Day light *******!
<p>Good day</p> <p>I booked flights (via the Kulula website as I have a discount from Vitality, Discovery)in March for a wedding in Durban this last weekend.</p> <p>Original booking was to fly CPTN to DBN on BA6301 (depart 06:30) on 10 June 2016 and return DBN to CPTN on flight BA6321 (BA6321). My booking code 3PVQQO.</p> <p>I had to urgently fly to JHB last week for work and wanted to change my CPTN to DBN leg however it was going to cost me far more to change one of my legs (CPTN-JHB or JHB-DBN) and thus I booked new flights as they were cheaper than changing a leg. I called again on Thursday evening to possibly change my CPTN-DBN leg to another flight in the future so as not to lose it, however it was still more expensive to change than to purchase a new flight on the proposed date.</p> <p>The call centre indicated to me that my ticket will be cancelled if I do not change it which my reply was it was cheaper to purchase a new flight than change my CPTN-DBN leg. I specifically said I don't want any changes for my return DBN-CPTN on 12 June 2016. As mentioned I booked these flights in March for myself as well as my sister and her husband. To my horror on Sunday I could not check in online however my sister and her husband were able to. I called the call centre only for them to inform me that they had cancelled my return flight even though I had received an sms informing me that my flight had been delayed by 2 hours. After much fighting and being bounced from consultant to consultant I was told because I didn't fly on Friday they cancelled my return flight which is absolutely ridiculous! I have paid for this ticket well in advance and one cannot assume that I did not need my return flight when I paid for it. I booked a brand new flight on Kulula on Friday from JHB to DBN as it was R600 cheaper to do this than to change for the exact same flight.</p> <p>Their feedback was that on the phone they told me that my ticket would be cancelled which I said was fine because what was the point of me changing it when it was cheaper to purchase a new ticket. Never was I informed that my return would also be cancelled because I specifically said that I did not want any changes for my return flight.</p> <p>I was now sitting in DBN without a return ticket home to CPTN. It was such an inconvenience as my sister and her husband and I were all flying together and obviously arranged this way for airport transfers back home after landing in CPTN etc. I asked them what they were going to do because it is ********* to just cancel my flight without notifying me. I was told that I have to purchase a new ticket - the only tickets available for the same flight was R5461 (Yes, a one way ticket from DBN to CPTN) which is absolutely ludicrous. I could fly overseas for that amount!!! She then said well you can always take a bus. Seriously!?!?!? I do have a job you know. After getting absolutely no help from them, I was forced to purchase a new flight. So I basically paid for 4 flights to get to DBN and back to CPTN and only used two - the new ones that I purchased. This customer service is absolutely shocking and plain blank *****ing.</p> <p>I landed just before 22:00 on Sunday evening and had to arrange alternative transport which was another expense incurred. I am a women on my own and having to travel at night is a safety risk and this is one of the other reasons I purchased my original flight to land at 17h30.</p> <p>I am absolutely appalled and this entire escapade left a dampener on a otherwise wonderful weekend. Not only the extra costs incurred but also the inconvenience make me never want to make use of Kulula/BA again. I am a frequent flyer on both these airlines.</p>
Thank you for taking the time to contact us and for sharing your concerns.
At the outset , please allow me to apologise for your disappointment in this regard . Customer satisfaction is important to us and constructive feedback, such as yours, plays a vital role in highlighting any problem areas within our operation. All customers are required to be at the airport at least 90mins before the scheduled departure time of the flight. This is to ensure sufficient time to check yourself in as well as any baggage should there be any for check-in. All flights close for check-in 30mins before the flight is due to depart. Once a flight has been closed, it cannot be reopened.
With regards to a missed flight : kulula.com has adopted a revised No-show policy with effect from 23 March 2012 . It aims to protect kulula inventory through applying industry best practice by cancelling any down-line or return inventory when a customer no shows and releases it back into the system. This procedure aims to make provision for the business to recoup costs that are incurred when customers reserve seats and no show without prior notice or cancellation of these reservations.
From a CPA perspective, the consumer has the right to cancel an advance booking or reservation prior to the date and time agreed for the provision of a service[see section 17 of the CPA]. The airline industry is self regulated in accordance with applicable legislation which include the Consumer Protection Act. In terms of the CPA cancellations of tickets purchased in advance of flights may be cancelled and a reasonable cancellation fee may be charged. The reasonableness depends of the length in advance of the flight the ticket is cancelled and whether the seat can be resold.
In light of the requirements of section 17, the implication is that if the date and time for the provision of a service arrives and the consumer is not present to receive the service, the consumer then forfeits the monies paid for that service if the supplier is ready and able to perform in terms of the contract. Because it was not possible for us to re-market and sell the ticket in the time frame available, we are therefore obliged to charge a 100% cancellation fee with respect to the fare.
In this case, the endor*****ts by the agent to whom you had spoken to on the 09th Jun'16 were put into the reservation at 18h10 pm .The agent at the call center had offered to make changes and thereafter the call was dropped and further attempts to make contact with you were unsuccessful.
Our website does advise passengers of the terms and conditions in the event that a passenger misses the first sector , the return sector would need to be re-confirmed . Kindly note same day ticket fares are more expensive as the cheaper seats would have been sold out .
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity of a response .
Kind regards
Fazila Khan
Customer Relations
Thank you for taking the time to contact us and for sharing your concerns.
At the outset , please allow me to apologise for your disappointment in this regard . Customer satisfaction is important to us and constructive feedback, such as yours, plays a vital role in highlighting any problem areas within our operation. All customers are required to be at the airport at least 90mins before the scheduled departure time of the flight. This is to ensure sufficient time to check yourself in as well as any baggage should there be any for check-in. All flights close for check-in 30mins before the flight is due to depart. Once a flight has been closed, it cannot be reopened.
With regards to a missed flight : kulula.com has adopted a revised No-show policy with effect from 23 March 2012 . It aims to protect kulula inventory through applying industry best practice by cancelling any down-line or return inventory when a customer no shows and releases it back into the system. This procedure aims to make provision for the business to recoup costs that are incurred when customers reserve seats and no show without prior notice or cancellation of these reservations.
From a CPA perspective, the consumer has the right to cancel an advance booking or reservation prior to the date and time agreed for the provision of a service[see section 17 of the CPA]. The airline industry is self regulated in accordance with applicable legislation which include the Consumer Protection Act. In terms of the CPA cancellations of tickets purchased in advance of flights may be cancelled and a reasonable cancellation fee may be charged. The reasonableness depends of the length in advance of the flight the ticket is cancelled and whether the seat can be resold.
In light of the requirements of section 17, the implication is that if the date and time for the provision of a service arrives and the consumer is not present to receive the service, the consumer then forfeits the monies paid for that service if the supplier is ready and able to perform in terms of the contract. Because it was not possible for us to re-market and sell the ticket in the time frame available, we are therefore obliged to charge a 100% cancellation fee with respect to the fare.
In this case, the endor*****ts by the agent to whom you had spoken to on the 09th Jun'16 were put into the reservation at 18h10 pm .The agent at the call center had offered to make changes and thereafter the call was dropped and further attempts to make contact with you were unsuccessful.
Our website does advise passengers of the terms and conditions in the event that a passenger misses the first sector , the return sector would need to be re-confirmed . Kindly note same day ticket fares are more expensive as the cheaper seats would have been sold out .
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity of a response .
Kind regards
Fazila Khan
Customer Relations