Blondie85

Had plans to travel to Catania (CTA) from Rome (FCO) on March 2nd.
Prior to departure our plans were changed slightly due to our tour/accommodations being cancelled in Catania due to the Coronavirus outbreak that escalated early in the week of Feb 22nd 2020.

On February 29th after I had rearranged a few other flights it showed my ticket to CTA was cancelled (flight # AZ 1739 on March 2nd 2020)
I received no other information from Alitalia if I had not discovered this myself. I also attempted to call Alitalia and even went to an airport and was told I had to go online to request my refund.

After spending 5 hours on hold for them Alitalia refused my refund for the flight stating I was a 'no-show'. They apparently had taken the liberty re-book me on a flight 6+ hours later on the same day that was supposed to depart at 17:00.
I did not ask for this and was never informed. Alitalia turned around and said they notified the 'travel agency' I booked through (but even the travel agency claims they have nothing and they can't just re-book you 6+ hours later) and I should be given the option for a full refund.

The agency has escalated this and applied for a refund from Alitalia (and understandably this can take a few weeks). They also mentioned due to EU261 regulations I would be entitled to additional compensation and gave me some 3rd party company they recommended I use. To be honest I spent over $800 in change fees/difference in fare having to re-adjust alternate itineraries related to use no longer travelling to Sicily so to re-coup some $$ would be great.

I was notified today that Alitalia claims they cancelled this flight on Monday March 2nd due to 'extraordinary circumstances beyond their control'. I am currently still in Italy right now so I am very aware of the situation - however when they cancelled the flight on Feb 29 2020 it was still 'business as usual' for airports like FCO and CTA with the outbreak still contained in North. Naturally, I can appreciate they have adjusted schedules/capacity on their routes due to demand but this was very early in the game.

Still waiting to hear back from Alitalia in regards to the refund and this case.
Is there a higher agency I should complain to?
Even worth my time?

Often1

The sole issue here is whether there were "extraordinary circumstances." The rest is irrelevant.

It will come down to what the reasons were, If Covid-related, you are going to have a lengthy and likely losing fight on your hands. If some other reason, then it is down to the specific reason.

I would press AZ for the underlying factual reason so that you can make a reasoned determination.

Leave the entire refund out of this. Sounds as though it's something which the TA will handle and that is down to a finger-pointing exercise between the TA and AZ.

dhuey

I think my situation comes down to that as well.

From the EU:

Extraordinary circumstances - Cancellation

Extraordinary circumstances can lead to more than one cancellation or delay at the final destination. Examples of events defined as extraordinary circumstances are air traffic management decisions, political instability, adverse weather conditions and security risks.

Situations which are not considered as extraordinary circumstances include:

• most technical problems which come to light during aircraft maintenance or are caused by failure to maintain an aircraft
• collision of mobile boarding stairs with an aircraft

Any strike that affects the operation of the airline may be considered as extraordinary circumstances. However, to be exempted from paying compensation, the airline must prove that: i) there is a link between the extraordinary circumstances and the delay or the cancellation, and ii) the delay or cancellation could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizen...cancellation-1

I had booked a one-way from CTA to FCO months ago for 1 May 2020. AZ recently cancelled that flight and re-booked me on a flight that departs and arrives more than four hours later. I just sent an email requesting that this replacement flight be cancelled and that I receive a full refund.

I'm not sure how this "extraordinary circumstances" notion applies a full month before the flight. The circumstances of Covid-19 are not forcing AZ to fly at any particular times from CTA to FCO. It's more that AZ has pared its flight schedule, due to the plunge in demand. Fair enough, but I don't think that should mean AZ gets to fly me anytime in the day that works for them, and I must either accept that or take a voucher. I bought an arrival in FCO at 16:45, not 20:50. That seems to be a planned delay for me of >3 hours, and thus I'm entitled to a refund under EU 261/2004.

Am I getting something wrong?

NickB

The "extraordinary circumstances" bit is a red herring and not relevant here. The situation is an extraordinary circumstance but, even so, if a flight is cancelled, you can ask for a refund. Your problem here is not so much the legal situation, which is reasonably clear in that Alitalia is under a legal obligation to refund you if you prefer that to the rerouting they offered, as the fact that a number of airlines have taken the decision to simply not comply with their legal obligations and offer vouchers in situations where they are legally obliged to refund in cash the price paid for a cancelled itinerary.
What you can try if you face a blank wall when trying to obtain a refund from Alitalia is getting your credit card (assuming you paid by credit card) to make a chargeback. Another possibility is to start legal proceedings but if your flight is a domestic flight in Italy, that would mean legal proceedings in Italy, which may add a layer of complication.

dhuey

Thanks, NickB. Yes, I expect this will come down to a disputed charge with American Express. I sent an email to Alitalia customer service yesterday. I'll give them a little time to respond, but I expect either no response or a refusal to give a refund.

Often1

When you requested a refund, AZ had 7 days to initiate the refund, either directly to you or approving the TA doing so. It sounds as though you made this request sometime around 29 February. Thus, you should at least have had a notice that your refund had been processed no later than 6 March. On 7 March, a chargeback was in order.

I would not wait one additional second. File a chargeback.

However, your post is confusing and contains detail which is not relevant and that will delay Amex in processing. All that is necessary is:

1. The e-ticket receipt showing the routing, flight number and fare paid.
2. The cancellation notification or a screenshot matching #1 .
3. Your refund request (always best done in writing, but if not, a note explaining the date, time and to whom the request was made).
4. The denial of your refund request (or a note from you explaining that AZ has not responded).

Amex ought to process this in short order if you have everything in order and make it easy to process. Ultimately, if you do not, you will still likely prevail, but it will just take a lot longer.

dhuey

What's the source of that 7-day deadline? EU law? Italian law? Alitalia's contract of carriage?

Often1

ec 261/2004.

dhuey

Thank you. Yes, that's in Article 8: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.ht...C_1&format=PDF
Article 5(a) deals with cancellations, and it provides for refunds under Article 8(a).

dhuey

The 7-day deadline came and went today with no refund from Alitalia. So I disputed the charge with American Express today. I'm grateful for the credit card charge dispute option with this. The airlines sure aren't going to make this easy.

irishguy28

In the current climate, I don't think it would have been unreasonable to wait a few more weeks.

It seems that you have taken over from the OP in this thread. Do we know if the OP got their refund? And despite the title of the thread, they were only seeking a refund, and not compensation, right?

dhuey

The experience the OP and I have reported shows precisely why there is not good reason to wait a few more weeks -- especially considering that we are legally entitled to a refund within seven days after a flight is cancelled, per EU 261/2004. I might agree with you if this were simply a matter of the airline's IT and call systems being overloaded, but it's become pretty clear that this is not really that. It's airlines making it difficult to obtain refunds for financial reasons, not administrative ones.

I would not expect Alitalia to lend me money, interest-free, for a few weeks.