To help deal with the fallout of Comair suspending all of their kulula.com and British Airways flights, flight reward partners First National Bank (FNB) and Discovery have come aboard to offer some assistance to customers looking for alternative flights.
Discovery told Business Report on Wednesday that the Comair refund and credit process would apply to those who would be affected by the suspension of the flights.
Discovery also said that they would be automatically refunding members who are Discovery Bank clients and registered on their Vitality rewards programme.
Dinesh Govender, Vitality CEO, said: “We are sorry that Comair has suspended their flights and encourage those with flights in the next few days to consider making alternative arrangements. While the Comair refund and credit processes will apply, we are exploring additional potential support for all affected Vitality members and will advise on this in due course. In the interim, for any Vitality member who is a Discovery Bank client and has a discounted flight booked to depart between 1 and 7 June 2022, Discovery Bank will automatically refund the amount they spent on that flight into their Discovery Bank account.”
This comes after Comair announced late on Tuesday night that it would be suspending all of its kulula.com and British Airways flights from 1 June.
In a brief statement on social media platforms, the company said: “Comair regrets to advise its flights have been voluntarily suspended from 1 June pending securing funding to resume operations.”
“If your flight has been cancelled, please don't travel to airports unless you have alternative arrangements. Our heartfelt apologies for the inconvenience,” the statement went on to read.
British Airways is operated by Comair in South Africa as well as kulula.com.
Discovery’s alternate flight partners for Vitality members
Discovery further told Business Report that based on Vitality member feedback, in addition to demands for more choice in terms of airline partners, they had seen continued strong demand for kulula.com and British Airways flights.
“Vitality has worked with Discovery Bank to launch Vitality Travel, with more flight partner options since March this year, so that members can now also book local flights with FlySafair, LIFT and Airlink,” Govender further said.
Meanwhile, First National Bank said it was aware of the notice from Comair that British Airways and Kulula flights would be suspended from 1 June 2022, pending further developments.
“As a result of this development, we advise all of our affected customers to immediately try to resolve the issue with the merchant before filing a dispute with the bank,” FNB said in a statement to Business Report.
“In the event that attempts to resolve with the merchant are unsuccessful, customers can follow the dispute process with the bank. Customers are advised to provide all the necessary supporting documentation for their claim to be adequately assessed and to improve prospects of successful recovery of funds.”
BUSINESS REPORT