This has been a nightmare that I still cannot believe I had to experience. I'm still dazed and confused at how unprofessional Korean Airlines and the staff at the Korean Airlines Regional Office in Mactan Cebu International Airport treated my family and I. Let me explain. I was booked on a Korean flight out of Cebu, Philippines on April 5, 2017. Unfortunately my family and I got the date wrong and we missed our flight out of Cebu, Philippines. Something we did not intend to do and we paid dearly for an honest mistake--unintentional. We are a family consisting of 3 adults and 1 child (2 yrs old). Not only did we have family traveling with us, but we also traveled with our 2 Jack Russell Terriers pets. In addition we had 8 checked baggages weighing in at 22 kgs (50 lbs) each, and 8 carry on luggages and a baby stroller. We were told that because we missed our flight, the next available flight is not an option because Korean Air needed 72 hours prior approval to allow the dogs to fly as checked baggage. One major problem. The next major problem was the health certificate paperwork. Unbeknownst to me, we were in possession of the wrong health certification. We were told the health certificate for our 2 Jack Russell Terriers needed to be obtained from the airport health inspector and NOT the seaport health inspector. Because of a simple mistake we were made to suffer further insult and injury by having to pay an additional penalty, withstand returning all of our luggage back home, wait an additional 72 hours for the next flight, and pay a fee for extending my stay by one day in the Philippines with immigration.
I explained this to the Korean Airlines Regional office, and instead of offering compassionate consideration for an obvious human error, they added more insult to injury by insisting that we missed our flight. I had no issue with paying the penalty fee, I take issue with the treatment of the Korean Airlines regional office employees. They offer no compassion or consideration for a customer who obviously was stressed out from having learned of missing the flight, but to add more stress, they insisted that we would not be able to fly until we 1) corrected the error of the health certificate, 2) pay the penalty fees, 3) pay additional immigration fees for extended stay, 4) incur additional expenses for missing our flight (i.e. cab fees, food, incidental expenses), 5) 72 hour waiting period with Korean Airlines. I have nothing good to say about Korean Airlines, their staff exacerbated the entire situation by not only increasing fees, but offering no concessions or assistance whatsoever. It is obvious they don't care about customer service. The Airlines industry is a service oriented industry and caterers to providing service to customers as myself. I can choose may airlines to fly, but I made the mistake of choosing Korean Airlines. Had I been on an American flight, I would not have been treated so egregiously. A total shame that Korean Airlines doesn't care about customers or travelers who are already stressed out about having to accept mistakes. No compassion or consideration. Shame on you Korean Airline.
Regards, read more
