Originally Posted by
JR67
One thing I have been thinking about all this wrath at not getting refunded for flights:
For the airline, a refund means giving back money they had already earmarked to keep operations going, including keeping as many personnel as possible employed.
For the personal traveler, a refund means getting back money they had already calculated on not having. Additionally, the fact that the trip never occurred probably means that the individual has MORE money than would have been the case otherwise, because other trip-related costs never happened.
So an immediate refund will negatively impact the travel provider, but should be seen as a windfall to the individual, since this money was already budgeted as an expenditure.
Doesn't change the fact that the money should be refunded eventually, but this way of thinking about it makes me much less sympathetic to those that scream that SAS is perpetrating fraud on the general public.
I also do not understand the dramatic panic re refunds, or at least not the scale of it. I understand there are people who lost jobs and every penny is important. Being in a difficult situation presses them to be harsh on airlines and alike. But this is not the vibe I am getting here. I waited two months, got almost all my vouchers already, just one missing. It does not matter whether it will come in a week, or in 2 months, I won't need it before the world opens anyway. Refunds? As JR67 writes, I already save tons of money and time on not flying. Also it is more important for me that the airlines survive, than me getting all the pennies in cash immediately.