Extremely Dissatisfied and Out-of-pocket for more than 200 Euro

In March 2020, I booked a return flight with Ethiopian Airlines, from Bangkok in Thailand to Johannesburg in South Africa. Due to the outbreak of the COVID 19 epidemic, I was unable to return to Thailand at the end of April 2020, as the return flights were initially postponed and then cancelled.

I was given the option to request a Refund or to retain a Travel Voucher for use until 31 December 2021. I opted for the Travel Voucher.

I was eventually able to return to Thailand at the end of July 2020, but had to pay for a chartered flight with Ethiopian Airlines for the fee of approximately R21 000 (approximately 1100 Euro) . I was not permitted to use the value of my unused return flight.

Due to the ongoing prolonged epidemic, I contacted the Travel Agent (MyTrip.com UK) that I made the booking through in July 2021, to kindly process a Refund, as it was unlikely that I would be able to use the Travel Voucher by the end of 2021.

After repeated follow-up emails, and contacting Ethiopian Airlines in between that time period, MyTrip.com eventually provided feedback my ticket was non-refundable.

I then contacted Ethiopian Airlines again, and they confirmed that it was refundable, but that the travel agent needed to submit the application. (Please see response from Ethiopian Airlines on 27 August 2021 below).

After several follow-ups again, MyTrip.com eventually informed me that only an amount of 29 Euro for Tax was refunded by the airline, and that it was below their handling fee of 61 Euro, so there was no refund amount available to me. The total return flight cost was 543 Euro, so 50% thereof should be refunded for the cancelled return flight.

When I repeatedly requested the correspondence they received from Ethiopian Airlines, I have to date not received anything.

I then decided to contact Ethiopian Airlines again for their assistance, with the last correspondence being on 29 October 2021. To date I have not received a response despite 2 follow-up emails, and I'm extremely unhappy with not only the lack of feedback and the poor service delivery, but also the fact that the Travel Voucher will expire in the next 2 weeks.

My last email request to Ethiopian Airlines is below: (personal details have been removed). Further supporting documentation referred to below can be provided on request.

---------- Forwarded message ---------

Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2021, 20:39 Subject: RE: [Caution: Message contains Redirect URL content]Re: Other Pre-flight Feedback or Complaint To: <***>

Good day I need your assistance please. I have communicated with the travel agency numerous times since our last emails at the end of August below (MyTrip.com UK). At first they indicated that they would forward my application for refund, but then rep**** later that Ethiopian Airlines informed them that the partially used ticket is non-refundable. This is different to the feedback that I received from Ethiopian Airlines (see email trail below). When I asked for them to forward me the correspondence from Ethiopian Airlines, they have repeatedly not provided it, but eventually said that they were only refunded 29 Euros tax, which is less than their handling fee of 61 Euros. They also stated that the application was in April 2021, which is before my original request to the airline in July 2021. "We would like to inform you that we have received 29.09 EUR tax amount for partially used ticket ***, claim date was 08-04-2021." Please see attached their email and related correspondence included as an attachment to their email. I live far south in Thailand in the province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, so it’s not possible for me to visit the Ethiopian Airlines office in Bangkok. I look forward to your urgent feedback. Feedback from Ethiopian Airlines that ticket is refundable: From: *** [mailto:***] Sent: Friday, August 27, 2021 6:07 AM To: Cammy Orren > Subject: Re: [Caution: Message contains Redirect URL content] Re: [Caution: Message contains Redirect URL content] Re: Other Pre-flight Feedback or Complaint Dear our valued customers Mrs CAMILLE Thank you for your contact! Good evening, Dear Mrs Camille, I hope you & your family staying safe in this pandemic circumstance and I apologize for the inconvenience that you have encountered on this occasion due to covid-19; Pursuant to your email under ticket number *** find the details below; TKT-*** ISSUED-09MAR20 NAME-ORREN/CAMILLE MS TTL NBR OF CPNS- 4 CPN A/L FLT CLS DATE BRDOFF TIME PNR BAG STATUS 1 ET 629 Q 15MAR20 BKKADD 135A OK 2PC - USED F/B-QLXPRTH 2X ET 809 Q 15MAR20 ADDJNB 840A OK 2PC USED - F/B-QLXPRTH 3O ET 808 Q 26APR20 JNBADD 210P OK 2PC - RFND F/B-QLXPRTH 4X ET 608 Q 27APR20 ADDBKK 320A OK 2PC - RFND F/B-QLXPRTH As of the above ticket, half was used and a half was refund; if you have any inquiries don't hesitate to ask us any time & thank you for choosing Ethiopian airlines and we look forward to hearing from you. Wishing you remain safe and healthy! Best Wish Regards; Bethel A (Ms.) Your feedback is vital for our service improvement. Please give us your feedback through the below link. We Thank you in advance for your time and feedback. https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/aa/services/help-and-contact/call-center-survey