Devil's in the details: Consumer watchdog calls on travelers to pay attention to terms of air fare

The Consumer Council reminded consumers on Wednesday to distinguish restrictions and terms and conditions among different classes of air tickets and pay attention to flight change policies when booking air tickets in order to protect their consumer rights.

The reminder came as the watchdog received 1,537 complaints about air ticket bookings in the first 10 months of 2023 - more than double the 727 cases received in the same period
last year.

The watchdog said the complaints involved disparities in interpretations of terms and conditions, no flight delay compensation, and delays in refund arrangements. 

According to complaints received by the Council, some airlines offer more expensive tickets with “free change” or even refunds, which may in fact only waive handling charges involved in rescheduling and passengers are still required to pay the differences in airfares, taxes, or class upgrades.

The Council recommended airlines enhance clarity of their services and terms and conditions of various types of air tickets, enabling consumers to make easier comparisons before making their choices.

Gilly Wong Fung-han, the watchdog's chief executive, said the reason for the number of complaints significantly increased is believed to be related to a large number of Hong Kong residents traveling abroad after the pandemic, thus, poor coordination by airlines.

She noted that over 60 percent of the cases involved budget airlines.

Consumers were reminded to pay special attention to the airline's policies if there is a possibility of an itinerary change, she added.