A large number of people yesterday lined up in front of TransAsia Airways’ check-in counter demanding refunds for tickets they had purchased for domestic flights, but company officials said that the potential impact on its profits was something they were not able to consider at present.
TransAsia president Fred Wu (吳滬生) yesterday denied that there had been a surge in the number of people wanting to obtain refunds following Wednesday’s plane crash, adding that it was only those whose flights had been canceled due to a Civil Aeronautics Administration re-examination of TransAsia’s pilots that were affected.
However, the majority of people lining up before the company’s counter said that they were seeking refunds by choice.
Photo: Sean Lin, Taipei Times
Most passengers arrived without their luggage, many of whom said they came to the airport to have their tickets refunded.
A sophomore at National Quemoy University (NQU) in Kinmen surnamed Chen (陳) said she had originally booked a ticket to return to Kinmen for the Tomb Sweeping Festival, but decided to get a refund because she was terrified.
Her mother, surnamed Mei (梅), said her family had been long-time customers of TransAsia, but would reconsider flying with the airline following the accident.
“I believe that TransAsia feel dismayed by the crash too, but I think it is time that they conducted thorough maintenance on their planes. Having two accidents in such a short period of time is really too much. It was a shock to NQU students and Kinmen locals,” she said.
A woman surnamed Lu (陸), who lives in Penghu’s Magong (馬公), said she hoped the government would monitor TranAsia and improve the training process of its flight crew and the maintenance of its aircraft, so that it could provide satisfactory services.
She said she had not ruled out using the airline altogether when traveling domestically because there are few other options.
“I still hope that they can perform adequately compared with other Taiwanese airlines,” she said.
Despite the number of people canceling their flights, some were unfazed by the plane crash and went on their trips as planned.
A soldier surnamed Liao (廖), who was returning to his base in Magong, said the plane crash did not bother him much.
“I don’t think the [airline’s] pilot was responsible for the crash. Besides, the probability of aviation accidents is very low and the sky is clear today [yesterday]. I don’t think there will be any problems,” he said.
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