Man uses first class ticket to get free meals for almost a year

[ermen]

http://www.relax.com.sg/article/news/man-uses-first-class-ticket-to-get-free-meals-for-almost-a-year

A man bought a first-class ticket and used it to have free meals and drinks at the airport's VIP lounge almost every day for nearly a year, Kwong Wah Yit Poh reported.
The itinerary for the ticket was found to have been changed more than 300 times within a year, and the owner of the ticket used it to enjoy the facilities at the airport's VIP lounge in Xi'an in Shaanxi, China.
The rare case was discovered by a China Eastern Airlines staff member, who then decided to investigate.
When the ticket's validity was almost up, the passenger cancelled it for a refund.
An airlines spokesman said there were no means to stop this act, even if it was done on purpose. However, many netizens lauded the passenger for being smart, rather than condemning him.

 

[anat0l]

I'd like to see the e-ticket trail left behind!

 

[samh004]

Reminds me of a trick someone once told me about getting into the SYD F lounge without flying... including a full refund... I think I'll pass for now though.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

great idea!!

although you'd likely need to mortgage your home to cover the cost of parking in Australia :shock:

 

[Flying Fox]

First class meals free for a year

I had a chuckle at this article.

China Eastern Airlines passenger uses first class ticket for free meals | News.com.au

What a smart guy!

Wonder how much he paid to park or get to the airport daily???

 

[Hvr]

Re: First class meals free for a year

We also appreciated it yesterday:

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ussion/man-uses-first-class-ticket-57346.html

Have to admire his chutzpah.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Re: First class meals free for a year

I had a chuckle at this article.

China Eastern Airlines passenger uses first class ticket for free meals | News.com.au

What a smart guy!

Wonder how much he paid to park or get to the airport daily???

Maybe he works at, or near the airport.....


......I suppose it might be stretching it to do it with Emirates to get the free limo pick-up everyday too!!

 

[get me outta here]

Reminds me of a trick someone once told me about getting into the SYD F lounge without flying... including a full refund... I think I'll pass for now though.

In a previous life I worked for QF when bookings were simpler except fro the dreaded FCUs, you were either on or off and there were 2 classes. I learned of the trick of booking a family of 5, and then cancelling at the very last minute so that all their mates on stand-by waiting at the a/port could get on.

 

[Awesom Andy]

As a WP, it can be done with a dom Jetstar Starter Plus ticket rather than an F ticket, and in some ports, you have the choice of the QP or the J lounge. Transport isn't too bad if it suits you - e.g. the 400 in SYD goes to a fair few places and stops at the QF terminal. No check-in required, and change the flight online as soon as you're in the lounge.

 

[MartinO]

Fantastic! Does anybody know if you could do this with a QF ticket instead of JQ?

 

[Awesom Andy]

Fantastic! Does anybody know if you could do this with a QF ticket instead of JQ?

Who cares? Both get you into the same lounges.

 

[anat0l]

Who cares? Both get you into the same lounges.

Technically, if you had no status at all, the best Jetstar Economy ticket will only get you into domestic QPs. A Jetstar Business Max ticket will grant access only to domestic QPs and select QF international JLs. You need a QF Business ticket to access the domestic JLs and a QF First ticket to access the international FL.

Huge investment in either case, really. I wonder if QF has any clauses that may allow it to take action if this ever did happen, e.g. can they argue that the ticket is being used for inappropriate reasons, and then cancel it. (In China, since the law doesn't provide that the man is doing anything wrong, the airline can't - or is hesitant - to do anything). Certainly, this was a "popular" closet trick used by Europeans to access the LH FCT (they didn't do it everyday, but it was an "easy" way to get in without actually needing to part with the money). Not sure if LH have wised up and made a change to policy or fares, but the FT collective wasn't happy when their ruse was splashed out in a magazine article.

Funny enough, this could never be done on VA, because checking in with VA even with a flexible ticket will void the rights to cancel credit or refund (you can still change it, but for whatever you paid, you will not be getting it back).

 

[JohnK]

Cheeky.

Would anyone here go to that trouble?

 

[serfty]

Cheeky.

Would anyone here go to that trouble?

I doubt if many would be so overt if doing such a thing ... or as frequently ...

 

[Jason7]

can't believe he got away with it for so long.

 

[mozerz]

Definitely a ballsy and shameless move. Not sure whether I would have the guts to do that