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Air Asia airlines changes its flight schedules without giving prior notice,delays in refund, and not responding to consumers’ contacts
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#701 Seoul YWCA 20, Myeong-dong 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea
TEL.: 82-2-774-4050/FAX: 82-2-774-4090
Air Asia airlines changes its flight schedules without giving prior notice,
delays in refund, and not responding to consumers’ contacts
The number of complains about airlines’ services submitted to the 1372 Consumer Service Center in July 2014 comes to 785. It appears that the number of complaints about Air Asia airlines stood at 109 cases, which was more than a 150% m-o-m increase in complaint cases.
Air Asia unilaterally changed flight schedules in the high season without any giving prior notice to its consumers. On their homepage said the airline stated that the relevant airfare will be entirely refunded and that the company would take diverse measures to minimize passengers’ inconvenience, but consumers complained that it is difficult to reach the airline on the phone and that they were unable to get any response to their complaints made via e-mail or SNS networks. About half (56.8% [62 cases]) of the complaints about these airlines were about the inability to talk to the airlines or there being a delay in response to inquiries or refunds.
[Complaints about airline services/Air Asia in 2014]
<Airline services> <Services of Air Asia>
[Major complaints about Air Asia in July 2014]
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- Delay in responses to inquiries or in providing refunds
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- Refusal of refunds concerning contract cancellations
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- Insufficient compensation or delays in compensation for unilateral changes in flight schedules
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- Others (dual payment, fees)
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⦁ Unilateral changes in the flight schedule for the Incheon-Kalibo route, which was originally scheduled for August 4, caused passengers to lose their resort reservations in the Philippines.
⦁ People tried to contact the airlines, but it was in vain.
⦁ The airlines asked passengers to pay 80% of airfare in response to the request for refund of the ticket bought on the same day.
⦁ A passenger who made a reservation for the June 27 Incheon-Malaysia flight tried to cancel it due to an unexpected situation, but the phone line was always busy. He sent e-mails more than 15 times and left an article on the bulletin board more than five times, but there was no response.
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Concerning the unilateral change in a flight schedule by Air Asia Zest, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) issued an order that passengers be compensated for any losses incurred due to the schedule change.
In regards to hotel reservations or transportation arrangements that went awry due to the airline’s arbitrary changing of the flight schedule, the airline has not made any solid statement about this and has delayed in refunding passengers’ tickets. Specially arranged guestrooms by the travel agencies cannot be refunded and thus consumers’ combined loss is considerable.
It appears that compensation-related offers are vastly insufficient for the passengers. Moreover, people who made a plan to go on a family vacation will most likely suffer from the trauma.
When making a change in flight schedules, the airline should submit a report and a plan for compensation to MOLIT for its approval for the changed schedule in consideration of the inconvenience caused to passengers. During this process, the airline should inform the passengers of the change in the schedule in advance. The airline has also showed disrespectful measure regarding the compensation for passengers of any losses incurred by the change in schedule.
MOLIT should impose a penalty on the airline to prevent the recurrence of a similar case and settle the situation in a way that can be accepted by passengers. As for passengers, they should be cautious in choosing a service provided by airlines that are offering discounted airfare, as their flights may frequently be canceled or delayed.
-----------------------------Partners of Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations------------------------------
National YMCA of Korea, Green Consumers Network in Korea, Korea Federation of Housewives Clubs, National Council of Homemakers Classes, Korea Consumer Education Center, National Council of YMCAs of Korea, Consumers Union of Korea, Consumer Affairs Institute, Citizens Alliance for Consumer Protection of Korea
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