Help - problems and I fly in less than a week

SomeUser

I used some scrapers and found a good deal through Kayak for a flight to Bangkok on a Vietnam Airlines flight through Crystal Travel.

Vietnam Airlines have made a number of minor changes to my flight, but I've recently discovered that the last leg of my outbound flight is landing half an hour later.

I've booked an onwards flight from BKK. I did have 2 hours 45 between flights, now I only have 2 hours 15 minutes and I'm concerned about clearing immigration in time.

I've contact my travel agent, trying to get my flight from Hanoi changed to go to Vientiane instead of Bangkok. To say they are being unhelpful is an understatement.

Eventually the agent directed me to Vietnam Airlines, but VA say they can't help me, it has to be the agent. The agent says that because of the class of my ticket, they can't change my flight. It is correct that I have a super saver fare, but this has all come about because of VA changing my arrival time.

I'm trying to get a copy of the terms and conditions of carriage. The agent never sent them to be, and they're now not replying. The conditions of carriage on the VA website state:

If we cancel a flight, fail to operate a flight reasonably according to schedule, fail to stop at your final destination or Stopover, or cause you to miss a connecting flight on which you hold a reservation, the amount of the refund shall be:
11.2.1. if no portion of the Ticket has been used, an amount equal to the fare paid;

But it's a bit woolly in my case, I could still make my onwards flight although it's not all that likely.

However, I don't know that these are MY conditions of carriage. According to VA, the fare class rules on their website only apply to bookings direct via the website and not through agents, so I don't know if the conditions of carriage are the same.

I don't even want a refund - I just want to change the leg of my flight that's been delayed to an alternative VA flight.

I'm beginning to get quite frustrated as I've only got 4 working days left to get this resolved.

Do I have any options under s75 as I paid for the flight using my card? Does anyone have any other suggestions or know how it works?

silvercar

If you have booked flights as one through route then they have to get you to your final destination. If flights are booked separately then you are relying on the airline good will to put you on a later flight if you miss your booked flight.

bagand96

A half hour flight change is nothing and I can't see the airline going out of their way to help you just because of that.

As silvercar said, if your onward flight was on the same booking they would have to guarantee you made it to your final destination. Because you booked it separately they have no obligation other than to get you to Bangkok.

They could indeed help you as a gesture of good will. However it is correct that you have to go through the agent. That's the problem when booking with an agent, you've got a middle man in the way the whole time. And if its not a good agent they might not be bothered to ut the time and effort in, especially for a half hour flight change.

SW17

SomeUser wrote: »

I used some scrapers and found a good deal through Kayak for a flight to Bangkok on a Vietnam Airlines flight through Crystal Travel.

Vietnam Airlines have made a number of minor changes to my flight, but I've recently discovered that the last leg of my outbound flight is landing half an hour later.

I've booked an onwards flight from BKK. I did have 2 hours 45 between flights, now I only have 2 hours 15 minutes and I'm concerned about clearing immigration in time.

So, am I correct in assuming your onward flight is to Vientiane (i.e. not a domestic flight in Thailand) AND that you booked it separately from the Vietnam Airlines flight?

You don't mention who the connecting flight is with, but IF they have an interline agreement with VN, you could ask VN to check your bags through to VTE, avoiding the need for BKK immigration. It's at their discretion if BKK-VTE is on a separate ticket to the VN flight.

If not, there is fast track immigration at BKK for business/first class passengers. Try talking nicely to the VN biz class checkin desk, or the cabin crew (not sure who would give the vouchers out on VN) and ask for a VIP immigration voucher for BKK because you're really worried about your connection. You could also ask if they will tag your bags with biz class priority tags, they usually do come off first in BKK.

I haven't been to BKK since March, so not sure how busy it is, i.e. if it's back to normal volumes. Visitor numbers had dropped due to the trouble there, so immigration was a lot quicker. Baggage delivery is usually quite efficient. 2h15 is by no means impossible for a connection as long as the flight is on time. Get a seat near the front for the flight into BKK and hope the gate isn't too far from immigration. Good luck.

fifeken

No sympathy here for the predicament - the flight could easily have been delayed by half an hour and you'd be in the same boat.

You may have a better chance of making it by using one of the meet and greet services that will fast track you through the airport.

Here's a couple of links but I can't vouch for their service:

http://www.bangkokflightservices.com/PremiumAirportServices.php?our_menu=pr1

http://www.limousine.in.th/fast-track-immigration.html

SomeUser

bagand96 wrote: »

A half hour flight change is nothing and I can't see the airline going out of their way to help you just because of that.

As silvercar said, if your onward flight was on the same booking they would have to guarantee you made it to your final destination. Because you booked it separately they have no obligation other than to get you to Bangkok.

They could indeed help you as a gesture of good will. However it is correct that you have to go through the agent. That's the problem when booking with an agent, you've got a middle man in the way the whole time. And if its not a good agent they might not be bothered to ut the time and effort in, especially for a half hour flight change.

Thanks. You're right, a half hour flight change is nothing.

The agents have been spectacularly unhelpful and say they can't provide me with the conditions of carriage.

I've accepted a number of half hour or so changes to my flight with no problem at all. I was hoping that under the circumstances I'd be able to purchase another Vietnam airlines flight and replace the problematic leg, subject to charges.

I suspect VA will let me based on the conversations I've had with them and what they've told the agent in emails I was copied into but the agent doesn't want to help me at all. If the agent had been forthcoming initially, it would have saved all the trouble for all of us. It took 14 emails to tell me my ticket is non changeable.

SomeUser

My onward flight is a domestic Thai airways flight to udon thani. I wanted to get the earliest flight possible so I had time to get across friendship bridge. (I find overland travel a bit more fun)

It's not really a big deal if I miss the flight because I'll either buy a new flight to Vientiane I'll get a bus or train and cross the next morning.

The agents have been shocking though and I'm not happy about not being able to get conditions of carriage

Mr_Wang

Bangkok is slick, you'll transfer through there in no time at all.

Doshwaster

Mr_Wang wrote: »

Bangkok is slick, you'll transfer through there in no time at all.

Yes, Bangkok is usually pretty good for transfers especially if your checked luggage is interlined. The only problem with BKK is that it can involve a lot of walking - but after a long flight it can be good to stretch your legs.