AirFastTickets apparently suspended by IATA
Jun 26, 2014, 6:08 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: TLV
Posts: 522
AirFastTickets apparently suspended by IATA
http://www.ttgdigital.com/iata-place...691846.article
This is a few days old and on the blogs, but I didn't see a warning here on FT. Their websites (USA, UK, Germany, Greece) seem to still be selling tickets nonetheless...
Online travel agency AirFastTickets.co.uk is understood to be in discussions with Iata after a letter was issued last week suspending the company from trading.
Jun 27, 2014, 12:16 am
#2
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We'd surely have some protection in the U.S. if a credit card is utilized and services are not provided (Fair Credit Billng Act), but those outside the U.S. may not have the same protections in place. I recall there was a poster here a year back from Australia who paid cash for his travel with a reputable consolidator. In that case if the travel provider went out of business, he'd be in line with other creditors to get his money. At least a credit card, for some of us, does offer some protection.
Jun 27, 2014, 12:27 am
#3
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For many of the USA consumer protection regulations, a debit card is not at all the same as a credit card. People using business rather than personal card products can also have fewer protections in situations like this.
Jun 27, 2014, 7:42 am
#5
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 16
Dear Maayan,
Just to let you know, we are currently in discussions with IATA and are still operating to provide services to our customers. For updates see you can tune-in to our Facebook page, as well as ongoing deals. https://www.facebook.com/AirFastTicketsUk .
All the best and enjoy the weekend!
AirFastTicketsUK
Just to let you know, we are currently in discussions with IATA and are still operating to provide services to our customers. For updates see you can tune-in to our Facebook page, as well as ongoing deals. https://www.facebook.com/AirFastTicketsUk .
All the best and enjoy the weekend!
AirFastTicketsUK
Jul 2, 2014, 2:14 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: TLV
Posts: 522
Dear AFT:
We definitely love your low prices and coupons, but the way your boss has been handling the situation does not instill any confidence in you. We need to see more frequent updates on your facebook sites, and especially we need to see there that clients who have had their tickets cancelled are being made whole - receiving their refunds or being re-accommodated. Lacking such testimonials from clients we would be foolish to make any new bookings with you at this time. Hopefully your management can sort this out before it is too late to repair the vastly-tarnished reputation.
We definitely love your low prices and coupons, but the way your boss has been handling the situation does not instill any confidence in you. We need to see more frequent updates on your facebook sites, and especially we need to see there that clients who have had their tickets cancelled are being made whole - receiving their refunds or being re-accommodated. Lacking such testimonials from clients we would be foolish to make any new bookings with you at this time. Hopefully your management can sort this out before it is too late to repair the vastly-tarnished reputation.
Jul 3, 2014, 4:28 am
#8
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 16
Thank you Maayan
Dear AFT:
We definitely love your low prices and coupons, but the way your boss has been handling the situation does not instill any confidence in you. We need to see more frequent updates on your facebook sites, and especially we need to see there that clients who have had their tickets cancelled are being made whole - receiving their refunds or being re-accommodated. Lacking such testimonials from clients we would be foolish to make any new bookings with you at this time. Hopefully your management can sort this out before it is too late to repair the vastly-tarnished reputation.
We definitely love your low prices and coupons, but the way your boss has been handling the situation does not instill any confidence in you. We need to see more frequent updates on your facebook sites, and especially we need to see there that clients who have had their tickets cancelled are being made whole - receiving their refunds or being re-accommodated. Lacking such testimonials from clients we would be foolish to make any new bookings with you at this time. Hopefully your management can sort this out before it is too late to repair the vastly-tarnished reputation.
We enjoy bringing you low prices and coupons, win-win! But in all seriousness, thank you for your feedback, this is exactly the type of chat we enjoy receiving to improve our services and tailor our interaction with all our customers. We take it to heart.
Your AirFastTickets.co.uk Team
Jul 3, 2014, 10:01 am
#11
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Status of Prior Reservations
Dear Maayan,
Just to let you know, we are currently in discussions with IATA and are still operating to provide services to our customers. For updates see you can tune-in to our Facebook page, as well as ongoing deals. https://www.facebook.com/AirFastTicketsUk .
All the best and enjoy the weekend!
AirFastTicketsUK
Just to let you know, we are currently in discussions with IATA and are still operating to provide services to our customers. For updates see you can tune-in to our Facebook page, as well as ongoing deals. https://www.facebook.com/AirFastTicketsUk .
All the best and enjoy the weekend!
AirFastTicketsUK
Jul 4, 2014, 2:29 am
#12
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BBC article on the matter: www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28062318
IATAs letter to the BSP partners: http://air.euro2day.gr/cov/IA/IATA.pdf
It seems the carriers took action based on this warning and basically closed their systems to AFTs sales offices.
I suppose AFT could eliminate a substantial amount of their outstandings with IATA if they went thru the spurious bookings people did (using multiple coupons, adding non-existing infants to exploit a pricing error, etc).
Tickets issued before May are definitely safe as the carriers received their equivalent cash for it in the BSP, bookings in May/June seem to be affected in the sense that carriers may want to limit their exposure to a payment default by AFT. I wonder what the courts have to say about a carrier cancelling a ticket or refusing transportation because of a mere fear that they may not get the cash from the issuing travel agent.
There are some greek reports out there talking about a IATA - AFT meeting next week.
IATAs letter to the BSP partners: http://air.euro2day.gr/cov/IA/IATA.pdf
It seems the carriers took action based on this warning and basically closed their systems to AFTs sales offices.
I suppose AFT could eliminate a substantial amount of their outstandings with IATA if they went thru the spurious bookings people did (using multiple coupons, adding non-existing infants to exploit a pricing error, etc).
Tickets issued before May are definitely safe as the carriers received their equivalent cash for it in the BSP, bookings in May/June seem to be affected in the sense that carriers may want to limit their exposure to a payment default by AFT. I wonder what the courts have to say about a carrier cancelling a ticket or refusing transportation because of a mere fear that they may not get the cash from the issuing travel agent.
There are some greek reports out there talking about a IATA - AFT meeting next week.
Jul 4, 2014, 3:08 am
#13
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 16
No worries, we have no intention on self-publicizing - our social media presence revolves around addressing concerns directly related to our services. We're a company of travelers, we understand.
The AirFastTickets.co.uk Team
Jul 4, 2014, 3:22 am
#14
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 16
Fortunately or unfortunately we bought a few international air tickets on the AFT web site in mid-June and confirmed the reservations on the airline web site. Is there any risk to these reservations due to AFT's problems with IATA? I see your FB page is deluged with complaints about cancellations and poor customer service. AFT's responses on FB are dodgy at best - "please send us a PM." Can you take the time to allay our concerns, thanks!
You are not wrong – and I hope you will not mind a more formal (and ultimately lengthier) reply to your question. I will try to explain as best as possible. The amount of issues reported to us has indeed increased over the past couple months. This has resulted from a tremendous spike in our growth in the UK market and elsewhere. To relieve some of the pressure from our other customer service channels (e.g., our call centres), and augment our flexibility, we have opted for a more versatile solution by further developing our social media units to supplement our more traditional channels. This is why you, and many others, have seen such messages asking customers to visit us there. While not ideal for some, we have found that we are able to answer queries quickly and efficiently via this mode. Of course, all channels of communication remain open – however, for those who have expressed dissatisfaction with the other channels, we offer this service more openly.
In the coming months we expect the volume of traffic through this channel to return to previous levels. We try to maintain every channel available to help customers reach us. You are also not wrong that there are a certain degree of negative comments as well. Obviously we also do not like to see bad experiences from our customers, this is completely contrary to the goal of our service. That said, we do encourage comment (positive or negative) – it helps us to better help you. I hope this has not come off as any sort of self-promotion, as this is honestly not the intention. I hope this helps to clear that up a little.
Jeremy
The AirFastTickets Team
Jul 4, 2014, 3:32 am
#15
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 16
BBC article on the matter: www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28062318
IATAs letter to the BSP partners: http://air.euro2day.gr/cov/IA/IATA.pdf
It seems the carriers took action based on this warning and basically closed their systems to AFTs sales offices.
I suppose AFT could eliminate a substantial amount of their outstandings with IATA if they went thru the spurious bookings people did (using multiple coupons, adding non-existing infants to exploit a pricing error, etc).
Tickets issued before May are definitely safe as the carriers received their equivalent cash for it in the BSP, bookings in May/June seem to be affected in the sense that carriers may want to limit their exposure to a payment default by AFT. I wonder what the courts have to say about a carrier cancelling a ticket or refusing transportation because of a mere fear that they may not get the cash from the issuing travel agent.
There are some greek reports out there talking about a IATA - AFT meeting next week.
IATAs letter to the BSP partners: http://air.euro2day.gr/cov/IA/IATA.pdf
It seems the carriers took action based on this warning and basically closed their systems to AFTs sales offices.
I suppose AFT could eliminate a substantial amount of their outstandings with IATA if they went thru the spurious bookings people did (using multiple coupons, adding non-existing infants to exploit a pricing error, etc).
Tickets issued before May are definitely safe as the carriers received their equivalent cash for it in the BSP, bookings in May/June seem to be affected in the sense that carriers may want to limit their exposure to a payment default by AFT. I wonder what the courts have to say about a carrier cancelling a ticket or refusing transportation because of a mere fear that they may not get the cash from the issuing travel agent.
There are some greek reports out there talking about a IATA - AFT meeting next week.
Thanks for bringing this up. We are currently in discussions with IATA over the current issues. We are planning publishing an update as soon as we have concluded these discussions. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for updates on this issue, and we will also keep you informed here as well.
Jeremy
The AirFastTickets Team