BudgetAir
Reviews and Complaints

If I could give zero stars, I would. Dealing with BudgetAir has been an absolute nightmare.

I tried to book a flight with them and got an email saying the booking was unsuccessful because of a payment error. Based on that, I bought tickets elsewhere. Then, without telling me, they re-attempted the payment later and took the money from my account for a flight I was told wasn’t booked.

When I reached out to customer service, they denied any wrongdoing and tried to shift the blame on me numerous times. Instead of owning up to their mistake, they blamed my bank and brushed off my concerns. They’ve wasted hours of my time and caused so much stress, and they still haven’t refunded the money they wrongly charged me.—I have proof from their own email and my browser history showing I never went back to their site after the failed booking.

BudgetAir’s lack of communication, accountability, and basic customer service is shocking. If you don’t want to deal with a company that clearly doesn’t care about its customers or their money, don’t book with them. I’ll never use them again, and I’ll warn anyone I know to stay far away.

Budgetair only supplied me with PNR number and not eticket number. For online checkin I needed both these numbers. Impossible to contact Budgetair. I tried Budgetair online chat, but it is impossible to ask any question. I tried calling, very difficult to find the telephone number, and when I did I got a message to say all agents are busy and got cut off. This happened several times. Sent an email but they take 4 days to get bacjk to you.

One of the worst companies out there to buy cheap flights. You think you’ll get a good deal when you buy your ticket but actually it will cost you more and you’ll get one of the worst experiences from their customer services. I purchased a ticket which came basic with no seat and no handbag or checked luggage, which you have to purchase separately. When you go to purchase the hand luggage and your seat you realise that you can’t do it from the link provided on BudgetAir website as there is an error and the only option you have is to buy the checked luggage which is more expensive than buying it directly from the airline. After you purchase the checked luggage you get an email in a few days saying that there was an a problem while processing the luggage and you’ll get a refund issued to your original payment method between 15 and 20 days. When you try to buy your seat and luggage from the airline you also have the surprise of your booking not being recognised by the airline and you have to go back again to their customer services to find out what is going on. In case you fed up with all this nonsense and you ask to get your ticket cancelled you’ll find out from their customer services that you loose all your money if you cancel because it’s basic and it’s nonrefundable or nonchangeable even then on their chat helpline if you check cancellation fees you’ll find that they are up to £60. Every time I interacted with their customer services and I was told that they will come back to me with instructions of what do they need to do next they never did a follow up or come back to me about my issues like they didn’t care. I know I won’t be using them again and I’ll tell everyone to think twice before booking any services from them.

Prior to this occasion, I had used budgetair.com/en_ca several times successfully without any issues. I always received my tickets, confirmation numbers and receipts within 24 hours or less, and everything was accurately done without exception.

Unfortunately, my most recent experience was different. I bought 3 different tickets on the Canadian version of the website, and the webpage showed the Canadian flag in the upper right corner along with a "c" before all of the dollar signs before the prices. I had assumed, given that I was searching on the Canadian version of the website and that all of the prices were quoted in Canadian dollars, that my credit card would be charged in CAD.

You can imagine that I was then disappointed when I received my credit card statement this month, and learned that two of the three tickets were charged in the "USD equivalent," not taking into account that most Canadian credit cards charge a 3 (or greater) % foreign transaction fee per transaction. I contacted BudgetAir and was initially told that I had been charged in CAD and that they did not know what the fuss was about. In a subsequent email, I received an apology and was told 'there is nothing we can do about this, as the airlines charge in whatever currency they choose...'

If that is the case, then why quote customers in CAD on a 'Canadian travel' website? Just quote the local currencies that the airlines choose to use, so people know what they're paying and in what currency.

Though they generally do have great prices, after this experience, we are unlikely to use them again.

We appreciate your prompt and efficient responce to our concern. We will not hesitate to recommend Budget Air
To our friends and relatives for their travel needs.We will definitely book with this company on our next travel.
Thumbs up to Shukria.

I booked my ticket and then with horror came across all of these reviews. For those who are now panicking about your purchase, I'm here to tell you that sometimes everything works out just fine without any hiccups :)

We had no issues with the airline, we got a good price paid and booked. Coming back from our holiday we took the wrong covid test and needed to redo a test, and rebook our flight. It took some time to get hold of them, but they changed our flight ( we did have to pay in as it was our fault, but still got a better price than the actual airline) i would use them again!

So all the other companies were quoting ?1150 for flights London to Atlanta and Budgetair were stood on their own quoting ?850. Seemed too good to be true, but I was on a tight budget so I called Virgin Atlantic as the tickets were for their airline. They said it was probable as they had probably bought in bulk and were selling them off (this was a week before the flight). Make sure they are in ATOL he said, I checked and they weren't.

I decided to get myself some decent travel insurance and use my credit card, this however doesn't give you as much insurance as you may think but I took the chance. I held my breath and processed the order, it cost me ?35 to pay my credit card but worth it. Within a couple of hours my e tickets had been emailed to me and my reservation was listed on the Virgin website. The only hiccup was that we couldn't choose our seats. All went well so thanks BudgetAir you saved me nearly ?300.

I booked a Turkish Airlines flight through BudgetAir in May 20, 2025 and entered my correct email address and phone number during the booking process. However, when I later attempted to manage my reservation on the Turkish Airlines website, I discovered that the email address and telephone number associated with the booking were incorrect and did not belong to me.

Because of this, I am unable to:

Receive verification codes from Turkish Airlines,

Add my frequent flyer number,

Receive important updates about my flight,

Modify or manage my reservation.

I contacted BudgetAir multiple times, providing clear explanations and even screenshots showing the incorrect information on the airline’s system. Despite this, their responses consistently ignored my actual complaint. They simply repeated that “my contact information is correct in their system,” without addressing the fact that the airline received the wrong data.

This issue is not a display error — it directly affects my ability to use the service I paid for. BudgetAir has refused to acknowledge the problem or take responsibility for correcting it with the airline. This has left me with an unusable booking, with no access to flight services or updates.

Was asked to refresh my computer screen and it reset the dates that I had choose. So continue with my booking check email straght away and then noticed that the month had been changed to may, instantly was speaking to customer service the funds hadn't even cleared yet and they tell me $200 p/p to fix an error mix up in the month caused by there web site. Scam. They have taken my holidays away with my daughter from me. Hope they get shut down real quick happy to pay extra for difference in flight price to get the dates I want. Holidays with my daughter is this month next no good to me.

Complaint:
I am writing to raise a formal complaint regarding my disappointing experience with BudgetAir.com. I recently encountered issues with my flight booking through your platform, which involved Saudi Airlines offering an alternative flight after a significant schedule change. As I opted not to travel, I sought a refund per the airline’s policy.
Unfortunately, despite repeated attempts to contact BudgetAir.com for assistance, I have received unhelpful responses, and my issue remains unresolved. This lack of proper communication and support has caused me great frustration and inconvenience.
I am requesting the following:

As a customer, I believe I deserve better service and transparency. Your lack of responsiveness not only damages trust but also violates the expectations set forth by your platform. If this matter is not addressed swiftly, I will escalate my complaint to consumer protection authorities.
I expect a response within 2 days and a resolution to this matter.
Sincerely,

Muhammad Musthafa

Dear Customer Service Team,

I am writing to express my deep frustration regarding the unacceptable handling of my refund request for [BIN-8394378]. I submitted my request back in April 2024, and it has been nearly six months without any resolution. Despite repeated follow-ups, I have not received my refund or any meaningful response from your team.

I understand that delays can occur, but the lack of communication and support has been incredibly frustrating. All I have received are forwarded emails that do not address my specific concerns. Furthermore, there appears to be no customer support number available to assist me directly, which adds to my dissatisfaction.

I demand immediate action on my refund. I expect a clear response detailing when I will receive my money within 3 days. If I do not receive a satisfactory response, I will not hesitate to escalate this matter to consumer protection agencies and take legal action if necessary.

This situation has gone on long enough, and I expect your urgent attention to resolve it.

BUDGETAIR IA ticket booking website change my booking details and refund to make the changes.
i try to cancel the ticket .the ticket was book 3 months in advanced book in May 2023.
i ask my bank to charge back tp get my money back but BudgetAir call back to asked me to cancel the chargeback and they will amend the ticket or refund my money.

after charge back is cleared they have refused to refund my money. when i try to check in , the airline says there is no booking in their system.

i got an email stating change of booking details, i contact the the airline again no records.

they are keeping my money for a year now.

i will upload any evidence you required later

On July 1st, 2024 I booked a ticket for September 17th, but when I received the e-ticket from BudgetAir, the date inexplicably had changed to August 19th. When I contacted their customer support, they refused to investigate how their system had changed the ticket and instead said that I had to pay $760 to change the ticket to the correct date.

The agent I spoke to refused to let me speak to a manager, refused to transfer me to another agent, refused to provide me with a manager's email, and refused to provide me with a manger's phone number.

When I repeatedly tried to explain to the agent that the problem was that their system changed the date of the ticket, they explained that they were "sorry for my inconvenience" but refused to waive the change fee to fix the problem that their system had created, saying that they had to abide by "airline policies." However, the $550 they wanted to charge me was not a fee required by the airline but was the change fee BudgetAir imposed. I identified this to the agent, but they said it was not possible to waive their own fee.

Since this incident, I've read multiple reports of other customers having the same event happen to them: the e-ticket issued was for a different date than the one they purchased. It seems that BudgetAir's approach is to sell low-cost tickets, change the dates, and then charge hundreds of dollars in order to fix the ticket to a correct date.

I will never do business again with BudgetAir and I recommend that you never do so either. Their system is either programmed to changed flight dates (so they can make money off of change fees) or it is horrendously buggy. Either way, their lack of helpful customer service means that changing a ticket after the fact will be horribly expensive. 0/10, do not recommend.

Dear Sir/ Madam

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my extreme dissatisfaction with the incompetent handling of my travel arrangements by one of your travel agents. I requested to change the flight of one passenger from a group of 5 from 31/08/2024 to 10/08/2024. However, the travel agent made a mistake and changed the flight for all the passengers under this booking, which has caused me extreme inconvenience and distress. The travel agent then informed me that the original flight at 31/08/2024 is fully booked immediately after. I have attached this conversation down below.

The financial impact of this cancellation is extremely inconvenient, especially considering the fact that this error was caused by the incompetence of your travel agent. I have incurred additional expenses amounting to £2732, in order to change this booking. The assistance provided in managing the situation was insufficient and does not align with the expectations set by the budget air travel agency.

Given these circumstances, I kindly request a full refund of the costs incurred due to this error made in the cancellation of the flight, as well as compensation for the inconvenience and expenses incurred due to the poor handling of this situation.

Please respond to this email at your earliest convenience with a resolution. I look forward to your prompt attention to this matter and hope for a satisfactory resolution.

Please see below the conversation between myself and budgetair agent

Thanks for reaching out! My name is Shivani A. I'll be helping you today. I'll take a quick look at your request and be right with you.

I wanted to change my daughter Aya tueger only to fly from Tunisia from Tunisia to Manchester on 10/08 instead of 31/08

Read

Shivani A

I have read the conversation you had with our bot, and your message will now check your request. That will take me most likely 3 min.

ok

Read

11:03

Shivani A

Thank you for your patience.

I have calculated what the change would cost.

Airline change fee: GBP 26.00 per person

Our administration fee: GBP 60.00 per person (based on the Service Package of your booking)

Fare difference: Depends on the seat availability at any given time and date.

With this information in mind, would you like to find out the fare difference in order to proceed with your flight change request?

ok go ahead

Read

Shivani A

Okay, I am checking please allow me a moment.

11:08

Shivani A

Sorry, it will take me a bit longer. I will be back shortly.

ok

Read

only for Aya Tueger

Read

11:10

Shivani A

Thank you for your patience.

This would be your new itinerary: for Aya Tueger

TK 658 Y 10AUG TUNIST 2335 0425

TK1993 Y 11AUG ISTMAN 0700 0915

I have calculated what the change would cost.

Airline change fee: GBP 26.00 per person

Our administration fee: GBP 60.00 per person (based on the Service Package of your booking)

Fare difference: GBP 372.00 per person

With this information in mind, would you like to proceed with your flight change request?

only for Aya Tueger

Read

Shivani A

Yes, I understand.

11:13

yes go ahead, just to confirm the ticket only for Aya Tueger and to return back with me salah Tueger on 10/08/2024 and arrive Manchester on 11/08/2024

Read

11:14

Shivani A

Thank you for your confirmation.

I will process the changes for Aya Tueger please allow me a moment.

11:17

Shivani A

Sorry, it will take me a bit longer. I will be back shortly.

ok

Read

11:20

Shivani A

This will take me about 3 minutes.

ok

Read

11:23

Shivani A

Thank you for your patience. I am sorry to inform you that while changing for the flight for Aya Tueger all passenger has been change to 10 Aug. flight.

11:24

no only aya please

Read

dont want all family

Read

it is not my faults

Read

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Sincerely,

Salaheddin Tueger

Booked with full payment, Mumbai-Frankfurt - Calgary, Air Canada ticket for two

on 9th April 2024, by BudgetAir. Booking No BIN-8558287. E-ticket nos,[protected]/96 for Ajit Krishnanath Vad (self) and wife Sanjeevani Ajit Vad. online check in No 48YY14. Flight starting on 23rd May 2024. Thereafter emailed and phoned BudgetAir many time to get "PNR" number.

Absolutely NO reply to emails and phone calls.

Please issue me PNR and inform Air Canada.

I need assistance with booking a flight asap, I need to start my new job on the 15th, I only had money to book one flight, I have asked to assist me with a voucher for the value of my ticket to re-book, but no help. I can not afford to book another ticket and wait for the refund, the email I received stated that it will take 5 business days, I don't have 5 business days to re-book. I urgently need assistance to get a flight for the 13th as I paid for my ticket.

I booked a flight from Johannesburg O.R Tambo airport to Capetown .BudgetAir cancelled the flight send an email .Its 6 days now and i havent got my refund.

Flight 26 April 16:30 -18:40

They said the flight will be CemAir,we called CemAir and they said they dont have a16:30 flight

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1 star: Bad
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I booked 3 tickets back in May 2019
I booked 3 tickets back in May 2019. Got an email in regards to the flight change Aug 2019, unfortunately it was accepted (which by all means is my fault). Oct 2019 I called to ask if it's possible to change it so that we dont have a 24hr layover, the first agent said yes no problem (Great, I waited 2 weeks, didn't get confirmation. So I looked on their site showing me an updated ticket *I have a picture of the update*)
I contacted our connecting flight just for confirmation, and found out the flight that was switched too did not exist. I contacted them again in Dec 2019 and spoke to the second representative who said that since the ticket was issued they couldn't help us change it up (by a few hours). After speaking to her for an hour she finally spoke to another rep and said she will request for a change but the departure will be earlier (I was fine with that). So, I waited the 48 hours. I called them 2 days later and was informed by the third rep that the 2nd rep requested a flight change(west jet) with a different airline( american airlines) and that's why it got declined (like obviously no airline wants to lose a client) with that, I called West jet to see if they have earlier flights available the day of our departure and she said their were plenty and she was unsure as to why the agent requested with a different airline. Again, I called budget air and spoke to the manager and explained the situation and again was informed that since the ticket in August was accepted their was nothing they could do. I told him that I called in Oct and requested a change and the rep was willing (and did so) and same with the 2nd rep (also did). But the manager kept saying they cannot change it at all, as it was accepted in Aug. Through this conversation he has disregarded what I said about the Oct phone calls(requesting help) saying it is my fault and I should just accept it (I admit, for confirming). I now have the OG ticket from Aug and an updated ticket stating their is no layover (which I got directly from their website). I asked him, as to why the OG ticket (which is irrelevant since their was a change) is completely different from the ticket I got from their website. He said that the ticket from their website is wrong and that the OG (ticket which was sent in Aug is right.) AGAIN, disregarding the fact about how I spoke with 2 of his representative between Aug and Dec. I still did not have an answer as to why my emailed ticket is completely different from your website. BTW your overview page is not loading.

I have never had an issue with other sites and they bent over backwards to make sure we were a happy customer.

All I wanted was help but instead I was just given the run around and given 3 different answer without a solution.

*I have pictures and videos of flight change, tickets and conversation*

AWFUL SERVICE DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM!

*Also compained with the Business at the Better Business Bureau (BBB)

On January 5, 2024, I booked a flight from **Wellington** to **Lahore** with SriLankan Airlines through BudgetAir.com . The confirmed itinerary included flights from **Wellington** to **Sydney**, then **Sydney** to **Colombo**, and finally **Colombo** to **Lahore**.

However, to my surprise and frustration, I discovered on **February 24, 2024**, shortly before departure, that BudgetAir had added an unauthorized stop in **Melbourne** to my itinerary without my consent. This significantly altered my travel plans and caused considerable inconvenience.

Even more concerning, just **5 hours** before my departure on **February 24, 2024**, I received notification that the connecting flights from **Melbourne** to **Colombo** and **Colombo** to **Lahore** had been cancelled. Shockingly, I received no prior notice about this cancellation, leaving me stranded in **Wellington** with no alternative arrangements and limited options.

Despite my frantic attempts to contact BudgetAir customer service for assistance, I faced significant difficulties reaching them. They offered little to no help in finding alternative flights or addressing the financial burden caused by their actions. I was forced to scramble for a new last-minute flight at a significantly higher cost, incurring additional expenses of $1000

This entire experience with BudgetAir was incredibly stressful and financially damaging. Their unauthorized itinerary change, last-minute cancellation without notification, and lack of communication and support were unacceptable. It caused me significant stress, inconvenience, and financial loss.

We booked flight from Vancouver Canada to Bangkok Thailand on Jan 14 2024 price, specified in Canadian dollars was shown 2954.00. Our visa alerted us to possible fraud as the amount BudgetAir was trying to collect was 3034.99!

Thus transaction was declined. We booked the same flight with different agent and paid as quoted. Next day BudgetAir resubmitted visa payment without our knowledge with the SAME wrong amount and it went thru. Now we are stuck with double booking and 3034.99$ loss. We can't even transfer tickets to anyone else! We contacted Cathay pacific, the airline, and they said it wasn't their problem. We are elderly and on fixed income, that's a lot of money for us, seems like highway robbery and fraud. can anyone help us? '

tair.co.uk Travel Agents case [protected]

Case Details

Company: Budgetair.co.uk

Service: Travel Agents

Reference:

Date Raised:

30th November 2023 at 12:19

Booking Reference: S8B8WT

When it happened: August 29th, 2020

Where it happened:

5Fawzy Moaaz Street ,Smouha, Alexandria, Egypt , Alexandria , Egypt , 531002

What happened:

Tickets reserved on 12/8/2020 by Mastercard then journey cancelled by Egypt Airways co.

I have requested refund.

Egypt air informed me that they had sent refund of first ticket *********5944 on 25/3/2021 to A E CARD ***********6372

My bank in Saudi Arabia denied that refund money had been sent to my account.

If you plz give me a document on official form about my refund.

What I want:

Help me to get my refund

User account email [protected]@gmail.com

The company alleged that they have sent the refund but they refused to send the swift copy of the transaction payment

I booked one ticket for ANA flight Manila-New York-Manila, Reservation 2NPNOV, E-ticket no. [protected], Departing December 12, 2023 for Manuel Hizon.

When I received my credit card statement, I found out that I was BILLED TWICE for the same ticket!

I am asking you to reverse the second charge as I should only pay for one ticket.

Please facilitate this request.

Thank you,

Manuel Hizon

[protected]@gmail.com

I booked my flight from Ontario, CA to Taipei Taiwan with budgetair.com for flight departure on 7/14/2023 and my sister was the one who help me pay for it, but some how my sister took the wrong credit card instead of using her card she took her husband's card and pay for it, later on my brother in law thought this was a fraudulent charge so call the bank to dispute about the charge, but the same night he found out that was his wife who took the wrong credit card so he had immediate call his bank and tell them that the charge is valid no need to dispute the charge.

Due to work I found out I wasn't able to travel that day so I had cancelled my booking with budgeair.com and request for refund of US$2077.00 as I had inform budgetair.com that they can deduct the cancellation fee from above amount and refund rest of the money back, what they had replied is that they aren't able to refund back cause it's a fraudulent charge file from our side.

But as I mentioned that my brother in law filled dispute in the morning but he did call the bank to inform the charge is valid the same night. I told budgetair.com that it doesn't matter if this charge is fraudulent or not your company has no rights to keep the amount in your pocket, but all they say is sorry they can't refund the money back and ask me to deal with our bank instead.

I was informed at the last minute that my flight from Milan to San Francisco scheduled from 30/10/2023 was canceled without any valid explanation. This situation forced me to purchase a new airline ticket for the flight tomorrow, incurring significantly higher costs than what I had originally paid. Not only did I have to bear an unexpected expense, but I also lost time and important opportunities due to this unjustified cancellation.

Flight cancellations are understandable in some exceptional circumstances, but I expected timely and transparent communication from BudgetAir in case of issues. The lack of explanations and the sudden cancellation of my flight caused substantial inconvenience and frustration.

I request a full refund of the expenses incurred for the purchase of the new airline ticket for tomorrow's flight, as well as compensation for the inconveniences suffered and time lost. Additionally, I hope thatBudgetAir can take concrete measures to improve the handling of cancellations and ensure clear communication with its customers in the future.

I book ticket return flight from Sydney-Hk. I pay full amount on Dec 30 22, however airline change schedule few times and i decided to cancel flight. Budgetair agree my total refund as the fault not create by me. I cancelled flight on Feb 26. And start ask for refund.

Almost every two months i email them and ask for refund. Their answer is waiting airline refund. From waiting 8-12 weeks, then 12-16 weeks, 16-20 weeks. Till now, i make a refund tequest again. They still saud waiting. Its has already Nov. Almost a year since i pay my money. Dont know if i can get bk a cent

Hi team,

My booking no. Is W3RF8F i booked round trip from macau to manila as i fly from macau to manila the return flight is on 17 th October but due to some personal reasons i have to cancel the flight as i already purchased something when i am booking the ticket any time cancellation for any reason. But now the situation is as per step i follow its showing your policy has expired. Although, when i was booked the tickets its shows before check in you can cancel it your ticket anytime where is that now as i book ticket and the insurance from you so its your responsibility to give that a service to your customer instead of i cant see someone will help me easily. Please get on this matter and make it cancel my ticket as well as get my refund from your coo company of insurance.

Booked through Budgetair 2 return flights to Milan from Newcastle, flying with Ryanair.

Booked on 4 August.

Received Booking confirmation from Budgetair and itinerary from Ryanair

Had to verify my identity via Ryanair website. They could not find my booking. Called Ryanair they said the email address associated with my booking was not the email address I had used to book.

Contacted Budgetair – they insisted it was, and that I contact Ryanair.

Contacted Ryanair again – they told me they could not access my booking with the information I had and to contact Budgetair.

This went on and on in a loop of multiple emails. No-one resolved the issue and I am still unable to verify my identity, so cannot use the flights, without paying a fee at the airport.

Had to book new ones. Attempting to get a refund from Budgetair – they are not assisting and still insisting I contact Ryanair. Which I have told them on multiple occasions that I can’t do.

All email communication is available