A horror story about Justfly

Old May 22nd, 2016, 01:17 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 33,288
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
A horror story about Justfly

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/22/yo...e=sectionfront

Another story about a website that claims to get you inexpensive tickets. At least this one doesn't use other people's frequent flier miles to issue a ticket. Every time I read one of these stories, I wonder why people don't just book with the airline on which the are flying.
Kathie is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2016, 12:53 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 4,968
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Because airlines can only sell their own/alliance flights and because airlines are sometimes more expensive than booking through an agent. If you only travel couple times a year on vacation then it might be ok to pay a few $$ more. But some people are not just flying out and back on one airline, they might be flying on one ticket with several destinations/mixed airlines. They might be flying on business and not vacation. What is your solution to how this should be dealt with? You only read the stories where things have gone wrong but pay no attention to the millions of transactions where things have gone right and you've come to the conclusion that booking direct is problem free.
Odin is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2016, 03:00 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 854
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
No one has ‘concluded' that booking direct is problem free, Odin. But since the New York Times took the time to research the story and chose to publish it, I think we can be reasonably sure that JustFly operates in a manner that makes it near impossible to deal with when problems arise. Although I have never even heard of JustFly, let only used it, I find this story a useful cautionary tale.
eliztravels2 is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2016, 04:43 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 10,555
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The difference is that a 3rd party booking agent can just cancel a flight and pocket the money. It happened to us. We booked RT air on Jet Airways from HK to DEL. I thought I got a great price from Majaraja travel in NY which I found thru an ad in a local Indian paper. I even called Jet a few days after the booking to confirm it. It was all good. It was after that when I found out scum bag Raj at Maharaja cancelled the reservation and pocketed the money. I protested the charge on my visa and got my money back and booked directly with Jet.

When I investigated them I found lots of similar complaints. And of course when I called him, line disconnected. Lesson learned. Always research the seller first.

I book with the airlines. Get a confirmation and relax.

I also usually book hotels directly too and ask them if they can match a price I found thru a 3rd party which they do or even beat in on case.
jacketwatch is online now  
Old May 23rd, 2016, 07:26 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 17,801
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Sigh. The issue is using shady booking agents to get prices that are too good to be true--caveat emptor! Or, in other words, pie is never free. If you use a reputable agent, online or brick and mortar, you won't have this kind of problem.
NewbE is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2016, 07:52 AM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 33,288
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Odin says "because airlines are sometimes more expensive than booking through an agent."

I've never found any agent that can get me a price better than the airline's own price. Indeed, most airlines have a low-price guarantee.
Kathie is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2016, 11:50 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 17,801
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Perhaps, if your entire itinerary is on one airline. I have had itineraries that use one carrier on the outbound flights and another on the return flights. Something like that can only be booked through an agent.

Middle men also offer bundled flight/hotel/car packages that can offer significant savings--although you do have to be able to compare to full price in order to figure out if the deal is actually a good one.
NewbE is offline  
Old May 23rd, 2016, 01:13 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 10,555
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Actually NewbE UAL also offers hotels and car rentals as well though their hotel selection isn't nearly as extensive. You can also book a cruise with them and get mileage awards or use your miles to reduce the price.

I agree with your statement above about shady agents. They are out there. I've booked with Expedia for air in the past w/o problems.
jacketwatch is online now  
Old Jul 25th, 2016, 11:17 AM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It is probably always a good idea to avoid 3rd party ticket agencies. I learned the hard way by using Justfly.com. When I had to change a flight because of hospitalization, they were a horror to deal with. If you are willing to wait hours on the phone for their customer service you will get terrible service. They owe us hundreds of dollars in credit that we will never see despite over a dozen phone calls. Avoid Justfly.com!
wvannorden is offline  
Old May 19th, 2017, 08:12 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Couldn't agree more about Justfly.com being a horror story. I purchased an airline ticket for my fiance from Justfly.com. Unfortunately, my fiance ultimately wasn’t able to complete her travel due to a visa issue. The day after she was unable to board her flight, I contacted JustFly to explain what had happened and was told by their customer service agent that, because the travel could not be completed due to an issue outside of our control (i.e., the visa issue), we could expect "a substantial refund". I was told to wait "6-8 weeks for the refund to be processed".

I ended up waiting over 4 months and making exactly 13 phone calls to JustFly in an attempt to get this “significant refund”. It was only after going through this painful process that I learned that no refund would ever be issued. Each of the phone calls I was forced to make to JustFly lasted at least 1 hour. In one case, I was actually disconnected AFTER waiting on hold for 1 hour. The longest phone call lasted exactly 4 hours and 3 minutes. They, of course, also never followed up when they said they would (they said they’d call me back and/or email after every one of these 13 calls).

Do your diligence on this shady, dishonest and unscrupulous company before you buy any tickets from them. Look at the BBB-issued warnings and advisories, the reviews on BBB websites across the US and Canada and, of course, the NY Times investigation of JustFly. JustFly is very clearly engaging in deceptive, fraudulent and unfair trade practices. Their tactics are obviously designed to wear out customers so that people who have any customer support issues just give up. This company is among the worst of the worst--I advise you to take your business elsewhere and don’t fall for their cheap prices!
ParisNYC1 is offline  
Old May 20th, 2017, 06:03 AM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 72,548
Likes: 0
Received 50 Likes on 7 Posts
Welcome to Fodors ParisNYC1.

I don't know what the CS agent actually told you, but you didn't contact them until AFTER the no show. I know of no airline or travel agent that would refund in such a situation. And visas are the travelers responsibility.

I am not defending Justfly in general, but in your case . . . well you don't seem to have a leg to stand on (unless the clueless customer service rep gave you something in writing)
janisj is online now  
Old May 20th, 2017, 06:26 AM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 10,555
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have no idea why the first CS agent would tell you something like that.

I agree with janis. Really too bad for you but I don't think any airline would owe anything in a matter like this.

That being said justly seems to be a very shady operator. Avoid!

I recently booked fare from ORD-LAX R/T on UAL on a red eye 1st class ticket( I am so leery of bumping now so I got 1st class) and the expedia price was the same as from the UAL website. In addition you get a chance to buy miles at a reduced rate and a very reasonable offer from them for trip insurance so why go outside of them?

To be clear we have a ff ticket from LAX-SYD and I can't afford to miss it so I've taken bumping out of the equation.

Sorry for your dilemma and the horrid f/u. That would be infuriating.
jacketwatch is online now  
Old May 21st, 2017, 11:23 AM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 17,801
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
<Unfortunately, my fiance ultimately wasn’t able to complete her travel due to a visa issue. The day after she was unable to board her flight, I contacted JustFly to explain what had happened >

I stopped reading after these two sentences, lol.
NewbE is offline  
Old May 24th, 2017, 08:44 AM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 2,302
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
'The day after '

A killer.

Like I didn't show up the day I was to marry my fiancee and I called her the day after but she didn't pick up the phone...

They make movies about that, didn't know people were doing it in real life.
WoinParis is offline  
Old Nov 12th, 2017, 06:26 PM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Wow I guess my story pales in comparison....they just ripped me off for an additional $316 ( airline said 300 , they billed 616) when I changed my flight....shame on me for not searching first ...Steer clear of these animals people
Aghaneil is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
kelly324
Travel Tips & Trip Ideas
9
Dec 8th, 2017 03:13 PM
agswimmer
Africa & the Middle East
6
Nov 7th, 2011 06:19 PM
sandyy
Air Travel
22
Apr 30th, 2009 12:46 PM
cruisin_tigger
United States
6
Apr 26th, 2008 01:36 PM
jjude
Caribbean Islands
7
Feb 4th, 2007 06:26 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -