Fly Dubai is one such airline which I will never ever EVER fly in my entire life. This particular airline spoiled my holiday mood during my trip to Baku, Azerbaijan from Dubai. Read on to know more about my experience.
So, I was very excited regarding my trip to Baku, Azerbaijan from Dubai. Actually, I had planned the trip via Dubai as tickets were cheaper and also I wanted a glimpse of Dubai again as I was not aware on what to expect in Baku. So, I reached Dubai from India via Indigo Airlines and everything was going on as planned. I stayed at Dubai for 4 days enjoying the artificial man made beauty and wonders of Dubai. I must really appreciate Dubai for its cleanliness and excellent roads and infrastructure. They truly deserve the appreciation for maintaining the standards. If you have the money, you will definitely enjoy Dubai otherwise, well it's quite expensive.
Anyways, it was the 25th of November 2022. I had booked Fly Dubai airlines for my onward trip to Baku, Azerbaijan. The flight departure was at 11:55 hrs from Dubai. I reached the airport at around 08:30 hrs and waited in line at the counter happy for going to the 6th country in my list. As I reached the counter (Counter Number-4), there was an African lady at the counter who took our documents. After she took our documents, she disappeared for around 10-15 minutes saying that she needed to check our documents. After she came back, she gave the shocking news to us.
" You cannot travel to Baku. I cannot issue you a boarding pass"
I was shell shocked on hearing the news. When I asked her the reason, she was just fumbling and giving unrelated answers that we don't have proper documents. I then proceeded to show her the documents which I had.
Valid Indian Passport.
Valid E-Visa for Azerbaijan.
Valid Paid Hotel Bookings for entire duration of stay at Azerbaijan.
Valid return flight tickets from Azerbaijan to India. (with Air Arabia)
Three Credit Cards with credit limit of over INR 18 lakh (AED 82000)
Debit Card with sufficient bank balance
Cash in hand of around INR 1 lakh (AED 5000)
I also told her that I am doing a well paid job in India and that I have travelled internationally 7 times prior to this. All these pleas fell into deaf ears and she just said one thing - "I cannot issue you a boarding pass. Please contact security officer".
Now, time was running out. I somehow found the so called "security officer" of Fly Dubai (actually he was just a normal employee) and asked him the reason as to why I was denied a boarding pass inspite of having all relevant documents. After much pestering, he said that as I do not possess a return ticket with Fly Dubai, hence I was not allowed a boarding pass.
My blood began boiling at that point but still I kept my cool. I went to the African lady at Counter Number - 4 again and asked her bluntly - "Is your flight overbooked?" Please don't give me nonsense statements that I don't possess valid travel documents because I know that I possess everything. And I also asked her to show the clause where it is written that I must have a return flight ticket with Fly Dubai. She just ignored me and kept on continuing with her work. After running here and there, one employee said that the best option for me was to buy a return flight ticket and it should be in this sector only: Baku-Dubai-India. I was like "What the heck?". My other flight from Baku to India was non-refundable. Still, I went to Fly Dubai counter and asked the price. They said that tickets for two persons would be 4000 Dirhams (INR 88000). These cheats were beginning to get on my nerves. I then decided that there was no point arguing with these idiots and decided that I will not travel to Baku. Instead, it will be better to stay at UAE for a few days more (since my UAE visa was still valid) and return back from Dubai to India which will cost me just INR 24000 for two persons.
My wife too was very angry with the Fly Dubai staff. But she still decided and asked me to pester them one last time since we had nothing to lose. So, I went again to different counters and at last found someone sensible who was astonished to know that I was denied a boarding pass. She then took the initiative and provided me with the boarding passes. I almost had tears in my eyes and profusely thanked them from the bottom of my heart. After getting my boarding pass, there just just around 1 hour left to do immigration, security check and reach the departure gate. Somehow, we reached the departure gate running only to know that flight was delayed by 2 hours.
I then checked my boarding pass and was again shocked to see that the seats were changed. I had paid extra for the seats but they had changed it. What was interesting was that they had only changed the window seat but no change was done to the middle seat. This clearly indicated that the flight was overbooked and these shameless Fly Dubai people again sold my seat to a different person. Such is the lack of professionalism in this airline.
My mood after this harrowing ordeal
I then requested a fellow passenger if he can kindly give up the seat so that me and my wife can sit together. The kind person immediately agreed to do the same. I thanked him for his act of courtesy.
The flight took of and I was exhausted with all the arguments for the last 3-4 hours. The entire journey was spoiled by the African lady at Counter Number - 4 on 25/11/2022. I pray to GOD that she gets punishment for her mischief.
After I came back to India from a wonderful stay at Baku, I e-mailed to Fly Dubai asking clarification on the issue. But these shameless people was not able to answer any of my queries and was giving vague answers. They are nothing more than cheats and frauds. Requesting you all to please not book through them as they will surely cause problems one way or the other. Even in Trip Advisor's ratings, they are rated around 3.5 only.
Let's check out now the e-mails that I had written to them and their replies. You will be surprised that their replies are so vague.
--------------- Original Message ---------------
From: Abhinash Mahanta
Sent: 02/12/2022 11:49
To: letstalk@flydubai.com
Subject: Airport experience #11580533
Hello. We had tickets from Dubai to Baku on 25/11/2022 at 11:55 hrs. We reached the airport at around 08:55 hrs and reached check-in counter at around 09:20 hrs. Then we went to counter number-4 and the african lady there refused to issue my boarding pass inspite of my having valid E-Visa to Azerbaijan, hotel bookings, return flight tickets to India, sufficient cash. Her reason was that as I do not possess a return flight ticket with Fly Dubai, so I cannot be issued a boarding pass. How ridiculous can this get? WHERE IS IT WRITTEN THAT I NEED RETURN FLIGHT TICKETS WITH FLY DUBAI? I can choose my own return flight tickets. After confronting and arguing with her to show where is it written that I must have return flight tickets with Fly Dubai, she just left the seat. The other counters asked me to book flight tickets with FlyDubai at the airport for 4000 Dirhams (for 2 tickets). After a harrowing time arguing more than 1.5 hours, we were finally issued the boarding passes. However, we had chosen Seat Number 20A and 20B at the time of booking but we were given seats 6D and 20B. Now I am sure that this is either a case of overbooking the seats or it is a case of racial discrimination towards me as I am an Indian. How pathetic can this be? Is this professionalism? My holiday was spoiled by Fly Dubai. Now, I want you to take action against the african lady at counter number 4 on 25/11/2022 at 09:20 hrs. In case you don't take my complaint seriously, rest assured I will share it with my hundreds of thousands of YouTube subscribers. It was really a disappointing flight with Fly Dubai. I promise I will never ever EVER fly with you again. An airline which does not respect it's customers will surely go down the drain one fine day.
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From: letstalk@flydubai.com <letstalk@flydubai.com> on behalf of letstalk <letstalk@flydubai.com>
Sent: Friday, December 2, 2022 11:06 PM
To: abhinash.mahanta
Subject: RE: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ]
Hello Abhinash,Thank you for your email and for making us aware of your recent travel experience. We welcome feedback from all our customers and appreciate you taking the time to write to us.
We, at flydubai, strive to offer our passengers a convenient and comfortable travel experience fulfilling and exceeding Customer expectations. We can see this is not the experience you have had with us on this occasion and we are sorry for that.
Your email has been shared with relevant management who will use it to maintain and improve the service for your future travel with us.
We value your feedback and hope this incident does not affect your future travel with us.
Please note as per airport security requirements passengers should be holding a return ticket on the same airline they are traveling on, since you purchased a return ticket from a different airline you were informed to pay fees in case of denied boarding.
Our passengers should be updated with travel requirements as travel requirements are subject to change
Should you wish to have any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at +971 600 544 445. It’s open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
Thank you for choosing flydubai and we hope to welcome you on board soon
Kind regards
Magdaline |The flydubai team
t.+971 4 600 544 445 | 24x7
letstalk@flydubai.com | flydubai.com
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--------------- Original Message --------------- From: Abhinash Mahanta [abhinash.mahanta] Sent: 03/12/2022 07:46 To: letstalk@flydubai.com Subject: Re: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ] Dear Fly Dubai, Thanks for your reply. However, your reply is also vague and same as that of the airport "Please note as per airport security requirements passengers should be holding a return ticket on the same airline they are traveling on, since you purchased a return ticket from a different airline you were informed to pay fees in case of denied boarding." Can you kindly show me where this clause is written? If these are written in fine prints, then this is indirect cheating of customers. I have never heard of any rule in the entire world which says that return flights must be on the same airline. If this is the case, then there should be clearly mentioned on the tickets that return flights must be on same airline. I would like to request again to provide me a link or article or clause where it is written that passengers must hold a return flight ticket on same airline. It is not a joke that after paying so much for a ticket, a person can just be denied boarding just for the simple reason that return flight tickets are not on same airline. Thanks and Regards, Abhinash
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From: letstalk@flydubai.com <letstalk@flydubai.com> on behalf of letstalk <letstalk@flydubai.com> Sent: Saturday, December 3, 2022 11:04 AM To: abhinash.mahanta Subject: Re: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ] Hello Abhinash,Again we apologize for any inconvenience caused during your travel experience with us. Please note that these are rules imposed by countries' regulations and not the airline, as the airline has to work under countries' regulations and adhere to the travel requirements as a carrier. and we would kindly advise you to check with the immigration of the depatire airport. Kindly check the below link with regard to our conditions of carriage https://www.flydubai.com/en/information/policies/conditions-of-carriage Our passengers should be updated with travel requirements as travel requirements are subject to change. Thank you for choosing flydubai and we hope to welcome you on board soon Kind regards Magdaline |The flydubai team t.+971 4 600 544 445 | 24x7 letstalk@flydubai.com | flydubai.com
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--------------- Original Message --------------- From: Abhinash Mahanta Sent: 03/12/2022 10:00 To: letstalk@flydubai.com Subject: Re: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ] Dear Fly Dubai, I believe there is no such rule by any country in which return flight tickets has to be with the same airline. All countries normally require return flight tickets (any airline), paid hotel booking vouchers, valid visa, valid passport, sufficient finances to cover expenses during the stay. That's the list I believe. I have checked Article 5.5 from your link https://www.flydubai.com/en/information/policies/conditions-of-carriage -------------- 5.5 Reconfirmation of reservations (a) Unless told otherwise, it is not necessary for you to reconfirm onward or return reservations before flying. If we do require you to reconfirm your reservation before a flight, we or our Authorised Agent will tell you when, how and where it should be done. (Comment: Nothing was told to me by Fly Dubai. However I had return flight tickets with Air Arabia) (b) If you fail to reconfirm a reservation for any flight where we have told you that reconfirmation is necessary, we may cancel all of your onward or return reservations. No refund of the fare paid will be available in respect of such cancelled reservation unless permitted by the conditions applicable to your Booking Confirmation and which can be found in our Rules. (Comment: No communication was done to me by Fly Dubai) (c) After we have cancelled your reservation because of your failure to reconfirm your reservation where we have told you that reconfirmation is necessary, we may reinstate your reservation at your request and carry you if there is space on the flight to which your cancelled reservation related. If there is no space available on that flight, we will use reasonable endeavours to try to carry you on another of our flights to your next or final destination, but we are not obliged to do so. The circumstances set out in this Article 5.5(c) do not qualify as an event of denied boarding in accordance with Article 9.3. (Comment: No communication was done to me by Fly Dubai) (d) You should check the reconfirmation requirements of any other airlines involved in your carriage with them and, where necessary, reconfirm with the airline whose Airline Designator Code is entered in the Booking Confirmation for the flight in question. We will have no liability to you if another airline cancels one or more reservations because you failed to reconfirm that reservation where you were required to do so. Your right to onward travel or a refund will be governed by the conditions of carriage of the other airline. -------------------- In case return flight tickets with same airline is necessary, why don't you inform customers before booking or immediately after booking the tickets? Why do you wait till the customer arrives at the airport? Aren't these unethical business practices to mint more money from innocent customers? Please note that my holiday mood was spoiled because I decided to fly with Fly Dubai. I know it won't hurt you in any way because you are a big company and I am just a single customer amongst your millions of customers. However, such instances are highly unprofessional and unethical. Please accept the fact that whatever you did and doing right now is not good. Best Regards, Abhinash
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From: letstalk@flydubai.com <letstalk@flydubai.com> on behalf of letstalk <letstalk@flydubai.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 3, 2022 11:37 PM
To: abhinash.mahanta
Subject: Re: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ]
Hello Abhinash
Thank you for your email with regards to the booking.
Please note you have accepted the conditions of carriage at time of creating the booking. So the communication of the conditions of carriage was provided at the time of acceptance.
Thank you for choosing flydubai and we look forward to welcoming you onboard soon.
Kind regards
Julien |The flydubai team
+971 600 544 445 | 24x7
letstalk@flydubai.com | flydubai.com
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--------------- Original Message --------------- From: Abhinash Mahanta Sent: 04/12/2022 09:53 To: letstalk@flydubai.com Subject: Re: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ] Dear Fly Dubai, Thanks for pointing out that I had accepted the conditions of carriage at the time of booking. However, I still couldn't find any clause ANYWHERE where it is written that "Customers MUST purchase return tickets through Fly Dubai only otherwise they may be denied boarding". Grateful if you could kindly provide me that clause. I had spent more than 3 harrowing hours at the airport because not a single Fly Dubai staff could provide me this cause and they were denying me boarding. Thanks and Regards, Abhinash
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From: letstalk@flydubai.com <letstalk@flydubai.com> on behalf of letstalk <letstalk@flydubai.com>
Sent: Sunday, December 4, 2022 5:54 PM
To: abhinash.mahanta
Subject: Re: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ]
Hello Abhinash
Thank you for your email with regards to the booking.
Please note the standard policy to always carry a return ticket when passengers travel on tourist visa and it is the the responsibility of the travel agent to inform you the same,
Thank you for choosing flydubai and we look forward to welcoming you onboard soon.
Kind regards
cassandra|The flydubai team
+971 600 544 445 | 24x7
letstalk@flydubai.com | flydubai.com
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--------------- Original Message --------------- From: Abhinash Mahanta Sent: 04/12/2022 17:08 To: letstalk@flydubai.com Subject: Re: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ] Dear Fly Dubai, Please note that I had a return ticket with Air Arabia. Grateful if you could kindly provide me that written clause which says that "Customers MUST purchase return tickets through Fly Dubai only otherwise they may be denied boarding". Please note that I am not getting a proper answer. The same thing is happening again here which happened with me at the airport. Requesting you to give a proper answer so that we can end the complaint here. Regards, Abhinash
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From: letstalk@flydubai.com <letstalk@flydubai.com> on behalf of letstalk <letstalk@flydubai.com>
Sent: Sunday, December 4, 2022 10:45 PM
To: abhinash.mahanta
Subject: Re: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ]
Hello Abhinash,
Thank you for your email regarding booking SOJ8H2.
As mentioned by my colleague below, please contact your travel agent.
Thank you for choosing flydubai
Kind Regards
Raheel| The flydubai team
+971 600 544 445 | 24x7
letstalk@flydubai.com | flydubai.com
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--------------- Original Message --------------- From: Abhinash Mahanta Sent: 05/12/2022 11:03 To: letstalk@flydubai.com Subject: Re: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ] Dear Fly Dubai, Thanks for your mail asking me to contact my travel agent. However, there is no need to contact them because it was Fly Dubai who was trying to deny me boarding because I had a return ticket in a different flight. After so many mails, you still couldn't provide me the clause which said that "Return Flight tickets must be with Fly Dubai". So, the main reason was that the flight was overbooked and that's it. I was lucky to get the seats because 2 other seats remained vacant at the last time prior to departure. I never expected such a great and reputed carrier belonging to the UAE to resort to such cheap business tactics. My more than AED 10,000 was about to get wasted because of unethical business practices by Fly Dubai. This is highly regrettable. That said, there is no use to further continue the conversation. As the saying goes "You cannot wake up a person who is already awake", so I will not mail you further. But I will always remember the unethical business practices of Fly Dubai. All the best cheating more customers and taking away their hard earned money by overbooking seats. I will not disturb you further. Cheers and Best Regards, Abhinash
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From: letstalk@flydubai.com <letstalk@flydubai.com> on behalf of letstalk <letstalk@flydubai.com> Sent: Monday, December 5, 2022 7:25 PM To: abhinash.mahanta Subject: Re: Airport experience #11580533 [ ref:_00Db0dBTz._5005IVEGFM:ref ]
Hello Abhinash,
Owing to the multiple email, where its shared "Customers MUST purchase return tickets through Fly Dubai only otherwise they may be denied boarding" and per Article 7.1(i) of flydubai Condition of Carriage about our right to refuse carriage of passengers failing to provide satisfactory answers about their travel itinerary
https://www.flydubai.com/en/information/policies/conditions-of-carriage
If you have any other inquiries apart from the above subject, we will be glad to assist you, However, any communication on the same subject will be considered as feedback only. We hereby consider this case as closed.
Yours sincerely,
Raheel| The flydubai team
+971 600 544 445 | 24x7
letstalk@flydubai.com | flydubai.com
So, it is evident that Fly Dubai is least bothered about the customers as they are only interested in cheating the customers of their hard earned money.
Please share this article with your friends and colleagues that Fly Dubai's intentions can be made clear to everyone.