[neveragainairberlin]

Air Berlin Complaints - one way flight to Bangkok

Review all Air Berlin complaintsAir Berlin

Posted: 2009-06-09 by Guenther Schauerone way flight to Bangkok

Complaint Rating:

bought a ticket online for a friend. she went to the airport on time. Airberlin wouldn t let her on a one way fligth to Bangkok claiming ..without a visa they can not take her..I flew myself on the same day and had no troubles at all to check in with another airline.

I was told to buy a return ticket which they will refund and go on with the next flight..still they refused to take her again. ...the lady at the munich counter didnt charge me the change fee of 50 Euros, my fault ??

so I had to buy a third ticket for the next day. and the person I bought the ticket for had to stay at the airport..sleepless.
instead of paying 298 Euros..I wasted almost another 400 Euros.
budget Airline? Think again. NO

Airberlin refuses to give me a refund.

Never fly this airline again..only troubles and horrible customer service.

instead fly Egypt Air..you can see the pyramids for FREE

[Silent Bob]

If they wouldn't take her without a Visa, what kind of passport does she have? by comparison what kind of passport do you have? Depending on where she's from or her passport type, maybe its true she cannot travel without a visa, but yours is ok. And rather than get the visa she needs you keep buying tickets and she keeps getting denied. Perfect! Next time ask for a copy that states she needs a visa, or you can even look it up online, lots of websites have information on whether or not they need a visa to travel to a different country.

[PHXFlyer]

In addition to the passport/visa issues is the fact that originally she had a one-way ticket. Many countries will not admit foreign nationals if they cannot provide proof of either return or onward travel within the expiration of their visa. Airlines can be fined hefty sums of money if they allow a passenger to travel to a country where they are denied entry because all of the requirements for entry were not met before they began their travel.

[neveragainairberlin]

ok. but why can I fly with a one way , not for the first time, to BKK
without any troubles..you get the visa anyway at the airport.
have done so ..several times !

any idea to get my money back?
thanks

[PHXFlyer]

Northwest Airlines has a handy link on NWA.com to the Timatic system. This database is maintained by IATA and has information on entry requirements based on all permutations of natioanlity (passport held), country of residence, country of embarkation, etc. Since you still haven't disclosed the particulars of what country's passport your friend holds, her residency status in Germany, etc. one cannot even begin to speculate what the exact visa requirements are. No materr what, however, this information is in Timatic regarding Thailand:

- Those travelling to Thailand with a visa issued prior to
arrival, are permitted to travel on a one-way ticket.

- All visitors must hold documents required for their next
destination.
Warning:
- Non-compliance with visa requirements will result in:
- refusal and immediate deportation of the passenger; and

- fines for the airline of THB 20,000.-; and
- overstay fine for the passenger of THB 500.- per day (but
not exceeding in total THB 20,000.-).

So you see, with the one-way ticket the airline representative was
correct because according to this information you cannot travel on a
one-way ticket to Thailand and obtain a visa upon entry.

I'm afraid you're going to have a tough time getting your money back if
you purchased non-refundable tickets. It is your responsibility to know
the visa and entry requirements for a particular country before you buy
tickets to go there.

[neveragainairberlin]

I got my visa at bkk airport..not prior !

so, I dont see the point.

Austrians can stay with this Tourist VISA...which I got with a one way ticket at the Bangkok airport.

Chilean can get the Tourist visa at bkk airport for 3 Month
which means they have even better relations to Thailand.
and she was not asked to show a return or other ticket

now what?
thanks again for your time

[PHXFlyer]

Ok. So you're Austrian and your friend is Chilean. Did you begin your travel in Germany? Are you both Alien residents residents of Germany or another EU nation? Was travel non-stop or was there a connection? To get accurate Timatic information all of that information is needed.

Thank you.

[neveragainairberlin]

ok. thanks again for your reply.
will send out an EU complaint letter directly to the Airline.

I am Austrian citizen..she is Chilean citizen.
with a 3 Month visa in any EU state..like Austria and Germany same rule applies for both.

I flew via Cairo to BKK ..she flew via Berlin directly to Bkk.
again..to get a 3 Month tourist visa at the airport in bkk is rather special..
never heard.
still I cant believe Airberlin has the right not to let her board in Munich.
nobody..asked her for return ticket...or an onward ticket, at Bkk immigration.

looks a bit helpless to get my 400 Euros back.

thanks

[Jetliner]

The information provided does have different requirements for Chile vs Austria, however both must have a visa issued prior to travel. Air Berlin is following the proper procedure, sounds like the airline you flew on did not. And just because Thai immigration did not ask to see it, doesn't mean anything. They may not ask to see this from every passenger, or the passenger list could have been transmitted upon the plane departing from Munich. If it is transmitted, then they would already have that information.

If you have done this in the past, do you think it's possible that something may have changed since the last time you did this? Also in prior travel what was your country of origin and your transit country? Any of these could play a role in this.

[neveragainairberlin]

well I did some homework

called the immigration in Bangkok..they told me
return or onward ticket not neccessary..
will fly from India one way to bkk soon

lets see what they say...prob. nothing as always.

will also ask egypt air for one way to bkk

just want my hard earned money back

[Jetliner]

Well, regardless Timatic (what was shown above) states otherwise, and this is an official source of information for the airlines that has been provided by the governments, and hence is probably what Air Berlin followed. If you are being told something different, then there is something wrong with the info being given by the Thai government to IATA or to you over the phone.

Either way, if it is stated this way in Timatic (which it is) then Air Berlin is correct to follow that, and to have denied boarding.

[Morgenhund]

Originally Posted by neveragainairberlin

I am Austrian citizen..she is Chilean citizen.
with a 3 Month visa in any EU state..like Austria and Germany same rule applies for both.

Please let me disillusion you of something. She probably actually holds a "Schengen visa" - this is NOT an EU-wide visa as such a thing does not exist... It is only valid in countries that are full members of the Schengen Agreement (take a look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenge...#Schengen_visa) so it does not yet cover all EU-27 countries.