S'pore Couple Paid Extra S$6K To Upgrade To Premium Economy Seats Through Travel Agency; Later Finds Same Tickets Much Cheaper Online

What was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime Northern Lights holiday has left one couple feeling anything but warm and fuzzy, no thanks to discrepancies in flight upgrade prices quoted by a travel agency, according to a media report. 

A woman in Singapore, Xu, 60, along with her husband and daughter, signed up for a Northern Europe tour package in February last year through a travel agency recommended by a friend.

The itinerary included stops in Finland, Norway, and Sweden, and the trip was initially scheduled to depart on October 10, but it was brought forward a day earlier.

Given the long-haul flight, Xu and her husband later asked the travel agency to upgrade their seats on Finnair to premium economy for more comfort, she revealed in an interview with Chinese media Zaobao.

The travel agency told them the upgrade would cost an additional S$2,800 per person.

“Even though I felt the price was very high, my husband and I are older and find it hard to sit for long hours,” she said. “We also didn’t want to miss the chance to travel with our daughter, so we eventually paid the extra S$5,600,” said Xu.

It is unclear if their daughter also paid for the upgrade to premium economy.

Ms Xu later did some digging online and discovered that round-trip premium economy tickets on the same airline during the same travel period were priced at only S$2K per person. 

The price of the premium economy ticket was $800 less than what they'd paid just to upgrade to premium economy through the travel agency.

“That made me wonder if the travel agency was charging unreasonably,” she said in the interview, and has since lodged a complaint with the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE).

“I just want the travel agency to clearly explain how the airfare and upgrade fees were calculated,” she said.

Photos: Zaobao, Pixel