Booked air tickets out of TH, cancelled hours later

[edwardandtubs]

7 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

I booked directly with Emirates - same issue.  They cancelled, offered a voucher, now saying a refund will take months.  Airlines are desperate for cash, and not on any hurry to refund.

Care to share the actual flight that you booked (flight number, time and date) so we can see what the issue was on the flight status websites? I'm guessing you booked a flight that wasn't actually flying regularly. 

Edited September 23, 2020 by edwardandtubs

[Pattaya Spotter]

13 hours ago, FlyingThai said:

First of all why did you book with some obscure OTA website and not directly with the airline?

 

It was the cheapest Skyscanner flight by 100 baht.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Pattaya Spotter

[Pattaya Spotter]

13 hours ago, Dellamorte said:

Yes, normally I always book directly through the airline's website. In this case there some (technical?) issues on Austrian Airlines' website which made the flight unavailable for online booking. On Austrian's website I was prompted to call them to book the tickets, but when calling I could not get through, even after long waiting on the line. So then I decided to do it through the travel agency listed on Google Flights.

 

Gotogate has been around for many years, so I didn't expect any trouble, but I obviously regret it now. I see on different webpages that a lot of people have recently had similar experiences with Gotogate.com. They cancel your ticket short time after they've been booked, blaming it on Covid, and then just hold on to the money, not answering mails, phone, etc.

 

 

There is unfortunately no way to rebook to another flight. They only provided one option: to ask for a refund. Seems very dubious, more like a scam really. But pretty f****d up in this already difficult situation.

So the airline can't book their own flight but some obscure web travel agency can...beggars belief. During this pandemic period, people should only be booking any travel plans directly with the provider because they offer the best cancellation and change policies.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Pattaya Spotter

[sandyf]

13 hours ago, FlyingThai said:

A chargeback will always take up to three months for final resolution because the merchant has several weeks to reply to the case. Ideally they'd auto cancel before it even tickets and the authorization would just drop off.

When I did a chargeback with HSBC I had the funds on my card within hours of making the claim, the investigation came after. following a partial refund had an update from HSBC to say issue would remain outstanding until full amount paid.

That was back early July and in the meantime the travel company concerned have processed the refund, came in 2 parts, and now have double the amount sitting on my card balance awaiting the investigation to be concluded.

Like many things in life, different participants, different outcomes.

[Max Brok]

14 hours ago, Sambotte said:

You may ask your credit card company too, if it's possible to cancel. 

Not ask but demand. I think they understand this scam

[Kinnock]

1 hour ago, edwardandtubs said:

Care to share the actual flight that you booked (flight number, time and date) so we can see what the issue was on the flight status websites? I'm guessing you booked a flight that wasn't actually flying regularly. 

A normal flight, booked in early February for flight to UK on 29 Aug, when I thought some flight normality would return.

 

EK375 Bangkok Dubai and EK017 Dubai Manchester.

 

Return EK020/EK372 on 11 Sept.  Business class.

 

First Emirates amended the flight times, then Cancelled, and now expect me to take a voucher or wait an unspecified time to get a refund.  No update on refund for over a month.  Shameful business practice.

[SomchaiCNX]

4 hours ago, AlfHuy said:

That's the "made in Germany" finished.

 

VW scandal

Deutsche Bank involved in everything what is not legal

Wirecard: inventing billions which never existed

Lufthansa

 

 

and 

and 

and

"Wir schaffen das" ("We will make it!"; "we can manage this"; "we can do it"; "we can do this") is an assertion made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the 2015 European migrant crisis that Germany could manage to absorb very large numbers of immigrants. It subsequently came into wide use by politicians and activists opposed to mass immigration, intending criticism of Merkel's immigration policy.

 

Europeans still pay the  price because of her.

 

[SomchaiCNX]

2 hours ago, iaminwa said:

All the airlines are doing it, happened to me with Thai Airways. I booked, full Economy, cancelled a few hours later after they took my money.

 

I ended up booking a 2nd Business Class Flight and got out.

 

And now Thai Airways refusing to refund the full economy ticket.

 

Oh well, at least I got out, and karma heading Thai Airways way. They deserve it, hope they go under.

So 20,000 people + my lose their job because you are <deleted>? 

[Adam219]

12 hours ago, steven100 said:

If you buy an air ticket at this time you risk losing your initial costs.

Chances are the flight will be cancelled and trying to get any refund is a nightmare. 

That;s why i always pay with a credit card, you;'re not out of pocket and you have additional protection if something goes wrong.

[Cake Monster]

15 hours ago, Sambotte said:

You may ask your credit card company too, if it's possible to cancel. 

CC Company will only refund with a Document called

Itenary of Refund

[LukKrueng]

16 hours ago, Dellamorte said:

Yes, normally I always book directly through the airline's website. In this case there some (technical?) issues on Austrian Airlines' website which made the flight unavailable for online booking. On Austrian's website I was prompted to call them to book the tickets, but when calling I could not get through, even after long waiting on the line. So then I decided to do it through the travel agency listed on Google Flights.

 

Gotogate has been around for many years, so I didn't expect any trouble, but I obviously regret it now. I see on different webpages that a lot of people have recently had similar experiences with Gotogate.com. They cancel your ticket short time after they've been booked, blaming it on Covid, and then just hold on to the money, not answering mails, phone, etc.

 

 

There is unfortunately no way to rebook to another flight. They only provided one option: to ask for a refund. Seems very dubious, more like a scam really. But pretty f****d up in this already difficult situation.

I suppose you paid by cc? If so call your card issuer, show them that the ticket was cancelled few hours after purchase and dispute the transaction

[Thaiophil]

Most airlines are playing the game of pretending they fly to Thailand to get your money, then cancelling and offering you another date.

 

As far as I can see, the only flying options just now are:

 

getting on the outbound leg of a Thai repatriation flight

 

flying Emirates who have permission to fly into Bkk once a day

 

Before booking any flight, check on airline tracking app such as flightradar whether their advertised flights in and out of Bkk have actually occurred

[Phillip9]

 

4 hours ago, NanLaew said:

What part of my comment "in the last few days" went over your head?

 

Once again you are using an app and looking up one-way flight history searches whereas my LH website search LAST WEEK and THIS WEEK was for a future r/t and NO Lufthansa flights showed on the latter search.

 

I just tried a o/w for tomorrow on the LH website and there are NO BKK-FRA o/w non-stops listed.

 

The direct flight is only scheduled for monday, thursday and saturday.  It flew all those days for the last week.

 

You are complaining that this flight didn't fly on days it wasn't even scheduled. 

 

In your search you are showing, you searched on a friday.  If you had chosen a day it is actually scheduled, you would have seen the direct flight available.  This is from their website.  I don't use any app.

 

Edited September 23, 2020 by Phillip9

[Max69xl]

17 hours ago, Dellamorte said:

Yes, normally I always book directly through the airline's website. In this case there some (technical?) issues on Austrian Airlines' website which made the flight unavailable for online booking. On Austrian's website I was prompted to call them to book the tickets, but when calling I could not get through, even after long waiting on the line. So then I decided to do it through the travel agency listed on Google Flights.

 

Gotogate has been around for many years, so I didn't expect any trouble, but I obviously regret it now. I see on different webpages that a lot of people have recently had similar experiences with Gotogate.com. They cancel your ticket short time after they've been booked, blaming it on Covid, and then just hold on to the money, not answering mails, phone, etc.

 

 

There is unfortunately no way to rebook to another flight. They only provided one option: to ask for a refund. Seems very dubious, more like a scam really. But pretty f****d up in this already difficult situation.

Book a ticket with Qatar Airways. They fly via Doha. A very reliable airline. 

[Dellamorte]

Thanks a lot for all the helpful advice!

 

As mentioned in my previous post, it now seems to have been sorted out after I contacted Lufthansa/Austrian's booking desk in Bangkok directly, and they put me on another flight (even though Gotogate said only refund was possible).

 

Me and my girlfriend chose to go from Thailand to Cyprus. Very low covid numbers, 90 days stay without visa for most nationalities (Cyprus is not a Schengen country), nice climate (longest summer in Europe). And best of all, when you travel from Thailand you don't have to go into quarantine or show any covid test certificate as Thailand is one of the few countries Cyprus has listed in Category A. See more information here: https://cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/

 

You can fly from Bangkok to Larnaca via e.g. Zurich or Vienna with Austrian or Swiss Airlines. Just sharing this in case some of you are still looking for a place to go in the current situation.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Dellamorte

[Eindhoven]

4 minutes ago, Max69xl said:

Book a ticket with Qatar Airways. They fly via Doha. A very reliable airline. 

 

Bunch of crooks. Ripped me off twice.

[edwardandtubs]

2 hours ago, Kinnock said:

A normal flight, booked in early February for flight to UK on 29 Aug, when I thought some flight normality would return.

 

EK375 Bangkok Dubai and EK017 Dubai Manchester.

 

Return EK020/EK372 on 11 Sept.  Business class.

 

First Emirates amended the flight times, then Cancelled, and now expect me to take a voucher or wait an unspecified time to get a refund.  No update on refund for over a month.  Shameful business practice.

You're talking about a flight you booked over 6 months ago which isn't currently flying. We were talking about something a bit different which is booking flights now to leave within a few weeks. Of course you can't rely on bookings you made 6 months ago but if someone wants to book a flight with Emirates now to leave next week then there wouldn't be a problem.

 

I think people just have to adjust to the new normal. The sensible way of doing things in the past was to use a flight aggregator website and book as far in advance as possible but you should be doing neither of those two things now. It's better to book directly on the airline's website but only after checking that the flight you're booking is actually regularly taking off.

Edited September 23, 2020 by edwardandtubs

[khunPer]

18 hours ago, Dellamorte said:

Any advice what to do in this situation?

If you paid by plastic card, contact your bank immediately to stop the payment.

[Kinnock]

2 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

You're talking about a flight you booked over 6 months ago which isn't currently flying. We were talking about something a bit different which is booking flights now to leave within a few weeks. Of course you can't rely on bookings you made 6 months ago but if someone wants to book a flight with Emirates now to leave next week then there wouldn't be a problem.

 

I think people just have to adjust to the new normal. The sensible way of doing things in the past was to use a flight aggregator website and book as far in advance as possible but you should be doing neither of those two things now. It's better to book directly on the airline's website but only after checking that the flight you're booking is actually regularly taking off.

I don't think Emirates will see it that way - if your flight is cancelled, they want to give you a voucher and not a refund ...... I don't see what difference it makes when you book?

 

Airlines have a desperate cash flow issue now - it's like loaning cash to a drug addict.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Kinnock

[Paul Catton]

Anyone presently trying to book tickets with any airline or agency is literally walking a tightrope. I was trying to extract my youngest son back from Copenhagen for permanent return to New Zealand, Generic searches of "agents" being Expedia, Webjet, STA Travel, Sky Scanner etc. showed a couple of viable options with various airlines having a scheduled flight or their ability through code-share to enable the trip.

Cross-referencing of the flights advertised by the "agents" against the actual airline websites ruled out most including "Thai Airways".

I opted for Emirates Airlines as opposed to the more expensive Qatar Airlines choice, and booked it through STA travel,  I paid with my "credit card" 

Within a fortnight, I am informed the Emirates flight has been cancelled and will need to make a new booking. An application for a refund was sought.

STA travel within a couple of weeks went belly-up and into voluntary administration which made me an "unsecured creditor".

There are hundreds of people in the same boat, many will lose many multiple $1000's.

The "Administrators" a couple of weeks later have implied there presumably will be no funds for repayment to "unsecured creditors" and personal losses stand where they fall.

Just prior to this news, I had instigated a claim for the reversal of the charges against my "credit card". 

I was not hopeful of any positive outcome, but my "credit card provider" without hesistation reimbursed me fully.

I feel like I won the lottery.

 

Footnote: KLM, fly from Copenhagen to many destinations, so we got him extracted to be with his Mum in Herault, France by the sea and all smiling. 

 

 

 

  

[ubonjoe]

This topic is not really visa or extensions related so I am not moving it to the travel forum.

[eppic]

The key to these credit card chargebacks is that they must be done within a short time-frame (normally within the next billing cycle, but after the temporary charge is made permanent in a couple of days).

 

In March, we had tickets for my entire family booked BKK-MNL but Philippines Air canceled it two days before departure.  The did this via an email with exactly one line: "Your flight PRXXX has been canceled".  No additional information whatsoever and no contact number.  I spent hours on hold with both Expedia and Philippine Air before Expedia finally said I would get a voucher but never confirmed the amount. Future calls were dropped after holds of over an hour.  Emails received no response whatsoever.

 

At this stage, I am almost certainly screwed out of the entire price for all three tickets.  It's possible booking directly with Phil Air would have helped, but given their track record and current financial status I doubt it.

 

We had booked a couple of months in advance so a chargeback was not an option, if it was I would have done so immediately (I have frequently done this in the past, including with Phil Air when they tried to screw me previously).

 

So best advice is to book late, directly with a reputable airline, and with your most premium credit card (some are much better than others -- my Citi Prestige card is fantastic for chargebacks) then initiate a chargeback ASAP if flight is canceled.

 

BTW, as for airlines getting a "free loan" I am afraid it is actually much more sinister than this.  They know if they delay and make refunds extremely difficult, a fair percentage of people will simply give up and won't have the ability to take legal action.  So it is really close to outright theft/fraud, not a simple free use of funds.

Edited September 23, 2020 by eppic

[treetops]

3 minutes ago, eppic said:

We had booked a couple of months in advance so a chargeback was not an option, if it was I would have done so immediately (I have frequently done this in the past, including with Phil Air when they tried to screw me previously).

You don't mention the bank/country of your credit card so I can't say for sure, but with my UK banks a chargeback should normally be lodged within 120 days of the purchase, so your couple of months wouldn't have been an obstacle.

 

For future dated purchases (such as airline tickets) the 120 day rule is extended until you were due to receive the goods or service, up to a maximum of 540 days.  In your circumstance you would have had 120 days from receiving the cancellation notice to lodge your claim.  I'm not sure how/if these rules change from country to country, but would think they're pretty standard as the protection comes from Visa/Mastercard/Amex and not the individual banks.

[eppic]

17 minutes ago, treetops said:

You don't mention the bank/country of your credit card so I can't say for sure, but with my UK banks a chargeback should normally be lodged within 120 days of the purchase, so your couple of months wouldn't have been an obstacle.

 

For future dated purchases (such as airline tickets) the 120 day rule is extended until you were due to receive the goods or service, up to a maximum of 540 days.  In your circumstance you would have had 120 days from receiving the cancellation notice to lodge your claim.  I'm not sure how/if these rules change from country to country, but would think they're pretty standard as the protection comes from Visa/Mastercard/Amex and not the individual banks.

After checking, it appears your post is accurate, so I stand corrected (and embarrassed, I should have checked).  Chargebacks done through online banking/app can only be done within a couple of months (these are pretty automatic) at my issuer, so I had wrongly assumed this was the actual limit.  I likely could have called or written and successfully charged back within 120 days, although in our case determining the chargeback amount would be difficult because only the third leg of the booking was canceled. 

 

Regardless, it's too late now, so expensive lesson learned.  This reinforces that chargebacks should be the preferred method for dealing with slimy airlines and agents. It's by far the path of least resistance.

[Krabi King]

4 hours ago, Eindhoven said:

 

Bunch of crooks. Ripped me off twice.

How so?

I've been flying with them for years... always great. Especially good schedules to and from Netherlands... not direct to Eindhoven though ????

For the last weeks they've been flying every day out of BKK

[Captor]

22 hours ago, FlyingThai said:

First of all why did you book with some obscure OTA website and not directly with the airline?

 

I suggest to call the provider and ask them to rebook you on Lufthansa (their mother company) unless you can afford to just wait for a refund on these tickets.

 

Lufthansa flights depart 4x per week.

Or maybe Swiss? Sister company of Austrian.

[Jack Hna]

22 hours ago, impulse said:

 

It's actually more of an accounting and bonus thing.  Having a debt on the books reduces the "Net Capital Employed" (NCE).  If your bonus depends on Return on NCE, your bonus is bigger if you delay paying the debt. 

 

That's why so many companies are paying their vendors with 90+ day terms nowadays.  Someone at the company gets $0.50 added to their bonus while their suppliers (and the guys like the OP needing ticket refunds) eat peanut butter sandwiches for months because they can't afford better.

 

90 days. Vendors? US schpeel but what century are you referring to cos no one gets 9 hours anymore. Cc on file. Done. 

[impulse]

38 minutes ago, Jack Hna said:

90 days. Vendors? US schpeel but what century are you referring to cos no one gets 9 hours anymore. Cc on file. Done. 

 

You're thinking retail.  I'm talking about B to B.  The last company I worked for had 45 day payment terms.  That's 45 days AFTER the vendor presented their invoice and someone in our staff matched it up with our purchase order and our delivery receipt, and made sure the numbers matched to the penny.  Then they'd enter it into the payables system with a 45 day trigger to pay by EFT.

 

Most of the companies I dealt with when I was the supplier gave terms from 60 to 90 days.  That's after all the formalities to get it entered into the payables system.  Which could take months.

 

[mtls2005]

Didn't read entire thread...

 

Are you certain the flight (OS 26) is canceled?

 

https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/os26

 

OS has been flying BKK-VIE 3x weekly (Thu, Fri and Sun). Thursday's flight (today) is on LH via FRA.

 

Sunday's (27th) flight shows as available.

 

I would try to contact the OS CTO/ATO directyl to inquire.

 

 

[sandyf]

16 hours ago, Kinnock said:

First Emirates amended the flight times, then Cancelled, and now expect me to take a voucher or wait an unspecified time to get a refund.  No update on refund for over a month.  Shameful business practice.

I had a flight booked with Emirates for August, which I cancelled a few weeks before it was due. I opted for the voucher, which was received within a few days, as you do not get the full amount with a cash refund. Some of the fare has been prepaid to foreign entities and becomes irrecoverable.

It has been widely publicised that due to demand many companies in the travel industry are experiencing delays in processing cash refunds. I was over 3 months getting a refund from Easyjet, delays are hardly unique to Emirates.