Turkish Airlines' Ticket Change Costs More Than the Ticket Itself
On October 2, 2023, at 18:30, my flight ticket from Istanbul Airport to London Heathrow Airport was put on hold due to my illness. The value of the ticket on hold is £171. When I tried to make the change through the website, I encountered a recurring technical issue during the payment process.
While I had no problems with other purchases made with my credit card on the same day, I turned to customer service due to this technical glitch on the THY website. After the ticket was put on hold, I was told that I could only activate the ticket by contacting customer service. However, in this case, very high service fees are charged.
For example, this morning, when I tried to change my student ticket, which was put on hold on October 2, to a flight arriving at Heathrow on October 7, which normally costs ₺5523, the service fee charged by customer service for using the open ticket was ₺6040. Therefore, the fee was absurdly higher than the ticket's own price. In this case, it would have been more reasonable to buy the ticket at its normal price rather than activating the open ticket.
What is the logic and benefit to the customer of THY's open ticket application in this situation? I find this high service fee unjust. As I mentioned, the value of my ticket on hold was £171. Before putting my ticket on hold yesterday, I was told by customer service that only a small seat difference would be reflected in the fee. It was not mentioned that even if you buy a ticket cheaper than your own, for example, ₺5523, you would still have to pay ₺6040 on top of it. Or at least, if you put it on hold, you might have to make very high payments on top of it.
I am very surprised by the oddity and unfairness of this pricing system. I report that I am complaining about this insufficient information and unfair practices I encountered.
