YouGeeElWhy

TL;DR: OWE traveled in business class on expired visa and Cathay tells me to go pound sand.

Recently I took a trip in J on Cathay to India from the US on an expired multi-year visa. Thought I had a ten year but had a five year... yikes -.-. The US CX check-in agent reviewed my visa and passport said all was good and gave me my boarding passes. Once in HKG the gate agent for the flight to India asked me for my passport and visa and again said ok, everything is good. Land in India, go to immigration and the official points out my visa is expired.

/* panic intensifying */

Now in India commotion ensues, which I assume is due to CX being in trouble for letting me fly on an expired visa. I cannot enter the country as e-visa on arrival must be applied before your leave to India, so I must go back on Cathay to HKG, which I cannot do that evening due to the plane already leaving. I am stuck in the airport like Tom Hanks for a day until the next flight to HKG. CX explains the above then tells me to sit here (a lounge) for 22 hours, and we will get you. That was it. After 22 hours they cannot tell me that I could get a flight back to India form HKG if I rushed an eVisa. All the local CX people could guarantee me was a flight back to the US. Needless to say, I did not want to risk being stuck in HK, so I took the flight back to the US. Along the way, the Indian CX people, the HKG CX people, and the manager back in the US told me to take it up with Customer Service, and they should do something about my wasted ticket.

/* anger intensifying */

The next day back I open up a complaint with Cathay via the web. The day after I get a response stating due to the contract of carriage Cathay is not responsible, so they will not reinstate/refund/reissue my ticket to India. Fine. Irritated, I open up a DOT complaint. That went the same as the customer complaint.

/* sand pounded */

Let me say I take the brunt of the blame on this issue, but I feel like Cathay's handling was pretty poor and with better communication by them could have saved part of my trip. Is there anything else left for me to do on this issue? Does that response sound right for Cathay? Jeez, they have given me $200 vouchers on past trips for being delayed a few hours to my destination, so it was pretty shocking to me the response I received on this issue.

ernestnywang

TBH, sounds like you are at fault and I don't even understand why you think you have a legitimate complaint against CX. CX might even be fined by India for letting you board, and CX is being nice to not ask you to reimburse them if they are indeed fined.

sxc

What is it about the India visa that makes it so difficult to understand the expiry date? At least three people including yourself have looked at it and didn’t realise it was expired so it must be a plausible mistake?

I’m not really sure what else you can get from the airline in this case

garykung

Mostly no.

You are practically doomed with an expired visa, regardless you know it or not.

However, what you have experienced has troubled me. If CX has properly checked your visa during check-in (online and/or in-person), you should not be able to even fly out of the U.S. at all, at least with this ticket. Since CX has contributed the fault, I would say CX has certain liabilities.

How to push it really depends on how much do you want to get back.

Yes, not only CX, but also every single airline.

fakecd

i m not certain about India specific issues but as a seasoned traveller of OWE as you claim to be, isnt travel document check something you should be on top of?

i dont see how u have any grounds to complain. its entirely your own problem no? CX missed the visa expiry but hey to be honest those "document check" i am not sure how competent...

at least for first world country like australia, all visa/passport are electronically linked to central database so CX cant even issue boarding pass without visa... i am not sure how advanced india is

CrazyJ82

What would you have wanted CX to do? If it was a changeable or refundable fare you could have salvaged the value if they'd denied you boarding in the US, I guess. But from their perspective, you showed up without proper documentation and their own failure to catch your miatake doesn't require a customer-service remedy. It requires reprimanding their own staff who let you board and exposed the airline to a hefty fine.

Centurion

You are 100% at fault. You got CX into big trouble.

1010101

Sorry but this is 100% on you. CX should probably have noticed in the US and definitely should not have let you depart HKG, but that's simply to protect them from getting into trouble and having to put you on the next flight back. Its your responsibility to have your documents in order. Flying you HKG/US-India a second time for free based on your own mistake is not something any airline would offer.

brunos

You are 100% responsible.

JALPak

garykung

How?

fakecd

airlines get fined for transporting pax without entry.visas

QRC3288

just what fakecd says

Can run thousands of USD per offense for a stunt like the one the OP pulled. It's not beer money. The concept this OP would get anything (including the $200 in vouchers already received) is beyond generous. CX should've caught it, but for their own damn good. Passengers are responsible for their own travel docs full stop. Not the airline.

Airlines check the docs not because somehow they're responsible for you maintaining your passport, but because countries found a clever way to stop morons/forgetful folks/etc. from consistently trying to enter without valid documentation (and to raise a little extra cash): fine the airlines for any of their passengers' personal transgressions. That led to incidence rates dropping significantly. But, sometimes it still happens, as the OP has demonstrated. And airlines pay the bill for it normally. The passengers certainly don't pay the fine.

You can't detain the OP in transit in India and the Indian authorities refuse to release him/her until he pays 5k USD. This type of behaviors is obviously not going to be acceptable, and will cause a lot of international crises. Not to mention the Indian government doesn't want its wayward citizens being detained until they pay ransom in the US, HK etc. Much, much easier to just mail the passenger back from where he/she came from, and force his airline (CX in this case) - who presumably lands at your country at least a few times a week, likely way more, and hence already will have a lot of landing fees, refueling fees, etc. payable to that country's airport - to pay up. The airline can't refuse. That's how it works. The country can ensure payment of the fine from the airline, whereas it's not very palatable for them to detain the OP and demand ransom from him personally. So CX has to pay for the OPs mistake.

garykung

When CX did not ultimately transported OP to India, the penalty issue is practically moot.

QRC3288

I'm not sure what you mean, but what I describe in my post is how it works. CX gets fined because the passenger showed up with bad docs and was refused entry. Whether or not this passes legal muster in theory isn't relevant because it's how this scenario works around the world in practice.

Then, CX plays hard ball with the pax.

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