BudgetAir
Reviews and Complaints

Skyscanner redirected us to BudgetAir.co.uk to complete tickets purchase for 01 Sep OTP-LCA flight - A3519 (Aegean). Bought 3 tickets on 27 Feb.

Friends of ours bought from Skyscanner > eDreams and directly from the airline on 6 march.

On 24 March they were told the flight is cancelled and they were offered alternative routes at no extra cost. Both eDreams and Aegean sent emails to announce the changes.

We emailed BudgetAir on 10 Apr to confirm our flight status and they told us we're good to fly.

Now more friends of ours tell us they had the same fate.

For the past 2 weeks we've been trying to contact BudgetAir to ask about our flight, they don't know what to tell us.

Managed to get an answer from Aegean via Messenger this morning. They confirm flight is cancelled and advised us to get in contact with athe agency that issued the flight.

Emailed BudgetAir this morning to show them the conversation, they told us to contact the airline.

What's this non-sense?

I risk missing my own wedding because of their incompetence!

I booked tickets for my son's friends who wanted to visit India with him in July 2022. The booking was made and correct information was provided. I paid a sum of AUD 4836. These tickets were for Jordan Finn Stewart and Aiden Luke Tester Booking reference no BAU 3710863

I received a ticket for Jordan but no ticket was issued for Aiden. Upon checking with airlines directly I was advised that the tickect was cancelled by the agent(budget air) for Aiden. I sent emails but got no response so i booked another ticket for Aiden as there was not much time left to travel.

I have since then been requesting a refund and get a response that the Air India has not refunded budget air. Can i please request some one to look into this matter and respond back. It's not a small amount($2418) . I then bougt another ticket from gotogate for Aiden Tester and all the boys travelled together.

I can be reached at [protected]@yahoo.com.au or on +[protected]

There was a mistake in their booking seats. They were able to allow me to book for the flights, only to find out there there is no more available seats for the flight that I was booking. I paid everything already but refund is taking so long for the mistake that happened from their side. The customer care is being inconsistent with their response. They don't have any phone number and the conversation is just through email. One agent is telling me that the refund will happen in 5 - 10 working days, another one is saying 10 to 15 working days and the other agent is telling me 10 to 20 days. It's been 16 days now and until now I still don't know when exactly my refund will happen and it is so frustrating that I am suffering that much for the mistakes that happened from their side.

Budget Air has NO contact number, stating it's because of covid 19 which is over and not affecting their ability to staff phones. They continually changed the last leg of my return flight from Turkey with Alaska Air making the time very late. When I contacted Alaska Air, they said there was no reason I couldn't get the earlier flight. When I emailed Budget Air about this several times, I received no reply. They are a terrible business to deal with and should be shut down.

Title: A Disappointing Journey with BudgetAir

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

My recent experience with BudgetAir left me profoundly dissatisfied and frustrated. While I understand that issues can arise in the travel industry, the lack of effective customer service and the mishandling of my situation made it difficult to find any semblance of understanding.

Initially drawn to BudgetAir by their competitive prices and seemingly convenient booking process, I had high hopes for a smooth and enjoyable trip. Unfortunately, my optimism quickly dissipated when I encountered a significant problem with my reservation.

In my attempts to seek assistance, I reached out to BudgetAir's customer service. While I anticipated a language barrier due to outsourcing, I was disheartened by the difficulty in communicating effectively. The representatives struggled to understand my concerns, and their responses often felt scripted and impersonal. It was evident that they were ill-equipped to handle complex issues, leaving me feeling unheard and frustrated.

The most disheartening aspect of my experience was the prolonged timeline it took to resolve the problem. Over the course of two months, I found myself entangled in a web of bureaucratic processes and delayed responses. Each interaction with BudgetAir's customer service seemed to yield more confusion than clarity, further exacerbating my frustration.

While I acknowledge that resolving such issues can be challenging, BudgetAir's lack of timely and effective communication only served to compound the difficulties I faced. It felt as though my concerns were met with indifference, and I struggled to navigate the convoluted channels of support offered by the company.

In the end, the financial loss I incurred and the mental toll taken during this ordeal were significant. I had hoped for a more understanding and empathetic approach from BudgetAir, considering the impact their mishandling had on my travel plans and overall experience.

I implore BudgetAir to invest in improving their customer service infrastructure, including better training for their representatives and more streamlined processes for issue resolution. A clearer line of communication and a genuine commitment to assisting customers would go a long way in restoring faith in their brand.

In conclusion, my journey with BudgetAir was marked by disappointment and a lack of understanding. While I can comprehend the challenges inherent in the travel industry, the company's ineffective customer service and prolonged resolution process left me feeling dissatisfied and disheartened. I hope that BudgetAir takes the necessary steps to rectify these issues and prioritize customer satisfaction in the future.

I missed my flight on 15 April 2023. The booking number was BMY2758129. When I missed my flight the return was automatically cancelled. Called and emailed but no response from budget air. Took ticket from another air provider which is so much more efficient.

Put up refund on same day. Yet to receive any notice in spite of my emails. I am getting tired waiting for my refund.

Doing a police report soon. Also advising friends and family not to deal with budget air which is so inefficient.

Thanks

Vishalache

Whats app: +[protected]

It's the worst booking site! Please don't book tickets from this site ever. I had requested for some modification on my flight tickets. They cancelled my original ticket, never issued a new one and on top of everything didn't refund a single penny. I have been speaking with their support team from last 1 month, about 30+ email exchanges but no help. I only receive a automated email stating "we are looking into the matter" but no actual resolution is provided. It's a SCAM ! Please do not book from here and help in reporting this site.

See the images below:

The conversation (on chat) started way before the email thread and they finally gave me in written on 22nd April'23 and I'm still following up with them to get resolution, last email on 25th May'23.

They have been mentally harassing me from the last one month by giving fake assurances and standard replies.

I bought flight ticket on April 13 2023, I bought airhelp insurance with them also, and the insurance was for any delay/cancellation of my flight, I will be compensated for any of those. My flight was from Lagos Nigeria to Norfolk VIrginia. When I got to Newark international to connect a flight to my final destination, initiall the flight was delayed for 1hr, next 30min, next I heard was it was cancelled. I slept at the airport without any hotel provision/food, I was not able to leave until the next day, I was put on flight going to Richmond instead of Norfolk, I got to Richmond, my family drove all the way from Norfolk to pick my up in Richmond. Finally I got to my house around 7pm the next day. I have tried every possible means to contact both budgetair and airplus to no avail, I file a claim only to be denied Why then did I bought insurance to cover my trip. I want to be compensated for my stress and delay at the airport.

I changed my flight online on Budgetair.com website. I paid for the changes to be made and after 24hours when I wanted to check if my flights have been changed, then nothing was changed. I also confirmed directly with the airline and the airline confirmed that my flight has not been changed.

My flights are booked on for the 10th of April 2023 and return is booked for the 7 July 2023.

I wanted my first flight on the 10th of April to be moved to the 24th of April 2023.

My Booking reference is as follows: BZA-2650537

I have a flight on 2 April 2023. My booking reference number is R68W4E. As i called to singapore airline they saying as my flight get cancelled. but i don't want to cancel that flight. can you please send me the deatils of my flight . i didnot get any email regardingb my cancellation. it's really a shocking news for me as i you cancel my flight booking without taking any confirmation without me.

Thanks

regards

Kulveer kaur Sidhu

email- [protected]@gmail.com

Hi

I already email you guys about my refund. last month on 7th of feb i suppose to fly houston to atlanta and atlanta to houston. But i cancelled my flight b'coz of delay and i spoke to frontier airlines and they agree to refund full amount, and they already transfer to your account. Now they saying they need to email to frontier airline I spend NZ dollar. I just visit USA from New Zealand and this happen to me and now Iam fed up to talking to everyone pls do needful asap.

thanks

siju samuel

My original dealings with BudgetAir commenced 10 February 2023 where I initially made enquiries about change to return flight date, sighting the reasons why I needed to return to Australia sooner ( within next few days) and not 31 March 2023 as previously booked. Despite me clearly stating on 5 occasions that I needed to return sooner -Feburary , the BudgetAir agent changed the date of the flight but to the same date in March but longer flight hours of my original booking. Yes, I accepted the changes as believed changes were for 12 Feburary 2023. I immediately contacted BudgetAir back querying the same return date---all to no avail. My question to BudgetAir is simple...why would an agent book me on the same date, longer flight and charge me $420. Common sense would tell you this is incorrect and the agent if experienced should have pointed this out.

Since 10 Feburary 2023 I have had ongoing correspondence with BudgetAir-they wont provide the entirety of my chat conversation, claiming privacy policies.

My correspondence to CEO below was nor replied to nor was FB messager messages answered.

Dear Sir, I'm writing first to say that I have been so impressed with BudgetAir that I wrote a very positive review as I saw you providing great competition, breaking through the monopolies of bigger airlines. Secondly, to seek your assistance in a situation I currently find myself in.

My issue pertains to an attempt to get some customer service assistance in changing my return flights from 31st March 2023 to a sooner date and I mentioned this coming Sunday (13 February 2023 ). I asked to look at options for me, noting not long flight time.

Within my conversations, I spoke about not being able to remain in Jamaica as I couldn't afford the cost of living, accommodation cost and tourist ventures all in US currency (AUD does poorly against the US dollar) and reason for earlier return.

The customer service agent said did want flight in March and I had to clarify with her that I wanted to return home sooner, not keep 31 March as the return date. When the agent sent through the itinerary, I assumed it was for this Sunday 12 Feburary 2023 as I would never have thought she would rebook the same date and charge me $420 to make changes for the same date.

After checking the booking on paying for the changes made, I found it was the same date, 31 March 2023, I became confused and re-contacted customer service again. In short, I was told that because I agreed to the changed itinerary, I would now have to pay further additional charge fees-$420 to have it changed again. No matter how much I tried to explain the situation, even asked to speak with a manager/supervisor I was told none was available.

I then asked for a copy of the chat conversation with the customer service in question but was told I was not allowed to have these based on privacy issues. Of note, I was sent one conversation that without the whole conversation had me agreeing to new changes, however, when I asked for chat prior to this, it was clear I asked for a return trip to be this sooner, this Sunday if available.

In ending, I was delighted someone had referred me to your website as the fares were so much lower than your competitors. This is my first time travelling overseas by myself and things have not gone as smoothly as I had hoped for.

I hope that you will take the time to review my chat conversations. As I had said, " common sense" would have told the customer service person why I would change the return date from 31 March to the 31st March when I had mentioned I wanted to return home to Australia sooner. If possible, can you please reply asap given my circumstances as I cannot continue to pay accommodation costs?

Warm Regards

Kerry Stubbs

Budget Air claimed that to change my ticket I would need to pay a $100 admin fee and $200 SIA charge, then they would assist me to change inbound flights date for my husband. I would also pay the difference in fares, which I expected as I was only changing inbound on an originally return ticket purchase.

Initially the "24/7 live agent chat" only sent me in circles with a web bot, but I eventually got through to someone. For my preferred date and every alternate date I suggested I received same reply: "No availability" - I tried 4 dates in total. He also agreed with me he'd tried various routing & airline combos, but only when I asked him. Didn't believe him, as he gave me no details. Final insult was cancellation would be $500, and MAY take 2.5 months. If I waited and received it (question mark) I may get back $100-200, but didn't fancy my chances of receiving a refund at all.

The original chat bot also promised me an email with new fares to choose from, but it never eventuated (arrived).

I had no choice but to forget about the lost

SQ BKK/SIN/BNE for my husband, and purchase a $1010 QFA one-way.

The tickets were initially purchased in October 2022, change attempts made yesterday.

I will never utilise a third-party airfare reservation agency again, and will also try to steer clear of third-party accommodation reservation agencies. This fiasco has cost me close to $2,000 additional.

I booked my ticket on 3 December 2022 from budgetair. Email id tejas.[protected]@gmail.com

Booking no. : BIN-6079128

E ticket number : [protected]

Booking date : 03/12/2022

BOOKING NAME TEJAS CHANDRAKANT SONKUSALE

My ticket get conform from Tashkent to delhi but on 12/12/2022 i get email about booking cancellation. I talk via chat about my booking cancellation but they said they cancelled due to payment problem and company will refund booking cost within 4 weeks. But 4weeks are going to complete but they didn't provide me a refund status. Only they are saying for wait they will connect you with 24 hours but they didn't connect me. So i want my refund as soon as possible and also the refund status statement.

I was looking for cheap tickets on different internet websites (which I do normally) and also I have

some apps like edreams, trip.com, Skyscanner, white magic, etc. where I put my price limit and they

normally call me if they get the ticket at my price.

I received a call from Budget air on 25/11/22 and they offered me the tickets which were at a

reasonable price. I speak with James and he took my card details and confirm my booking by sending

me the reservation with Emirate air. He informed me that he is taking half payment to reserve my

tickets and Tax and the rest of the amount will take once the ticket will be issued on the next day. The

next day I tried to contact him and after 30 calls he answered me that don't worry, your reservation is

complete and as your travel is far away, in recent time you will get your tickets. He also said that he

will take the rest of the money tomorrow. Next, I was waiting for his call but no call came, so I call the

next day but no one was picking up my calls. After almost 50-80 calls, Chris picked up my call and

informed me that he will take the rest of the money. He tried a few times but the card was denied. I

then speak with my credit team, They say that they are using the wrong billing address. I then again

tried to contact the budget air with Chris but no one was picking up my phone calls. I did 311 calls and

then he picked up. I raised the issue about not picking up my calls but his answer was very vague. He

also confirmed that each call was allocated to a particular person so that there will be no confusion.

But he says that he will make sure this time that your call should be picked up. He then took the rest

of the money in two different steps and confirmed that I will receive my tickets tomorrow up to 2 pm.

The next day again no tickets arrived or any further calls. I call again and after 70-80 calls Peter

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Salim Hirani complaint against Budgetair.co.uk Travel Agents case [protected]

informed me via WhatsApp that I will receive my tickets within 3-4 hours. My tickets are in the queue.

Again till the next day, I haven't received my tickets. I then tried to contact them. Initially, my calls were

going on, and look like they are cutting my calls. I tried with another phone, the rings goes longer than

my phone but no one picked up. In the afternoon, I tried to contact them again and my provider says

that "You are dialing an incorrect number, please redial the correct number". I check with another

phone and the same message appears.

Email conversation details given below.

Hi,

Please be advised that your tickets are under process, will be deliver as soon as possible.

Thanks and regards

Ronnie

On Dec 9, 2022 at 22:52, salim hirani wrote:

I am still waiting for my ticket and it is now almost 7 hours gone and I was not giving my ticket can you

please give me allow my ticket so I can be mindful satisfy with your services

Salim Hirani

From: Budget Air

Sent: Friday, December 9, 2022 11:49:36 AM

To: salim hirani

Subject: Re: Flight details to Karachi_BAT009076554

HI Mr Hirani,

I checked your booking id BAT009076554 is under process, will be share with in 2-3 hours.

Thanks & regards,

Norrie

On 09/12/2022 15:51 IST salim hirani wrote:

Could you please send me the tickets

Salim Hirani

From: salim hirani

Sent: Thursday, December 8, 2022 6:32:08 PM

To: Budget Air

Subject: Re: Flight details to Karachi_BAT009076554

Thanks for your email.

What is the airline PNR

Salim Hirani

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Salim Hirani complaint against Budgetair.co.uk Travel Agents case [protected]

From: Budget Air

Sent: Thursday, December 8, 2022 6:18:30 PM

To: [protected]@hotmail.com

Subject: Re: Flight details to Karachi_BAT009076554

Hi,

Great News! Your payment has has been received.

Your booking is under process on the same price as we agreed and will be received by 2PM.

Booking ID: BAT009076554

Please feel free to call us for any query or concern.

Thanks & regards,

Chris

On 02/12/2022 21:58 IST Budget Air wrote:

Hi,

As discussed, we have sent your flight details for re-validation price & ticketing to our airline

ticketing partner on the same price as we agreed.

Once we got the go ahead with the final price and confirmation then will charge the remaining amount

to proceed with the booking or will process the full deposit to be refund. Same informed to our

ticketing partner for the reference.

Booking ID: BAT009076554

Thank you for your time and patience. Please feel free to contact us for any further query or concern.

Thanks & regards,

Chris

On 26/11/2022 01:13 IST Budget Air wrote:

Hi,

Thank you for choosing Budget Air Travels.

Great News! Your booking is confirmed.

Please find the attached file for your ticket

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Salim Hirani complaint against Budgetair.co.uk Travel Agents case [protected]

BOOKING ID : BAT009076554

AIRLINE PNR : LABGDN/ME6322

Total price we agrees is 645 per person including all fees and taxes.

Flight Details:-

Terms:-

Change Fee : GBP 50.00

Cancellation Fee : GBP 100.00

In Case of Covid-19 or Flight Operational Reason Cancellation will be given Full Refund

Mandatory for all bookings:-

This is collected in accordance with the relevant data protection laws and gives consent to the airline

to contact the passenger in relation to flight disruption.

E-mail address (lead passenger)

In order to comply with the All airlines regulations, airlines have requested certain information from

passengers prior to the departure of their USA flight.

As an agent of the airlines, budgetair.com and its agents are collecting this information on behalf of

the airlines.By providing this information to budgetair its agents, you consent to budgetair.com

submitting it to the relevant airline for this purpose. budgetair and its agents will treat the information

you provide in this form, in accordance with relevant data protection laws.

Force Majeure’ –

The Company accepts no responsibility for and shall not in any way be liable in respect of loss, injury

and damages caused by ‘Force Majeure’

events including but not limited to strikes, riots, political unrest, hostilities, war or threat thereof,

terrorist activity, epidemic, quarantine

or medical regulations, industrial disputes, fire, flood, technical/weather problems to transport, aircraft

grounding, closure of airports or ports or similar events beyond its control.

Gain peace of mind while travelling; our Travel Insurance for the duration starts from just GBP 65.00-

(silver policy per person price) for your travel itinerary.

The tickets will be issued as electronically. Please get your VISA if required before traveling.

An electronic ticket (e-ticket) is a paperless ticketing method. Because your electronic ticket is held in

the airline's computer, you cannot forget it or lose it. More importantly, your electronic ticket cannot be

stolen, saving you the cost of a replacement ticket. When you arrive at the airline check in desk, you

will be required to present the following to receive your boarding pass, an official form of identification

i.e. your passport, a print out of your confirmation email to show to the airline. You do not need to wait

for a ticket to be delivered to you.

Booking conditions:

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Salim Hirani complaint against Budgetair.co.uk Travel Agents case [protected]

• Flights offered are subject to availability

• Booking is guaranteed after full payment is taken and can be secured against a non refundable

deposit.

• Partial paid amount can not be refunded.

• It is mandatory to carry a machine readable passport or valid visa for travel to USA . Please contact

the embassy or consulate of your intended destination for details on passport and visa.

• Dispatch charges if applicable are additional

P.S. If you need a price for the travel insurance, a hotel, transfer or

Car hire do please let me know.

Passports: Your passport normally needs to be valid for at least another 6 months after the date you

leave your destination and if you’re traveling to the USA you must have a machine-readable passport.

Also don’t forget to check whether you require a visa for any part of your journey, please feel free to

get in touch if you need advice.

Check in Times: Due to security measures we currently recommend 3 hours for intercontinental flights

and 90 minutes for European and Domestic flights.

Check-in will normally close 45 minutes before scheduled departure so please allow sufficient time to

get to the airport in time.

Seats where possible we will send your seat request to the airline, please note not all airlines will preassign seats and actual seat allocation is entirely at the airlines discretion and an early check-in will

help you the most in getting the seat you want. Exit row and extra leg room seats cannot normally be

requested in advance and are usually only assigned at check-in.

Meal Requests if you haven’t already done so please let me know and I will send the request through

to the airline but remember meal requests are not guaranteed but the airline will make every effort to

meet your request.

When you’re ready to book your next holiday please don’t forget me!

Because we work with certain consolidators and airlines to get you best of the prices it might take

from 24 hrs upto 72 hrs.

Thanks & Regards,

James

+[protected]

10.00AM to 7.00PM

www.budgetair.co.uk

I am unable to attach audio calls

BudgetAir.com is Worst SCAMER! NEVER EVER do mistake to buy Air ticket with BudgetAir.com

This is very disappointing despite continuous follow up with 14 Reminder since 7th July 2020 (more than 2years and 5months passed away) cancelled booking BSA-2213844 intimation was received from BudgetAir.com but still they did not refund Ticket amount USD 505.40 with unjustified and illegal excuses as COVID-19 impact ended across the globe life return back to normal but not for the customers of BudgetAir.com excuse of Airline taking long time to refund keep lying, false promises and contradict statements.

Some time they asking to contact with airline for the refund but airline in return saying to contact where (the BudgetAir.com) buy the ticket to whom payment was made.

I request International Consumer Court/AITA/Complaints Board to black list the BudgetAir.com to protect the right of Customers/travelers

Booked a ticket through Budget Air. Since it was a low cost carrier, Budget Air asked me to cancel through the airlines when I requested cancellation.

I contacted Airlines and they processed a full refund since I cancelled within 30 minutes of booking.

It has been a month and I have still not received refund from Budget Air.

I get a standard copy paste response when I email their customer support. I have created a credit card claim and a complaint here on BudgetAir: https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm

Stay Away from BudgetAir. They are unethical blood sucking leeches.

I have purchased flights through BudgetAir and I have 2 major issues happening that are just unacceptable.

1. On their website, when I am logged in and look at my itinerary, it says that I have the right to a checked bag. However, when checking in on the airline website, it says I have to purchase checked bags for $75. I have tried to contact customer service 3 times with screenshots and they reply with "Too bad, purchase bags.". So they are LYING, in their website and there is nothing I can do about it.

2. This one is even more irritating. I PAID $11 for each leg of my trip to choose my seats. So on the budget air website, the seats that I chose are still showing correctly, but after my check-in at the airline website, I have completely different seats. This means that they robbed my money and did not give me the service of choosing my seats.

This is unacceptable.

Good day

We bought 2 return open tickets for qatar airlines on budget air leaving south africa 31 may 2022 return 8 november 2022 upgraded the ticket to open ticket to change our date

Was informed by qatar that our tickets dates were changed and that we need to contact our agent for rescedule or refund contacted budget air and and was informed that the ticket is flexible till 4 march 2023

Decided to come home 20 desember 2022 contacted budget air and a whole cat and mouse story began never did my booking only asked for more money told them we already paid for an open ticket they told me to contact qatar

Qatar only had the ticket when we arrived in bali qatar had no ticket for me to return to south africa. Many calls later had to buy a return ticket from qatar for $1,380,00 to return no refund no reschedule.. Pure blacmail from budget air and qatar. Left me stranded in another country with no option and no compensation

Booking Reference is BAU-3555144. I canceled the flight was advised on 1 June that I would receive my refund.

I have emailed and waited but no refund has been forthcoming.

I had a refund for a completely different flight and different Booking Reference. When I eventually got through to a human (Krishna) on chat she tried to confuse the two by saying it had been paid. Different booking. Different amount.

She then seemed to agree and said wait I'll ask my supervisor. Next thing : "Thanks for Chatting. goodbye".

Subsequent emails are ignored and chat is obviously pointless.