My experience with Batik Air has been extremely disappointing
My experience with Batik Air has been extremely disappointing and has cost me both time and a significant amount of money. I booked a return flight from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Colombo (CMB) well in advance. However, Batik Air suddenly changed the departure schedule for my outbound flight, forcing me to rearrange my travel plans. To make matters worse, because the original flight was changed, I had to pay again to select seats since my previously chosen seats were no longer available. Unfortunately, the same thing happened to my return flight. Batik Air changed the schedule again, leaving me with no practical option but to cancel my return ticket and purchase a completely new ticket with another airline to match my original travel date. The replacement ticket cost me nearly twice as much as my original booking. This raises serious concerns about how the airline manages its flight schedules. It appears that multiple flights are opened for booking, only for passengers to be consolidated onto fewer flights later. If this is indeed their operating practice, it unfairly shifts the financial burden and inconvenience onto customers, who are forced to adjust hotels, transport, leave arrangements, and often pay again for seat selections. Another major issue is the airport experience. Batik Air's check-in and baggage drop process consistently results in excessively long queues. The lack of sufficient counters and inefficient passenger handling creates unnecessary congestion and stress, especially for families, elderly passengers, and those travelling during peak hours. Airlines should be held accountable for frequent schedule changes that result in additional costs for passengers. Regulators should closely examine these practices to ensure airlines are not over-selling schedules and later consolidating flights simply to maximise profits at the expense of customer convenience. I understand that occasional operational changes are unavoidable, but changing both the outbound and return flights for the same booking is unacceptable. Combined with poor airport operations and additional seat selection costs, this has been one of the worst airline experiences I have had. I will think very carefully before booking with Batik Air again and cannot recommend this airline to anyone who values reliable travel plans.