Garuda flight

Garuda flight

Friends of mine, who planned months in advance to spend the
post-Christmas period in Lombok and Bali, made all the necessary
bookings for their return on Garuda through their travel agent.
However, when they presented themselves at the check-in, they
were told, without a word of explanation or apology, "This flight
is canceled; you're on the next flight." (Luckily they had taken
the precaution of being wait-listed on three flights). Come
check-in time, the same again: "Your flight is canceled; you're
on the next flight." Once again, not a word of explanation or
apology. By the Grace of God, the next and final flight for them
was an international flight from Tokyo to Jakarta, so could not
be canceled, so they were able to board after more than three
hours of hanging about in a near-deserted airport.

It transpired that the reason the two earlier flights had been
canceled was because they were underbooked - there were only half
a dozen or so other unhappy, frustrated travelers, apart from my
friends, hanging about forlornly in the waiting area.

Now, I am not acquainted with the rules and regulations of
IATA, but I would be prepared to bet that they include clauses
that oblige an airline to fulfill its contractual obligations to
its fare-paying passengers to transport them to their
destinations, unless there is some very good technical or safety
reason why the flight should be canceled. Surely, then, this was
a flagrant breach of Garuda's obligation to its customers.

JAMES RICHARDS

Jakarta