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“Terrible Customer Service for a Passenger who Needed a Wheelchair Assist - Heavy Paperwork & Airlink Didn't Deliver”
Review of Airlink


Reviewed 4 July 2024

The customer assistance at Airlink was abysmal. Each agent I dealt with for a wheel chair assistance request added more paperwork requests, Eventually the request was approved (see the history below) and then on the day of the flight there was no record on my reservation that there was to be a wheelchair. The check in clerk and, later, gate agent located wheelchairs but it was a total "ball drop" by the several customer assistance agents I interacted with before my flight.
I needed wheelchair assistance for my flight as I was recovering from surgery. For my outbound flight this was accomplished with a simple email exchange.
For the return flight I replied to the original email chain and expected a similar approval. Instead I was given two forms to complete, scan and return before the request would be considered. They were a liability release and a multi page form explaining my needs. Had I know this I would have completed the forms before departing where I had access to a scanner. However, I was able to print and return the forms.
What followed was a lengthy email chain from Airlink, requesting changes to the forms and those were later sent. It was then followed by another request for letter from my doctor. I had to call her and she had to write and scan a letter at her end that I could then forward to Airlink. Only then was the request approved for one leg of the flight.
I had to have another email exchange requesting the wheelchair assistance for my 2nd leg of the flight.
On the day of the flight there was no record of the request or approval associated with my reservation - even though I had an approval email and it was done within the 72 hour window required by Airlink. The check in counter was able to locate a wheel chair. Then on my connecting flight there was also no wheel chair associated with my reservation and the gate agent had to leave his post to obtain one.
On complaining the email was forwarded to a Customer Complaint department. They promised to look into the matter. It's now been over two weeks without any additional communication.

Date of travel: June 2024
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
1  Thank B1470OVmarkt
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviews (631)
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45 - 49 of 631 reviews

Reviewed 1 July 2024

Airplane was comfortable, flight crew were nice, food was decent, flights were on time. Only problem, and a big one, was that they didn't bother to fly a good portion of the passengers' check in luggage with them. It was a short, direct 2 hr 45 min flight. Not like our luggage could get lost along the way. I received my luggage by delivery to my residence the NEXT DAY. I was left with nothing for an entire day and night. I purchased some essentials and applied for reimbursement and they denied it. Trash company

Date of travel: November 2023
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
Thank Tim H
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 29 June 2024

Tauck Tours used this airline for our inter-Africa transportation, and we enjoyed their reliable and comfortable planes.
They were on time, didn't mishandle baggage, and had very friendly staff.
They had a sandwich meal service with beverages (including Wine) for no charge.
Highly recommend them

Date of travel: June 2024
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
1  Thank MiaTraveler2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 12 June 2024

In 2023 and 2024 trying to check in at VFA (tickets purchased both times 11 months in advance) despite having printed and emailed version of boarding passes and copies of e-tickets to present at check in, were told that 1 of us had no ticket, name of passenger was incorrect, did not match passport and another passenger had the same passport number? REALLY? - Yet flying with AirLink from Johannesburg to VFA no problems, tickets booked and paid for at same time 11 months previous, same passport, printed and emailed version of boarding passes. It appears that the check in staff at VFA are inadequately trained and it took over 3 hours to check in - so we had to run to catch the flight when they FINALLY sorted it out. Seats and meals requested 11 months earlier were also not honoured on the VFA/Jo’burg flight. No vegetarian meal. All the problems experienced were only for flights departing from VFA.

Date of travel: May 2024
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
Thank 2oldkiwis
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 12 June 2024

I recently had an extremely disappointing experience with Airlink. The airline failed to provide transparency regarding the status of our flight, which was repeatedly delayed, ultimately resulting in a 10-hour delay. This significant delay caused all passengers to miss their connecting flights, and Airlink did not offer any compensation for the inconvenience caused.

Additionally, the quality of the food served on the flight was subpar; the sandwich provided was notably poor. Based on this experience, I would strongly advise others to consider alternative airlines for their travel needs.

Date of travel: May 2024
    • Seat comfort
    • Customer service
    • Cleanliness
    • Food and Beverage
    • Legroom
    • In-flight Entertainment
    • Value for money
    • Check-in and boarding
1  Thank Max B
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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