Claim about a canceled flight with a lot of outrage and annoyance
e X pose / Shutterstock.com
On January 7, I left from Amsterdam to Bangkok with a KLM return ticket, booked at Vliegwinkel.nl, to return home on April 3. My girlfriend believes that three months is too long for her and left on February 23rd. Together we would fly home from Bangkok on April 3 after our trip through Vietnam. No doubt we are not the only ones for whom Covid has caused the necessary problems.
The first problems started in Vietnam in early March in Danang.
In the Royal Lotus hotel where we stayed, only four of the 192 rooms were occupied. The restaurant on the 16th floor closed after the first day of arrival. It was also very quiet along the boulevard by the sea and only a single restaurant was open.
We left Danang behind and took a taxi to the picturesque Hoi An where we have been several times before. Normally it is swarming with Chinese here, but they were nowhere to be seen. Even at the so-called Japanese bridge where you can walk over the heads in normal times, you hardly saw anyone.
After a few days we flew by VietJet to the capital Hanoi.
The hotel we booked closed after two days. Fortunately, they had a second hotel where we could go. In Hanoi, the influence of Corona was very noticeable. Our favorite pub was closed and also our known restaurants. Everyone on the street wore a face mask and upon entering a department store, a person was standing to measure the temperature and, of course, to disinfect their hands first.
The rumor was circulating that Thailand would close its borders and because we had a return flight AMS-BKK we made a bold decision: back to Bangkok. There too the mood was cut and when the governor of the city made the decision to close department stores, restaurants, cafes, markets, hairdressers and so on, we left for Pattaya to breathe the sea air. When the beautiful Avani hotel - 300 rooms of which 8 occupied - closed by the sea, we moved to the Amber hotel, located on a side street of Soi Bua Khao.
Suddenly we saw Prayut, the Thai prime minister, appear on TV with the announcement that the airspace for incoming foreign flights was closed. Followed fairly quickly by an email from KLM informing us that our flight KL 876 dated April 3rd had been canceled and we could not yet be told when the flights would resume.
But then suddenly Bert, alias Gringo, came to visit us with the announcement that an extra KLM flight had been scheduled for stranded travelers on Sunday 5 April. Why didn't we receive a message from KLM? Anyway, quickly to the KLM site, which is very easy to make a booking and was overloaded. The same problem concerned getting contact by telephone. I almost gave up hope, but finally succeeded after no less than two hours. Despite the fact that we had return tickets and our flight was canceled two days earlier, we had to transfer € 1134,30 again to be assured of a place. But we will get that amount back quickly from an excellent airline such as KLM, no doubt.
Did you think. Now go tell a piece of annoyance about the handling.
To start with: the KLM return tickets AMS-BKK were ordered via Vliegwinkel.nl, a name to remember! The stated amount for the scheduled KLM return flight was booked and paid directly with KLM.
Back in the Netherlands
In my mind, the simplest way was to request a refund from KLM for the extra amount paid of € 1134,30. Write a letter with an explanation and then a company with name and fame will understand what it has to do. Will spare you the correspondence which I have carefully preserved. In short: Air France KLM Customer Care Mrs. L. is too busy with the technical implementation for the expansion of the Covid-19 policy.
Joseph is not discouraged and reacts and yes, the lady is out of the picture and receives an answer from Mr. R. from the same Customer Care department.
“The costs of a new flight cannot be reimbursed by KLM because KLM or a travel agent must be contacted in advance about rebooking a ticket. Tickets purchased on your own initiative are for your own account and Air France-KLM is not liable. However, you are entitled to a refund, but for this you must contact www.vliegwinkel.nl. They can assist you further and will process your request for a refund.”
All sense of reality is missing in such an answer. KLM was even unreachable by phone from the Netherlands and it took me at least two hours to finally be able to book via the site.
Then go to www.vliegwinkel.nl, they will arrange it quickly and KLM is in good shape thanks to my tax money. It'll be fine.
Did you think. If you like a mess, customer unfriendliness or ... no, I'll leave out the words I want to mention now. In short, www.vliegwinkel.nl is etched in my memory and certainly not positive. Never received so many nonsensical answers.
In the TV program Radar, people literally say “Not by phone, not by email, not by Facebook. Customers will not be able to contact the online travel organization Vliegwinkel.nl in any way. It is part of Travix and one of the largest online providers of airline tickets, hotel stays, rental cars and complete holidays. Many consumers who have booked through this organization are now in uncertainty… Some of the victims have been trying to reach Vliegwinkel.nl for months.”
Don't think that such a company will also receive support money, read my tax money.
What to do?
Although I can do my own thing, I have now handed over the claim to Aviclaim in Breukelen, who specialize in this type of claim (www.aviclaim.nl). A neat company that specializes in this kind of mishaps. 'No cure no pay' is their slogan, so if you don't get a result you don't pay anything. Very fair you pay 20% of the amount to be received upon result.
And how did I forget?
Data submitted according to a questionnaire and a neat reply that the case was put into operation. Within three weeks the money was in my account on December 8th! Curious as I am, I still had a question: “Who paid to Aviclaim; KLM or Vliegwinkel?
Not that hard for me to answer. Of course KLM.
If only I had consulted Aviclaim sooner. That would have saved me a lot of work, but above all a lot of annoyance.
I always book with KLM itself. In the past, when a direct flight with KLM was still quite expensive, via D-travel with another company. I don't want anything to do with all those online travel agencies these days.
Joseph, I have been doing business with Vliegwinkel for 30 years and have yet to experience the first discord. So you see that experiences can vary.
Erik, then you are one of the chosen ones. Then watch the RADAR broadcast again and read the comments of many. I am certainly not the only one who has complaints about the handling of Vliegwinkel.nl. Annoyance at its finest! Don't have words for it.
Yes Erik but now it's a different time with corona virus everywhere!!!
What you are talking about is certainly for the corona time, by the way, I have never booked a ticket with an intermediary, always directly with the airline.
Would also fly to Thailand on January 7. I booked directly with KLM and had to cancel due to Covid-19 circumstances, but the amount paid was refunded to my credit card within 2 weeks.
Tribute to KLM!
Sir Charles, assume your booking is for January 7, 2021. I'm talking about 2020
Why do you always want to book via via via
Book directly with the company, usually cheaper
In the first instance, it is cheaper via via, but then there are costs for luggage, for seats, booking costs, etc ... .. and in the end it ends up being more expensive
Always less service than directly with the airline and if there are problems then don't complain that the airline will also take your hands off you and forward you to your via via
I always book my flight ticket through a Tui travel agency. I pay a few tens more for the ticket, but on the other hand, they always find the cheapest rate for me and neatly arrange the entire paperwork.
I too had the misfortune that two flights, booked with Eva, were cancelled. I don't have to call endlessly for a refund. The travel agency arranges that for me.
It's just what you're willing to pay for it, but on such an expensive trip you won't be poor for a few bucks.
Greeting.
I always fly with Qatar Airways. On November 18, I was refused the boarding pass (Adam – BKK). Wrong flight number on my COI. I was furious. But after some phone calls with Qatar Amsterdam I was allowed to choose a new date, free of charge. Now I am in isolation in Best Western Sukhumvit in Bangkok.
Also had a lot of problems getting money back but now know what it is.
If you book a ticket directly with KLM, you will receive a refund from KLM, which takes a long time.
I booked the KLM tickets with Expedia canceled there I got the money back from Expedia. KLM deposits the money to Expedia cumbersome but it is true. Booked the suitcases directly with KLM which turns out suitcases are covered by Air France how do you make it up Air France paid. All in all a jumble I asked KLM you can not pay back no the money first goes to the intermediary. And pay attention ticket number starting with
074 is KLM 073 Air France. All in all, it took more than 4 months and many calls and there are people who do not know how everything works, the persistence wins.
Hi Kristina,
airline code 074 is indeed KLM but 073 is Iraqi Airways according to IATA. Air France code is 057. Strange thing.
Had also booked a ticket at Vliegwinkel.nl. Sent an email several times, but only received an automatic email back, so no real contact. Then read on Thailandblog that you can request the money back from your credit card. Immediately called with the credit card and that was correct. All kinds of forms must be sent, including copies of tickets and e-mail traffic. After about 3 months (normally 3 weeks but due to busy corona) my money back. free of charge edWas just in time because refunds are possible up to 6 months after purchase. Still haven't heard from Vliegwinkel.nl. It is clear to me that I only pay via my credit card so that I know that my money will be returned.
I also always pay for the airline tickets with my credit card and not only for the reason you stated, but also, for example, in the event of delays, I am entitled to compensation with my credit card.
Also paid with credit card but got zero on the claim. Tried several times.
Just wait and see bank answer you got tired of it even insurance didn't help and I also didn't get the booking costs back while I have to according to the law.
Those six months is a point. If you want for Christmas, you have to book earlier.
I booked via fly shop to the Philippines in January 2020. China Southern Airlines. Return flight via China was canceled due to covid. Called from the Philippines flying shop and was quickly accepted. She arranged everything and got the return flight refunded. Everything went smoothly and was kept informed via email. The airline's service was excellent.
The only drawback was that I had to book a new one-way ticket myself with departure within two days. This was done via Dubai with Emirates. That was 700 euros and cannot be claimed back. Or at least I didn't see any direct options how I could get that amount back.
Dear Joseph,
If all is well, I will leave for BKK on January 5, 2021 to go to Chaantje after mandatory detention. This fall I already miss my recurring pleasure to travel around Thailand / Asia for 3 months. But knowing you, we will meet somewhere in SE Asia this spring.
Merry Christmas
Hello Joseph, the Covid-19 virus has not only affected the health of millions of people, but has also caused well-known companies to put the service and contacts with their customers on the back burner. I can well imagine your frustration about the answers to your questions by KLM's customer service and the inaccessibility of Vliegwinkel.nl. It is not clear to me what was ultimately reimbursed through Aviclaim's intervention; the full price of the newly purchased tickets for the flight from Bangkok to Amsterdam or an allowance for not using the return flight of your original tickets? Incidentally, I myself help a number of Thai people in the Netherlands with numerous matters and waiting times on the phone of 20 to 30 minutes before you get a connection at all are unfortunately commonplace. Whether with a municipal authority, a government agency or a private company.
Have booked through a travel agent in the past and will never do it again. In case of problems you will be sent from pillar to post. We don't want that anymore. Always book directly with KLM. Last year we had to return three weeks earlier. No problem rebooking and no additional payment.
So book via via, never again.
Were you lucky we had to pay a lot extra to come back when we were in Brazil.
Well helped by KLM and the manager of the hotel.
Well,
The corona time is of course also special. There are 300 to 400 people on a plane, if there is a cancellation and hundreds of flights were canceled in March, then you are talking about 300.000 to 400.000 people, who all want immediate answers to questions and want money back immediately. Just stand there. Pick up the phone and you immediately have an angry customer on the phone, who will first berate you extensively, how long it has been busy, while there are still 1.100 others on hold.
Definitely so Laksi. Most think that they are the only and above all the most important…. is not so. Have no idea what was going on with the airlines….
At Thailand travel we had money back in our account after canceling Eva air flight within 2 weeks, we have been booking there for years and great service'
I also try to book directly with Eva, but then it is always more expensive, I don't know how that is possible
We have also had a lot of trouble with the European companies. I had to wait no less than 7 months before I got my money back from a canceled flight from Lufthansa. In contrast with Eva Air. I had those pennies back within a few weeks. Communication with Eva Air was also honest, fast and clear. This is in contrast to the communication with Lufthansa and KLM. If my staff had little work. Then I would put those flight attendants on the phone. So that the customer can reach the company and receive the correct information. But no. You can call 100 times. But you can't get anyone on the line. Emails are not answered. I will NEVER fly with KLM or a Lufthansa again. I'd rather pay double with an Asian airline.