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Azola F

1 reviews | Active since Feb 2013

02 Mar 2021, 10:36

Non-existent flight advertised on sold by Travelstart

I recently booked a return flight on Kulula via Travelstart. From Johannesburg, I flew to East London without a problem. The day I was meant to fly back from East London I got to the airport only to be told there were no Kulula flights flying out that day, and there was not a single Kulula employee at the airport that day. I ended up booking a flight with FlySafair. When I called the Kulula call centre, they told me to follow up with Travelstart because the booking reference was a Travelstart reference. Almost 3 weeks later, Travelstart has not given me an answer as to why they advertised a non-existing flight on their website. Nor have they assisted me with a refund.

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Replies (3)
Travelstart
Travelstart's reply02 Mar 2021, 11:49
Official
Hi Azola,

Thank you for reaching out to us.  

Please note I have checked the booking and can see that there had been a schedule time change made by the airline on 09 February to your flight.  We then sent an email advising of the change to your schedule and provided you with the steps to follow.  Please see below email sent:

Travelstart-Itinerary changes<***>
unread,
Feb 9, 2021, 11:03:57 AM

to ***

Hi there,
 
Please be advised that the airline has made a schedule change to your trip and one (or more) of your upcoming flights has either been affected by a significant time change to the original departure or arrival time or has been cancelled.
 
If your flight is within the next 72hrs and you intend to still travel within this period, please contact the airline directly for rebooking options. Please see below the new itinerary reflecting the changes made.
 
MN 804 departs ELS on 13Feb21 at 1455 and arrives JNB on 13Feb21 at 1620
MN 802 departs ELS on 13Feb21 at 0945 and arrives JNB on 13Feb21 at 1110
 
If you do not intend to travel regardless of whether your flight is within the next 72 hours or later, please look out for our email communications regarding placing your booking on hold.
 
Please note that the airline reserves the right to change their schedule and we are unable to ever guarantee that your flights will not be affected by any schedule change.

Wishing you a good day further.

Kind Regards,
Melissa
AF
Azola F's update02 Mar 2021, 13:27
Reviewer Update
Dear Melissa,

Thank you for your response and for giving me an answer, after having contacted Travelstart so many times without anyone telling me what had happened. I do not remember getting this email, otherwise, I would have definitely acted on it. Nor did I get communication regarding placing the booking on hold. However, I do acknowledge that it is possible that I could have missed it.

What are the chances that I can still fly on this ticket?

Regards,
Azola
Travelstart
Travelstart's reply03 Mar 2021, 14:42
Official
Dear Azola

Thank you for your reply. 

I've called up your return flight and see on the 9th February the airline exchanged the ticket due to a Schedule Change. 

Kulula then took ownership of this ticket which means you would need to reach out to the airline to see if they would still allow you to use this ticket. 

If a passenger is a no-show they would forfeit the ticket, however you are welcome to contact the airline direct to see what they will advise. 

I will also give you a call shortly to assist in answering any other questions you might have over the phone.

Kind Regards,

Marcelle