Cancelled Flight - Can I ask for a refund?

Old Nov 27, 2011, 9:57 am
  #1  
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Cancelled Flight - Can I ask for a refund?

Hello and good evening, All,

I have just received an email from Alitalia saying that my flight to Warsaw on December 9th has been cancelled and that I have been automatically re-booked on the previous day's flight. Unfortunately, I can't make it on that day hence I was wondering whether, in such circumstances, I am allowed to ask for a full refund?

Many thanks,

G
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Old Nov 27, 2011, 10:34 am
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Yes, you can. Did they say why though ? And did you look yourself to see if there are other flights/routings that day?
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Old Nov 27, 2011, 12:13 pm
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Since it is less than two weeks before your departure you may request a refund.
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Old Nov 27, 2011, 12:18 pm
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Originally Posted by keloutwest
Yes, you can. Did they say why though ? And did you look yourself to see if there are other flights/routings that day?
Thank you. This is the email I received:

Dear Customer,

Flight AZ490 Roma L. Da Vinci-Fiumicino- Varsavia, originally scheduled on 09/12/2011 at 09:30 has been cancelled.

Alitalia has made a new reservation under your name for the flight AZ490- Roma L. Da Vinci-Fiumicino - Varsavia at 09:30 on 8/12/2011.

For further details you may get in contact with the Alitalia Customer Center

Regards

Alitalia


Other routings would be via CDG or AMS but I think I'm going to cancel my ticket and make alternative arrangements.

Thanks again,

G
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Old Nov 27, 2011, 12:36 pm
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Originally Posted by bungler
Since it is less than two weeks before your departure you may request a refund.
Thanks, bungler. Out of interest, do you know how long (roughly) does it normally take to get the money back?
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Old Nov 27, 2011, 2:36 pm
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Refund.. Depends... They are normally quick - max 2/3 weeks
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Old Nov 27, 2011, 2:39 pm
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A full refund or rerouting, plus compensation:
articles 5 + 7
The last time this happened to me, I got the compensation in 6 weeks, a colleague with a reservation on the same flight in 4.

Re the refund, I cancelled a flight a few days ago. I got the cancellation receipt the same day, and in about a couple of days I got the refund credited to the cc.

Last edited by Alice11; Nov 27, 2011 at 2:50 pm
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Old Nov 28, 2011, 3:28 am
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Originally Posted by Alice11
A full refund or rerouting, plus compensation:
articles 5 + 7
The last time this happened to me, I got the compensation in 6 weeks, a colleague with a reservation on the same flight in 4.

Re the refund, I cancelled a flight a few days ago. I got the cancellation receipt the same day, and in about a couple of days I got the refund credited to the cc.
Thank you! I have just applied for a full refund through the Italian call centre and I shall request compensation [in writing] via customer relations here in the UK. Thanks for the input - much appreciated!
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Old Nov 28, 2011, 10:19 am
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Originally Posted by bungler
Since it is less than two weeks before your departure you may request a refund.
uhh? Even if it is 11 months before departure, you can still request a refund.

If it is less than two weeks, you can on top of that, ask for compensation under Reg 261/2004. But you can always ask for a refund when a flight is cancelled, at any rate for flights from the EU.
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Old Nov 28, 2011, 1:08 pm
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Originally Posted by NickB
If it is less than two weeks, you can on top of that, ask for compensation under Reg 261/2004.
I wrote to Customer Relations UK, let's see how long it is going to take. That said, I had dealings with them in the past and they've always been pretty efficient when it came to compensations / reimbursements etc. (even though I had status with Alitalia at the time).
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Old Nov 28, 2011, 2:36 pm
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Originally Posted by Alice11
Re the refund, I cancelled a flight a few days ago. I got the cancellation receipt the same day, and in about a couple of days I got the refund credited to the cc.
Wow!!!! Now thats very quick!!!!

L'eccezione non la regola secondo me??!!

But they are pretty good on refunds^
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Old Nov 28, 2011, 2:47 pm
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Originally Posted by terminalfive
Wow!!!! Now thats very quick!!!!

L'eccezione non la regola secondo me??!!

But they are pretty good on refunds^
Based on my experience, that's not an exception. It maybe slightly longer, but defintely not a matter of weeks.
The only warning regarding the case above: in my case, I mentioned a std cancellation, in accordance with the fare rules. AlicorporateUK would cancel the ticket under the Regulation 261, so that cancellation may follow the standard workflow - and timing - for this sort of claims.
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Old Nov 29, 2011, 11:40 am
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Originally Posted by NickB
uhh? Even if it is 11 months before departure, you can still request a refund.

If it is less than two weeks, you can on top of that, ask for compensation under Reg 261/2004. But you can always ask for a refund when a flight is cancelled, at any rate for flights from the EU.
Mmm.. yes of course, the two weeks is something else, otherwise it would be a bit silly, paying for a flight which didn't operate.
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Old Dec 1, 2011, 8:03 am
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Had a refund once within 72 hours which was great service
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Old Dec 4, 2011, 2:47 pm
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Update

I have yet to receive a cancellation invoice whereas I had a swift acknowledgement from the very efficient AZCustomerRelationsUK concerning my demand for compensation (I have asked for 400 Euros, even though I'm not entirely sure of the distance between the 2 cities!). I'll wait and see but I don't think there's much to discuss there (regarding the compensation), given that 1.They cancelled my flight less than 2 weeks from departure and 2.They did not provide me with a suitable alternative in terms of flight schedule. Moreover, they even did not bother to give a reason! Greetings from Poland G
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