Flight delayed and want a refund? In China, best to hire a notary
Some airlines demand proof from passengers that a departure was behind schedule before giving money back for unused tickets, as one unlucky traveller reportedly learns
A mainland Chinese passenger whose flight was delayed an hour took a train to his destination instead, and when he went to claim a refund for the unused ticket, the seller demanded proof the plane was late, a news site reported today.
The passenger, identified only by his surname You, bought tickets for two flights: the first leg would take him from Weihai city in the eastern province of Shandong to Dalian in northeastern Liaoning province; the second leg was to an unidentified city in neighbouring Jilin province.
Or at least that was the plan, as Thepaper.cn reported. His first flight, with China Express Airlines, departed two hours behind schedule due to poor weather conditions.
When he finally touched down in Dalian, he was informed his connecting flight, with China Eastern Airlines, would take off an hour behind schedule. So he decided to take a high-speed train to get to his final destination.
You had purchased the tickets on December 26 through travel website Qunar.com. But when he contacted it later to claim the refund, he was told he must present proof the flight was indeed delayed.
Eventually he submitted a “non-voluntary ticket refund” request and was successful.
