Airline Under Fire for Accepting 1,500 Reservations, Threatening Flight Cancellations

① Passenger reservations made but facing a non-operational crisis

Jin Air announced that it would resume flights from Busan to Okinawa at the end of this month and began accepting reservations. However, it suddenly revealed that it might not operate the flights, causing controversy.

In August, Jin Air announced that it would resume the Busan-Okinawa route, suspended due to COVID-19, after 2 years and 7 months. It conveyed that it would continue operations on the Busan-Okinawa route seven times a week starting from October 29. The aircraft for the flights is a Boeing 737 with a total of 189 seats. The schedule is to depart from Gimhae International Airport every day at 8 a.m. and arrive in Okinawa at 10:05 a.m. From Okinawa, it departs at 11:05 a.m. and returns to Gimhae Airport at 1:05 p.m.

At the time, Jin Air said, “We expect the convenience of travel for local residents using Gimhae Airport to increase as Jin Air is the only airline operating on this route.”

However, Jin Air revealed that it was in a crisis of non-operation on the said route as Naha Airport’s operating capacity in Okinawa was insufficient. The number of passengers who reserved flights to Okinawa is currently 1,500. Passengers have already booked hotels and rental cars and planned their trips.

In response to ongoing protests from passengers, Jin Air has agreed with the local authorities to operate 13 temporary flights until December 4. It stated that existing customers can change their tickets to one of these 13 dates or, if the customer wishes, they will process a refund without a fee. It added that the operation of flights after December 5 will be confirmed after consultation with local operators.

② 1,500 passengers have already planned their trips

Currently, passenger complaints are pouring out on travel cafes and blogs. When the operation is uncertain, the airline should promptly notify the already booked passengers and refund them so they can buy other airline tickets. Even when the travel date is not far off, they are not giving a clear answer to the passengers. Also, Jin Air informed us that seats must be available on the alternative flight to board the temporary flight.

Passengers expressed absurdity at the position of offering to change or refund tickets without a fee.
They pointed out that the airline is presenting an obvious solution due to their mistake as if it were a benefit. Also, there is no talk of compensation for the rest of the parts outside of the airline tickets.

Some reserved passengers have already completed reservations for Okinawa hotels, rental cars, etc. If they cannot repurchase airline tickets, the Okinawa travel plan will be canceled, and the passengers will have to bear the fee. Reserved passengers left comments such as, “What about compensation for the cancellation of local accommodations or rental cars?”, “I will never retake Jin Air. What’s this nonsense?”, “Hotel, rental car cancellation refund doesn’t work. What should I do?”, “I finished all reservations two months ago,” etc.

Many passengers were particularly frustrated that Jin Air did not quickly inform them about the operation or non-operation. The airline is just telling passengers to wait indefinitely. Some reserved passengers said they couldn’t connect to the airline’s customer center. This clear case of airline bullying has caused many passengers planning to travel to face confusion.

③ The airline that had many controversies recently

In the past, Jin Air has faced controversy multiple times due to flight delays. In August, a Jin Air passenger plane that was supposed to depart from Sapporo, Japan, and head for Incheon was delayed for over 20 hours.

Jin Air did not provide a proper explanation to the 360 passengers. After 3 hours, the airline began accepting passengers who wished to board, stating that some seats were arranged to go to Busan, not Incheon’s original destination. They announced that they would prioritize transporting elderly passengers over 65 years old.

However, the flight that was announced as going to Busan was going to Incheon, and there were people mixed in the priority transport list who were not elderly. Passengers protested fiercely, and police were called to the scene due to a report from a Jin Air official trying to stop them. Ultimately, only 10 passengers boarded the plane first, and the remaining 300 passengers waited in vain. Jin Air stated, “There was a lack of communication on the scene” and “Compensation for the flight delay will be notified to passengers later.”

Last year, a delay occurred due to a runway deviation accident of a Korean Air passenger plane. Jin Air did not contact passengers about the changed schedule, causing passengers to wait indefinitely at the airport. In May 2021, there was a commotion at the airport due to continuous flight delays. It was revealed that Jin Air did not make any announcements or apologies to passengers, and they posted an apology later.

By. Kim Min Jae