A Singapore Airlines (SIA) passenger took the airline to task over not granting his request for a birthday cake on his return flight.
The passenger, simply known as Ong, made the complaint via email and made his disappointment known over the rejected request, Mothership reported.
Requested for birthday cake
According to the email correspondence, Ong said he will be flying to Shanghai, China, over the end-of-December, early-January period, and booked a Premium Economy seat.
As for his return flight back to Singapore, it was scheduled for the first week of January 2026, where his birthday falls two days after his flight.
When Ong gave his birthday date, flight details, and birthday cake request to SIA, a customer service executive told him that he wasn’t eligible for the birthday cake as it will only be provided if his birthday falls on the exact date of travel, or one day before or after.
Upon receiving the reply, Ong said that he was “disappointed” and “very displeased” by it. He added that he also plans to “escalate” the matter if SIA fails to give a satisfactory response.
Further accusations
Aside from feeling slighted by the rejected birthday cake request, Ong argued that SIA should “exercise flexibility based on compassionate grounds” for such “simple requests”.
He added that the reason why he booked his return flight on the specific day was so that he could have an extra day to rest before celebrating his birthday in Singapore.
Ong also accused the airline of showing favoritism towards “influencers” who got their birthday cakes despite not meeting the requirements.
However, he didn’t provide the names of the supposed “influencers” and details to support his claim.
What are the criteria?
According to an Instagram reel by aviation enthusiast @danfliesthemile, the criteria to receive a birthday cake depends on whether you’re in first or business class, and whether you’re in other seats.
For First Class, the flight must be within three days of the birthday and have a minimum flight time of 1.5 hours.
As for Business Class, your flight must be within three days of your birthday and have a minimum flight time of 1.5 hours.
If you booked for other seats, including Premium Economy, your flight must be within one day of your birthday, with a minimum flight time of 3.5 hours.
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