Chinanews.com client Beijing, June 24 (Reporter Li Jinlei) Affected by the epidemic, some passengers purchased tickets encountered difficulties in refunding and refunding fees. Some people have not received the refund after waiting for two or three months, while some airlines only Vouchers are not refundable in cash; some people even report that the flight has been cancelled but the platform is still selling tickets. Why did this happen, a reporter from Chinanews.com conducted an investigation.
The flight has been cancelled and the ticket is still sold?
Ms. Zhao, who is an intern in Thailand, bought a flight (Bangkok-Guangzhou KQ886) from Qunar on May 1st. She was notified to cancel the flight a few days later, and no refund, only refund voucher.
Screenshot of the flight purchased by Ms. Zhao.
Ms. Zhao told reporters that after learning about the incident, she found on the Internet that the Kenya Airways official website continued the March suspension order on April 22 and continued to be suspended until June 30. Qunar is still selling and issuing tickets. "I can't figure out who is going to withdraw the funds? Now tell me to cancel, no cash refund, only cash coupons."
Coincidentally, there are some consumers who, like Ms. Zhao, also bought this flight that has been cancelled, and also encountered difficulties in refunding and refunding.
The reporter entered a consumer rights group called "KQ886". There are 12 members, including Mr. Wei, a recently graduated student. Mr. Wei worked in Bangkok, and was also in the process of buying KQ886 Bangkok to Guangzhou tickets, but also encountered difficulties in refunding.
"Already suspended and still selling "ghost flights", don't you feel uneasy about your conscience? Now the epidemic is not easy for anyone, not only because airlines are short of money, we also have no work and no income for a few months," Mr. Wei said.
A reporter's inquiry found that Kenya Airways announced on March 20 through official Weibo news that due to the spread of the new coronary pneumonia epidemic and the country's entry and exit policies, the round-trip flight service between Guangzhou-Bangkok-Nairobi was suspended from now on to May 1.
On April 22, Kenya Airways released news that the round-trip flight service between Guangzhou-Bangkok-Nairobi has been suspended, and the subsequent resumption date will be notified later. For all tickets with travel dates on or before June 30, 2020, the procedure for choosing a refund must be completed by May 26, 2020.
Kenya Airways also said that it does not support cash refunds, and the residual value is only refunded through electronic expense certificates (EMD). EMD is not discounted and can be used to purchase tickets for any destination of Kenya Airways within 12 months from the date of issuance.
On May 14, Kenya Airways said that the Guangzhou-Bangkok-Nairobi round-trip flight (KQ886/7) service will be suspended until June 30, 2020.
Screenshot of Kenya Airways Weibo.
Is it a fake route in the circle?
The flight has been cancelled, but the platform still sells tickets, but the result is no refunds, only vouchers. Why is this happening? Some consumers questioned whether this money was used for financial investment?
In response, Qunar.com responded to reporters from ChinaNews.com that accusations that Qunar.com sold false routes and used for financial management were completely nonsense. The inventory of each airline is sold as an information intermediary using GDS (Global Distribution System). All tickets sold online on Qunar.com are available here. At the same time, in order to improve the accuracy of the data, a lot of money is also spent every year for the purchase of multiple GDS data for comparison verification. Qunar does not have to inflate the non-existent routes without incurring any costs.
In response to Ms. Zhao’s complaint, Qunar said that Ms. Zhao’s order came from Kenya Airways. Both can use the itinerary and user information to check whether the ticket exists on the Kenya Airways official website, thereby proving the authenticity of the sale of the ticket and flight. Now the tickets have been fully refunded into vouchers.
Qunar's customer service replies to Weibo users' complaints.
"The airline company informed that this route was announced to be suspended until the end of February in February, and the follow-up notice will be until the end of March, but before the middle of May, the airline company has sold this route before the notice. The flight was still sold normally when it was booked on May 1. The follow-up flight will be cancelled on May 5.” Qunar explained that Qunar has banned the sale of Kenya Airways tickets on the platform on May 8 in view of Kenya Airlines’ serious violation of consumer interests.
This reporter tried to contact Kenya Airways, but failed to contact Kenya Airways for comment.
Industry insiders analyzed that airline tickets searched and purchased by consumers on third-party platforms need to go through AVIC GDS (Global Distribution System). Only airlines open sales on GDS, third-party platforms can purchase relevant tickets. Before the ticket is sold by the agent on the third-party platform, the third-party platform needs to confirm the route, flight, seat and other information with GDS in real time. "There is no situation where airlines open sales of flight tickets without entering in the GDS system."
Airport information map. Shen Taishe
Some airlines do not refund cash but only refund vouchers
The Consumers Association recently said that during the epidemic, consumer travel was greatly affected, and travel services were mainly focused on air ticket refunds. The main problems of consumer complaints include the long refund review cycle, the long time for refunds to arrive, the mutual evasion of airlines and ticketing platforms, the difficulty in connecting customer service, and the inability to process refund and change applications.
The reporter found that a large number of passenger refunds led to tight airline capital chains, some foreign airlines and sales agents have lengthened the refund cycle, and some have refunded passenger tickets in the form of vouchers, causing a lot of complaints and social concern.
For example, Russian Airlines’ policy is that each passenger can redeem a personal electronic voucher before December 31, 2020, which can be used to purchase any number of tickets and services within three years, but it is almost the same under his Weibo message. "Please refund my ticket!"
Screenshot of Russian Airlines official micro message.
Kenya Airways also does not support cash refunds, but refund vouchers. However, it updated a policy on May 28, if EMD expires (December in Kenya, international segment for 24 months) and passengers cannot re-purchase tickets, they can apply for a cash refund, according to the system provisions at the time of ticket issuance .
However, many consumers said that they are "too pitted", "can only apply for a cash refund after two years, then I may have forgotten the money!"
Why is it so difficult to refund a fee?
Qi Qi, an associate professor at the Guangzhou Civil Aviation Vocational and Technical College, told reporters from China News that under the influence of the epidemic, the airline’s slow repayments have caused great financial pressure on agents and platforms. Some OTAs (online travel platforms) have already advanced funds There are quite a few, but there are also pressures for survival, which leads to a relatively long refund and refund cycle. "I personally experienced the refund for one and a half months. The ticket I bought before the epidemic was known, but I haven't received a refund yet."
"Now airlines have tight cash flow. In the absence of new cash flow, they have the desire to cover their money bags, which leads to delays in the refund process. As far as I understand, some airlines refund as much money as they sell to the outside. Change the right hand." Qi Qi said. In addition, airlines, especially foreign airlines, implemented the refund policy "discount", resulting in consumers being injured by mistake. For example, a user who submitted a "voluntary refund" clearly conforms to the full refund policy announced by the airline company, but is rejected by the airline company, and the consumer considers it to be an OTA or agent.
The picture shows passengers are checking in by themselves. Chen Chaoshe
"Issuing vouchers is a way for airlines to maintain cash flow, but the terms of use must not be too restrictive." Qi Qi said that it is recommended that industry management departments strengthen the accountability of airlines to implement the unfavorable conditions of the refund policy. The company's refusal to refund is corrected.
Liu Junhai, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, told reporters at Chinanews.com that due to force majeure, consumers demanded refunds and refunds. This is a legitimate requirement, and the airline company will not refund cash but only refund vouchers. Disrespect, infringing on consumers’ property rights and fair trading rights, is actually a kind of binding, which makes consumers unable to choose other airlines in the future.
Experts said that consumers may choose to file a complaint with the China Air Transport Association and the China Consumer Association, or they may choose to sue the court for airlines' refusal to refund or refund vouchers.
According to Article 13 of the "Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Tourism Disputes", the tourism contract cannot be performed due to objective reasons, such as force majeure, which cannot be blamed on the tour operator or tourism auxiliary service provider. 1. The tourist’s request for the cancellation of the travel contract shall be supported by the people’s court; if the tourist requests the tour operator to refund the expenses that have not actually occurred, the people’s court shall support it.
The ticket has not been refunded yet! Did you meet What to do? (Finish)