Airfare difference
I had purchased tickets on December 23, 2014, for three passengers travelling on August 3, 2015, from Kozhikode, India, to Dubai for an amount of Dh2,300. I realised that it would be during peak summer season and most expatriates would be travelling for vacation, as schools remain closed during this time. I had purchased the ticket nine months in advance of the travelling date, to avoid last moment rush and a huge fare. I purchased the tickets, considering the reliability of the service of Emirates airline, even though I found cheaper fares on the websites of other airlines for the same date.
Closer to the travel date, the airport authority announced the closure of the runway in Kozhikode airport for maintenance from May 1 onwards, and all large flights to the said airport were to be cancelled. When I came to know this news through local media, I contacted Emirates’ call centre several times to inquire about the status of the flight, in order to plan accordingly. But I was disappointed with their response that the information was not updated in Emirates’ system, even several months after the announcement.
Finally, on April 7, I contacted Emirates’ call centre and was informed that all flights to Kozhikode airport were cancelled, and they offered me a full refund. But I was not ready to accept, and argued several times that I had purchased tickets earlier and don’t need any refund.
I was told it is the policy of Emirates and it was not under their control, as the closure of the runway was from the airport authorities of India. I asked them to reschedule my ticket to Cochin International Airport in Kerala, which is around four hours away from my home, but they asked for the fare difference of Rs53,000 (Dh3,064) in addition to the amount of Dh2,300; the difference amount is not affordable for me.
I argued several times with them about the fare difference and their reply was the same. Finally, they suggested that I travel to Trivandrum International Airport, with a fare difference of Dh1,025.
A friend had also purchased a ticket on the same flight from Calicut (Kozhikode) to Dubai in economy class, for travel on August 25. When he contacted Emirates, he was first informed about the full refund. But when he did not agree for the same, they told him to wait for a few days. By the middle of May, my friend’s ticket was rescheduled to Cochin airport without any additional fare difference.
When I came to know about this incident, I was totally disappointed and fed up with their attitude towards me. I contacted Emirates to complain about the different policies they had, from customer to customer. Their reply was not satisfactory and I submitted a complaint through their website. Until now, I have not received a response. My current tickets are from Trivandrum airport, which is a 10 to 12 hour journey by road from my home. Why did they not reschedule my ticket to Cochin airport free of cost, as they did the same for some customers?
The rescheduling was not the customer’s fault, and Emirates cannot escape from its responsibility, as the airline has collected the full payment at the time of purchase. What is the use of buying tickets in advance by paying cash, since there is no advantage to the customer, as the airline is only considering it to be a booking?
From Mr Ashraf Ali
Dubai
An Emirates spokesperson responds:
This case is now closed. We have got the customer seats from Cochin and we have reissued the tickets. He has also been refunded for his Trivandrum bookings and the customer is now happy.
Mr Ali responds:
Thank you Gulf News, for the intervention. My issue has been resolved. I received a call from Emirates’ customer service centre and they apologised for this incident. They have rescheduled my ticket from Cochin airport to Dubai and agreed to refund the additional fare difference they had collected from me. Once again, thanks Gulf News for the community service.
(Process initiation: July 6. Response from organisation: July 12. Reader confirmation: July 12.)
Editor’s note: Do you have similar issues that you would like to raise with us? You can write to us at readers@gulfnews.com.
