Transavia is a Dutch low-cost carrier.

As we are a group of people heading on a trip to Amsterdam we decided to book with Transavia as their prices seemed advantageous.

In all honestly, their cheap flights become moderately priced after they've added on all of their fees and taxes.

Even though we are a group we are booking our tickets separately. A few days ago my friend contacted me to tell me that she was unable to make her booking on the Transavia website because it wouldn't accept her credit card nor her partner's. She is American, he is Dutch. They have two completely different credit cards from two completely different countries. Red flag #1.

A few days later I went on to the website to book my family's tickets and all seemed to proceed well until I went to pay. The website did not want to accept my card. The error message received said to contact the Transavia Call Centre. Not surprisingly, this is NOT a toll-free call. Red flag #2.

I called the Call Centre to and spoke with a young woman. I asked her if they were experiencing technical difficulties with their website and she couldn't give me a straight answer. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. She insinuated that the problem could be my credit card and the security measures that Transavia enacts (I know for certain, after contacting my bank that there is no block on my credit card). Red flag #3. She told me that I could purchase our tickets directly from her but that each ticket would cost an additional 5 euro. Red flag #4. Why is it that I cannot book online with this credit card but I can book over the phone using the same credit card?

Based on principle I did NOT book the tickets through the call centre. It seems too convenient that three different credit cards from three different countries all received the same error notice. I realize that in the grander scheme of things 5 euro isn't a whole lot of money. But from our family alone this is an additional 20 euro that we shouldn't have to be spending. And imagine adding up all the extra 5 euro from other tickets that people are buying via the Call Centre rather than the website!

If Transavia is having problems with their website I feel they should 1) acknowledge it, and 2) waive any fees for booking via their call centre.

I am curious to know how many other people have experienced a similar problem with Transavia...