oliver2002

The rules are clear: the passenger has to ensure s/he can be in the country (complying with health and visa rules) and take the flight. I would wait till the last moment, maybe the flights to Sweden (which is not really doing well in the fight so far) will be cancelled.

airoli

As long as the flight is still operating, government-imposed travel restrictions are not the airline's problem, but yours. Based on this alone, no refund is due.
Now, you can hope that LX will still cancel (or significantly change times for) that flight segment, in which case you can ask for a refund.
Otherwise, it's travel voucher or "open ticket" with free rebooking on same route and same cabin until 31/JAN/21, for travel until 13/DEC/21.

FragranceMarketingGuy

OK. Thanks. The ticket was pretty cheap since we booked in November. Will wait to see if they cancel, if not, voucher it is.

Tafflyer

The "free" rebooking you talk of is subject to whatever fare is available at the time you make the rebooking. This may well be multiples of the $65 you paid.

airoli

No - I smarted up about this. Repricing applies if you change the routing or the cabin vs. your original booking. But if you keep your original routing and cabin, there is no repricing.
From Swiss website:
Also confirmed by f4freejunior based on my specific question here

LoungeLizzard

Simplified:

LX cancels: No repricing. You can get a refund.
You cancel: Rebook with repricing or voucher with repricing. No refund.

Tafflyer

Swiss did insist on upfaring me before I requested refunding my tickets. I would have accepted a free of charge rebook but they were adamant. I even cited EU261. No difference. I hung up and called again, same thing. I even picked days forrebooking where P class was available, but they insisted on using fares in force rather than the fate I paid. I gave up and took the refund. Which, incidently, I also never received and have now filed a lawsuit for.

ExpatSomchai

airoli what would you define as a "significant" to warrant a cancellation?

Tafflyer

Should be, yes. However, I was denied the free rebooking despite LX cancelling. Tried a number of agents. Differing excuses and reasons, but none would do it. As I said, I figured they didn’t want my money and requested a refund. At that time, I also didn’t know I’d have to sue them for the refund they told me I would receive.

airoli

Another calendar day.

When was this? The "free rebooking on same route & class" rule was only explicitly published on the LX website about 2 weeks ago.

Tafflyer

That was mid April.

EC261/2004 rules, which require this option be given to passengers, never changed. The announcement on the Swiss website is due (in my opinion) to the injunction obtained in Germany against Lufthansa Group breaching EU law by insisting on this upfaring. That is now being appealed by Lufthansa, but I am sure they will lose, unless EU law changes in between. The rebooking I requested was even in the same booking class, just I had booked a very favourable partner fare from AMS which was obviously no longer available. Their antics took away my will to fly with them, so I took the refund option instead.

That saga continues in that Swiss disputed my chargeback, despite having confirmed my cancellation by Email and stating that refund would be made to the original form of payment. I also issued a chargeback on the representation that Swiss made of the charges which Swiss also disputed with BS about me having already received vouchers. Pure lies. I am now awaiting their response to my lawyers court papers filed against them for refund of the fares plus additional costs for fees plus my time spent dealing with their avoidance tactics. They must be careful, because my lawyer is looking to file a criminal complaint against Swiss for making willfully false statements in denying the chargeback requests.

capedreamer

Sadly, I fear that you and I will be the last 2 people on this earth to get our money back.

airoli

I do not disagree.
As I mentioned, LX has recently changed the wording in their policy to explicitly allow rebookings without repricing, on same route and cabin. Which is what I stated in my response to FragranceMarketingGuy. You then claimed that this wasn't so.

It is now - but it wasn't what LX voluntarily offered in the past.

Tafflyer

Well, actually, in a discussion I had with a Swiss agent last week, who was claiming that my not-yet-refunded ticket was still showing the original routing, I did ask again about rebooking it for December, not that I was serious in doing so, but looking for his answer. And that was that it would have to be repriced. I again got the "no, only +/- 3 days from the original booking" and the "that great offer fare you booked is no longer available" BS, so I am sure they are still playing the game of trying to screw punters out of more money if they can. I am frankly surprised since they have their bailout package now and know they will have to refund tickets sometime anyway. In my case, they will now be shelling out around €800 more than if they'd just done the right thing up front.

Carpacchio

According to the CEO of Edelweiss, the contracts for the bailout are not signed yet, so neither Swiss nor Edelweiss have received any money so far (only bank credits guaranteed by the state).
See here (in German) :https://www.blick.ch/news/wirtschaft...d15981055.html