Sew C.

In September we flew china southern airlines to Oslo. On the return trip, we were downgraded from business class to economy. China southern claimed that the scheduled plane had a problem and a smaller plane was sent.

Since then I have been trying to get a refund through Expedia - a official doc was given by CSAIR which we are supposed to present to Expedia.

The response from both Expedia and CSAIR is disgusting to say the least. I have. Already written a separate review for CSAIR.

This review is for Expedia.

After almost 4 months. There is still no resolution.

It takes up to 72 hours to get a response every time I emailed. The standard response is as below.

The latest response is just typical ( as below). The most infuriating thing is that this is obviously a cut and taste from the standard email they sent out. They have got my name wrong ( I am NOT Laura) and the phone number is not mine. Any surprise why they couldnt get hold of me?

Never again, Expedia. Totally unprofessional and unhelpful.

Dear Laura,

Your itinerary: **************

Thank you for getting in touch in regards to the complaint for the flight booking.

I apologise for the inconvenience caused.

I tried to contact you at 64-(212) *******; however, could not go through.

We have forwarded the concern to the airline and awaiting a response from them. Please allow us 72 hours so that we get an update from them. We will contact you at the earliest.

I appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Kind regards,
Rajdeep
Expedia.co.nz Customer Support

I am stating outright here I would NEVER fly this airline again. Anybody wanting to fly this airline because of cheaper tickets, think again.

Email response takes 48 hours if you are lucky. If you get a response, it is usually standard reply with hardly any coherent answers.

We booked 2 Business Class tickets Auckland - Guangzhou - Amsterdam - Oslo RETURN, 11 August - 8 Sept.

On the return trip from Amsterdam to Guangzhou, we were downgraded from business class to economy. We didnt find out until we checked in at the airport. The airline said that they have a problem with the plane which was scheduled. So they have to use a smaller plane, which has fewer business class seats.

We were given a letter stating that we should pass on the letter to our travel agent, which is EXPEDIA, to claim the refund from the airline.

So we sent the letter to EXPEDIA. We got the standard robotic email replies - we will call you in 24 or 48 hours, which they never did ( they claimed they call, but there is no notification on my phone of calls). Finally, after a month, an email from Expedia to say that the airline had responded saying that they wont refund because the ticket status is USED... and that we have used their services. The services here was the economy seat and food.

How ridiculous is that. Of course the ticket is USED! The airline put us on the plane, in the economy seats because they have got a problem with their scheduled plane!

Finally a call from Expedia ( after I told them I will take them to Commerce Commission, Disputes Tribunal, and expose this thru social media). Expedia said that they will offer a laughable $xxx as a gesture of goodwill. I declined the offer as it was ridiculous amount.

I intend to pursue the refund thru every means and Avenue.

So if anybody is thinking of using China Southern Airline or Expedia, think twice. It is not worth the hassle, for a few dollars cheaper ticket.