THE EDITOR: On August 24 I went to the CAL desk in Tobago. The clerks were friendly and helpful, just doing their jobs, but unfortunately the system itself leaves a bit to be desired.

My mother and I were stranded in Tobago last year when the borders closed. We are Belgian but reside in Venezuela. I had in my possession two tickets from Trinidad to Caracas. I called last year before the expiry date and received two vouchers for travel. So far so good.

Early this year Belgium unexpectedly closed its diplomatic office in Venezuela. As things stand now we must travel to Panama, visit the Belgian embassy and then wait three weeks to hopefully get new passports before travelling to Caracas. And yes, we must wait as it is prohibited to mail passports to Venezuela. And Panama is the closest destination with a full embassy and flights to Venezuela.

The voucher is valid until the first week of October. I explained the situation to the CAL representative and asked if we could receive some credit towards a flight as Copa Airlines is to restart operations in September. Or maybe get a refund as no service was provided and this was the more expensive refundable flex ticket.

Apparently no. The system used by CAL is somehow based on barter. I could buy a flight to Miami or some neighbouring CAL destination, get a credit on that, then buy a connection to Panama, then Caracas.

I understand stores sometimes use a similar system. You buy a bottle of wine which has accidentally turned sour and you get a credit for another purchase. However, given the price and inconvenience of barter when applied to airlines, I could hardly sympathise. CAL's solution after refund would turn out two or three times more expensive than the Copa ticket.

If I were to accept somebody's money in exchange for a service I am not be able to provide - CAL does not even have a flight to Caracas - I would be expected to refund the payment. That is fair business practice.

The barter system was substituted about 5,000 years ago by the first currency - the Mesopotamian shekel - as barter was just too awkward for most transactions.

They tend to be a little bit behind the times at CAL. I hope somebody in charge reads this and helps us out for the sake of fairness.

THIERRY RUIDANT

via e-mail

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