Mango airlines and SAA - You have lost a very good customer for life

Item: Mango Airlines
Rating: 1
Author: Darren A

To Mango Senior Executive Management I am extremely disappointed. I am a senior executive of a large listed company and have frequented the use of SAA and Mango airlines, averaging 4 return flights a month between Jhb, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London. Besides the ongoing support I have given SAA and Mango airlines over the years, this is the "support" they choose to give me in return..... I am travelling with my family to Mauritius on a particular date (roughly 6 weeks from now) and needed to arrange for a local connecting flight from Cape Town to Jhb as the Mauritius flight departs from Jhb. I originally booked the local leg to Jhb in the early morning of the flight allowing 3 hours layover until the International flight. After numerous delays and diversions which I have experienced with SAA and Mango over the last few weeks (due to fog in Cape Town Airport), I realised that I have made a mistake booking the local flight on the same day as the risk of Cape Town Airport being fogged in is a real concern which could result in us missing the flgiht to Mauritius. I called the Guest Relations Centre and spoke to a lady Shabnam (guest team leader). She advised me that there is a R385 admin charge PER PERSON to change the booking besides the difference in the cost of the flights. I have no problem paying for the difference in flight cost but the admin charge in this instance is nothing short of highway *******!!!! In short, by moving the local (1 way) flight early by 1 day for the 4 of us, they wanted to charge me an addditional R2500!!!!!! That is what they want to push a button on a computer!!!!! I explained to her that I am just trying to be proactive in moving the flight well in advance as if the weather does become a real issue on the day, Mango will have to try and find us another airline to assist us so we don't miss the international flight. This would surely cost Mango more in the long run. Instead of applying logic, I was bombarded with the "rules and the systems and processes" which they have to follow. I requested to escalate the matter further and called Mango head office. After numerous attempts to get hold of Wally Feldsman (head of Guest services) and the CEO Nico Bezuidenhoudt, I was blocked over and over again by the receptionist. Mango/SAA, do the maths....4 return flights a month on average with an average cost of R4000 return per flight...thats R16000 a month of support I have given you. Then there is my staff...whom I sign off on their travel. Do you think you can bully the customer into submission with your fixed processes and procedures??? There are other airlines we can do business with! You call yourself guest services. Great service guys! :( :( :(

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