June 22, 04:54 PM 
514 Chai Chee Lane 03-16, Singapore 469029 Rosalyn Lee - also known as Rozz - is the host of The Morning Lush with Rozz on Lush 99.5 every week day 7 to 11am. This Facebook rant was reproduced and edited with her permission as a quote.
About the Scoot fiasco that happened over the weekend, when the budget carrier jerked a group of passengers around with delays (totalling to almost 24hrs), gave flippant reasons for the delays and even disembarked them twice, this is what I have to say.
I've read the comments that ensued as a result and the comment that appeared most often that annoyed me the most was: "Pay budget, get budget. Why are people expecting high level of service when they fly budget?!"
First things first: As a frequent flyer myself, I've flown both budget and full service on economy and business class. Through my experience booking and paying for my flights, I learnt this: budget carriers aren't really cheaper (than full service carriers) or lousier as a result of their low cost.
The difference between budget and full service airlines is that flying budget ALLOWS you the OPTION to save money by allowing you to opt out of paying for services you may not need, like seat selection, checked baggage, meals on board etc. However, if you add all those services onto your budget ticket, you will realise that it's not that much cheaper than full service airlines.
Personally, when considering flying budget, I'd never choose Scoot because their price points are higher than their competitors like Jetstar and Air Asia.
My point is: I don't think people who fly budget expect a "high level of service" or to be treated like VIPs. They just don't want to be treated like shit. I've suffered flight delays before and I'm easily appeased when given clear information on the situation, and OPTIONS on how to go about making a Plan B happen. Information and proper communication is the key here, and that's what's sorely missing from Scoot's end.
I've flown budget a few times and have experienced delays but seriously, this is BY FAR an all time low. People were angry because they were tired of being jerked around. I mean, they were getting fed vague reasons and disembarked TWICE - even the best of us would get flipping mad. And the way Scoot handled their PR? Mega fail.
Such things will probably never happen on AirAsia. That Tony Fernandes dude would bloody teleport himself down and give everybody group hugs lor! LOL!
I still reckon its not so much an issue of "flying budget, get budget", but rather a "your airline pretty much sucks" problem. Yes I'm talking about you, Scoot. Buck up, because the others in your brethren are leaps and bounds better than you.
Top photo courtesy of J Tan.
Read also:
Scoot finally speaks up about delayed Perth flight, passengers promptly slam it for vagueness
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