Traveler's Aide: Book with care on foreign travel websites
— -- Question: I traveled to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics with my two daughters. We booked tickets for a side trip from Beijing to Shanghai on Hainan Airlines.
The airline's website was very difficult to navigate. It wasn't clear that our ticket purchase was confirmed, so I booked a second time, and ended up with duplicate tickets. Our hotel tried to help, but the airline said we had to submit a refund request online. I tried, but Hainan's website wouldn't accept my record locator number, and directed me to a site only in Chinese.
Secondly, an airline representative rejected my younger daughter's ticket at the airport. My daughter was 12 at the time I booked, qualifying for a discounted child's fare, and I input her birth date on Hainan's site. However, the agent and her manager (neither of which spoke English) both said she was too old for the fare and claimed she was 13, even though her passport verified her age. They insisted that I had to buy a full-fare, one-way ticket on the spot to get back to Beijing. We were on the last flight of the day, and were at risk of missing our flights back to the U.S., so I couldn't argue with them.
I am seeking refunds for the duplicate tickets for myself and my oldest daughter, plus refunds for my youngest daughter's two unused tickets. Can you help?
— Michelle Woody, Dallas
Answer:Woody found Hainan's website and ticket confirmation process bewildering, and mistakenly booked multiple tickets for her trip. Not only did she end up with a double booking from Shanghai to Beijing, but she also bought an unneeded set of tickets for the reverse itinerary too, purchasing nine tickets total when she only needed three.
Three of those tickets were child fares for her younger daughter, age 12. Although Hainan's website accepted the bookings, Woody's daughter did not actually qualify for the 50% discounted fare. The airline's youth tickets are for kids between 2-12, meaning the passenger may fly up until their 12th birthday, but not after that.
The age rules are outlined during the ticketing process, but the airline agreed that Woody's experience indicates the rules should be explained more clearly. Woody's age debate with the airport agents was no doubt due to the language barrier. But in the end, Woody's daughter was a few months too old for the fare, and the airline was within its rights to require her buy a new ticket to Beijing.
Woody's multiple tickets created Herculean confusion during the refund process as well, since the airline had to research which had been used, which could be refunded, and whether penalties applied to some of the tickets. Of the nine tickets she bought online, Woody only used two: The Shanghai-Beijing tickets for her and her older daughter.
Hainan agreed to refund the duplicate set of Shanghai-Beijing tickets without a fee, because they were duplicate bookings. These tickets totaled $507. For the Beijing-Shanghai tickets, Hainan charged a refund fee of 10% for the adult fares and 5% for the child fare. Those three tickets came to $341. The airline also refunded Woody's youngest daughter's original Shanghai-Beijing child ticket, since she had to purchase another at the airport.
"We want to say sorry again to Mrs. Woody and her daughters for the trouble," says Hainan representative Yaxi Lu.
How can you avoid trouble?
• Make sure your first booking failed before trying again. E-mail confirmations may be delayed, so check directly with the airline by telephone, or call your credit card to see if the charges posted. If you do double book, keep track of which ticket numbers you use, and which should be refunded.
• Check age limits for kids' fares, since policies vary by airline.
• Don't delay in pursuing a refund. Contact the airline by telephone, email, or letter immediately and follow the refund process instructions. If you can't communicate, turn to your credit card company for help.
Linda Burbank first began troubleshooting travelers' complaints for the Consumer Reports Travel Letter. She now writes regularly for Consumers Union publications and is a contributing editor for National Geographic Traveler. E-mail her at travel@usatoday.com. Your question may be used in a future column.