Old Mar 17, 2020, 1:00 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: oliver2002
Air France's rebooking policy: https://www.airfrance.nl/NL/en/common/page_flottante/hp/news-air-traffic-air-france.htm?_ga=2.60869669.82286185.1584471569-101309917.1487618201 KLM's rebooking policy: https://www.klm.com/travel/nl_nl/prepare_for_travel/up_to_date/flight_update/index.htm

Worksheet/flowchart for Travel Agents: http://image.email.bluebiz.info/lib/fe9013727c62017f75/m/4/575524f1-d29b-4548-b393-eb5ab0eee26b.pdf

European Commission EC261/2004 guidelines in context of COVD-19 dated 18 MAR 2020 US DoT Enforcement Notice regarding refunds dated 3 APR 2020.

Some additional information:
1) North American ticket holders can typically request chargebacks from their banks.
2) Furthermore, for flights that touch US soil, they may also file complains with the US DOT.
3) American Express in France and in the Netherlands reportedly refuse to open chargeback disputes for cardholders. Unclear whether other banks are following this policy.
4) At this stage, 14 EU member states out of 27 support amending EC261 regulation (which mandates airlines give the consumer the choice of a refund) for the duration of the crisis. Some of these member states have already suspended the enforcement of the regulation with respect to the obligation for a refund. Air France/KLM supports the proposed amendment.

Statement by 12 of these 14 EU member states: https://www.aviation24.be/miscellaneous/passenger-rights/coronavirus-twelve-eu-member-states-ask-commission-to-amend-regulation-ec-261-2004-to-allow-issuance-of-vouchers-in-lieu-of-refund/


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COVID-19: AF/KL rebooking/refund policy

Old Jun 10, 2020, 4:59 am
  #751  
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Join Date: Mar 2020
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I had a KL o/w FRA-AMS-BLL which was cancelled by KL a few days prior to the flight date. Ticket is on AF stock and was paid with AF evoucher.

I requested a full refund through the Delta Platinum hotline. (This was in mid-March. I'm not an AF/KL elite and getting through on the regular AF/KL hotline was impossible. Knowing the European DL hotline is operated by AFKL, I went with them. I received an email confirming the cancellation.)

So, it's been over two months and I haven't received a refund. I guess a voucher would work for me. How would you escalate this?
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Old Jun 10, 2020, 7:21 am
  #752  
 
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Originally Posted by Stuttgart21
I had a KL o/w FRA-AMS-BLL which was cancelled by KL a few days prior to the flight date. Ticket is on AF stock and was paid with AF evoucher.

I requested a full refund through the Delta Platinum hotline. (This was in mid-March. I'm not an AF/KL elite and getting through on the regular AF/KL hotline was impossible. Knowing the European DL hotline is operated by AFKL, I went with them. I received an email confirming the cancellation.)

So, it's been over two months and I haven't received a refund. I guess a voucher would work for me. How would you escalate this?
Most likely your voucher has been issued already but you simply never received it. Just call them again mentioning the booking reference or eticket number and they will be able to retrieve the voucher most likely immediately and provide you with the number.
They had some issues a couple months ago sending vouchers by email...
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Old Jun 10, 2020, 7:43 am
  #753  
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 102
Originally Posted by palmanfr
So any booking made before June 16th will in theory not get the bonus, and indeed like the flow chart suggests any booking for a cheaper or equal price than the original voucher will no give any bonus. Does anybody has a screenshot of the voucher conditions related to the bonus which were published between May 15th until June 3rd ?.
I have a screenshot from the 24th of May. I contacted KLM trough twitter about the changes in conditions, but it seems they can only quote the existing policy instead of actually answering my question...

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Old Jun 10, 2020, 9:29 am
  #754  
formerly airedalemom
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
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Programs: AC 25K, AF, Marriott etc......
Posts: 260
Undeliverable: Assistance - Annulation Remboursement

I received a notice that our AF flight was cancelled - So I filled out the appropriate online form and received a email :

Undeliverable: Assistance - Annulation Remboursement
Inbox
x

[email protected] via esa3.afkl.c3s2.iphmx.com
7:58 AM (22 minutes ago)
to me

Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:

[email protected]
The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now. Please try resending your message later, or contact the recipient directly.


I've sent a message via Facebook messenger and waiting for a response. I don't want to overload the system more than it already is.

Has this happened to anyone else?
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Old Jun 10, 2020, 9:45 am
  #755  
 
Join Date: May 2003
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Originally Posted by Queen B
I received a notice that our AF flight was cancelled - So I filled out the appropriate online form and received a email :

Undeliverable: Assistance - Annulation Remboursement
Inbox
x

[email protected] via esa3.afkl.c3s2.iphmx.com
7:58 AM (22 minutes ago)
to me

Delivery has failed to these recipients or groups:

[email protected]
The recipient's mailbox is full and can't accept messages now. Please try resending your message later, or contact the recipient directly.


I've sent a message via Facebook messenger and waiting for a response. I don't want to overload the system more than it already is.

Has this happened to anyone else?

I would write them on Twitter... and also ask them to report the problem.
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Old Jun 10, 2020, 10:07 am
  #756  
formerly airedalemom
 
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Posts: 260
Originally Posted by bostontraveler
I would write them on Twitter... and also ask them to report the problem.
contacted them both by Facebook & Twitter--

I also received a standard response from customer service stating they were busy etc....

I still want to know if this "Undeliverable: Assistance - Annulation Remboursement"

has happened to anyone else?
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Old Jun 10, 2020, 11:44 am
  #757  
 
Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 107
Originally Posted by HeartFist
Roughly how long did it take to hear from AF/KLM for the first time? I requested a refund for a flight cancelled by AF on May 27th, to which they sent me an automated mail:
Called in to cancel my flight on April 27 and got email of cancelled flights same day.
Got an email confirming cancellation May 11 and stating that I will get refunded
Another email on June 1 that AF is processing refund and I should received the refund within 2 weeks,
June 3 my credit card was refunded.

I'm from the US, so I don't know how it will play out if your from the EU.
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 5:09 am
  #758  
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Programs: SAS Eurobonus Silver, Accor Platinum, BA Blue
Posts: 28
Hello,

I'm slightly confused by what the rebooking policy for KLM means.... I have found a great fare from UK to middle east, return in economy for 250 in November 20.

If i choose not to travel it appears that i can rebook to alternative dates to the same destination without a change fee if there are seats available in the same booking class. Is booking class simply Economy/PE/Business, or is it the different alphabet codes?

If the latter, how do i establish what code the fare would be in and does each flight tend to have some seats in each code released so that my rebooking chance is high?

Thanks!
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 5:25 am
  #759  
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
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Originally Posted by FrequentSherm
Hello,

I'm slightly confused by what the rebooking policy for KLM means.... I have found a great fare from UK to middle east, return in economy for 250 in November 20.

If i choose not to travel it appears that i can rebook to alternative dates to the same destination without a change fee if there are seats available in the same booking class. Is booking class simply Economy/PE/Business, or is it the different alphabet codes?

If the latter, how do i establish what code the fare would be in and does each flight tend to have some seats in each code released so that my rebooking chance is high?

Thanks!
Booking class is the alphabet codes. Economy is the travel cabin
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 7:37 am
  #760  
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Programs: SAS Eurobonus Silver, Accor Platinum, BA Blue
Posts: 28
Originally Posted by canadavid
Booking class is the alphabet codes. Economy is the travel cabin
Thanks, so I would need to find an outward flight with availability with fare code: XS2C13S8 and return flight with availability for fare code: VS2C13S8

If there was availability and even if prices rise, i could change with no fee.
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 8:49 am
  #761  
siw
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
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This morning I completed the (suprisingly simple) AF website credit card refund process because yesterday AF cancelled a flight I was booked on for August. I already have the refund confirmation email.

What is the approximate duration to get the refund back on a credit card? I did not see any mention during the online refund process. Thanks.

I hope it is less than KE. I've been waiting for them to refund me since 7th April. I'm racing AF and KE against each other.
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 8:56 am
  #762  
 
Join Date: May 2010
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Posts: 5,338
KLM has let go the forced travel voucher for cancellations prior to May 15th. PAX can now request a refund.

EDIT: Same policy for AF. And: PAX who have received a voucher can still request a refund if their flight was cancelled.
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Last edited by KLflyerRalph; Jun 11, 2020 at 9:02 am
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 9:15 am
  #763  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
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Posts: 1,041
Originally Posted by FrequentSherm
Thanks, so I would need to find an outward flight with availability with fare code: XS2C13S8 and return flight with availability for fare code: VS2C13S8

If there was availability and even if prices rise, i could change with no fee.
In your case, you would just need to have availability in X on the outbound flights and V on the return flights, and they should be waiving the change fee. If those classes are no longer available, they will charge you the fare difference between X or V and the new booking class.
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 10:37 am
  #764  
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 102
AF/KLM has adjusted their refund policy to finally comply with the law. Now all flights that have been canceled by AF/KLM can be refunded, no matter the date at which they were canceled. It is also explicitly stated that people that already received their voucher can exchange it for a cash refund. See also the press release:
AF/KLM press release

It's interesting to see that they do not change the conditions attached to the 15% bonus on the vouchers. As it stands I think there are only a very limited group of people that can make use of this and will not want to exchange the voucher for cash.

Now it will be interesting to see how quickly they'll handle these refunds.
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Old Jun 11, 2020, 10:48 am
  #765  
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Germany
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Originally Posted by Rambol
AF/KLM has adjusted their refund policy to finally comply with the law. Now all flights that have been canceled by AF/KLM can be refunded, no matter the date at which they were canceled. It is also explicitly stated that people that already received their voucher can exchange it for a cash refund. See also the press release:
AF/KLM press release

It's interesting to see that they do not change the conditions attached to the 15% bonus on the vouchers. As it stands I think there are only a very limited group of people that can make use of this and will not want to exchange the voucher for cash.

Now it will be interesting to see how quickly they'll handle these refunds.
That is interesting news, good to see they are finally intending to comply with EU regulations. I would happily keep the voucher (received last month) if the 15% were valid for the whole time of the voucher; our next holiday is late July next year so under their restrictions no extra for us. As it is I have no incentive to keep the voucher and will be applying for a cash refund, just wondering how long it'll take?
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