ente_09

This is on their website concerning my cancelled flight LAX-CDG. The do not mention cash refund. Would my credit card company reverse the charge. I see upstream on this post some FAA regulation mandating refunds for cancelled flights (?) These were pretty cheap seats - $717 RT. Are they stating that any rebooking with be the same price?

If your journey was scheduled for March 27th through April 30th, 2020 you may re-book before September 30th, 2020 without airfare change fee or airfare adjustment on any Air Tahiti Nui flight from May 1st, 2020 through March 31st, 2021. Please note the new booking must be for the same itinerary and in the same cabin. Please contact your travel professional or Air Tahiti Nui for more details. Seats not available on every flight—other restrictions may apply.

derekmines

Has anyone had to deal with Gulf Air regarding this situation yet?

I have flights booked from LHR - DXB via BAH for April 30th so I'm not worried yet but I'd be interested in how the airline are behaving so far.

TravelinSperry

DOT rules require a refund:

"Cancelled Flight – A passenger is entitled to a refund if the airline cancelled a flight, regardless of the reason, and the passenger chooses not to be rebooked on a new flight on that airline."

If they are not doing it send a complaint to the DOT.

LondonElite

My guess is that these flights will be cancelled and you'll have an uphill battle getting a refund over a voucher. You may have to resort to a chargeback. You may also not be permitted entry (I expect the two week travel ban to be extended), and at the moment flights from many places (including BAH) are suspended. All a bit of a mess.

dp118

Not a positive story but an update that United continues to refuse refunds. Have return flight from Dulles to Toulouse, France, outbound on 16 April returning 6 May. Talked to UA customer service about options. Outbound flights now cancelled. Return flights still a go for now. Asked to cancel entire ticket (non-refundable category) and get refund since outbound is cancelled. Only current options are to reschedule or get a voucher for entire ticket cost which must be booked by 31 December 2020, with flights not later than one year from original departure date which would be 16 April 2021. Elevated to supervisor level without success. If UA cancels return flights is it worth trying again for refund or taking voucher? Don't understand why UA is not matching American and Delta policies. Hopefully they will.

ente_09

sounds like a lot of people are having the same problem as I am having with Air Tahiti.I want a refund,not credit but they do not answer my emails and do not have a phone number.
My Visa phone number states "emergency services only" so i cannot even discuss a chargeback.

Any experience with that lawyer group mentioned above that sounds like they are doing a class action suit?

angra

Can you file a dispute for your visa via online process?

woolfson

I went through this precise exercise twelve years ago, and have had to do it a few other times since then, all with successful outcomes. I am not an attorney. But I've done a crap-ton of research.

First, the document that acts as the primary framework for international travel between and amongst the airlines and the countries in which they provide conveyance of carriage, or transit, is called the Montreal Convention. Most all governments are signatories to, regulate international travel.

This document sets up a framework for the handling of interline baggage, transfer of passengers from one airline to another, and various other nuances of maintaining operational cohesiveness. It also says one very important thing: "litigation may be initiated in any court of any country in which the airline operates." So, you have standing. Standing is the ability to bring a lawsuit against a party.

Second, look at the local rules that govern transportation in the country that you are travelling to and/or from. If you are en-route through a transit point, such as an EU country, that affords you the EU regulations, which have been discussed in greater particularity elsewhere on this thread, and do not need to be re-discussed.

If you are travelling entirely within the United States, however, the governing body of regulations, is dictated by DOT250.5 ("i.e. you are not entitled to compensation if the airline is able to place you on another flight or flights that are planned to reach your next stopover or final destination within one hour of the planned arrival time of your original flight.").

Go to the Superior Court website of (whatever county you are in) and look for "how to file a small claims action". Then file it, along with a letter to the court to ask the court to "serve the defendant(s) on your behalf", along with the filing fees. Don't forget to ask for the cost of your filing fees in the complaint.

Here's a couple of examples.

Lawsuit against United for an involuntary denied boarding situation. I received the full amount requested, absent the amount requested for infant passenger (who court says was not inconvenienced at all). LOL. :-)
http://customer.files49.com/private/sc100_united.pdf

Lawsuit against American for failing to provide conveyance of carriage. Received full amount requested:
http://customer.files49.com/private/sc100_american.pdf

Lawsuit against Alaska Airlines for failing to provide value of cancelled tickets toward another itinerary, and the follow-up for sharing information with a third party provider, in this case Expedia, for purposes of issuance of tickets. Recovered full amount requested:
http://customer.files49.com/private/sc100_alaska1.pdf
http://customer.files49.com/private/sc100_alaska2.pdf (* I dropped this claim at the bequest of Alaska Airlines after they agreed to refund me the ticket value, in cash.)

Lawsuit filed against Orbitz (Expedia) and Lufthansa, for failure to refund the monies owed on a ticket that was cancelled because of COV, and in particular, inability to deliver upon contract for carriage to/from Morocco. This one is pending and will be heard in May.

http://customer.files49.com/private/sc100_orbitz.pdf

I hope that you will be able to recover some of the monies owed to you. Basically, a contract for carriage is a contract for carriage, and it does not matter how, or why, the contract can not be fulfilled, especially when that reason is beyond your control.

I understand some people will flame here here for using the judiciary in such a casual manner to enforce the rights that I have, as a passenger, per either DOT or EU rules. However, it is *very important* that consumers assert themselves, and in doing so, they are bringing the level of expectation up to a higher level of accountability for all of us.

Finally, I am curious whether Expedia and Lufthansa will show up to court, considering that Lufthansa has abandoned the San Francisco market. They may wish to send someone who is not affiliated with their company (such as outside counsel), which I will ask the court to strike their testimony and/or bar their appearance for being a non-company employee. Basically, small claims litigants are not allowed to be attorneys who are acting on the behalf of another, non related entity. They have to be employees.

hoipolloi

Well done. Small claims courts are made for this kind of disputes.

Runner123

I have two flight-one booked on Royal Maroc, one on Egypt Air-they are both from
Cairo to Casablanca. Royal Maroc has cancelled my flight outright, and Egypt is not selling flights on that day, but they have not cancelled as yet. Royal Maroc is insisting I take a voucher that I will never use, and I am sure that Egypt Air will do the same as well. I'd prefer a straight chargeback rather than using my travel insurance. Even though my Royal Maroc flight was bought some time ago, do I have that option? Royal Maroc switched my flight to the day after, which did not work, and the day before, which also did not work. That's why I bought my Egypt Air flight. Obviously the whole trip fell apart a week later. Do I just wait until Egypt Air cancels my flight?

PaulMSN

I received the miles from my canceled one-way trip to the US on AA within one day, and now I've received a refund of the taxes and fees about a week later. I'm still waiting for my refund from Cathay Pacific for the canceled RT from the US to Saigon. It's only been nine days since I canceled, so it's still early.

ente_09

OK guys, what do I do now?

I can see their perspective, tihs is not their fault, like equipment failure.
this is air Tahiti Nui

--------------

O/ref : TN2003310018Ia orana Mister ENTE,

We are following up on your request regarding your flight from LOS ANGELES to PARIS and return, on behalf of Air Tahiti Nui we present you our sincere apologies for the inconveniences encountered.

In the face of the evolution of the situation to COVID-19 many countries have put in place restrictions of entry to the territory, for this reason we were forced to modify our flight program.

We regret to inform you that your ticket is non refundable , you have the possibility to post-pone your travel for free of charge from 1st MAY 2020 to 31 march 2021.

Feel free to contact our reservation department at business hours monday to friday 7am to 5.30pm - 1 877 824 4846.

We hope you will understand the nature of this exceptional situation.

Sincerely Yours.

morepointsplease

Do we know if the flights were booked using points if we have to just cancel and get points refunded, or if we can choose to move flights to a later date?
Booked syd-LHR to visit my Mum for her birthday in May. Obviously almost definitely won't be able to travel then. But as I had treated myself to business class tickets on points - booked 11 months ahead to ensure the right dates - I would prefer to keep the flights.
My points were originally Virgin Australia Velocity, transferred to Krisflyer.
Outward leg booked via Virgin (SQ flight), return leg booked via SQ.
Worried that Virgin may not exist by the time this is all over and will lose many thousands of carefully saved points...
Thanks

work2fly

Gernerally your options would be travel insurance, a credit card dispute and as a last resort, seeking legal action from a court or a regulatory body. Since the flight departs from the US, the failure to refund is afoul of DOT rules. See above for sample small claims court filings. Good luck!

LondonElite

I don't know what mechanism would apply to redeposit your miles, but I would assume with close to complete certainty that you won't want or be able to travel to the UK by May. Expect greater restrictions on entry and movement and then quarantine at both ends. Almost everything is likely to still be closed and you may have problems getting back home. Of course the world could be back to normal, but that is unlikely given the way this is spreading, especially in the UK now. China is slowly getting back to 'normal' about four months after the outbreak...

I am assuming that none of our summer travel is happening.