Travel News - Airline Forces Passengers to Cough up $31k in Fuel Money

Hahaha, I wonder what could have happened on this flight, really! Wonder if the this was a dumped fare with no YQ.

http://consumerist.com/2011/11/airline-forces-passengers-to-cough-up-31500-for-fuel-or-get-off-plane.html

news said the ta didn't pay the carrier....

That story is unbelievable

Man you can be sure I would be calling my lawyer if this happened to me. Wow $31,000 for fuel taxes and I thought it was part of my ticket. It seems like airlines in America are cheaper than paying this expensive fuel surcharge. It would have been cheaper to take the train or drive.

I'm worried the major carriers will pounce on this incredible money-making opportunity. Gander will once again become a waystation across the Atlantic!

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/17/travel/britain-passengers-cash/index.html

Unbelievable.. the ticket purchased should have been a contract..

Perhaps this is a new piracy type business..

Who was thinking this would be a Kingfisher flight? ;)

Given this sounds like some kind of charter arrangement between travel agent(s) and a charter operator and perhaps even a charter sub-contracted operator, something like this happening can't have been unique and/or won't be unique.

Given most Indians need a visa for travel in the Schengen zone but this flight was headed to the UK, perhaps taking a bus or other surface transport may not have been much of an option at least in terms of timeliness.

Who was thinking this would be a Kingfisher flight? ;)Mint Airways (yes, that's right) - some Spanish charter outfit with a couple of clapped-out 757s.

http://www.airplane-pictures.net/images/uploaded-images/2010-10/11/105378.jpg

The airline has apologized and said they will refund whatever people paid.

Wonder if they got receipts?

They are also working to get everybody back home since they suspended their flights for them.

Once they let you on the plane, their dispute with the travel agent should be the Airline's own issue.

This is a great example of a company fighting over $30,000 and getting several million dollars worth of bad publicity for themselves.

Does the airline have a stock we can sell short, perhaps?

I'm surprised the pax went along with it. I'm sure there are numerous travel options between Vienna and Birmingham - it's not like neither of them are small cities not served by commercial aviation or rail. I would've told the airline to shove it and flown on a different airline or taken a train, even if it cost me more. It's the principle of the thing.

I'm surprised the pax went along with it. I'm sure there are numerous travel options between Vienna and Birmingham - it's not like neither of them are small cities not served by commercial aviation or rail. I would've told the airline to shove it and flown on a different airline or taken a train, even if it cost me more. It's the principle of the thing.

The modern day version of this is airlines diverting flights to closer airports claiming they didn't have enough fuel to continue on and not giving the passengers a refund on the fuel costs.

This airline just added an additional twist to nab additional funds.

Any airline Charter or regularly scheduled who does this should face fines and penalties.

I'm surprised the pax went along with it. I'm sure there are numerous travel options between Vienna and Birmingham - it's not like neither of them are small cities not served by commercial aviation or rail. I would've told the airline to shove it and flown on a different airline or taken a train, even if it cost me more. It's the principle of the thing.

If it happened to me..

I would have insisted to swipe my cc.. and get it reversed back home anyways..:)

As most of the stories have reported, they were not accepting credit cards, it had to be cash. If you didn't come up with the cash, they would have left you there and the other passengers would have had to cough up more. They waited six hours for people who insisted on credit cards to go to a cash machine and find the cash.

Credit cards were not an option in this case.

So you would have been stuck in Vienna.

As someone in the comments of the linked site pointed out, there was actually an Onion article about this a while back (http://www.theonion.com/audio/united-airlines-flight-crew-hits-up-passengers-for,12574/). Once again, The Onion turns out to be forecasting the real world!

I'm surprised the pax went along with it. I'm sure there are numerous travel options between Vienna and Birmingham - it's not like neither of them are small cities not served by commercial aviation or rail. I would've told the airline to shove it and flown on a different airline or taken a train, even if it cost me more. It's the principle of the thing.I think you're overlooking the demographics of the passengers.

A charter flight from India to the UK is not likely to be carrying many savvy or relatively wealthy travelers. I dare say many spoke neither English nor German well enough to change their plans. (No, that's not a racist comment :rolleyes: )

As most of the stories have reported, they were not accepting credit cards, it had to be cash. If you didn't come up with the cash, they would have left you there and the other passengers would have had to cough up more. They waited six hours for people who insisted on credit cards to go to a cash machine and find the cash.

Credit cards were not an option in this case.

So you would have been stuck in Vienna.

Most airline service would provide some sort of cc.. but I agree, if an unethical increased fee take were to happen, the airline would take the risk of recourse out of it by demanding cash, rather than accept cc's or cheques.

I'm surprised the pax went along with it. I'm sure there are numerous travel options between Vienna and Birmingham - it's not like neither of them are small cities not served by commercial aviation or rail. I would've told the airline to shove it and flown on a different airline or taken a train, even if it cost me more. It's the principle of the thing.

More likely than not, the principle would have involved losing your checked luggage, probably forever.

Ridiculous!

news said the ta didn't pay the carrier....

Richard Fluck, Comtel's CEO, told CNN that the dispute involves Comtel, Mint and a third firm, Astonbury Ltd., which sold the tickets under the name Skyjet. The company abruptly failed this week,
How did the British Govt urge passengers to make alternate arrangements? Did the Govt call every passenger advertised in the Indian newspapers, TV radio etc?

I am not holding thew British Govt responsible, but just wondering what the news report means when it says ,"with the British government urging about 200 passengers who booked Skyjet flights to make new arrangements to return home."

The TA going after business after selling the tickets is a common ruse used by some crooks. A friend of mine and his family were caught in a similar situation. They had bought AF tickets from a TA , who bought tickets from a consolidator. The TA declared bankruptcy after tickets were issued, without remitting money to the consolidator. AF tried to recover money from my friends, by telling them that it will cancel their reservation, who came to me, as I had recommended the TA. I told them to stand firm as they had made a payment to a TA who was working as an agent to an agent to an airline. The matter was between the Airline, the Consolidator and the TA.as the passengers did pay the TA, who failed to make the payment to the consolidator. I told them file a complaint with the DoT of airlines extortionist behaviour. My friends were able to complete their travel, but have been aloof since then.

AT the other end, I suspect some foul play on the part of the TA as the TA bought a car and a house, well beyond his life style, around the same time.