and a different one was sent to Cape Town for this flight. We were never informed by KLM about this problem before the time. We were not asked to do a new online check in. We were not instructed to select new seats. In the process we were kicked out of our seats.

The KLM staff at the airport were pretending to be unable to allocate us seats next to each other. I was terribly upset and we went from the one supervisor to the next only to have our request ignored. My wife could not sit with me and had a terrible flight because I could not assist her. Additionally I was allocated a middle seat which was terribly uncomfortable. It was the worst flight of my life.

I really feel that in such a case that the passengers who paid extra for specific seats should be given preferential treatment. We were treated as if we did not pay extra and as if we did not do an online check in and as if we arrived late at the airport and should be content with receiving the leftover s****s.

I am extremely disappointed in KLM. Their attitude and incompetency are really detestable. In fact they committed theft by selling us specific seats and then handing us the last available s****s. This is a ******** offence in my opinion.