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I have bought plane tickets for 4 passengers from Expedia to fly from Singapore to Thailand via Thai Lion Air(subsidiary of APG Airlines). 2 Days after purchasing the tickets, I called Thai Lion Air for a change of flight for 2 of the passengers. The tickets are now separated into 2 sets of 2. First pair flies on 01 Dec while the second pair flies on 03 Dec. I did the necessary payment and confirmed that transaction has gone through my credit card. Confirmation and receipt was e-mailed to me for all tickets(2 sets of itinerary).

On 01 Dec, the 2 passengers were denied check-in as the Airline system reflects no-go because payment was not made. The pair was forced to purchase a new set of tickets which cost twice as much as the old tickets. I contacted the airline and was informed that their system shows no-show and they could not proceed with the refund. The airport ticketing staff issued us a log which indicates everything that happened since the purchase to the day of flight but their system back at the HQ shows otherwise.

On 03 Dec, the last 2 passengers were able to board the plane without hiccups.

I have contacted my credit card company and Expedia regarding this and both parties stated that all payments are cleared. I have lodged an e-mail complaint attaching every piece of supporting documents showing that the passengers showed up but the airline is not responding.

I want a refund for the new tickets which cost twice as much. What can I do to get the money back? It felt like the airline is deliberately pulling this stunt to scam money.

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  • Sorry for your loss however nobody is going to refund you that second ticket money. The best your credit card company could have done was refund the original amount. Your only hope was for the airline to do the right thing and honor the original price however it looks like they have poor reviews and customer service when I checked online so i would not hope for it.
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Commented Dec 8, 2018 at 5:34
  • They actually double charged me for this set of tickets when i purchased them on expedia. It resulted me to cancel my credit card due to a potential fraud. I have been through enough to boycott any airlines affiliated with APG.
    – Ray
    Commented Dec 8, 2018 at 6:57
  • Possible next steps: file a complaint with Expedia. Request a chargeback from the credit card company for double billing (though with a different amount this is going to be difficult). Involve your travel insurance if you have one (sometimes automatically bundled with your credit card). File a complaint against the airline with the police or in court. Depending on the amount involved it may make sense to hire a lawyer to maximise your chances.
    – jcaron
    Commented Dec 8, 2018 at 10:28
  • @jcaron yes i have filed a complaint with Expedia and they only acted as a medium between me and the airline. Its been 5 days since i heard from them. Well the problem with chargeback is that i was not the affected passenger. So the new tickets bought was not charged under my card. The most i could request is a chargeback for the old tickets. I am not sure whether to bring this up to the authorities or not because the total amount for both tickets are only 1,000 sgd.
    – Ray
    Commented Dec 8, 2018 at 10:51
  • @Ray Expedia can have a lot of power over an airline. If they get too many complaints, they can stop selling their tickets or change their fees to the airline, which can be dramatic for some airlines. But it’s going to be difficult especially as you made further changes after booking, probably not through them. In the end it’s up to you if you want to file a claim with the courts. Not sure if there’s anything similar to small claims court in Singapore?
    – jcaron
    Commented Dec 8, 2018 at 11:10

1 Answer 1

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The situation described is pretty strange. If you bought original tickets through the Expedia, who is an online travel agent. The Expedia is a ticket issuer, and the airline itself can't split the reservation or charge money for it. To the best of my knowledge, all changes to the reservation can only be made through the agent who issued the ticket.

In the situation when:

  • Expedia issued the ticket
  • The airline made changes and charged you for them, and the Expedia was not part of this process.

Expedia can't do anything because it has nothing to do with the changing of the reservation. The airline is responsible for the issue, and you can only send a complaint to the airline. The Thai Lion Air seems to have mediocre support, so I am sure they will ignore the complaint. The only reasonable way to get the compensation is to ask the chargeback for the money you paid to split the reservation.

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  • I clarified with thai lion air before i made any changes. They said to me i didnt have to go through expedia for this change.
    – Ray
    Commented Dec 12, 2018 at 0:16

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