Flight Centre refutes claims by Channel 4’s Dispatches
Flight Centre has been accused of charging its older customers more than its younger computer-savvy clients following an undercover investigation.
The Dispatches report, due to be shown on Channel 4 tonight, found than an elderly woman was charged hundreds of pounds more than a younger man for a flight to the same place on the same day.
But Flight Centre have refuted this claim, saying that the average margin on long haul flights is 7.9% for customers aged 26-35 and 7.8% for customers aged 66+ at its retail outlets.
Other tactics uncovered by the investigation include Flight Centre staff adding hidden mark-ups to tickets as well as saying tickets are non-refundable when that is not the case.
One reporter, who went to work undercover at the travel agency chain, was encouraged during her training to assess how much research customers had done on prices beforehand and what their budget was.
Based on this information employees are allegedly told to ‘ mark up their flights as much as possible’.
In a statement, Flight Centre said: “In response to Channel 4 Dispatches: The Truth about Cheap Flights television programme to be aired on Monday 25 April 2016 at 8pm, Flight Centre strongly refutes the key allegations presented and has challenged and addressed the points raised.
“We have provided Dispatches with a detailed written response to show that the views and recordings in this programme are not a fair reflection of our company culture or customer experience. We are surprised to see from Dispatches’ press release that they appear to have ignored the evidence we have sent them.
“Dispatches’ allegation that Flight Centre has a policy or culture of applying opportunistic or excessive margins to particular customers or demographics is completely unfounded.
“We acknowledge that this programme – which we have not seen in advance – may highlight some isolated behaviour that is against our company policies and ethics.
“We are taking this very seriously and will deal with it immediately to ensure that all our customers enjoy the same high levels of service and value that the overwhelming majority do today.”
Diane
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