GordonShe

Hello

On the 15th of January, I was refused permission to fly by Qatar Airways for my flight from Edinburgh to Bangkok, via Doha. I DID have the one blank page required by Thai customs but upon examination by the Qatar check in staff, they claimed that the fact there was some glue residue caused by the presence of a visa that had long since fallen off would prohibit me from flying. There was also a tiny bit of an entry stamp in the corner. They did contact Thai customs and was advised not to proceed.
Afterwards, I was basically abandoned by Qatar. They refused to help me to rebook as "this has to be done via your original travel agent". As I eventually rebooked with them direct, this was clearly nonsense. So ended up paying a no-show fare, even though I was assured by Qatar Edinburgh that I would NOT be listed as that....and my £386 fare eventually cost £1000.
However, when I tried to get reimbursed for the unused APD via their 'helpdesk' (something they are categorically obliged to refund, right?), they told me there was nothing further to discuss. I tried via their facebook helpline and was told the same thing. My original travel agent was prepared to help but for a ridiculous fee of £55.

They have to reimburse me but I have little idea of how to force them to do so. Contacted the CAA but outwith their jurisdiction. Can anyone here advise/help?

Thanks

warakorn

Believe - they didnt contact "Thai customs". All the contract agents did was to contact the QR-contracted visa desk.

GordonShe

It took over an hour to get a 'decision' and apparently, their staff at BKK got official clarification that I was to be refused. But obviously, they could well have erred on the cautious side as they would have been liable for any fine IF I had been refused. Felt it was very much a grey area but nothing I could do.

LondonElite

GordonShe

Hello. Sorry for the confusion. Was wanting to avoid extra long winded post.

Yes, I flew two days later after getting an emergency new passport. So outbound was 17th Jan.

Travel agency (based in a call centre) said they would cancel the booking which would mean I WASN'T a no-show. Then when they cancelled my ticket, I BECAME a no show. In later communication with them, they said the airline had advised them to do this. The airline in turn said the agency had changed my status themselves. And Qatar in Edinburgh said I'd be considered a no-show simply by not boarding the aircraft, in spite of what their supervisor at time of (non) check-in had told me to my face. So an additional £600 odd quid to book a new outbound reactivate my inbound booking on original date of return. (Total flight cost was £1k)

So travel agent actually hindered me, rather than helped. Then while still on holiday, asked if they would get my apd back and was told yes, but with a significant fee. Felt it somewhat disingenuous to have caused an issue with my rebooking and then for them to profit out of it. Plus, I wanted to recoup as much as I could.

Hope that clarifies

LondonElite

Often1

It is impossible to tell without looking at the two fare breakdowns, e.g. original ticket for which OP was denied boarding and the second ticket, whether the APD from the first ticket was applied to the second ticket. If so, OP is not due anything. If not, then this is an issue between OP and his TA.

It sounds as though you already know this, but do not want to pay the fee you apparently contracted for with the TA. I suspect that you paid APD of £78 and would be due a refund of £23 after the £55 TA fee.

If the TA has the wrong service fee (check the terms you agreed to) then bring that to the TA's attention.

Bottom line is that opaque third-party vendors, sometimes called OTA's, may be just as good as an air carrier's direct website when things go right. But, when they go wrong, it can get bad and expensive.

GordonShe

I guess if the TA says they could get the apd refunded, then the airline did NOT apply the apd to the second flight. From all conversations I've had, there was never any indication that it was even possible to defer apd amount.

There is nothing in the TA's T&C's to cover reimbursement of apd or anything other than refund/cancellation.

I was under the impression it's illegal for an airline to withhold the passenger tax that they did not pay to the government. And only pay based on actual passengers on board. No?

Im a new user

If they contacted Thai customs, then it was probably correct that you were denied boarding and so all you can get back is unused taxes.

If they didn't contact Thai customs but instead only QR staff at BKK, and they got the entry requirements wrong, then take a look at EU regulation 261/2004. It sounds as if you were somehow rebooked and could travel, and if you didn't obtain any additional travel documents before travelling, you obviously had the necessary travel documents when QR denied boarding, so request 600 euros for denied boarding. The regulation also states that QR should rebook you. If they didn't do this, or if you had to pay money to be rebooked, then claim compensation for your rebooking expenses too.

If you got a new passport before rebooking the ticket, then it's murkier. It is then a dispute about whether you had the correct documents when you first tried to board the flight.

GordonShe

Thank you everyone for your comments. I did speak to the CAA and they were 'encouraging me' to look at the refused boarding route a bit further. However, it was a painful enough experience so am loathe to keep pushing, with the feeling that ulimately, they have a get out 'clause'. And I'm not too sure how I'd force Qatar to reveal their documentation supposedly from Thai customs either. Interested to know that Qatar were obliged to rebook me if denied boarding. I had already rebooked before I received my new passport however.
Be all and end all, does anyone know how I can FORCE Qatar to reimburse me my APD tax though? As I said, they've just blanked me on the subject Cheers

LondonElite

SK AAR

I believe some carriers allow a full refund in case visa is denied? It would seem to have been less costly to take a refund and book a new ticket (with QR even last minute tickets can be quite cheap in my experience)

GordonShe

Hi. How could I find out if Qatar allowed this in the case of visa being denied? In their passengers rights page, they do mention rights if you are denied boarding. But doesn't clarify anything about visas. And their complaints department have twice said there's nothing further to discuss.

IF I had been offered a refund, I would have gladly taken it and rebooked. But I wanted to be on the same flight home as my gf and this was the only way of ensuring.

stargold

You paid the travel agent, so any refund of your fare and/or taxes will also have to be issued by your travel agent. This might be why they are refusing to help.

I'm not aware of a QR exception for refusal of visa. In any case, this is not a refusal of visa, but rather an assessment at the airport that you did not have the required travel document in order to travel, so not the same thing.

FYI, Qatar's definition of no-show includes not cancelling within 3 hours of the flight departure, and is clearly stated in the fare rules. Even if you did not know yourself, your travel agent should have been aware of this.

Often1

OP was not denied boarding for want of a visa. He was denied boarding because he lacked a full blank page as required. EC 261/2004 would afford him denied boarding compensation so long as the denial was "reasonable". By OP's own admission he did not meet the blank page requirement. The entire issue of who said what to whom is a bit of a red herring, unless Thai Customs affirmatively told QR that OP would be admitted and QR nonetheless denied boarding. That seems a bit of a factual stretch. Whether the counter staff dealing with OP phones Thai Customs or spoke with their internal people at BKK won't matter much so long as the requirement is there and OP did not meet it.