Complaints about refunds were among the issues that dominated a consultation held by the Ministry of Public Works yesterday with travel agents to resolve the travelling public’s concerns.
Speaking to agents at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill highlighted the issues raised by customers in letters sent to his ministry, including refunds and multiple deductions that sometimes accompany them. “The travelling public has an issue with travel agencies, particularly as it refers to having refunds,” Edghill said, before he asked the travel agents to explain why customers are not being provided with the full refund.
The agents wasted no time in explaining that the refund process carries a fee, which is explained to customers before the process starts. They added that refunds are processed based on whether a ticket is refundable and by what percentage.
Edghill also asked why the processing fee seemed to vary, and was told that the standard penalty/fee is US$25. However, the minister said that due to rate exchanges, the US$25 could not be used in Guyana as is. Instead, he suggested that the fee used be no more than $5,000, which found favour with the agents.
The agents also took turns to explain that their agencies had been working as much as they can with the customers but it is the airlines which have held back the refunds. The agents stated that Fly Jamaica is yet to refund persons from since 2018, and then following its filing for bankruptcy in 2019. The agents complained that following numerous promises made, Fly Jamaica is yet to process refunds owed.
Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Director General, Egbert Field told the travel agents that a number of stakeholders are waiting for the airline to pay the money owed from the time mentioned. According to Field, he has reached out to the airline concerning the matter but it is yet to be sorted.
The travel agents also said that like Fly Jamaica, LIAT, Caribbean Airlines and Eastern Airlines have been complicating matters between them and customers due to the lack of refunds. The complaints are that Caribbean Airlines has a lengthy refund process, while Eastern Air-lines has a habit of offering vouchers rather than cash refunds. One of the agents stated that the vouchers are for future services with the airline but actual refunds are not being brought up.
Field stated his appreciation for this concern as the GCAA was informed that refunds would be made. He said that in the case of Eastern Airlines, it did not say that it would be issuing vouchers. The minister voiced his dissatisfaction with the situation and stated that these airlines would be approached and have to provide a firm decision about these issues.
Following an inquiry by Edghill as to how the agents communicate with the ministry, a variety of other concerns were brought up. It was noted that there is an association which is still in the works to represent them. Some of the members were in attendance, but they shared that they have had some difficulty getting all licensed travel agents to participate. The travel agents express-ed concern about unlicensed agents and asked that the minister intervene to have agents register. Edghill said that he is pleased to have competition in the industry and added that from his knowledge there are no un-registered agents. However, he added that his ministry would be publishing a list of the registered agents in one month’s time, thereby giving any unregistered agents exactly one month as of yesterday (May 3) to get registered.
Travel agents also asked that the ministry aid them with getting local representatives for all non-local airlines flying in Guyana. Using JetBlue as an example, the travel agents said that local representatives need to be based in Guyana so situations that directly impact their customers can be addressed. The minister said that “every airline who is operating in Guyana must have a designated representative at a particular office”. He asked Field to have this issue be among the priorities after the meeting.
