Travel agent not authorized, says AirAsia

Air Asia has clarified the confusion over claims by an Indian national that his ticket was used by someone else .

PETALING JAYA: Air Asia has denied foul play over allegations by an Indian national that the airline had cheated him of his ticket which he had booked and paid for.

In a statement today, the low cost airline said the outlet from which the S Palaniappan 49 had bought his ticket was not an AirAsia authorized agent.

AirAsia said yesterday the agent Dawood Travels and Tours, located at Lebuh Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, had ceased to be an agent of the airline in March, 2012.

“Our records show that the travel agent mentioned is not on our list of authorized agents and in fact had ceased to be an AirAsia agent as of March 2012 several months prior to the date of the transaction,” AirAsia said.

Last week FMT highlighted Palaniappan’s plight.  Palaniapan claimed he booked two AirAsia tickets on May 16, 2012 to travel to India. One ticket was to depart from the Kuala Lumpur low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) to Chennai, India, on Feb 12 and the other ticket was to depart from the LCCT to Trichi, India, on March 14.

Palaniapan also claimed that he paid RM650 for both tickets to Dawood Travel and Tours, which issued the tickets.

“After booking the two tickets, I made a second confirmation with regard to my flights with the agent.

“But I was told by one of the staff at Dawood Travels and Tours that the ticket I had booked had been used by someone else using my name through the low-cost airline to fly out on an earlier date,” Palaniapan had alleged.

According to AirAsia, they were trying to get in touch with Palaniappan to “determine the full facts” and ascertain their customer care process.

“We encourage consumers to always ensure that the agents they use are a valid and authorized agent. To ensure a complete peace of mind, we encourage consumers to purchase our seats online,” said the airline.

Meanwhile FMT tried to contact Dawood Travel and Tours but the phone number provided by the firm on its website had been disconnected.

Efforts to obtain the travel agency’s phone number through Telekom Malaysia revealed that the company was not listed on TM’s telephone directory.