Ramon Ymalay, his spouse and his daughter had formidable plans over the vacations final December. They redeemed 487,750 frequent flyer miles for flights on a number of airways, together with Air France, for a round-the-world journey. They aimed to go to all 12 Disney parks throughout the globe in simply two weeks.
For the primary two legs of the worldwide half of their journey, they cashed in 261,500 Flying Blue miles for business-class seats on Air France. They would fly from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). After visiting Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios in Paris, they’d fly to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) in China to go to Shanghai Disneyland.
That’s what would have occurred … if Air France hadn’t denied boarding to the household in Miami.
Air France rapidly put the brakes on the household’s Disney mission
The Ymalays solely received so far as the airport check-in counter earlier than their total mission confronted failure. There, Air France brokers insisted that to enter China, they wanted visas.
Ymalay says he pleaded with airline brokers and supervisors to permit his household on the flight. He identified that U.S. residents can go to China for up to 240 hours with out a visa. But the Air France brokers remained unconvinced.
After two hours of unproductive dialogue and begging for reconsideration, time ran out. The flight closed and left for France, leaving the dissatisfied household behind.
The excellent news is that after last-minute scrambling, the Ymalays confirmed different flight preparations. That was no straightforward job, given it was simply days earlier than Christmas.
But in the long run, the household accomplished their mission with out the Chinese visas the airline claimed they wanted.
When they returned from the journey, Ymalay introduced his criticism to TPG.
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Confident in his journey planning abilities, he hoped we may assist persuade Air France that it had made a mistake by denying his household boarding. He additionally needed compensation for the surprising bills the airline’s error had triggered him to incur.
However, Air France didn’t waver in its stance that the household’s itinerary did not qualify for China’s 240-hour visa-free customer program.
So, who was proper? That’s what TPG aimed to discover out.
Carefully planning a round-the-world journey utilizing factors
Last summer time, Ymalay, who runs The Small World Family weblog together with his spouse, instructed his followers concerning the household’s plans for his or her daughter’s Christmas break. He was spending an immense quantity of time finding out potential routes, factors packages and redemption choices, after which running a blog about it.
After a lot effort, Ymalay was glad with the itinerary, and all the pieces was lastly booked. He was exhausted however exhilarated.
“The total for all our airfare, which included lie-flat business-class seats when available, was 487,750 miles and $7,000,” Ymalay instructed me. “That included nine business-class flights and two regional jets with no business class for three passengers.”
The journey started on the 4 Disney parks in Orlando. In what can solely be described as a whirlwind journey, the household Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah’d by all of the parks in simply at some point.
Next, the Ymalays made their approach to Miami, the place the worldwide portion of the journey would start.
And that is the place Air France threw a wrench in all of Ymalay’s rigorously laid plans.
Air France: Where is your visa for China?
When they walked up to the Air France check-in counter at MIA, the Ymalays had no inkling of what was about to occur.
Ymalay had completely researched the 240-hour visa-free entry guidelines for U.S. guests to China.
He had cross-referenced data on the Chinese Embassy’s web site, the U.S. Department of State’s web site and the details about the visa-free customer coverage out there on TPG. He was positive his household’s quick 40-hour jaunt by China to go to Shanghai Disneyland did not require a visa.
So when he handed over his household’s passports and the Air France agent requested the place their Chinese visas had been, it shocked him.
“I told the Air France agent that we were just passing through China on our way to Hong Kong,” Ymalay defined. “[The Air France agent] seemed to not know about the 240-hour visa-free tourist program.”
Ymalay did not panic. After all, he thought, absolutely an Air France supervisor can be accustomed to the necessities for entry to China. So he requested to communicate to the agent’s supervisor.
To his shock, the senior Air France consultant who got here to assist additionally appeared unfamiliar with the visa-free guidelines.
“I showed the Air France team our flight reservations, proving we intended to leave China after just a few days. Our only destination in China was Shanghai Disneyland. Then, we were flying on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong. But they kept insisting we needed visas to enter China.”
Making last-minute alterations to this international journey
After the Air France flight left for Paris, and with little time left to get their journey again on observe, Ymalay sat down together with his laptop and rapidly received to work. He wanted to make new flight preparations and rearrange their lodge reservations for varied cities world wide.
“We ended up using 270k miles to get us from MIA to [London’s Heathrow Airport] LHR on Virgin Upper Class on December 23 and then paid cash to get to CDG on Vueling. I then used 309k Flying Blue miles to get us to [Hong Kong International Airport] HKG on December 28 via Air France business. I was able to reverse our Cathay Pacific flight to fly to Shanghai (instead of out). We would finally arrive in China on December 30th, 6 days after originally planned. And we did not need a Chinese visa.”
The last-minute bookings triggered the household to spend greater than double the miles that they had initially deliberate to use. They had been additionally pressured to pay cancellation and rebooking penalties, however they had been relieved that their journey was now again on observe.
The household made their approach to a native airport lodge to spend the night time, and within the morning, they had been on their approach to London.
For the subsequent 10 days, the household had a journey that might absolutely make anybody drained. However, they achieved their purpose and touched down in each Disney park worldwide, ending on the Disneyland parks in Anaheim, California, in only one adventurous journey.
With that mission full, Ymalay turned to his subsequent mission: to get Air France to admit its mistake. The airline had triggered a vital hiccup of their plans, costing them a lot of cash.
Air France denied boarding to the household — here is why
China’s 240-hour visa-free customer coverage permits residents of particular international locations, together with the United States, to enter China with out a visa for up to 10 days, offered they meet the circumstances detailed on the Chinese Embassy’s web site.
1. The traveler should enter by one of China’s 60 accepted entry factors.
2. Visitors should agree to keep inside accepted areas. This coverage would not permit vacationers to roam free in China.
3. The applicant should maintain “an interline passenger ticket or other document with a specific date and seat assignment” exhibiting proof of intention to depart China inside 240 hours.
The quote above is from the Chinese Embassy web site, and that little blurb is what triggered Air France to deny the Ymalays boarding.
Ymalay bought his household’s tickets to China as a one-way journey on Air France. Separately, he had redeemed 84,000 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles for a flight on Cathay Pacific from Shanghai to Hong Kong International Airport. That was his proof that the household certified for visa-free entry.
However, as a result of Cathay Pacific and Air France flights aren’t interlined (partnered in any approach), the Miami brokers couldn’t routinely verify the household’s ongoing flights by their methods.
As far as Air France was involved, the household had a one-way journey to China, which China doesn’t permit.
Airlines face vital fines, generally as a lot as $10,000 per traveler, for bringing passengers into international locations with out the mandatory documentation for entry. As a outcome, carriers have a tendency to be cautious every time there’s any doubt concerning a passenger’s eligibility to fly.
Asking The Points Guy for assist
When I acquired Ymalay’s request for help, he had already bombarded Air France with proof of its mistake for months. To say he was decided is an understatement. In the correspondence he shared with me, Air France rejected his declare a minimum of 4 instances.
Then Air France closed his case in its personal favor.
In this case, Air France can’t be faulted for rejecting the Ymalays primarily based on the household’s itinerary by itself.
However, Ymalay instructed me he had pleaded with the Air France brokers to name Cathay Pacific to verify their ongoing flight.
He additionally confirmed a digital copy of their flight reservation, which confirmed they had been leaving for Hong Kong after simply a few days. Under China’s 240-hour visa-free coverage, Hong Kong is taken into account a third-party area.
Had the Air France agent or supervisor achieved a little further checking, they might have moderately allowed the household to board.
I received in contact with our govt contact at Air France to discover out what their workforce thought of this household’s expertise.
At the identical time, Ymalay continued his decided pursuit of proving Air France had prevented his household from boarding that flight by mistake. He shared with me a number of rejections from Air France.
But then all of the sudden, Air France had a change of coronary heart.
Suddenly, excellent news from Air France: We made a mistake
After 5 rejections from varied Air France buyer care brokers and an announcement that Ymalay’s case was completely closed, a new set of eyes appeared on the scene from the airline. That Air France “Customer Care” supervisor agreed that the airline made a mistake.
Ymalay lastly acquired the vindication by way of electronic mail that he was in search of, and compensation as effectively:
It is disappointing that the assist acquired fell quick of our traditional excessive requirements. Please be assured that we aren’t complacent, and your expertise and feedback have been fed again to the related administration groups.
I’m happy to inform you that you’re entitled to compensation beneath the EC Regulation 261/2004.
You might select from a money fee of EUR600 every or vouchers for bookings with Air France, KLM, Delta, and Virgin Atlantic within the worth of EUR800 every.”
Ymalay says he couldn’t be happier: “I had spent a nice deal of time researching and planning this journey. This was actually about honor and proving I did my due diligence earlier than we took off on this journey. I respect your assist. I hope different vacationers can study from our expertise.”
Ultimately, the family chose the 800-euro vouchers (currently worth about $894 each). Not surprisingly, this traveling family is currently planning their next adventure and will soon put those vouchers to good use.
How to lower your chances of getting denied boarding a flight to China
Getting denied boarding a flight is traumatic to travelers, whether it is a result of their own mistake or the airline’s. Ymalay was fortunate that he was able to whip up a substitute plan under pressure on short notice. Most passengers faced with similar circumstances aren’t as lucky.
Visiting China has never been easier, but there are some things travelers should take into consideration before booking their trip there.
Book your flight as a round-trip or interlined ticket
The easiest way to make sure your trip to China goes smoothly is by booking a round-trip flight (with one record locator) into and out of one of the approved entry points. Be certain that your flight out of China complies with the 240-hour rule.
If it is not possible to book your trip with the same airline, your next-best option is to purchase tickets on an interlined carrier. That will allow each airline to be able to access your complete itinerary.
Remember, you need proof that you intend to leave China within 240 hours, so if your outgoing flight is on an unaffiliated airline, make certain you’ve printed your reservation, which shows your 13-digit ticket number.
Show up early at the airport
This is especially true if your itinerary is complicated (for instance, one that spans multiple airlines and countries). You’ll want to give yourself a wide buffer to address any confusion about your trip to China.
Stay calm and ask to speak to a supervisor
In most cases, but of course not all, the supervisor on duty will likely be able to prevent a denied boarding mistake by the airline. If you’re being denied boarding your flight, stay calm and ask to speak to the agent’s supervisor.
Bottom line
Airlines do not routinely deny boarding to passengers. In truth, it’s fairly uncommon. But you probably have been denied boarding and you think it was the outcome of an airline’s mistake, ship your particulars to ombudsman@thepointsguy.com. I’ll be completely happy to examine and assist you, too, if I can. Happy travels!
