Home > Business > Industry

'Something unbelievable happened': K.Will faces travel booking chaos ahead of Osaka trip

Published: 24 Dec. 2024, 10:53 Updated: 24 Dec. 2024, 10:57

In a video uploaded to singer K.Will's YouTube channel, an airline staff member is shown explaining to K.Will that information for some tickets booked via third-party platforms sometimes doesn’t get properly sent to airlines. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Singer K.Will was left frustrated after finding himself without a plane ticket at the airport, despite purchasing one through an online travel platform.

"Something unbelievable happened," he said in a video documenting his trip to Osaka in Japan, uploaded to his official YouTube channel on Dec. 19. The video has garnered over 86,000 views as of Monday.

"I purchased a flight ticket on a travel booking platform, but the purchase information wasn't sent to the airline and I couldn't get my ticket. The flight [I initially bought a ticket for] is now fully booked."

The name of the booking platform he used was censored in the video.

The singer was told by airline staff that there are cases in which information for tickets reserved through third-party travel platforms isn't sent to airlines.

The airline staff suggested K.Will purchase a one-way ticket to Japan and request a refund later, which would need to be handled by the booking platform. Purchasing a one-way ticket was recommended as his return ticket's booking status could only be checked at the local airline counter in Japan.

Although the flight K.Will was supposed to be on was fully booked, there were passengers who didn’t show up, allowing the singer to purchase a ticket to Osaka.

"I was able to book a one-way ticket as there were leftover seats, but it was 600,000 won [$410] for a one-way trip," said K.Will in the video. "It's almost the price of a round-trip ticket."

K.Will calls the third-party booking platform from which he purchased tickets in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

After arriving in Osaka, K.Will called the booking agency, which explained that bookings might not get confirmed on the airline's side due to technical issues. The agency also added that it could be difficult to confirm whether he would receive a full refund.

"There is a ticketing intermediary company involved, and refunds can only be processed when the intermediary gets the refund," the booking agency's customer service agent said on the phone in the video. "We are checking the total refund amount right now, but it's difficult to give a set answer. We ask for your understanding."

With many consumers reserving flight tickets, hotels and car rentals through online booking platforms, cases of consumer damages are also on the rise.

According to data from the Korea Consumer Agency submitted to Rep. Yoo Dong-soo of the Democratic Party, 2,110 cases of consumer disputes regarding online travel platforms were filed with the agency between 2021 and August this year.

Of these, 50.9 percent involved excessive fees imposed on consumers when canceling or changing bookings. Other cancellation-related cases accounted for 19.5 percent, while changes made without notification comprised 14.2 percent.

BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]