Budgetair refusing to rebook open ticket as per terms

samsam89

Hi all.

We had flights with Turkish airlines booked through budgetair for July this year. When the flights were cancelled I had them changed to open tickets (family of 4).

The terms of the open ticket on Turkish airlines website states that when rebooking the open tickets, no fare difference or change fee will be charged.

Ive tried rebooking the flights but budgetair are refusing to do so without charging me £450pp as the flights are more expensive. I have had a confirmation email from Turkish airlines to say no fare difference should apply, the terms on the TA website state that no fare difference should apply, and I’ve spoken to Turkish airlines on the phone who have told me that budgetair can’t do this.

Although I got through to Turkish Airlines on the phone, they passed me to their sales office which is an automated line.

Im at a loss as to how to proceed further...

Citizens advice have said that budgetair are potentially in breach of contract and that I should send a recorded letter using one of their templates to raise it. I’ve also used resolver with no change in stance from budgetair.

Can anyone offer any suggestion as to how I should proceed or is citizens advice the best way?

MattMattMattUK

Follow the advice of Citizen's Advice. Resolver is a waste of time.

eskbanker

samsam89 said:

We had flights with Turkish airlines booked through budgetair for July this year. When the flights were cancelled I had them changed to open tickets (family of 4).

What did Budgetair charge for changing from cheap non-refundable (?) tickets to open ones, and did they advise you of their terms for such tickets when doing so?  When booking airline tickets through a third party like this, it's not just the airline's terms that govern the arrangements, so the airline's position on this isn't the be all and end all....

samsam89

eskbanker said:

samsam89 said:

We had flights with Turkish airlines booked through budgetair for July this year. When the flights were cancelled I had them changed to open tickets (family of 4).

What did Budgetair charge for changing from cheap non-refundable (?) tickets to open ones, and did they advise you of their terms for such tickets when doing so?  When booking airline tickets through a third party like this, it's not just the airline's terms that govern the arrangements, so the airline's position on this isn't the be all and end all....

They didn’t charge to change to open tickets as it was permitted free of charge by the airline. They also didn’t provide any terms or conditions regarding the change. It was a simple email response that just stated I can rebook whenever I like via email as long as travel is completed within the appropriate time period.

It says a fare difference may apply depending on availability but no more than that.

samsam89

I’ve just looked back on the email trail. The one I received states this:

“As per your request we will cancel your refund request  with the Airlines.

The tickets are open for your  future use 

I have checked the airline policy regarding the Corona situation for your change request.

​ The airline policy states that a change is permitted free of charge* for your ticket.

* A fare difference may apply depending on availability

The new travel dates must be before 31Dec2021.

If you wish to proceed with the change please reply to this email, indicating the new departure dates.”

Thrugelmir

The CAB have provided you with guidance. 

eskbanker

samsam89 said:

eskbanker said:

samsam89 said:

We had flights with Turkish airlines booked through budgetair for July this year. When the flights were cancelled I had them changed to open tickets (family of 4).

What did Budgetair charge for changing from cheap non-refundable (?) tickets to open ones, and did they advise you of their terms for such tickets when doing so?  When booking airline tickets through a third party like this, it's not just the airline's terms that govern the arrangements, so the airline's position on this isn't the be all and end all....

They didn’t charge to change to open tickets as it was permitted free of charge by the airline. They also didn’t provide any terms or conditions regarding the change. It was a simple email response that just stated I can rebook whenever I like via email as long as travel is completed within the appropriate time period.

Seems odd that so much flexibility would be offered without extra cost - I was under the impression that most airlines have been offering rebooking (for a finite period) without any change fees but not indemnifying customers against higher fares when doing so.  If the wording of your email from Budgetair specifically promises no fare increase as well as no rebooking fee, then what's their counter-argument now?  Did they actually issue new flexible tickets to replace the non-refundable ones?

Edit: just seen your subsequent update - looks to me that they do reserve the right to pass on the fare increase, and aren't specifically saying that the tickets have been changed from one fare class (non-refundable) to another (flexible), they're just referring to 'open' in the sense that the value is preserved....

samsam89

eskbanker said:

samsam89 said:

eskbanker said:

samsam89 said:

We had flights with Turkish airlines booked through budgetair for July this year. When the flights were cancelled I had them changed to open tickets (family of 4).

What did Budgetair charge for changing from cheap non-refundable (?) tickets to open ones, and did they advise you of their terms for such tickets when doing so?  When booking airline tickets through a third party like this, it's not just the airline's terms that govern the arrangements, so the airline's position on this isn't the be all and end all....

They didn’t charge to change to open tickets as it was permitted free of charge by the airline. They also didn’t provide any terms or conditions regarding the change. It was a simple email response that just stated I can rebook whenever I like via email as long as travel is completed within the appropriate time period.

Seems odd that so much flexibility would be offered without extra cost - I was under the impression that most airlines have been offering rebooking (for a finite period) without any change fees but not indemnifying customers against higher fares when doing so.  If the wording of your email from Budgetair specifically promises no fare increase as well as no rebooking fee, then what's their counter-argument now?  Did they actually issue new flexible tickets to replace the non-refundable ones?

Edit: just seen your subsequent update - looks to me that they do reserve the right to pass on the fare increase, and aren't specifically saying that the tickets have been changed from one fare class (non-refundable) to another (flexible), they're just referring to 'open' in the sense that the value is preserved....

I think the point was that Turkish Airlines moved to retain the monies paid by offering flexibility to those who had booked. The terms of changing to open tickets on their website were clear to me when I made the decision to change.

What budgetair are saying (via resolver) is that the fare difference is applied by the airline and that they have no control over this. 

My point is that the terms of the tickets on the Turkish airlines website specifically state that no fare difference or change fee will be charged as long as you’re travelling in the same class. Turkish airlines have also confirmed this.

I’m using the details contained within the table for international flights on the Turkish airlines site.

https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-gb/zero-change-fee/

eskbanker

Looks to me like Budgetair didn't actually change your tickets to Open as such (as defined in that Turkish policy), unless there's something more definitive than the email extract you posted?  The use of the word 'open' in that email doesn't necessarily signify that the tickets were actually formally changed in the way that policy envisaged, and the reference to fare differences potentially being applied would suggest that this wasn't the case?

samsam89

Seems odd that so much flexibility would be offered without extra cost - I was under the impression that most airlines have been offering rebooking (for a finite period) without any change fees but not indemnifying customers against higher fares when doing so. If the wording of your email from Budgetair specifically promises no fare increase as well as no rebooking fee, then what's their counter-argument now?  Did they actually issue new flexible tickets to replace the non-refundable ones?

Edit: just seen your subsequent update - looks to me that they do reserve the right to pass on the fare increase, and aren't specifically saying that the tickets have been changed from one fare class (non-refundable) to another (flexible), they're just referring to 'open' in the sense that the value is preserved....

I cant tell what they’ve done with the tickets as I have no visibility of them through their site - which is frustrating. I believe they were changed to open tickets through Turkish airlines and not re-issued so to speak.

What I don’t understand (and apologies if I’m being wholly thick), is that the terms of the ticket state no fare difference will be applied - therefore there is no fare increase to pass on?

samsam89

So these are the only two emails I received from them when I requested my tickets be changed to open ticket...