Aeromexico and Thai Airways ticket refunds up in the air

Aeromexico's plane flies in the sky / Korea times file

CHANGES IN RED

By Kim Jae-heun

Customers here of Aeromexico and Thai Airways who booked flights prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that were then canceled, have yet to receive refunds.

While the two national flag carriers have since filed for bankruptcy protection amid collapsing business conditions for airlines, arguments persist over whether it should be airlines or travel agencies shouldering the bill for refunds

One married couple made a reservation for a flight to Cancun with Aeromexico though a local travel agency. But when the coronavirus broke out they decided to cancel the trip and applied for a refund in March. Aeromexico has yet to respond.

“The travel agency says Aeromexico is refusing to make the refund. I think the travel agency should pay us back first because they booked the tickets with the airline company beforehand,” the couple said in an interview with a local media outlet.

Aeromexico's Seoul office cannot be contacted by phone currently and its official Korean homepage is out of service.

Customers who booked Thai Airways tickets are also struggling to receive refunds as the carrier only offered to give vouchers for later use.

“You never know when the pandemic will end. A voucher is useless,” one customer said.

Czech Airlines and Aeroflot Russian Airlines are also not offering refunds here.

Not all customers have failed to get their money back though. Those who booked tickets on airlines' official websites had relatively little difficulty receiving refunds.

The problem is mainly for people who bought tickets through local travel agencies. Most foreign carriers are delaying their refunds to travel companies who are in turn passing on the problem to customers.

Recently, 150 customers who bought Aeromexico plane tickets through the country's largest travel agent Hana Tour applied for a collective mediation through the Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) in hopes of resolving the dispute.

Customers believe the travel firm has a responsibility to make the refund first while the company says it doesn't because the Mexican airline has blocked its refund system. The result of the mediation is expected to be announced early next year.

The KCA took the side of consumers in a previous case against Garuda Indonesia, ordering the Indonesian carrier to give refunds to customers who booked tickets before July 31.

“It is hard to mediate between multiple travel agencies and foreign airlines as many of them do not have a physical presence here,” a KCA official said.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport is taking a cautious attitude toward the issue.

“If a foreign carrier discriminated against Korean customers only, we would request it to take corrective measures. However, those in the global airline industry are all facing the same difficulties now. If an airline violates the law, we will take action with the Fair Trade Commission. But as of now there are no requisite measures,” a ministry official said.

According to the KCA, over 9,357 cases related to airline companies' failure to issue refunds have been reported to them this year. The number is more than triple the 3,067 cases reported last year.