Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/30/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We had initially booked with K2 for August 30th, but due to weather issues, it was canceled. En route to Denali, we decided to try out Fly Denali. They assured us of their expertise in weather prediction for the park and promised spectacular ************. This led us to invest $2800, significantly more than K2s rate.Unfortunately, the experience didnt match our expectations. While the pilot was commendable given the tough conditions, the flight felt precarious. The visibility was so poor that we felt at risk, relying heavily on GPS, raising concerns about potential hazards like mountains. The anticipated summit view and glacial landing were missed entirely due to the weather. Although promised clear skies, we spent roughly two hours just seeing a few glaciers.While the unpredictable ******* weather is a factor, Fly Denalis assurances made us feel misled. It seems their focus *** lean more towards profits over genuine customer experiences. Ive included photos for reference. Id advise potential customers to approach with caution.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/25/2023

  Good morning ****, 
  I spoke to my staff and got statements from them about this day, August 30th and the *********** party interactions. If you would like I can provide these to you. 
  A little background on what we do and the interactions on August 30th are as follows:
  We give a fully narrated tour that is 1 hour 40 minutes long which is 1/2 hour longer than any other tour in the area due to distance traveled and our tour is $120 more expensive due to this. Should we be able to land on the Glacier it then makes the tour 2 and 1/2 hours long. 
  

  As with any other day and tour we spoke to the *********** party about flights when they inquired if we were going, in person at the airport office at approximately 12:45pm. We spent a lot of time going over the details and answering questions which are normal in the tourism industry. We informed them that we had room on the 3:15 flight if they would like to join us but that we had not landed so far that day. We offer as much information up front as possible though the weather changes all the time so we won't make a weather call until one hour prior to flight time. We inform all passengers that a view of Denali is unlikely, though since we do fly in that direction for an hour it does give the winds a chance to move clouds around for a glimpse potentially. Only 20% of people who visit ****** in the summer will see Denali whether it is the base, middle or Summit. 
  As per our policies we do let passengers know at the time of booking and during any future interactions that we are never guaranteed to land on the glaciers on Denali and that call is made by the pilot at the time we get there based on weather conditions at the glacier.
  This is stated on our website as well and when passengers make a booking themselves it is an agreement they have to make before payment is made,
   *********** Party agreed to the $50 refund policy after some deliberation outside of the office between them and made payment for the reservation individually by seat. They asked directly if we would land and both ****** and ***** reiterated that we never guarantee a landing on the glacier due to weather conditions changing all the time. We take the safety of our pilots and passengers very seriously, and the nature of this area requires great skill on the pilots' part to navigate. Our pilots are aware of where they are at all times and our pilots do have navigation equipment in the aircraft that will show them the route they are taking plus terrain and what is nearby including but not limited to airports and other aircraft in the area. In the National park there are many aircraft operated commercially as well as privately that we must communicate with our positions to ensure safety of all. They also have tracking devices that allow us here at the office to know where they are at all times. 
  We do not take the same route each time due to distance traveled and weather we may encounter along the way, and go routes based on visibility and comfort of passengers.
   We do make a weather call one hour prior to flight time to determine if we can go at all and if the flight will be up to our standards.
  The *********** party booked with the knowledge that the weather changes all the time in the ****** Range and we have only a few things that can help us see what may be going on out in the wilderness and vast 6.1 million acres of Denali National park: A camera at the ******************** center and a camera south of the range at **************. If the weather looks good enough to get to those areas we go check it out and the guests are informed prior to the flight of the plan, we offer the chance to reschedule or get a refund if they cannot reschedule, and if we do not land the guests get a refund of $50 per seat.
  *********** party got to fly in their own plane with no other passengers due to booking short notice for the next flight going out bringing us to capacity and not able to take any other bookings that were inquired about. They flew for 1 hour 57 minutes and were unable to make it up ************ glacier to get to a landing location due to the clouds dropping down and we turned around. *********** party was given a $50 per seat refund electronically and sent a receipt for their records. When they got back they were not happy with that, though they had agreed to it prior to booking. We then gave them each an extra $50 per seat refund totaling a $100.00 refund for not landing. Three days later on Friday September 2nd I got an email from our payment software company that the *********** party was disputing the charges and the total cost of each person's seat was refunded to them on top of the refund that we had given them already. So, they actually made 100$ per person off of this flight with us. 
  
  We strive to give the best service that we possibly can and do our best to accommodate all needs and requests. Our pilots are extensively trained in the history, climate, and terrain of the National park so that they can answer any questions passengers may have and give passengers an experience of a lifetime to take with them to share with others via pictures and memories.
  Our passengers are informed and consent to the tour that we offer, We rarely have passengers who are upset though it does happen occasionally, due to us canceling for weather.  99 percent of people understand that we do not control the weather and have seen during their travels through ****** how quickly things do change. 
  I hope this helps, and please let us know if you would like any other information, If needed I can provide dispute information of the *********** party from our payment platform of which they were categorized as product not received and as product unacceptable. Being informed of our previous flights status of not landing for the 8:30am and the 12pm, having the choice to reschedule or get refunded, and having been canceled by a company on the other side of the range 165 miles south of us that goes to the same place we do, I am not sure what else I can do for the Xu *** party.

  Hoping you have a great week.
  Kind regards, 
  ****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/26/2023

   
  Complaint: 20546617
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  1. We never agree $50 refund, we request $300 refund, but this business refused.

  2. This trip is dangerous, our safety is not guaranteed.

  3. We have video records of this trip, we even not entered the national park boundary.

  4. We have video records from pilot, and told us this business should refund us.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********