Delays, poor service plague foreign budget carriers

AirAsia Zest Air, the low-cost carrier from the Philippines, drew the most customer complaints among 11 foreign budget carriers flying to and from Korea, according to the Korea Consumer Agency. The airline was found to have caused frequent flight delays and failed to provide adequate customer service.

By Lee Hyo-sik

Foreign low-cost carriers (LCCs) have made inroads into Korea over the past few years, attracting a growing number of local travelers heading to China, Japan and Southeast Asia by offering low fares.

Currently, 11 foreign budget carriers, including AirAsia X and Peach Aviation, fly to and from Incheon and other airports.

However, these non-Korean budget carriers have largely failed to satisfy Korean travelers, according to consumer advocacy groups, due to frequent flight delays and inadequate customer service.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA), the state-run consumer rights protection body, an increasing number of local passengers are filing complaints against foreign LCCs.

In 2013, Korean travelers filed a total of 209 complaints with the agency against foreign airlines, up six-fold from 33 in 2012.

In comparison, travelers filed only 87 complaints combined against the five home-grown budget carriers — Jeju Air, Jin Air, Air Busan, Eastar Jet and T’way Air — even though they operate far more flights than their foreign counterparts.

AirAsia Zest topped the list with 34.88 complaints per 100,000 customers last year, followed by Peach Aviation with 9.7 complaints, AirAsia X with 5.39 complaints and Cebu Pacific Air with 2.78 complaints, according to the KCA.

For instance, an AirAsia Zest flight bound for the Philippines was delayed for more than 13 hours at Incheon International Airport on Feb. 9, due to fuel leakage from poor maintenance, inviting strong protests from the passengers.

The LCC from the Philippines was also named the least safe airline, among 70 carriers that fly to and from Korea, by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in February.

About 63.1 percent of customer complaints against foreign budget airlines were about delays and cancellations due to poor maintenance, and about 29.7 percent were about the airlines’ refusal to refund tickets.

In response to the growing number of customer complaints against these carriers, the ministry has been consulting with the KCA and other related government agencies on how to prompt non-Korean LCCs to improve their customer service.

“We are aware of the surging number of consumer complaints against foreign budget carriers. We have spoken with representatives of foreign LCCs and ask them to better service their airplanes and keep their flights on time,” said Lee Kwang-hee, director of the ministry’s aviation safety division. “When Korean airlines delay or cancel flights, we can impose fines on them or prevent them from operating for a certain period of time, but we cannot do the same to non-Korean carriers.”

Lee said when a foreign carrier causes a problem here, the ministry notifies the government of the country from which the airline originated.

“We ask the foreign aviation authorities to take actions against their airlines for unannounced flight cancellations or poor maintenance. If they don’t, they are penalized by the International Civil Aviation Organization,” the director said.

Lee Jin-cheol, director of the ministry’s international aviation policy division, said the government assigns fewer flight slots to foreign budget carriers plagued with poor safety records and consumer complaints.

“We evaluate the performance of foreign carriers flying to and from Korea every year. We offer more slots to well-performing airlines and do the opposite to poor performers,” Lee said. “In cooperation with the Korea Consumer Agency, we have also been forcing foreign airlines to establish more customer-friendly compensation guidelines.”