This is a long over due post which took place in December 2015. I took a 1 week break away from work to Washington DC and New York City, it was quite a last minute decision and there wasn't much planning done. Do note that 1 week isn't really sufficient if you want to cover these 2 cities.
I took a night flight on Singapore Airlines SQ26 to New York and transit to Washington DC on Delta but the flight was a total nightmare due to the delay.
SQ 26 was scheduled to take off at 11:55pm on 18 Dec 2016, however the pilot only found that there was a problem with the traffic collision avoidance system around 11+pm. They were also unsure if they can fix it or we need to wait for a replacement plane.
Suites and Business class passengers were advised to return to the lounge and wait for further updates while economy class passengers can stay in the gate hold room to wait. Food and drinks was distributed much later as well as blankets. They gave out cold buns which are normally given out during overnight flight's night service, understand such circumstances I thought better food could be provided to passengers.
Passengers queuing up to get the food and drinks.
The staff went around giving passengers a letter informing of the delay (the letter was altered 2 times due to further delay), this is the final copy but the delay was less than 6 hours meaning no insurance claim can be made.
This 5 hours plus of delay caused me to miss my connecting flight to Washington DC. Luckily Delta was kind enough to rebook me on a later flight at no additional cost. However the next flight only departs at 9.05pm on 19 Dec to DC and the flight was further delayed to 11:15pm. By the time I collected my baggage and leave the airport (DCA), it was about 12:40am on 20 Dec. This was the worst flight delay I experience and going with minimal sleep for about 55 hours. Didn't expect this post to be so long, will cover the trip in a separate post.
For those who are curious if there was any form of compensation from Singapore Airlines, they gave a number lock when boarding the flight from Singapore to Frankfurt and a luggage tag when boarding the flight from Frankfurt to New York. The staff at New York Airport also wasn't helpful in trying to explain your situation to the airline on your connecting flight instead asking you to reach out to the airline yourself. Although I understand that the connecting flight wasn't book through them and they are not obliged to help in the rebooking but I have catered for more than 4 hours of transit time and if wasn't for them I wouldn't be in such a situation. They could at least be more helpful in assisting with the rebooking(they did ask passengers who have connecting flight to provide their details while we are waiting in Singapore but seems like nothing was done, if there is no intention to do anything then why ask).
