Claiming missing miles
Published: 11/10/2007 - Filed under: Ask Alex » Ask Alex » 2007 »
Dear Alex,
In these days of e-ticketing, why do airlines still insist on seeing copies of boarding passes and tickets when granting a retrospective credit for missing miles? Don’t the airlines keep a record in their system?
Allan Damian, Pasig City, Philippines
Alex replies: I asked Ravindra Bhagwanani of Global Flight and he explained that airlines still require written proof to deter passengers who make fraudulent claims.
“Although matters won’t dramatically change, in the future it should ease for passengers using airlines within the same alliance,” he said. “United [a Star Alliance member] has just introduced automatic online retroactive claims for partners including Swiss and Thai, with more to follow.”
Airlines aren’t the only travel providers to insist on this. Hotel chains also ask for written proof of stay even though the information is stored electronically.
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Compensation rights? 24/11/2007
Dear Alex, Three passengers including myself were scheduled to fly economy class Abu Dhabi-London with Etihad in September with EY11 at 0255. We were to return two days later with EY18 at 2120. When we reached the airport the flight was full and we were denied boarding. Etihad rebooked us on the next flight at 1330 but couldn’t extend our stay in London by a day because the return flights (on the later date) were also full. Etihad gave us US$300 compensation and a hotel stay in Abu Dhabi. However I feel that (because of our reduced time in London) I lost two appointments and incurred extra business costs. What are my rights for compensation according to the Montreal Convention? Sanjay Amarnani, Abu Dhabi, UAE — full story »
Intelligent booking 24/11/2007
Dear Alex, Your October issue (BTE) carried an article entitled “20 ways to be a smart traveller” with cost-saving tips. Please excuse my stupidity but what are back-to-back tickets (tip seven) and how do I book them? Also, tip eight recommends starting your journey in mainland Europe rather than the UK, so how can I benefit from using Amsterdam to fly to Cairns, Brisbane or Sydney? Our local airport is Humberside and fares to Australia via Amsterdam [Humberside to Amsterdam with KLM is the airport’s sole international route] are very expensive, so we always fly from London for our regular trips to that country. Sue Taylor, Hull, UK — full story »
