How to Write a Successful Complaint Letter to an Airline Involving a Bad Airplane Flying Experience

Ever get ticked-off due to a flight delay? Don’t know what to do when a flight is cancelled? Had to deal with a rude stewardess during a flight? If you’ve said yes to any of these or similar situations, then you’ve come to the right place. I’ve had a lot of experiences flying as an aviation consultant and in addition to any complaining you may do at the airport, you can also submit a complaint letter to the airline. Here’s how…

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer
• Details of airport incident
• Supporting documents

1. First, you’ll need to stay calm and collected. Don’t let your emotions be reflected in the letter other than disappointment and hardship. You want to project a very intelligent and methodical expression of yourself. It’s much harder to reject the complaint of an intelligent and well-thought out letter. An intelligent person will know how to sue and to acquire damaging publicity through the press. An emotional, unintelligent, and perhaps “crazy” person won’t know how to do these things. So, use lawyer-like language and be polite (e.g., address the airline as “dear sir/madam” rather than “dear scumbag”).
2. Be extremely detailed in your accounts of the events. Provide dates, times, names, and accounts of every action including verbal discussions, etc. The more detailed you are, the more you’ll be able to show that you are a confident and methodical person who needs to be listened to. This will also let them know that you have a case against them. The point is to provide a detailed argument and not seem like you are whining about some bad service. You must make a logical argument. Again, be like a lawyer.
3. To support your argument, photocopy of any supporting material including any meeting announcements, invitations to special events, etc. Use these to indicate that you missed them (or part of them) due to the delay or cancellation of the flight (if that’s what happened). Now you’ll really be like a lawyer: you’ll be supporting your arguments with proof. Don’t be shy of sending material. Better to be overly conservative than miss something.
4. Ask for monetary compensation. This usually means a voucher for a flight. Depending on the severity of the situation, they may be obliged to give you more or less. The rule of thumb is that for a cancelled flight where the airline was clearly at fault, they should provide a voucher enough to cover another full flight.
5. Make sure to mail the complaint letter to the correct department of the airline. Don’t simply send it to their corporate office. Make sure you find out the address of the complaint department before you leave the airport on the day of the unfortunate event.