Gobbledygook

Is this a fare deal?

How’s this for a reader-friendly message from British Airways to its customers?

“Note cancellations before departure fare is refundable. If combining a non-refundable fare with a refundable fare only the Y/C/J-class half return amount can be refunded. After departure fare is refundable. If combining a non-refundable fare with a refundable fare refund the difference/if any/between the fair paid and the applicable normal BA oneway fare.”

That is how the airline once explained its “charges for changes and cancellations”.

Gobbledygookmay indicate a failure to think clearly, a contempt for one’s clients, or more probably a mixture of both.” - Michael Shanks, former chairman to Britain’s National Consumer Council

In the dark with Silverlight

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This explanation was aimed at the general user. To be fair, Shank’s definition of gobbledygook (see above) does not apply, but that in the New Oxford American Dictionary does: “language that is … made unintelligible by excessive use of abstruse technical terms …”