'I feel compelled to write and air my grievance after having been treated so badly by Air Malta.

'It all started last December when my wife and I checked in for the morning flight to Tunisia. The check-in clerk erroneously (and without our knowledge) removed the return flight coupons from our tickets.

Needless to say, this caused us problems when we checked in at Tunisia for our return flight. You can imagine our shock and surprise of being refused boarding even though our names were on the passenger list.

'Tuninter personnel and area manager were kind enough to contact Air Malta to help solve this unexpected problem. However, while Air Malta admitted their mistake, they refused to let us board the flight unless we paid again. We had no choice but to pay again or be stranded in Tunisia. The following day I took the matter to Air Malta's desk at Gudja air terminal.

'I was referred to the duty manager who immediately replied by quoting the company's policy - write a letter that would be forwarded it to their customer care department.

'I flatly refused to dance to their tune since it was their mistake, not mine. When they realised I meant business, they took my details and promised to phone me once they retrieved the original return flight coupon from their archives.

'After two days, they contacted me to inform me that they found the original return ticket. They also promised to send my request for a full refund to Oliver Titley - head of customer care. And here the trouble continued. It took 11 days for Mr Titley to refund me and only after chasing him almost daily. The number of feeble excuses from his end were unbelievable. He preferred to send me a standard form letter of apology first then deal with my refund later.

'After a lot of arguing, he finally promised he would get in touch with their finance department. This was not enough. After a few days, I had to get in touch with the finance department myself to give them my credit card details, after which I finally received my refund.

'Mr Titley's remedy was to offer us a 10 per cent discount (excluding taxes), on our next Air Malta flight booking. He also wrote that we make our next booking from Air Malta or from our usual channels - meaning our travel agent. This we did. But when I contacted Air Malta to claim our 10 per cent discount, they refused. I was dumbfounded and immediately asked to be put through to Mr Titley.

'I was informed he was unable to speak to me but would contact me later. Receiving no reply from Mr Titley, I phoned his office only to be told by a certain Mr Pirotta, his assistant, that he worked half-day. I was furious. After giving Mr Pirotta my letter's reference, he explained that when it comes to discounts, there was a change in company policy and bookings had to be made directly through Air Malta.

'I refused to accept this, telling him that they were simply going back on their word. Knowing it was our last chance to book, I instructed Mr Pirotta to make the flight booking giving him the same details I had originally given to my travel agent. In return, Mr Pirotta told me to collect the ticket from Air Malta's offices in Gudja and also to inform my travel agent to delete the original flight booking.

'This was a problem created by the company itself and my wife and I should have been spared all this hassle. What's more? Air Malta didn't even have the decency to save face and offer ample compensation.

'I urge you to take up this matter with Air Malta, as we are still waiting for some sort of decent redress. To say that my wife and I were unfairly treated is a huge understatement.' (Godfrey Gatt)

I asked for Air Malta's comments and here is the reply:

'From the outset, while thanking Mr Gatt for the time taken to put his thoughts on paper, we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience that may have been caused to Mr Gatt while using our services.

'Air travel today has become time constrained. Regrettably, during check-in in Malta, the return ticket coupons were removed in error by our staff. This resulted in new tickets having to be purchased to travel from Tunis to Malta. We were informed of this and it was requested that refund of this expenditure be made with urgency. Mr Gatt was in the meantime in telephone contact and was informed that the process had already been passed to the finance department to settle.

'Additionally, as a gesture of goodwill, Mr and Mrs Gatt were offered Air Malta's apologies and a discounted ticket each for future use. Prior to sending any correspondence to Mr Gatt, the process for the refund had already been started.

'This is not an excuse for the inconvenience caused, but an explanation of the problem and Air Malta's efforts to minimise the inconvenience. There was a misunderstanding about the issue of the discounted tickets, as the proffered discount was always available.

'In a cordial meeting held directly with Mr Gatt, any minor matters regarding our offer were cleared up, and the offer has already been taken up. Furthermore, the matter was reviewed and Mr Gatt was satisfied with the outcome.' (Oliver Titley, Air Malta)