was planning a summer trip and found what seemed like a good offer to fly from Istanbul to Brazil via Paris in first class with Air France. Te airline frequently charges around €1,500 for business class flights from Europe to Brazil. Hence, a fare of €2,000 per person sounded like a good deal for first class, but not an error. A few days aſter booking the flights
and having roughly €4,000 debited from my credit card, Air France contacted me and advised that it was a mistake, and that we could either travel in economy class or get a full refund. My travel agent requested the full
refund. I was expecting Air France to prioritise the refund of such a large amount of money – it was the airline’s own mistake. But it has now been more than two months, and I am still waiting for the refund.
Yannick Colot, France
A IR FR A NCE REP L IE S : Due to a system error, tickets for travel in La Première were priced in error and available for purchase during a very brief window of time. On identification of the error, these tickets were cancelled and customers were given the option of a full refund or the choice to travel upon payment of the correct fare for the class of service, subject to availability. Air France apologises for the delay in processing this customer’s refund, and can confirm that the refund has now been actioned. The airline also apologises for the inconvenience caused to passengers by this error.
HE AR T OF GL A S S Last March I flew first class BA Heathrow to Dubai, and had the misfortune to gash my finger on a piece of glass that was trapped in the gap down the side of the seat. I did not make a fuss, but there was
rather a lot of blood. I retreated to the galley, where I was treated by cabin service personnel. Tey cleaned the wound and used copious plasters to stem the flow. Te cabin service director came over later in the flight to check that I was all right, and to apologise on behalf of British Airways. I later had a letter of apology, but was
told if I wanted a settlement I would need to make a claim. I escalated the issue with further correspondence, and aſter three months of silence, eventually was offered 30,000 Avios points or £300. I declined this offer, but pointed out what I was seeking was neither money nor points, but something that costs nothing – two first class Avios seats on a flight back from New York. BA has now increased this offer
to £500. Following a telephone conversation with a very helpful customer service person, I had a letter from her saying that while she would really like to have released two seats, that’s not within her capabilities. I have been a loyal and longstanding
customer of British Airways, indeed I have 16,000 lifetime tier points. Would it really cost anything to make this gesture of goodwill? Richard Lawson, Devon
B RIT ISH AIR WA YS REP L IE S : We’re pleased that our highly trained cabin crew were able to administer first aid and look after our customer during the flight. We have since been in touch to offer further apologies, and are in the process of resolving the issue.
Q A TAR LOUNGE A C CE S S One advantage to passengers of an airline which is a member of a global alliance is that we can use a far wider range of facilities than those offered by a single carrier. So for example, if flying Finnair on a cheap economy class ticket, I can use its excellent lounge in Helsinki on account of my Oneworld status with another airline. Most Oneworld members stick to
the letter and spirit of this agreement. Tat allows access to world-class lounges and other airport privileges. Tere are some exceptions, however, such as British Airways, which reserves Concorde lounges for some of its own passengers. Te most egregious example of
this is Qatar Airways. In its hub of Doha airport, it reserves entrance to its best lounges for its own passengers. Te substitute lounges it offers Oneworld passengers are far inferior. I can understand such exclusion from
a business perspective; however, that is not playing ball with the spirit of Oneworld lounge access rules. Christopher Ruane, Lanark, Scotland
T E LL US ABOU T YOUR T R A VE L S AT TAL K T O U S@B U S INE S S T R A VE L L E R . C OM
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