My Costly Lesson with a Flight Booking Website
Early last year I had an eye-opening experience with a Montreal-based flight booking website that left me both financially and emotionally drained. Aren’t we all looking for the best deal? My best deal turned out to be a disaster that ultimately cost me a staggering CAD5,000 for a one-way trip. The website (which now I see is rewamped- still no better..you’ll see why) had inconsistent information. It’s clear that the product team didn’t thoroughly research and understand their audience.
The Confusion Begins
While exploring flight options from New Delhi to Toronto, I stumbled upon what seemed like the perfect deal — a layover in New York with Air Canada.
The flight booking website did mention visa requirements for layovers in certain states, but oddly, the specific flight I was interested in had no such information. With just a 2-hour layover in New York and no change of airports, I assumed that a US visa wouldn’t be necessary, given I wouldn’t be leaving the airport premises. This was the first red flag in the inconsistent information provided by the website.
The confirmation email also provided no indication of any visa requirements or additional documentation needed for the trip. The total cost for the tickets was $1,500.
The Midnight Nightmare
At the time of departure, almost midnight, I waited for 20 mins in the Air Canada boarding queue, only to be informed that my flight was operated by United Airlines. All previous email communications had been from Air Canada. A sudden shift in airlines was perplexing, but I joined the United Airlines queue, optimistic about my upcoming journey.
Little did I know that after 15 mins, I’d be told that I cannot board the flight. I needed a US visa due to the layover in New York. This crucial information hadn’t been communicated during the booking process or in any subsequent communication.
Financial and Emotional Turmoil
Unable to board the flight, I didn’t know what to do next — fight this out or figure out a way to reach Toronto. Due to work commitments, I had to be back in Toronto within two days. So I was forced to book a last-minute direct flight at an exorbitant cost. I ended up parting with an additional $3,500 — a financial setback I hadn’t anticipated. I spent days crying and stressing. $5,000 is a significant amount for a single-earner, putting a dent in my savings.
Frustrated and seeking resolution, once I reached Toronto, I tried to escalate the matter with the flight booking website. However, my pleas fell on deaf ears. The lack of empathy and support was disheartening, with the website pointing to the fine print in the Terms & Conditions, emphasizing that documentation is the traveller’s responsibility. As a Content Designer whose job every day is to advocate for users and find ways to make the digital journey easier, smoother and transparent for everyone, this experience still haunts me. I could see what went wrong, and I felt helpless that I couldn’t fix it.
Digital travel landscape
The demographic of digital users has changed, especially after Covid-19 pandemic. In Canada alone, there’s been a shift of almost 1.4 million Canadians from the ‘have-not’ to the ‘have’ side of the digital divide. That means more people are booking their tickets themselves online and not through a travel agent.
Now, how many frequent flyers are there in this world? Only 20% of the world’s population has travelled by air.
So 80% of the world’s population is still an untapped market for the airline industry, and 80% of the world’s population is probably unfamiliar with travel protocols.
People travelling to and via USA
Immigration and foreign student populations have grown in North America, especially in Canada. Just over 1.3 million new immigrants settled permanently in Canada from 2016 to 2021, the highest number of recent immigrants recorded in a Canadian census.
Where do these immigrants and students mostly come from? Most of them are Asian and Middle Eastern passport holders. Infact, India took the top spot as the primary place of birth of new immigrants to Canada (18.6% of recent immigrants from 2016 to 2021), followed by the Philippines (11.4%) and China (8.9%).
With this data, it’s not wrong to conclude that holders of Indian, Philippineand Chinese passports constitute a significant portion of the total population likely to board a flight in and out of Canada via the USA.
Let’s see who’s allowed to enter USA. Obviously anyone with a valid US visa and Canadian passport. Besides that, USA has a Visa Waiver program that allows citizens from the following countries to enter USA visa-free, with some exceptions. This doesn’t include India, Philipines or China.
So what I experienced could happen to many others, unless:
- they have a valid US visa
- they were aware of this Visa requirement
- they are reading this blog
And this wasn’t an isolated incident in my friend’s circle. When I shared my experience, my other friends came forward, too. One of them got a refund because they booked from the Airline’s website, unlike me, who trusted a random website I found on Skyscanner. I DO BLAME MYSELF TOO.
Comparison
Online flight booking websites should be as good as a travel agent, or close enough. Efforts should be made to provide all the essential information a traveller needs. Your traveller could be anyone — a frequent traveller, a first-time traveller or a frequent traveller but unaware of every visa rule in this world — like me. Not providing or even suggesting to check visa requirements could lead to the passenger unable to board the plane and, like me, getting hit financially.
The above image is a screenshot from another online flight booking website. It informs the user that a Transit Visa is required, there’s a terminal change and that they’ll need to recheck-in their baggage. These are important pieces of information, making life so much easier if the website shares this information at the time of booking.
And they do it for each flight option.
Compare this to the screen below. As a traveller, what’s more important for me to know about my travels? Visa, check-in layover protocols… Or a personal screen with on-demand options? How’ll I even enjoy the WiFi connectivity if I don’t even get to board the flight on time?
Note to my digital product development peers
My unfortunate experience serves as a cautionary tale for both travellers and the digital travel industry. Inconsistencies in information, a lack of transparency and a failure to consider the diverse needs of users can lead to costly mistakes and emotional distress. A user-centric approach and strong advocacy for the user experience are essential components of a successful digital product team. As we navigate the ever-evolving digital world, let this narrative be a reminder that a digital platform’s responsibility extends beyond mere transactions — it should provide a safe and reliable space for all users.
My experience with seeking support for this issue and the conversation with the service rep deserves a whole new blog. Later.
