Not such a great way to fly

[JH_AUS_10]

Please see below a letter to the Singapore Airlines CEO. Lets see if they live up to their "World Class" slogan and provide a response. I will keep this post updated with any response.

Goh Choon Phong, CEOSingapore AirlinesVia email.
Subject: Formal Complaint – Unlawful Fare Price Changes and Poor Customer Service - Singapore Airlines web enquiry / request: S-2025-01-17611643
Dear Mr Goh Choon Phong
I am writing to formally lodge a complaint regarding Singapore Airlines’ fare pricing practices, which I believe to be unlawful, and the poor handling of my complaint by your customer service team.
On 27 January 2025, I attempted to book a flight through the Singapore Airlines website. After selecting my flight and accepting the fare, I proceeded to enter passenger details. See Attachment 2 for details of the flight. However, during this stage, the fare price increased by approximately AUD $300 per passenger. This price adjustment occurred after I had committed to the originally displayed fare, which I believe constitutes a breach of contract under Australian consumer law.
Following this incident, I raised a complaint with Singapore Airlines. Unfortunately, my concerns have been managed poorly, with multiple different customer service representatives responding to my emails, often repeating previous queries rather than providing meaningful resolutions. As of today, there have been 15 communications on this matter, yet no satisfactory response has been provided. Please refer to Attachment A for a log of communications.
Further research has revealed that many airlines use dynamic pricing methods, tracking customer interest to manipulate fare prices. While such tactics may be unethical, I understand that they may not necessarily be illegal. However, Singapore Airlines has taken this practice further by altering fare prices at the final stage of booking—after a customer has accepted the displayed price. I believe this constitutes an illegal practice in Australia.
I have also been repeatedly asked to provide screenshots of the originally displayed fare. However, as your booking system does not retain this information, obtaining such evidence would require capturing screenshots of every step of the process, which is neither practical nor expected of customers.
Given these circumstances, I request the following actions from Singapore Airlines:

1. A full investigation into the pricing practice that led to my fare being increased after I had accepted the displayed price.
2. A commitment from Singapore Airlines to cease this practice and ensure compliance with Australian consumer laws.
3. An offer of an equivalent fare (or better) to the one we had accepted.
4. A review of your customer service processes to improve complaint resolution and communication.

I trust that Singapore Airlines will take this matter seriously and provide a prompt and appropriate resolution. Should I not receive a satisfactory response, I will have no choice but to escalate my complaint further through relevant consumer protection bodies, including the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Airline Customer Advocate. I will also feel it appropriate to share my experiences online.
I will continue to update you on my progress with your customer service team.
I look forward to your prompt response within 14 days. Please respond to me via email.
Sincerely

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Great first post - can’t wait for the response

FTR - I have previously contacted Goh Choon Phong via this email address and I did receive a satisfactory response from one of his lieutenants which eventually did result in a positive resolution - you may have some hope but who knows

 

[Dmac59]

Wow - A warm welcome to the AFF family @JH_AUS_10
I too will be following this thread with interest - best of luck.

 

[DC3]

Please see below a letter to the Singapore Airlines CEO

Welcome to AFF. Hopefully one of the hand-maidens will read it.

 

[Quickstatus]

@JH_AUS_10
Welcome to AFF
If you can please provide a step by step of your booking process and when you discovered the price increase?

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Welcome to AFF. Hopefully one of the hand-maidens will read it.

Typical constructive post by you way to go

 

[Austman]

This price adjustment occurred after I had committed to the originally displayed fare, which I believe constitutes a breach of contract under Australian consumer law.

For context, do you know the part of Australian consumer law that you refer to?

I've bought many things online where the final price was not really the initially offered price.

 

[DC3]

Typical constructive post by you way to go

Or, even a Singapore Girl?

Appreciate your compliment by the way.

 

[badseed]

It's interesting - consumer law itself is quite tricky to interpret about when exactly an offer is the 'legal' offer, and not just an invitation to treat. Given that airline pricing is typically dynamic, and that we often expect to see variance between the display price, and the final price based on a whole number of variables, it'll be difficult to prove that you were legally offered tickets at the price you originally saw, on the specific flights you were looking at.

Now, if you repeatedly saw this lower price level quoted on multiple flight options, and then it was impossible to acquire them at that price on any flights, that could point towards potential misleading and deceptive conduct.

None of this means that SQ will not assist you (and I hope they do) - they may not want the adverse publicity (if social media generates any) or any annoying bureaucratic enquiries, but only that they may not be in breach of Australian consumer law.

Ultimately we are well overdue for a proper statutory consumer framework for commercial aviation in Australia that clearly sets out rights, responsibilities and remedies for all parties, but from what I've seen, we're going to get a watered-down version at-best (like the National Anti-Corruption Commission...).