A number of travel agents and customers are still awaiting flight refunds worth tens of thousands of dollars from 2023, despite Bamboo Airways communicating that payouts would occur between April and June this year.
Bamboo Airways, which entered the Australian market in early 2022, is still functioning but largely only in a domestic capacity. The financially-troubled carrier withdrew from long-haul markets – including Australia and the UK – in October 2023 following a $700 million loss for 2022. They now operate mainly in the Vietnamese market.
A number of agents and customers who booked flights with the airline back in 2023 are still waiting for their refund almost two years later.
Following a number of articles from Travel Weekly, some agents confirmed back in March that they had finally received correspondence from Bamboo Airways to the travel industry in which a payment plan was outlined between April and June this year.
In the letter, Bamboo Airways said that it would like to send its “sincere apology” for any inconvenience caused by the suspension of its IATA account. It said that it is continuing to work with IATA to schedule the refunds and that payment will be received by June 2025 with the first payments being paid out by April this year. The letter was signed by the airline’s deputy general director Nguyen Thuong.
One of the reasons the refunds have taken so long is due to the suspension of Bamboo Airways’ BSP account. In a frustrating Catch-22, Bamboo needs a BSP account to process the refunds.
Whilst the letter was received with optimism, this optimism is turning to fear as the June deadline approaches without agents having received a payment. It is unclear at this stage whether IATA has received any payments.
In travel agent Helen Rolton’s case, the amount is significant – stretching up to $15,000.
“Around the third of October 2023 they cancelled [the clients] flights,” she told Travel Weekly. “There was no alternative, they just said they were pulling out of Melbourne and Australia, and that refunds would be forthcoming, so you should submit them in the usual way.”
Nineteen months later, Rolton and her clients are still waiting.
Bamboo Airways confirms refunds of thousands of dollars following Travel Weekly story
