Passenger charged 75% fee for refund 3 minutes after booking; Air Changan says no error-purchase policy

A passenger in Hunan has reported that Air Changan deducted 75% of the ticket price when he requested a refund just three minutes after purchasing the wrong date. The flight was still seven days away from departure.

Passenger's Account

Mr. Wang from Hunan said his girlfriend, Ms. Meng, purchased a ticket on the evening of September 21 at around 8:30 PM for a flight from Harbin to Changsha scheduled for September 28.

"Within one minute of the ticket being issued, my girlfriend realized she had booked the wrong date. She applied for a refund within two or three minutes, but found that all options only allowed a refund of 20% or 25% of the total ticket price."

"In a hurry, she called Air Changan's customer service. The staff said a full refund was not possible and that they could not intercept or cancel the refund request. In the end, only 372 yuan was refunded from the original 1,130 yuan ticket price."

Mr. Wang filed a complaint with the civil aviation hotline 12326. "Later, an Air Changan customer service representative called me back. Their tone was not good either. After the conversation, the answer was still the same — no full refund. When asked why, they simply said it was Air Changan's policy."

Mr. Wang believes this is unreasonable. He noted that some airlines offer full refunds within two hours for mistaken purchases, and others have different policies depending on location or travel dates. "The flight was still seven days away, and I requested a refund just two minutes after purchase. What impact could that have on the airline? Yet they deducted over 700 yuan. Isn't that just robbery? It's a pure 'take-it-or-leave-it' clause! Even if it's their policy, they can't be this unreasonable."

According to the purchase screenshot, Ms. Meng's ticket was for an economy class (A) flight departing Harbin at 4:35 PM on September 28 and arriving in Changsha at 8:25 PM. The payment was made at 8:33 PM on September 21 for 1,130 yuan. The refund request was submitted at 8:36 PM, and the airline approved the refund at 7:53 AM on September 22, with 372 yuan refunded at 7:56 AM.

Air Changan's Response

In a recorded conversation provided by Mr. Wang, an Air Changan quality service supervisor gave the final response: the ticket would not be refunded in full because it did not meet the company's full-refund policy. The reason was classified as a personal mistake, and no fee waiver could be granted.

"When the flight operates normally, all passenger refunds are considered voluntary, and we do not accept requests for fee reductions. The airline has no policy for mistaken purchases," the supervisor said. According to Air Changan's ticket purchase rules, once a passenger makes a payment, deductions apply if they are unable to travel due to personal reasons.

In the recording, Mr. Wang argued that this was unreasonable, comparing it to supermarket or online shopping where mistakes can be corrected within a certain time frame. The supervisor replied, "Please don't compare this to supermarket or shopping mistakes. I have other passengers to serve. The airline's final answer is that the ticket fee cannot be waived." The supervisor then hung up.

Journalist's Verification

According to a report by Huashang Daily's Dafeng News, a check on Air Changan's official website shows that economy class (A) tickets are classified as "special fare" tickets. The minimum deduction for a refund is 65%, applicable when the refund is requested more than 336 hours before departure. For refunds within 4 hours of departure, the deduction is 100%. For refunds between 336 and 72 hours before departure, the deduction is 75%.

On September 24, a reporter contacted Air Changan. A staff member said Mr. Wang's complaint had been recorded and would be handled by a designated person within three working days.

The airline does not have a policy for free refunds within two hours of mistaken purchases. For Ms. Meng's ticket, the most favorable option would have been a refund more than 336 hours before departure, with a minimum deduction of 65%. "The deduction rate varies depending on the discount and flight time," the staff member said.

Expert Opinion: "Cooling-Off Period" Recommended

On September 24, a reporter spoke with Sun Weili, Executive Vice President of the Xi'an Internet Think Tank and Industry Development Research Association. He noted that some airlines' current refund and change policies are "rigid but lack flexibility."

"In fact, some domestic airlines have already implemented a humane policy of free refunds within two hours for mistaken purchases, balancing operational order with reasonable passenger demands," Sun said.

To address this issue, Sun recommended optimizing refund and change rules by introducing a "purchase cooling-off period." He suggested that airlines learn from industry best practices and consider waiving or reducing fees for mistaken refunds made within a very short time — such as 5 to 10 minutes after ticket issuance — especially when the departure date is still far off.

"If a passenger makes an immediate, non-malicious mistake in booking, and the airline has not suffered any actual loss of capacity, mechanically applying high deduction fees is inconsistent with the principle of fairness under the Civil Code and the principle that penalties should be proportional to actual losses. It also easily leads to consumer disputes."

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