Other European Frequent Flyer Programs - Spanair reimbursements

Hi,
I'm a novice here and the reason I'm here is that in the end of 2011 I bought round-trip tickets on Spanair for traveling from US to Madrid in April 2012. Yesterday Expedia informed me that Continental that was supposed to operate Spanair flight doesn't honor our tickets. I filed the reimbursement form on the Spanair website - but they didn't reply me yet.
I wonder what the current experience/expectations with Spanair reimbursements are.

Thanks, Alec

If you paid with a CC, all you need to do is dispute the charge on the basis that you have been notified that the merchant (Spanair) won't provide the service. US bankruptcy law provides you with special protections in this situation and you should see a prompt credit back to your original form of payment.

If you paid with any other form such as debit card, cash or check, you may someday see a few pennies on the dollar. Spanair is insolvent and in bankruptcy. You are an unsecured creditor in a Spanish bankruptcy matter and are basically out of luck.

Hope it was option 1.

Often1,
You made my day! Ironically I contacted my CC before this posting but I asked about insurance against such events, which my account doesn't have...
Going through disputing the charge (as you suggested) works indeed.
Thanks again.

Often1,
You made my day! Ironically I contacted my CC before this posting but I asked about insurance against such events, which my account doesn't have...
Going through disputing the charge (as you suggested) works indeed.
Thanks again.
It's a good lesson for those who use debit cards and other non-CC forms of payment. Bankruptcy law only protects the use of CC's and no other form of payment. Same is true for prepaid hotels, tours, deposits on resort stays and the like.

Often1, I'm not sure if US bankruptcy law protects you (or the OP) in this case, where the ultimate recipient of the payment was a Spanish corporation. I'm not aware of any privilege neither for CC companies nor for CC users under Spanish law, although I'm not a specialist.

Often1, I'm not sure if US bankruptcy law protects you (or the OP) in this case, where the ultimate recipient of the payment was a Spanish corporation. I'm not aware of any privilege neither for CC companies nor for CC users under Spanish law, although I'm not a specialist.
Doesn't matter whether Spanair is in US Bankruptcy Court o rnot, what matters is that OP bought the ticket with a CC issued by a USA CC issuer for travel to/from the USA. CC issuers withold a % of payments to vendors providing services in the future to cover this eventuality and that is why there is a pool of money available to make consumers whole. The DOT advisory on Spanair insolvency is cut & pasted below. Re-reading, OP would be wise to follow up with the written materials ASAP unless he sees a credit on Monday.

Spanair, a Spanish air carrier ceased flight operations on January 27, 2012. Information for ticketholders is available at http://www.spanair.com/es_pos/en_GB/portal/Error/Page404.

Spanair was a member of the Star Alliance, and under a “code-share” agreement many flights that were to be operated by Spanair may have been identified on tickets as service of another airline. Consumers holding such tickets for future Spanair flights should contact the airline identified with that flight on their ticket to determine their rerouting and refund options. In many cases that airline may be repsonsible for providing a refund if it cannot furnish acceptable rerouting to the passenger.

The Spanair web page that can be reached via the above link states that special fares are available from Vueling, Iberia Airlines and Air Europa for the first three days following Spanair’s cessation of operations. Other airlines that serve Spanair’s markets may also be making accommodations for Spanair customers.

Spanair customers who paid by credit card and who do not receive substitute transportation or a refund from the “code-share” carrier should file a claim with their credit card company. Write to your credit card issuer at the address listed on your monthly statement for disputing a charge. (This might not be the address where you send your payment.) State your account number. Enclose a photocopy of the ticket, itinerary or receipt if possible, or indicate the price of the transportation and the date it was purchased. If the transportation was partially used, identify the used and unused segments. State that Spanair has ceased operations, that you will not receive the services that you charged to your account, and that you are requesting a credit pursuant to the Fair Credit Billing Act.

The credit card issuer must receive this notice no later than 60 days after the date that you received the first monthly statement that listed the charge for the Spanair transportation, although credit card companies sometimes waive this deadline for future transportation.