Covid19: Swiss refunds after cancellation

Old Jun 24, 2020, 9:10 pm
  #541  
 
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Where to sue Swiss ?

I live n NY but have a A ticket out of Germany with cancelled flights to the US. Swiss tries now a new game saying that I had requested a charge back and that the Miles and More is responsible for the refund. Barclays / Miles & More advised that the refund must be requested from Swiss.

My question:

-Has anybody gotten a confirmation from Swiss acknowledging the refund request ? I have not
- secondly, where should I sue Swiss. In New York or via Germany

Any help is very welcome. Im a Senator and have only flown First Class intercontinental with Swiss and Im flabbergasted how this airline treats my loyalty

thank you
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Old Jun 25, 2020, 3:55 am
  #542  
 
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Originally Posted by Nyswiss
I live n NY but have a A ticket out of Germany with cancelled flights to the US. Swiss tries now a new game saying that I had requested a charge back and that the Miles and More is responsible for the refund. Barclays / Miles & More advised that the refund must be requested from Swiss.

My question:

-Has anybody gotten a confirmation from Swiss acknowledging the refund request ? I have not
- secondly, where should I sue Swiss. In New York or via Germany

Any help is very welcome. I’m a Senator and have only flown First Class intercontinental with Swiss and I’m flabbergasted how this airline treats my loyalty

thank you
When calling Swiss to request the refund, I also did not receive any confirmation. When calling again 2 weeks later and insisting on a confirmation, the email that arrived was actually from Lufthansa despite me having called the German number for Swiss, having a Swiss ticket and all LX flight numbers.

Since your flight involves the USA, I recommend you file a DOT case. The DOT will require Swiss to answer you, explain themselves and copy them on the reply. If this does not work, you can still sue Swiss in either NY or Germany, whichever you prefer. I do suspect that the time to refund will be quicker following the DOT path though as Airlines are more afraid of the US regulator than their European counterparts. And, you still have the option to sue if you don't get your money.
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Old Jun 26, 2020, 7:51 am
  #543  
 
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Originally Posted by Tafflyer
Of course. And I can still sue Swiss in any case. The problem with suing in NL, as I understand it, is that there is no provision for the losing side to have to cover legal costs. The EU small claims procedure gets around that.
the problem is that CH is not in the EU and therefore the local court handling small claims does not have jurisdiction
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Old Jun 26, 2020, 12:05 pm
  #544  
 
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Received another ironic-bordering-on-offensive PR spam from Swiss:

Dear ___________, Yesterday, the entire airline industry looked to Frankfurt, where the Extraordinary General Meeting of our parent company, the Deutsche Lufthansa AG, voted on the proposed stabilization measures. The shareholders rendered a favourable decision, which in turn ensures the liquidity of SWISS. The next steps will now be coordinated with the Lufthansa Group and the relevant bodies and authorities. This gives us a solid planning foundation we need to continue to resume our flight operations and ensure Switzerlands connections with the world.

We can also announce great news regarding our route network. By autumn, we expect to resume service to around 85% of our destinations that we served prior to the sudden onset of the corona crisis. In addition, we will increase the frequencies to attractive destinations across Europe.

We want you to feel at ease throughout every step of your journey, which is why we have implemented comprehensive hygiene measures. You can find a wide range of information on this and on travelling in times of the coronavirus at swiss.com. You may also find an overview of the various options allowing for extra peace of mind while traveling with us.

We now offer you even more flexibility when booking. Should your travel plans change, you can rebook your flight free of charge irrespective of the ticket fare. Of course, you may also request a refund. The easiest way to do so is online. Alternatively, you can also call our Service Center. Please note, however, that delays are possible as they are currently facing an exceptionally high number of requests. For this, I apologize. But I assure you that our employees are committed to processing requests as swiftly as possible.

We connect Switzerland with the world so that you can connect with people in person, transcending borders and cultures.

I thank you for your continued loyalty and look forward to welcoming you on board SWISS again soon.


Kind regards,

Tamur Goudarzi Pour
Chief Commercial Officer
Member of the Management Board
Swiss International Air Lines
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Old Jun 26, 2020, 12:37 pm
  #545  
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Just to confirm: Unused ticket value is valid for any flight until December 31, 2021
50 CHF extra discount is only valid if ticket booked by August 31, 2020

correct?
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Old Jun 27, 2020, 6:36 am
  #546  
 
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I called yesterday. They said current processing times for refunds ( booked with swiss and cancelled by swiss) is 1-2 months.
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Old Jun 27, 2020, 6:52 am
  #547  
 
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Originally Posted by GreatDane
I called yesterday. They said current processing times for refunds ( booked with swiss and cancelled by swiss) is 1-2 months.
I believe September was mentioned as part of their bailout package as a deadline for refunding passengers money withheld illegally.

Personally, I dont trust them any more and would still issue a chargeback. It will certainly be processed quicker and knowing that they must refund by September they probably will not dispute the chargeback.
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Old Jun 29, 2020, 11:28 am
  #548  
 
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My first experience with calling into Swiss's customer service. I am booked on a flight from Zurich to Nairobi in August. Expert Flyer shows that all flights are zeroed out for all of August. The agent tells me that my flight is definitely operating and that all seats are just fully booked in all cabins. I asked why this is the case for all flights in both directions for all of August just to be told again that every flight is fully booked and not to worry.

Another case of Swiss holding onto customer's cash since you are at an impasse until they formally notify you of a cancellation,
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Old Jun 29, 2020, 2:29 pm
  #549  
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How many more times do we need to explain the difference between a zeroed out flight and a cancelled one?!

Just have a bit of patience. The whole summer schedule should be released in the coming days/weeks. Your flights will be cancelled then and you'll be able to request a refund.
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Old Jun 29, 2020, 4:38 pm
  #550  
 
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Originally Posted by Nick Art
How many more times do we need to explain the difference between a zeroed out flight and a cancelled one?!

Just have a bit of patience. The whole summer schedule should be released in the coming days/weeks. Your flights will be cancelled then and you'll be able to request a refund.
I understand what a zeroed out flight means. I travel often enough and having an expert flyer subscription normally demonstrate this. My point is that I dont appreciate being lied to by the service center. You may want to take up your education of zeroed out flights to Swiss employees rather than regulars on FT.

FWIW Swiss has just emailed me to say that my itinerary has been changed, their new itinerary needs me to use time travel since my arriving flight now lands 2 hours after my connecting flight departs. After my first attempt at flying with Swiss I will be jumping back over to BA (reluctantly!) who has refunded in cash over 30 legs without any kind of deception or pushback.
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Old Jun 30, 2020, 2:35 am
  #551  
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Originally Posted by greyt
My first experience with calling into Swiss's customer service. I am booked on a flight from Zurich to Nairobi in August. Expert Flyer shows that all flights are zeroed out for all of August. The agent tells me that my flight is definitely operating and that all seats are just fully booked in all cabins. I asked why this is the case for all flights in both directions for all of August just to be told again that every flight is fully booked and not to worry.

Another case of Swiss holding onto customer's cash since you are at an impasse until they formally notify you of a cancellation,
SWISS has a remarkably aloof, unresponsive approach to customer service. It is stubborn in the face of reason.

But holding onto cash is an unlikely explanation for not cancelling flights that are no longer being marketed. The airline has no compunction about making passengers wait many long weeks for refunds: it clearly doesn't feel the need for a fig leaf to cover a few weeks' delay in handing back cash.

It's likely your flight will not operate, will eventually be cancelled. SWISS has stopped marketing it. For contractual and other reasons the airline doesn't want to sell tickets for a service it knows it is unlikely to operate.

But there are tickets already sold on that flight, and while there is still a glimmer of hope that it will go ahead, SWISS will not want to ditch those passengers. Cancellation of tickets on a service that eventually takes off would represent a stark revenue loss, and doubtless open up a mess of compensation claims from passengers left behind.

SWISS sold you the ticket in good faith. European regulations allow it to cancel up to two weeks before take off without sanction: it might go to that wire. You need to be patient. After cancellation you get options which include refund and quite generous re-booking conditions - though the former might take some time to come through and the latter could require some more patience dealing with customer service.
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Old Jun 30, 2020, 9:39 am
  #552  
 
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Forgive my ignorance. How does one issue a chargeback? I got email confirmation that Swiss will refund but the cannot say when.
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Old Jun 30, 2020, 9:53 am
  #553  
 
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Originally Posted by GreatDane
Forgive my ignorance. How does one issue a chargeback? I got email confirmation that Swiss will refund but the cannot say when.
You would call the card company which you used to make the payment with and discuss with them https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/chargeback.asp
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Old Jun 30, 2020, 4:40 pm
  #554  
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Originally Posted by GreatDane
Forgive my ignorance. How does one issue a chargeback? I got email confirmation that Swiss will refund but the cannot say when.
Here in the UK you'd call credit card issuer and tell them you want to open a dispute. Have the dates ready to give them, and be prepared to send copies of ticket, the cancellation notice. Also note that the'll expect you to have contacted the airline before you open the dispute.

I'm sure the procedure is similar in Denmark.

It's not a speedy process. It took my cc 6 weeks to get round to my case, but when they did they almost immediately credited my card account with the refund owed. The rub is the airline has 45 days to challenge that......
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Old Jun 30, 2020, 4:53 pm
  #555  
 
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I received an email today that my August flights from USA to Switzerland to USA had been canceled due to the coronavirus. The email offered me the options of agreeing to new dates for the flights or using my ticket later. There was no mention of the possibility of a refund.

I called the Service Center and was on hold for less than one minute. The agent was polite and, when I requested a full refund, she immediately agreed that I was entitled to one because Swiss Air had canceled the flights. She put me on hold for about five minutes to contact the department that processes refunds. When she came back on the line she informed me that the refund would be processed in six to eight weeks, maybe a little longer. She also told me that I would receive a confirmation email regarding the refund in one day.

Although I am not happy about having to wait a couple of months to get my money back, I am satisfied overall with the result and the fact that it was much easier than I expected. I will not initiate a charge back with AMEX at this time.
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