In Reply to: group to picket Indojet posted by Burti on Sunday, 28. June 2009 at 11:43 Bali Time:
further notice" without any notification to passengers already ticketed as to how IndoJet plans to get them to Bali - not to mention those passengers already stranded in Bali with no way home except by purchasing a new ticket, I feel that IndoJet has finally admitted defeat. This could be caused by a cash-flow problem meaning their inability to purchase tickets with other carriers for their already-ticketed passengers. I'd like to believe otherwise but if the money was there - and seats were available - then why would they not honour their commitments to ticketed passengers as they have done (albeit not necessarily on the scheduled departure date) up to now?
By not carrying ticketed passengers today, or even offering them a compromise in flying with an alternative carrier if not today then tomorrow or even during the coming week when first seats are available for them to purchase, IndoJet is in clear breach of contract and passengers holding tickets should be entitled to an immediate refund (as the reason for refund is not at the passengers' discretion, but the "airline"'s inability to fulfil their obligations.
I would certainly, if I was in Perth and one of the passengers affected by today's announcement of indefinite suspension of flights, he heading to the IndoJet Offices and waiting on their doorstep for opening time tomorrow morning(assuming they do open) and demanding my refund.
They have shown an absolute lack of professionalism, honesty and integrity in their recent dealings with their passengers/clients and deserve to be treated in a reciprocal manner by their clients.
As I said in earlier posts, I hope that if they are TCF Members they are operating as any legitimate Agency should and hold clients' funds in a Trust Account. Agencies usually release Trust Funds once payment is made to Wholesaler/Airline for ticketing. Because of their unique operation as a "De Facto Airline", this issue would be in question; have they "paid themselves" from Trust Funds opon issuing tickets or was payment for tickets issued on-forwarded by them to OzJet? The statements made by OzJet at time of cessation of trading would refute this, as they claimed that they were owed considerable sums from IndoJet (but who does one believe in these circumstances?)
If IndoJet is a member of the Travel Compensation Fund (as a Travel Agent), then its clients are protected and will ulitmately recieve refunds from TCF in the event that IndoJet ceases trading. These refunds do, however, take some time to be procesed so are of no help to people wishing to travel in the near future who would need to re-purchase tickets. If they are trading as an "Airline" rather than a "Travel Agency", then this could place a different perspective on the refund issue - remembering the Compass and Ansett fiascos (both Australian unlike Air Paradise being Indonesian)leaving many people "whistling" for their refunds.
Should IndoJet's present reason for suspension of services be cash-flow related, then it may be a case of "first-in, first-served".