Traveloka - Reviews and experiences

I ended up cancelling the whole idea, honestly. What should’ve been a quick flight booking to the Gold Coast turned into a strange back-and-forth over a few hours. About four hours after I booked, Jenny called and said the fare had gone up by $41 and they couldn’t honour the original amount. Annoying, but fine, I said I’d pay it. She promised to call back within an hour, then didn’t. So I called them myself before the hour was even up, and the person I reached couldn’t find my booking at all. Not ideal.

I started out thinking this was just a minor booking hiccup, the kind you sort out in one chat and move on from. On August 31, I was trying to book a flight for September through Traveloka. I entered everything, went through payment, and then… nothing showed up right away. No clear confirmation, no ticket notice, no reassuring message saying the booking had gone through. From my side, it honestly looked like the payment had failed or frozen somewhere. Since I needed the flight sorted, I tried again. That was the moment things went sideways.

When I first switched my return flight to June 10, I actually felt relieved. There had already been several schedule changes, and I was using the Traveloka app during my Thailand–Japan trip. The system only gave me a one-day window from my original June 9 return, so June 10 was the sensible choice. The app kept showing June 10. I thought it was sorted. That feeling lasted until I got to the airport to fly back to Thailand. At check-in I was told the return segment had been changed to April 10. April. I had not requested that, and the email attached to the change was not mine. It made no sense. I used the outbound flight from that booking on June 5, so how could the return have been moved to a date two months before I had even flown out? The mismatch between the airline record and Traveloka’s own information was the biggest issue. Every document I received, plus the app, still said June 10. If there was an April change in the airline system, why was I never properly notified, and why did the app continue to show the date I had selected? I had no reason to think there was anything to fix. When I contacted support from the airport, the advice was to buy a new ticket first and wait for an investigation. I had little choice. I paid extra out of pocket, then waited for a clear explanation that still has not really arrived. Booking and making the first date change were straightforward enough, which is why this was so disappointing. I had been fairly happy with the app at the start; it was handy for checking details while travelling. But a booking system has to be reliable when it matters, not just look correct on screen. I am still looking for a proper investigation, an explanation for the unknown email change, and a fair response on the replacement ticket and other costs. This was not an error I made, and the records I have all support that.

The first time I came across Traveloka was through a coworker who usually books everything there, so I figured it would be straightforward. It wasn’t, unfortunately. After Krakatoa activity cancelled our Qantas flight, we were told Traveloka would sort out the rebooking. With under a day left before we were meant to fly, there was still no new ticket in our inbox. I called Qantas myself, mostly because I was getting worried, and they said they hadn’t received any request under our names at all. Traveloka support kept saying it was being handled, but no one could give a clear update or timeline. Maybe these things take time, I get that, but during an international disruption the communication needs to be way better. The booking process was fine; the urgent support and ticket delivery were not.