BYOjet charges passengers $250 to cancel flights, sparking fury

COVID-19 put an end to an Aussie family’s trip to Europe – but they’re now being charged almost a third of the cost of their tickets.

COMMENT

If life had gone according to plan, I’d be on a beach in Greece with my family right now.

But it didn’t, and we’ve now joined the countless Aussies who have had their holiday plans derailed by the devastating coronavirus crisis.

Of course, cancelled trips are the ultimate first world problem when more than 150,000 people have already died from the illness and millions have had their livelihoods decimated.

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But after receiving an email from Australian travel firm BYOjet confirming we would be charged $1000 in total to cancel just one leg of our journey, we were shattered.

The company had initially offered customers just two options when it came to coronavirus cancellations – a credit note with the company at a cost of $55 per person and with rebooking restrictions, or a refund with a $250 per person fee, plus airline fees.

BYOjet is charging $250 for cancellations even when airlines waive their fees. Picture: Supplied

Calls to the company in the lead-up to our flight to Europe went unanswered, and when we did get through, we were told they would only speak to people flying within 24 hours. Emails were also ignored for weeks on end.

It appears that $55 credit note fee has since been waived, and it’s the option the company is clearly pushing customers to take – but with so much instability in the travel industry it is obviously not the best option for clients, given a credit note will be worthless if the firm collapses.

And that fear is not unfounded – this week Virgin Australia went into voluntary administration and Flight Centre, which acquired a 70 per cent stake in BYOjet in 2015, will permanently close 40 per cent of its Australian stores by the end of July as part of an effort to reduce annual costs by $1.9 billion due to COVID-19.

Given we are now living in a world where Aussies are being fined for eating kebabs, going for a drive or mountain biking due to strict social distancing rules, cancelling a trip to the other side of the world was a no-brainer, especially given the Government’s travel ban.

“On March 24, 2020, the Prime Minister announced a ban on Australians travelling overseas under the Biosecurity Act 2015. This will help prevent travellers returning to Australia with coronavirus,” the Government’s own Smartraveller website states.

Overseas travel is now banned. Picture: Smartraveller.gov.au

Two members of our family also fall under the high-risk category for COVID-19, and even if that wasn’t the case, putting travel plans on hold was the moral thing to do for the sake of public health.

In light of these unprecedented circumstances, many international airlines – including Qatar Airways, which we were due to fly with on April 1 – are waiving their cancellation fees, making BYOjet’s policy all the more unfathomable.

And my family is far from alone.

Victorian woman Rhiannon Rose was due to fly to Bali in June with a friend with Virgin, and was also initially asked to choose between a $250 cancellation fee or $55 for a credit note with the company.

She said she was “disgusted” and “appalled” by the company’s treatment of customers during the public health crisis, and has vowed to boycott it in future.

“We wanted to cancel our flights, as even if flights were permitted (highly unlikely) it would still be unsafe and irresponsible to do so,” she told news.com.au.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t get through to BYO via the support line and when I emailed the company, it was rejected with a message stating that they were no longer receiving emails.

“I was happy to wait as I knew that people flying before us would be needing to be sorted out first. But then BYO sent me an email wanting to know if I planned to travel still. I was prompted to complete an online form, informing them of our intentions. The options were cancel with a $250 fee and possibly airline fees or transfer the tickets and pay $55 on rebooking. There was no other option or communication.

The company’s Facebook page is littered with complaints. Picture: Supplied

“I ended up taking the credit note as I couldn’t justify being charged $250. I’m still frustrated that they want $55 to rebook when the time comes to travel, and that’s if Virgin is still in operation.”

Sydney woman Kendall Ciraldo was also due to travel to Bali for a wedding with a friend in late April after booking with Garuda via BYOjet.

“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous, especially when we have no control over the flight at all. They have changed our itinerary so much so that it’s impossible for us to catch our flight if we wanted to,” she said.

“I completely understand they’re being inundated right now, but we don’t need to be slogged with cancellation fees from both them and our airline for not being able to catch a flight that doesn’t exist.”

BYOjet’s Facebook page is flooded with complaints from irate customers in similar situations, with a Class Action Against BYOJET Facebook page also popping up in response to the unfolding situation.

Comments have slammed the firm’s “shocking customer service”, with negative online reviews accusing it of “unethical practice” and “dishonesty”.

When asked how the company could justify charging such high cancellation fees – in our case, almost a third of the cost of our tickets – during an unforeseen global pandemic, a BYOjet spokeswoman said administering refunds was “a very manual and time-consuming process”.

“Providing support to our customers is our priority and our global team is working around the clock to deal with a significantly higher number of refund requests than normal, on top of the work they are doing to help customers change travel plans,” she said.

“We do understand how stressful this current environment is for our customers and we are committed to helping every single customer. We understand that decisions made by governments around the world to significantly restrict travel to slow the spread of the coronavirus has caused many challenges for people, as it has for the entire travel industry.

BYOjet has attracted scores of poor reviews online.

“Our customers are able to leave their money on file for an extended period to be put towards future bookings, without being charged any fees and many customers are choosing this option.”

She said the $55 credit note fee “would not be charged if you decide to keep your money on file with our business”, although “refunds” are also available.

“If a refund is requested, charges do normally apply, although they are being waived or reduced in some cases,” she said.

“These charges, which are outlined in our standard terms and conditions, reflect the fact that our people have performed a service in booking products for customers and the significant time involved in processing and securing refunds from airlines and other suppliers.

“Administering refunds is a very manual and time-consuming process, particularly in relation to airfares, as we pay airlines within days of receiving money from customers and then work with those airlines to get the money returned and ultimately refunded to customers. This process can take up to 12 weeks in a normal trading environment and there are obviously additional challenges in the current climate, given that demand for refunds has increased at the same time as airlines have typically downsized their workforces. We are unable to refund customers until we have received payments from airlines however we are actioning refunds as soon as we receive them.”

The spokeswoman said customers had “generally been comfortable” with options offered, it was true that “some feedback has been negative in relation to booking amendments and cancellations”.

“We are currently discussing any further support we may be able to provide to our customers,” she said.

“As you would understand travellers – and indeed our people – are dealing with unprecedented and constantly changing circumstances, and it is a very confusing and challenging time for everyone and we do thank customers for their patience and understanding, while we work to clear any backlog and while we await further clarity around suppliers’ longer term cancellation and amendment policies.”

I do understand the travel industry is doing it tough at the moment – but so too are the scores of ordinary Aussies who now have to pay hundreds of dollars for a service they never had the option of using.

And while some BYOjet customers might be happy with their outcomes, my family is convinced it’s beyond cruel to force customers to foot the bill during a global crisis.