AIRACER CASE: CANCELLATION FEE MUST BE PAID

Problem of non-payment the cancellation fee by charter brokers in the event of a flight being cancelled due to a passenger’s reason has become one of the most discussed issues among operators in recent years. For operators, this is not only lost profits due to the aircraft’s forced downtime, but also often technical and even legal problems when carrying out a subsequent flight. For example, in a number of countries, fuel poured into an aircraft and cleared through customs for an international flight may become the cause for claims from customs authorities in the event of a subsequent domestic flight instead of an international one.

There are a great variety of reasons why flights are cancelled, both by the operator and by passengers, in whose interests’ charter brokers work. However, if we all demand maximum honesty from operators when canceling a flight due to a technical malfunction of the aircraft, the inability to obtain permission to fly on time, and similar reasons, and demand a refund of the prepayment for the flight (which is absolutely fair in such cases), then we must be equally transparent in the matter of paying the cancellation fee by passengers.

AIRACER INC (United States of America) cancelled the flight at the last minute and, according to the signed offer, was supposed to pay the operator 75% of the flight cost. Further, the versions of the operator and the broker differ dramatically. The operator states that they made advances to the broker and agreed in a telephone conversation with him that Airacer would pay a cancellation fee of 25% instead of 75%.

However, after Airacer, despite repeated reminders, did not pay the agreed 25% of the flight cost, the operator sent an official notice from their lawyers that they intend to demand full compliance with the terms of the offer signed by Airacer. That is, to demand 75% of the full cost of the charter.

The operator also reported that Airacer confirmed a partial payment of USD 60K, after which the operator began immediate preparations for the flight. However, the money was never credited to the operator’s account.

The head of Airacer Inc. Vicky Jhang insists that the broker and the operator initially agreed that since the flight was booked less than a day before its operation, and since there was a high probability of its cancellation by passengers, the cancellation fee would not be charged at all. She also reported that the payment of 60K was canceled by the broker as soon as it became known that the passengers had canceled the flight.

To confirm her words, Vicky Jhang sent the BLACKLIST.AERO administration two audio files in which two people speak in Chinese. According to Vicky Jhang, these conversations supposedly contain information about agreements regarding free flight cancellation.

The BLACKLIST.AERO administration contacted a specialist who has been professionally studying Chinese for over 15 years, more than 5 of which he lived in China. Currently, he permanently holds negotiations with Chinese companies. According to this specialist, the mentioned audio files do indeed concern agreements on the charter flight. However, none of the audio files mentions free flight cancellation.

In turn, Vicky Jhang insists that the audio files contain information about free cancellation. She also promised to send additional recordings confirming her words. However, this was not done subsequently.

Due to the fact that both parties cannot provide confirmation of their verbal agreements, they have to rely on an official document - a signed offer, which has the force of a charter agreement. And in it the cancellation fee is indicated as 75% of the charter cost.

Currently, the operator intends to collect USD 433 500 from Airacer Inc. in court, which threatens the broker with bankruptcy. In turn, Vicky Jhang and other representatives of Airacer preferred to go into deep defense, ignoring any attempts to resolve this situation.

Due to the above, I would like to address all brokers organizing charter flights, especially business aviation flights. It is no secret that your personal relationship with the end client (passengers) is the most valuable asset for any broker. You cherish and nurture them, trying to respond to the smallest wishes. You can raise the half the world so that your passenger is provided with exactly those dishes on the menu that he wants. Turtle soup? Please! Monkey brain for your dinner? No problem!

And business aviation passengers certainly appreciate such an exclusive approach to their wishes and habits. However, when it comes to the responsibility of passengers for their decisions, most brokers prefer not to even mention it, fearing to lose a client. Yes, your fears are understandable. But being “good at someone else’s expense” is also not a solution. Sooner or later, it will play a cruel joke on you. You will have to be responsible for your passenger’s decisions and for your own irresponsibility in the matter of paying the cancellation fee.

I understand, it is not easy to make your client pay for the decisions he has made. But the professionalism of a charter broker lies precisely in combining the requests and wishes of passengers with the capabilities of operators so that when unforeseen situations arise, each party can count on a fair resolution. Otherwise, you are not a “broker”, but a momentary (and often useless) “middleman”, of which there are tens of thousands messing around.