HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Hawaiian Airlines customer is confused over why she was told she would be charged extra for a flight she already paid for, and she wanted to share about the experience to alert others.
Marcy Reginelli believed she called Hawaiian Airlines about her upcoming flight to New York to request wheelchair assistance. She said her flight was confirmed in an email from the airline. She also said she had a ticket number and a seat assignment.
But someone on the phone told her otherwise.
“They told me that it was a standby ticket and if I showed up at the desk at the airport, I would not be allowed on the flight because it was standby status,” Reginelli recalled.
Reginelli said the agent told her she would have to be charged $180 for additional fees.
“The person I was speaking to on the phone had no justification for the additional charges, just said that they would have to be paid if I wanted to at that time, make sure my flight was confirmed and I could get on,” Reginelli said.
So, Reginelli made the additional payment and received the same confirmation. However, she also got a fraud notification about the charge, saying it was canceled
“It still looks the same as when it did when I originally made it,” Reginelli added. “It was panic-inducing because when you plan on going somewhere and you think you have done everything appropriately, and then you find out that it’s not what you thought, you’re in limbo.”
Hawaiian Airlines said it has not received complaints from others about this, and it does not seem to be a widespread issue.
The company added it encourages guests to make sure they reach out via their official contact information listed on their website, which Reginelli thought she did.
Hawaiian Air did not have any record of Reginelli’s phone call or payment.
“I hope it doesn’t happen to other people,” Reginelli said.
It appears scammers may have been involved, and retired Honolulu police deputy chief John McCarthy is reminding the public to be on alert because bad actors could be swooping in because of Hawaiian’s merger with Alaska Airlines.
“Scammers aren’t dumb. I mean, they’re going to take advantage of the situation so they know what it is. And if they can get, just pieces of information, they’ll suck money or information out of you with no remorse whatsoever and almost no way of being traced,” McCarthy cautioned.
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