I am amazed at how manual and lengthy of a process it is to cancel an Aer Lingus ticket and receive any kind of travel credit. I booked a transatlantic ticket for my father and brother. My brother wants to cancel.

I initially filed online for a "cash refund" in July. I received a response fairly quickly that my ticket was ineligible for such. I called a few weeks later, and an agent split the two passengers into separate bookings. She told me to file for a "voucher refund request" myself online to get a travel credit that would be valid for future travel for five years. She wouldn't do that for me, nor would she cancel the ticket. (Nevermind that I think the nomenclature of the two types of refunds and the website that attempts to explain the difference is nonsensical.)

It's been a week and a half since then, and I still have no resolution. I called yesterday, waited on hold for an hour, and the agent didn't do much but shrug and say that I should hear about my voucher refund request in 5-7 business days. (The flight itself is in less than 72 hours). He wouldn't cancel the ticket either.

I called again today, and the agent said he could issue me a "cash refund" for taxes and fees only immediately, but that I'd still have to wait if I still wanted a voucher refund for the full value of the ticket. I still want the voucher refund, and he couldn't help with that, but he at least was able to cancel the ticket today, so that's a win I guess?

If I were in a similar situation with United, I would have been able to do this all on my own on their website in less than a minute. I even think I'd be able to get a resolution faster in a similar scenario with Air France. I can't believe Aer Lingus operates this way. In any event, I filed a complaint with the DOT.