Originally Posted by
paperwastage
Nothing new in the response
Actually, I disagree. United has created an absolutely incoherent mess. They're insisting that their schedule change policy applies (I agree!) but then they include this sentence (emphasis mine, in all cases)
United admits that flight number UA754 was cancelled due to a change in schedule frequency.
then later:
United admits that United’s customer care representative explained United’s refund policy to Complainant, reiterated that the flight had not been cancelled or subject to a significant change
and then somehow:
United denies that the Department’s Enforcement Notice to Airlines Regarding Refunds issued on April 3, 2020 requires a full refund regardless of reason when a flight is cancelled. In fact, as is consistent with the Department’s precedent and regulations, carriers are required to issue cash refunds for non-refundable tickets only when the carrier cancels the flight.
but:
United admits that there is a difference between a cancelled flight and a schedule change. United’s flight schedule change policy provides that in the event of a change in flight frequency (as was the case with Complainant’s flight), United will rebook the customer on another flight.
It's Schrödinger's flight: simultaneously canceled and not canceled!
Whoever wrote this response consistently commingled the concepts of cancelling a flight and cancelling a reservation to the point that they make no sense. (Surely UA isn't arguing that customers can cancel a
flight -- in the sense of not allowing it to operate). They also made the same mistake that the complainant did in mixing up schedule change and cancellation.
There was a very simple case to make here, and I'm not convinced UA made it. In fact, if I were in a similar situation and inclined to pursue action against UA, I would cite this document to bolster the (absurd, IMO) idea that a flight number change means a cancellation, since UA wrote exactly that. "Cancelled as a result of change in schedule frequency," which... isn't really a thing.