Flight Centre Travel Group
reviews and complaints

My original appointment was with Ellery Knauth, who booked flights for myself and my partner and I contacted her a few weeks later to book flights for my two daughters.

I sent Ellery an email on the 9th of July requesting confirmation on weather seats were booked as I noticed these were not done when I logged into the airlines and seats then came at a cost. Ellery responded for the first time on the 1st of August stating she does not understand how she previously missed the email. Ellery confirmed she allocated seats where they were available without asking any preferences and upon checking the seats were not suited for our needs or preferences. I contacted Ellery again and received and out of office as she seems to work selected days.

I met with Jaimi on 7 August after getting truly concerned regarding the allocation of seats and additional costs which may be incurred. I met with Jaimi and we confirmed all the seats.

I am extremely disappointed as I had to book paid seats for both girls due to not having seats selected upon the original booking. Seats should be included in the booking and there was no selection of seats allocated to the girls for Air Canada, this cost me an additional $316.00 to secure standard seats for the girls, this is basically a local flight ticket and could have been avoided should these bookings have been made correctly initially. I find the overall communication disappointing and the attention to detail even more disappointing.

I would like this complaint to escalate as I firstly had to struggle to receive communication from Ellery and secondly we had additional costs which was not budgeted for and not acceptable.

These additional costs are not lightly taken in the current financial climate and I look forward to a mutually beneficial solution.

Thank you

Magdelena de Vos

[protected]@gmail.com

I wrote to your Travel consultant at Midland branch who booked our flights directly to her on 23rd July ( Tammina Cole) hoping I would get a response from her, as yet nothing. I can send you the letter that I sent to her if you if you could supply me with an email address a contact for reference.

My complaint is that we did not get the type of service we used to get from Flights Centre, we have used your service for all our travels, you will understand our disappointment once you receive our letter to Tammina.

Your response would be highly appreciated.

Thanking you

Regards

Robert, Valita and Shawn.

Your complaint Purchased airline tickets through flight centre in Nov 2019, covid travel restrictions ceased us using tickets in July 2020, a refund was offered at a cost of a cancellation fee at our expense when all flights had been cancelled by the supplier not us, a flight credit was offered so we took that option unaware of how long restrictions were going to go, credit had a expiry to Dec 2021, still in lockdown at this time, a further expiry extended to March 2022, still in place government restrictions to leave Australia to use credits with American Airlines. we were not given a choice of a extended credit or refund from March 2022, we consistently communicated numerous times with flight centre with no successful outcome of extension or a refund, then from this point there was no more communication from flight centre to us until march 2023 with an email, "group travel bookings extended to Dec 2023" thinking this applied to us, waited until we were ready to use these credits before Dec 2023. Called flight centre 25/7/2023 to redeem credits, to be told credits expired in march 2022 and nothing can be done, that email didn't apply to us, our credits are expired and we cannot get a refund, they said they'd appeal with American Airlines yet have no success recovering a refund or a extension with flight credits for many other customers in the same situation as us, they have not offered a solution of a flight credit or refund, we paid flight centre and entrusted them with our money to acted on our behalf like all travel agents do and have not been compensated for our financial loss, no service has been provided to us for what we paid for. We never cancelled the service, or the credits offered, the credits should never of had an expiry due to the circumstances at hand of government restrictions stopping us from travelling from Australia at the time.

Payment made on 13/11/2019 via direct deposit to flight centre of $7619.40

On a recent tour (MCY27909), we were with a group tour and the Paris accommodation was APPALLING. Tour advertised as 3* or above. This accommodation was lucky to be 2 * and we want a refund. The accommodation was changed a few days prior; our bus was swapped for a smaller one with an Expat tour, our Paris accommodation was appalling, and the post accommodation I prepaid for was not made and then I discovered made in another hotel, but no one had been emailed. As My Holiday and My cruises don't deal with the customer only the FC agent, I have had no reply after weeks of emails and calls. I have used FC for the last nearly 15 years and though it is not FC but their agent, I will never recommend this My Cruises or My Holidays (noone can confirm who is ultimately responsible) as recommended by FC. My FC agent Tulane Clarke, from Bateau Bay, tells me she has sent numerous requests but has also not heard anything from anyone either. I've called FC bookings and been on hold for 20 minutes to be cut off. Frankly, just not good enough. I can send photos of the accommodation and you can tell me if you would feel comfortable putting your family in this hotel- the hotel staff even said the tour company knew they were 2 stars.

To say I am disappointed is now becoming a very big understatement.

I booked tickets with flight centre mornington vic to fly my family from aust to france returning to aust via canada then return to aust on united transiting through san francisco. We were told by the agent to apply for estas for canada but not esta unnecessary for usa as we were change over planes in san fran. On departure from calgary were we’re denied boarding as esta were required to san fran despite travel centre saying explicitly they were not required. Emergency helpline provided useless.

When booking our family of 4 trip to Greece in January 20th. We had asked for my mother in-laws airfare to be one way meaning she would travel from Darwin to Singapore, Singapore to Dubi which then followed through to Athens. She was quoted 1200 for her one way ticket for the full leg.

We also had the same except that we would have the return flight back to Darwin.

All flights where given to us on booking confirmation paper. My mother in-laws flights were also on this. We paid the total that was asked by the Flight Centre staff. All together we paid around 7k.

We then went back to flight center as we saw that our family's flight to Kos from Athens had no luggage. Why would we not want luggage as all our fairs have had luggage up to this point. We then paid for the luggage which was not orgaised back then.

The Flight Centre staff informed us when booking that 2 weeks prior to leaving we should come and pick up our full tickets. In this visit the staff said we only paid 3 tickets. She explained that she only had my 84 year old non English speaking mother inlaw flying from Darwin to Singapore paid for only. However the rest of us had all our flights which were on the same confirmation paper. We had paid in full of the total that was requested.

The staff member then said I must purchase another ticket for my mother inlaw from Singapore to Athens otherwise she would be stuck in the airport as we would board our next flight. This ticket costed alone. $1780.00 which is more than what we paid for for all the other individuals flying to Greece and back which costed $2000. The staff member then proceeded to say that this is what happened when you don't understand English mistakes happen and you need an interpreter. I have been in Australia for 57 years and can speak and understand English fluently and was greatly offended by her comment. We speak English in our house hold, it is my children's first language. We however paid the price of the extra ticket that they had forgotten to charge us for back in July which would have been significantly lower. They also didn't pick up this error when we went to organise our luggage for our Athens to Kos flight.

I booked travel with Etihad using Aunt Betty (Australian travel agent). With a stopover in Abu Dhabi I was alerted my flight was cancelled and there was no refund or rebooking of flights. I was stranded in United Emirates having to make arrangements 3am in the morning, calling international lines and having to wait on the line for hours and if I was unlucky the call gets disconnected and I had to join to wait queue all over again.

I have chased my travel agent and Etihad for refunds and all they have offered me was flight credits that was no good to me because A) it's bloody height of COVID B) I didn't want to travel and be left stranded again.

I was alerted a press release where ACCC quoted:

'Etihad updated this policy on 3 June 2020 to extend offers of refunds for flights scheduled to depart from Australia. Etihad was already offering refunds for flights departing from a number of other regions, including the US and European Union.

Following recent engagement with the ACCC’s COVID-19 Taskforce, Etihad has now further revised its policy by offering refunds to all consumers in Australia who purchased tickets, regardless of where their flight was scheduled to depart from.'

Well they didn't contact me at all even when I chased them about a refund!

If you book with Auntbetty, expect to shell out more $$$ than you expect if things go pear shape and don't expect them to act reputedly or provide customer service in anyway.

To Whom It May Concern,

We wish to lodge a formal complaint about the significant substandard service received from Flight Centre Balgowlah and recover the losses we incurred as a result of the inferior service.

In November 2022 we engaged the services of Emma Mogensen through Balgowlah Flight Centre to book a 2-week trip to Vietnam departing on 1.4.23 for our family and extended family who are based in England. Over the course of this 5 month period Emma booked flights (not the flight from the UK), accommodation and activities for both families. Due to a number of required flight changes we were in regular contact with Emma throughout this time.

Unfortunately, when we arrived at the airport for our scheduled departure on the 1st April we were not permitted to board the flight as we did not have the required visa to gain entry into Vietnam. We called Emma immediately from the check in desk and she was shocked to find out that we needed a visa and at this point clearly had not checked any specific documentation requirements. It was clear she had sold us the flights and trip without establishing whether we would meet the strict visa requirements. During a follow up call with us while we were still at the airport Emma indicated that visa requirements would not have been missed had we run through a checklist with her prior to travelling, which would have been standard practice has we met face to face. At no point was it requested that we met face to face or was a checklist discussed or provided to us.

As per basic Australia Consumer Law, when you engage a business to provide goods or services, you have the right to expect an ‘acceptable quality’ and that services must be provided with due care or skill (taking all necessary steps to avoid loss and damage). It is reasonable to assume that in the situation where the service being provided is the planning and booking of international travel that this service would include basic information on any specific travel documentation required for the chosen destination. No such information or guidance was provided and this failure of the travel agent was the direct cause of the losses we incurred.

At the point we found out that we could not travel our family from the UK was already flying and so our only course of action was to make alternative last minute arrangements to meet them, as they had also spent a significant amount on flights to meet up with us. A summary of our losses, resulting from missed re-booked flights, accommodation and activities are as follows;

AUD



Change in flight cost - flight to Phu Quoc $ 2,954.70

Domestic Flight Phu Quoc to Hanoi $ 680.39

Somerset Grand Hotel Hanoi paid by not used (Bond 1st April) $ 194.50

Somerset Grand Hotel Hanoi paid by not used 4th April $ 389.00

Hanoi to Ninh Binh sightseeing tour 2-4 April (unable to attend) $ 1,467.00

Limestone View homestay Accomodation 2/3 April (not used) $ 453.35

Halong Bay Cruise booked for 5th April (unable to attend) $ 3,900.00

Hanoi Royal Palace Hotel 2 booked for night of 6th April (unable to attend) $ 555.30

Urgent mainland Visa application service $ 1,077.35



Total loss incurred $ 11,671.59

We took all reasonable steps to mitigate our losses, including negotiating directly with the providers of the Halong Bay cruise to refund 50% of the trip cost. However, they said as the originally booking was with Flight Centre, the refund would also have to go back via Flight Centre. On return to Sydney we passed this information on to Flight Centre Balgowlah, however have not yet received any refund or even an update on the situation. In addition to this, there were other trips where providers would have incurred minimal cost/ lost revenue from our cancellation and so should have been able to provide refunds. Again as far was are aware Flight Centre has made no attempt to mitigate any losses incurred.

I am very disappointed with the service that I received from your company. I believe that you have a responsibility to ensure that your customers have all of the information that they need to travel overseas. In this case, your company failed to provide me with accurate information, which resulted in me losing a significant amount of money.

We would now like to resolve this matter and recover our losses from Flight Centre as quickly as possible and avoid the formal involvement of Fair Trading or legal proceeding. If no formal response is received within 14 days of this email, we will look to make a formal complaint with Fair Trading.

Regards,

Hi

I paid for 2 exit row seats recently, the trip was to Melbourne HK return.

I did ring up twice to change my flight dates and on both occasions, I was told my exit row seats were still allocated.

Unfortunately, they weren't. On my flight to HK, I was informed that Flight Centre didn't allocate an EXIT row seat. Cathay was good about it and they gave me one, which was great of them.

While I was abroad I rang Flight Centre again to change my return flight and asked them to make sure that the exit row seat was allocated, again this was not done and I didn't get an Exit row on my return.

Today I rang Flight Centre for a refund for the return flight EXIT row charge. Your customer service said that this wasn't refundable and that I have to contact Cathay. I tried to explain that my contract is with Flight Centre and that Flight Centre should be refunding me for something that wasn't done from your end, even though I was assured that it would be done..

This is left bad feelings towards Flight Centre and really I don't think I want to use them again..

Since September 2022 I have been waiting for a refund from Aunt Betty for a refundable flight on Virgin.

I have attached a copy of the detail. I have written to Aunt betty customer service and only occassionally get a reply. Each time I receive something like this:

Dear Andrew,

Good Day!

Thank you for your reply. Regarding your refund, we need to coordinate with our relevant team for the status, and we will give you an update once they respond.

Thank you, and have a great day.

If there is anything else with your concern, please let us know by responding the email below.

Regards,

Jhien

I have now also written an email to the CEO of Flight Centre.

[protected] - value: $739.12

[protected] - value: $739.12

[protected] - value: $739.12

[protected] - value: $739.12

In 2020 i booked flight from myself and 3 other family members to travel with air New Zealand to Queenstown. The flight got cancelled due to the government covid rules and we were no longer able to travel. I was told that air New Zealand held my credit and that i can fly again with them. A few friends that were going to travel with me also had their flight cancelled for that same flight and managed to get their credit back. When i called air new Zealand last week to see if i could also get a refund due to some financial difficulty at the moment i was advised that the credit was not with them but in fact with Flight centre. i then contacted my travel agent in flight centre Frankston and spoke with Cerys who advised that there was nothing they could do and they will not refund me the money and that i still have to fly with air new Zealand. i struggle to comprehend why as the credit is not with air new Zealand. i would like a full refund.

booking #951221 made at Flight centre Sunbury Victoria Australia for Princess cruise 3K6JCV from Melbourne 3 January 2023 for (self) Alan Porter and Renate Porter

paid balance of cost $3599 by direct deposit to FC 27/9/22 (total cost $3958)

Due to Renate's unexpected surgery/hip replacement with further complications on 26/11/22, we were unable to take the cruise Informed FC agent Sarah Nugent and submitted medical certificate from specialist Andrew Chia, notifying need to cancel cruise Understand that we are entitled to refund of 50% of total cost ($1979) from Princess

Refund not received Contacted agent Nugent - no result

Rang Princess on 3 occasions - on 241/23 informed by Princess that a refund cheque of $1854.44 was sent to Flight Centre

Further enquires made via Agent Nugent - refund not received.

I now request urgent attention to this complaint and refund paid into the account, details given to Agent Nugent

Case ID: 1147345.

I spoke to Chris Goods regarding the difficulty I am having with Flight Centre in Warwick WA. This is the copy of the communication with Jessica 07/0/23. Dear Jessica,

Can you please advise what’s happening with Mr Naidoo’s refund for the unused portion of his travel. I have copied and pasted the communication from Air Mauritius highlighted below. I believe that you have processed the refund according to the instruction from Air Mauritius through the BSP LINK, ITS ALMOST TWO MONTHS AND Mr Naidoo hasn’t received his refund nor any communication. Can you please contact Air Mauritius urgently through your normal agency communication lines and get an update. I await your advice.

On the 17th January 2023 I emailed copies of the E, Ticker and itinerary to Chris Goods, On the 7th February he requested more information. this is my response to him: Hi Chris

After almost a month and you come back saying you can't find any information about the refund/credit. I did advise you that your Perth office were supposed to request the credit as per the instructions from Air Mauritius which I got from Air Mauritius

Your Perth office eventually asked me to contact you. Which I did and provided you with a copy of the ETicket.

That had all the information there, you didn't have to go anywhere else to look for it. I am very disappointed that this simple matter of getting the refund or credit is taking so long. My family and I do our travelling and get Flight Centre to handle our travel arrangements. I am willing to wait another 7 days from the tomorrow to get some notification from you and your Perth office that I can expect a response r

Failing which I will lodge a complaint with the ombudsman

To have this matter resolved.

Regards

My girlfriend and I cancelled our flights almost 10 months ago and we have still not received any refund. We were initially told by the Flight Centre agent that refunds take up to 12 weeks (email dated 22/04/22), we were then told that the refund period is 6 months due to the high volume of refunds (email dated 19/08/22). The last email we sent, 7 months after the flight cancellation (27/10/22), we were told that the agent was speaking to Qatar to expedite the process but have still not heard anything back. Speaking to Qatar directly, they have not mentioned any issues with significant delays in sending out refunds, certainly not 10 months.

We have been extremely disappointed with the service that we did not receive when we needed it whilst overseas, hence resulting in the cancellation. We do not recommend this agency to anyone, it is much easier and cheaper to book flights yourself as you will not get the assistance needed when you do need it anyway.

This is the worst agency I have ever had to deal with, we are infuriated by the price we were charged considering all the headaches you have caused us and the false promises that were made whilst first visiting the branch at Chadstone.

Good afternoon
Hope you are well.
Need Help: Looking for NSW area manager assistance
I went to flight centre Jesmond during covid, booked multiple flights, one was canceled.
I want to redeem the cancelled flight from Virgin.
Virgin online says talk to your flight agent.
I emailed Virgin, after some email questions, they said again to talk to your flight agent.
Proof attached.
Unfortunate Jesmond closed down, and I cant find the flight centre help desk, and the Roshan Lewis is incompetent to help.
unfortunately I DIDN'T make the booking, so I would have finished the simple task of retrieving the credits of the flight.
As attached, there is no way I can get the credits, because :
- Online said : contact you travel agent
- Virgin email said : contact you travel agent
I booked and paid flight centre directly, so Flight centre can verify my payment, and all previous email correspondence regarding Derpina booking and cancellations. Derpina flew to Sydney, but the return Virgin flight was cancelled. I would like to redeem the flight credit, and book a new flight.

I would like to book a flight from Sydney to Denpasar on 26 Apr 2023, using my Travel Agency to assist redeeming the credits, and booking a new flight as described below. Invoice attached.
The focus is on the cheapest option around 26 April, and I am 100% flexible with time and dates. Attached is what I found, and suggesting, please review and see what's available, and what you can offer.
Kind regards
Louis Swart

swart. [protected]@gmail.com

I cancelled my flight before 4 months ago. Till now I haven't received any money yet. I don't recommend this agency to anyone. I can say this is the worst agency allover Australia. just a note to you agency people, if you have to run a good business, people has to be your priority. If you don't know how to manage try to close it rather than wasting peoples time & money. Finally I can say this is the worst agency i have ever seen.

Ref no for the flight ticket - [protected]