global happy traveller

Came across this thread on Delta...... I wonder how it will apply to us (AC and AP tickets). Should we all call for a refund?!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...s-article.html

Away from YYZ

Interesting indeed... But I doubt you can get a refund...

ylwae

What would happen if you just asked for the ticket to be reissued?

Guy Betsy

Can we also exclude the Navcan charges ?

emcampbe

The authorization bill was in effect until midnight last night, so any tickets purchased up until that point would have required the US excise taxes, etc. be charged. Beginning at 12:01, when the bill expired, there was no authorization for the airlines to collect these taxes on behalf of the FAA, so was no longer necessary on tickets beginning at that point.

Definitely no justification for a refund if you bought a ticket before then. Haven't checked AC, but what might happen is your US portion of taxes affected by the bill on an itinerary to/from the US are no longer collected by AC. UA is definitely not charging these taxes at the moment. US, on the other hand, while not charging these taxes anymore, did institute a fare hike to compensate, so that total fares (including taxes) basically didn't change, however, the portion that would have been collected on behalf of the US government/FAA went to themselves instead. A little disingenuous, I think, since they are likely not going to rescind these increases when the taxes come back (though they may rescind it based on the fact that other carriers don't seem to be following suit).

global happy traveller

sounds complicated enough............. then further complicated by whether carriers wanted to comply or not............. i believe Virgin America asked people to file a refund from IRS? LOL............. Great way to wake up the sleeping giant for $15!

billybob123

I bought a SEA-YYC ticket today - looks like both AC and AS aren't charging the Int'l departure tax or anything other than airport fee and NavCan. Score for me! (ETA - also noticed the 2.50 9/11 fee)

Ancien Maestro

What's the savings typically?

highflyer88

about $32 on international tickets to/fr the US

Ancien Maestro

Thanks.. appreciate the accurate feedback..

I guess the time to burn US FF miles is now while the loophole is still there..

aionesu

Just called AC to refund a 2pax non-refundable ticket (without penalty) and re-booked it... I argued since it had only been 3 days, and the exact same base fare was available, AC wasn't really "losing" anything by letting me to the refund (unlike a case when the base fare goes down, in which case they're personally losing money). So she got approval from her manager to do it.

So I'm not suggesting everyone storm the SE/E line with refund requests for a ticket you bought 5 months ago at a different fare, but if it's been a couple of days and you're outside the 24-hour window, give it a shot.

--
Best regards,
Alex Ionescu

Ancien Maestro

Honestly.., for $32 per ticket.. if they refuse the refund.. I wouldn't sweat it..

But good if it works.^

emcampbe

Not sure if AC is doing anything, but most US majors, as of yesterday afternoon/evening raised their base fares to the equivalent amount the taxes would have been - essentially meaning the end price to consumers is now the same as it was on Friday night - just the $ that would have gone to the government are going to the carriers. US started immediately - think UA did this sometime yesterday afternoon or evening. Holdouts now are Virgin, Alaska, Frontier and Spirit (if Spirit even counts).

Ancien Maestro

Perhaps the majors are thinking that if collection resumes, retroactive fees not collected would be demanded by the government..

Perhaps a retroactive contract to collect fees are in the works.. or the possibility of..

emcampbe

Certainly possible, but I'm not sure that has anything to do with it - likely they thought of it more to match the fare raise. US never had the lower prices, not sure about AA, but they matched pretty early on. DL and UA matched sometime later on Saturday - I actually bought a UA ticket Sat. morning at $70 discount to Friday night or what it is now. Think WN had their prices raised early as well. So seems like a full on fare increase now - pretty much - and my mind is doubtful that fares will lower again when the taxes come back.