Airline hits passenger for extra HK$5,000 just to keep seat on original flight as Hong Kong watchdog warns consumers to be vigilant over bookings

A traveler faced a tough situation when an airline tried to charge her an extra HK$5,000 to keep her seat on a flight she had already paid for. The flight was supposed to go from Hong Kong to Toronto with a stop in Vancouver, but the airline moved her to a flight the next day without her permission. This caused her to miss an important medical appointment. When she reached out to the airline, they didn't give her a good reason for the change. She then complained to the Consumer Council, who stepped in and got the airline to offer her some compensation. nnThe Consumer Council has seen a huge increase in complaints about flight bookings this year. The number of complaints has more than doubled compared to last year. The Council's CEO, Gilly Wong, thinks this is because travel restrictions from Covid have eased and people in Hong Kong love to travel. However, airlines might not be fully prepared to handle the surge in travelers, leading to a gap between what people expect and the service they receive. Budget airlines are responsible for most of the complaints, with Japan being the top destination that people had issues with, followed by Thailand and the UK. nnAnother case involved a man who waited months to get a refund for canceled flights to Belgium. His travel agent told him they couldn't refund him because the airline hadn't given them the money. The man was left without an explanation for the cancellation, which meant he couldn't claim compensation from his travel insurance. The airline wouldn't talk to him directly since he booked through an agent. After the Consumer Council got involved, the airline finally refunded the agent, who then passed the refund to the man. The Council advises travelers to thoroughly read and understand the terms and conditions of their air tickets and to seek clarification when needed before making a booking.