Preben Tveit (22) and Sven Christiansen (24) from Bergen thought everything was fine when they checked into the aircraft that were to take them to Thailand last night.
But the Lufthansa tickets they bought from a private person via www.finn.no, who claimed he had to sell his tickets due to illness, proved not to be in order.
Lufthansa said the to young men had been defrauded, even though they had previously received confirmation from the airline that the tickets were genuine.
After a night in Oslo, the two buddies decided to try to find new tickets online.
“We found some tickets on a plain going out from Stockholm, so now we take the bus and train and then the flight to Phuket leaves tomorrow afternoon. So it seems that we get to Thailand anyway,” said Preben Tveit to Dagbladet.
He says that a mate from Australia, who will meet them in Thailand, persuaded them to buy new tickets.
Lufthansa has experienced similar cases with people who have the same story.
“It is terribly sad and I feel sorry for the victims of scams like this,” says General Manager in Lufthansa, Peter Grue to Dagbladet.
He explains that the tickets Tveit and Kristiansen bought was genuine, but they were initially paid with stolen credit cards probably.
Peter Grue further apologizes and have a great understanding of the fact that the excited passengers are terribly desperate.
“We want to help, but we can not take the tickets back and refund peoples money. Especially now, right before Christmas when all the planes are full, there is little we can do,” Peter Grue says, and emphasizes that all such cases are reported to the police on principle.
