Airline policy changes (United made another big one)

[*WDW*Groupie*]

West Jet (a Cdn airline) cancelled our flights from FLL to YYZ on May 22nd. They refuse to give us a refund even though the Cdn Transportation Agency and DOT both say we are entitled to one. Since West Jet won't allow people asking for refunds to speak to a manager (apparently this is policy), I had to e-mail them. They e-mailed back and said they are not allowing any refunds at this point. I filed a dispute with Chase and included the CTA and DOT guidelines with my (online) dispute. If the amount were a few hundred dollars I'd be okay with a credit, but it's just shy of $1,200.00 and I want my money back.

 

[TXTransplant]

West Jet (a Cdn airline) cancelled our flights from FLL to YYZ on May 22nd. They refuse to give us a refund even though the Cdn Transportation Agency and DOT both say we are entitled to one. Since West Jet won't allow people asking for refunds to speak to a manager (apparently this is policy), I had to e-mail them. They e-mailed back and said they are not allowing any refunds at this point. I filed a dispute with Chase and included the CTA and DOT guidelines with my (online) dispute. If the amount were a few hundred dollars I'd be okay with a credit, but it's just shy of $1,200.00 and I want my money back.

At least file an informal complaint with the DOT...

https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm

 

[karen4546]

I think i posted somewhere on here that our flights with United were refunded.

The flight from MLU to DFW was canceled and of course I had no email letting me know and found out when I logged on to United (my OCD has me checking flights twice a day). I messaged them and I finally got through on the phone, but I was adamant that I wanted a refund. (We had 6 people originally booked but 4 people had already decided not to go and so United had "split" our group and issued e credits for those four.) My husband paid for this trip and I didn't want to have credits for "specific" people-United rep. said that anyone on the original trip could use the credits and so essentially, my husband and I could use all the credits. This was before my flight was canceled.

Anyway, while I was on the phone I told the rep. that they CANCELED my flight and I wanted the refund. I was kind but firm. It took 5 days or so but the entire original amount was refunded to my husband's debit card. It may take longer for refunds to process to credit cards but ours was refunded sooner than I thought.

I have since booked flights for September on American Airlines. We like Delta but same flight dates were double.

good luck to all who are requesting refunds.

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

At least file an informal complaint with the DOT...

https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm

I filed a complaint with both the CTA and DOT. Not sure what will come of it.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

I've said this before, but I will say it again: United is dead to me. They will be the airline of last--and I do mean last--resort.

 

[lovetotravel]

I've said this before, but I will say it again: United is dead to me. They will be the airline of last--and I do mean last--resort.

I have a United flight in Dec I'd like to cancel, but I'm waiting until May 31, 2020 to cancel since they extended their waiver cancellation date. I too regret purchasing this ticket before the pandemic and only booked it because it was non stop, but I'd gladly take a Delta layover in Atlanta in the future.

 

[sayhello]

I've said this before, but I will say it again: United is dead to me. They will be the airline of last--and I do mean last--resort.

After all this? Definitely!! I almost never booked them before, now it will be only as a last resort!

Sayhello

 

[abdgeek]

...I too regret purchasing this ticket before the pandemic and only booked it because it was non stop, but I'd gladly take a Delta layover in Atlanta in the future.

Everything on here has just solidified why I fly Delta exclusively. Thanks to all the tips on this thread, I was able to successfully get refunds for my trip insurance and flights.

When ABD cancelled my June River Cruise, I called Delta to see what my options were. The rep said to wait for them to cancel the flight if I wanted a refund. About a week later, Delta wound up changing my original flight so that I would miss one of my connections. The connection was at 8am and my flight before didn’t get in until 1pm. Unfortunately, I forgot that I had used an e-credit to pay for part of the flight. When I called Delta to cancel, I explained the situation to the representative and she checked to see what my options were. In my case, she said it was better for me to take the ecredit so that I would get the full amount of the ticket. If I had taken the refund, it would have only been for the OOP cost.

I hadn't even thought about whether I could get a refund on my trip insurance. When I finally called, they told me they were giving vouchers for the amount paid that would be good towards another trip within 3 years of the date the trip insurance was purchased. As OP have said, there have definitely been some companies who have led during this time. Thanks to all of you who did the original legwork so that those of us who followed knew what to do.

 

[TXTransplant]

If I were the CEO of Delta (or any other airline that is doing the right thing), I would be royally ticked off if United, West Jet, etc., are allowed to get away with these shenanigans.

 

[sayhello]

If I were the CEO of Delta (or any other airline that is doing the right thing), I would be royally ticked off if United, West Jet, etc., are allowed to get away with these shenanigans.

I have read multiple reports that say that if any 2 domestic airlines survive this, it will be Delta and Southwest, who, not coincidentally, are the 2 airlines doing best by their customers. Delta may have the last laugh in this situation.

Sayhello

 

[Woodview]

Swissair have refunded my fare ,in full , for my trip from Ireland to Zurich .

Car hire also refunded in full.

All hotels ( 10 ) which I booked direct all cancelled bookings with out fuss .

Just phoned them up no problem . All spoke English .

Hotels were in Switzerland , Italy , Austria & Germany .


Now waiting for Aer Lingus to cancel my Flight to Seattle , In August ,

And then I will cancel Car hire & hotels in Vancouver as the border could be still closed by then .

 

[sayhello]

If you're looking for another example of how well Delta is handling things, I cancelled a trip to New York for Feb 27th to Mar 3rd. I cancelled it the day before for a lot of reasons, one of which was the fear of getting quarantined at JFK (I ended up with bronchitis). The Delta rep I spoke to cancelled the $294 ticket, said it would cost a $200 change fee, and I would have a $94 credit good through September of 2020, since I booked it September of 2019. I totally didn't ask or anything, but first off, Delta ended up giving me a credit for the entire $294 dollars. AND they have officially extended it to expire September of 2022. Even though I cancelled it before there was a lockdown, before Delta had changed their policies, and only part of the flight was in March (the extended expiration technically started in March). I know it's only $294 dollars, but I still think that's classy.

Sayhello

 

[TXTransplant]

I have read multiple reports that say that if any 2 domestic airlines survive this, it will be Delta and Southwest, who, not coincidentally, are the 2 airlines doing best by their customers. Delta may have the last laugh in this situation.

Sayhello

I saw an article that said United would likely survive along with Delta and Southwest. I have a hard time imagining an industry without United, but my perception might be skewed simply because they are so dominant here in Houston.

Before all this happened, they simply had the most flights at the best times for domestic routes - even better than Southwest. As big as the Southwest hub is here, certain non-stop flights are seasonal, and there are often only two nonstop flights a day to choose from to popular locations.

That’s how we wound up with flights to Seattle on United. Southwest didn’t have any non-stop options. And I will always choose non-stop over a flight with a layover.

Depending on how all this shakes out, that may really affect where we can travel over the next year (or longer).

 

[Cousin Orville]

I agree that it would be hard to imagine United going under, but that comes from a fellow Houstonian. We really don’t have much of a choice but to fly United. Houston’s a hub, and almost all of our CC points are with Chase. So, if we want to fly business out of the country, more of than not it’s with United. We got part of our refund from our cancelled Vancouver flight. We didn’t get our refund for our upgraded Econ+ seats (purchased at the same time as our tickets). I had to call and specifically request for that refund as well ($1000+ for 5 tickets). Kind of frustrating as I asked specifically about that when I originally called for a refund. So, if you purchase an upgraded seat, you may have to call United to specifically ask for that refund. I’ve seen similar reports online.

 

[disneyfan150]

I've only read part of this thread, but thank you to all of you posting your experiences. This has been very informative. It is good to know about Delta's customer service. I have always been someone that looks at the bottom line and tries to save money here and there. My plan was that all of the small money savings would add up. So I would use UT for tickets, check travel sites to see if they offered hotel savings, book the cheapest air fare and so on. My philosophy has changed. I am now willing to pay more to receive better service.

I also wanted to give American Airlines a shout out. This following is my experience. We had a Royal Caribbean cruise out of Miami sailing this month. We booked flights in December on American. In February, they changed our itinerary and our departing time was moved 2.5 hours. I did not cancel the flights until the cruise was officially canceled in April. American's Contract of Carriage stated that refunds of a non-refundable ticket would be issued for changes to more than two hours (not exact wording). I used the online form to request a refund. They kept me informed through email about the refund process. Exactly a week later, I was refunded on my credit card. I was wondering about the outcome due to the fact that so much time had passed between the itinerary change and my cancellation. No problem!

OTOH Royal Caribbean - ugh!!
After they canceled the cruise, I filled out the online form and received no email confirmation at all. People with canceled cruises in March have not been refunded. Being in limbo at their mercy while they hang on to thousand of dollars makes me nuts. I had always read the long cruise contract on this and prior cruises, and knew it was not in my favor. As much as I love cruising, going forward, I will look at other options. I am no longer loyal to Royal.

 

[TXTransplant]

Just got this in response to the complaint I filed about United with the DOT a couple of weeks ago (I redacted names/emails).

"This responds to your communication regarding the airline issue. The U.S. Department of Transportation seeks to ensure that all airline passengers are treated fairly. Complaints from consumers are helpful to us in determining whether airlines are in compliance with our rules and to track trends or spot areas of concern that warrant further action.

We will forward your complaint to the airline and will ask the company to respond directly to you. Airlines are required to acknowledge receipt of a consumer complaint within 30 days and provide a substantive response to the complainant within 60 days. If you have not received a reply within this time frame please let us know. If you need to contact our analyst assigned to your case, you may leave a telephone message on our Aviation Consumer line, 202-366-2220, or send an email to XXXXXX. Please include your name and case number.

We have also entered your complaint in our computerized industry monitoring system, and it will be counted among the number of complaints filed against this airline in our monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. This report allows consumers and air travel companies to compare the complaint records of individual airlines and tour operators. The data in this report also serve as a basis for rule-making, legislation and research. Consumer information for air travelers, including the Air Travel Consumer Report and our pamphlet Fly-Rights, a Consumer's Guide to Air Travel, can be found on our website, https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer. Thank you for taking the time to contact us."

 

[AquaDame]

I have read multiple reports that say that if any 2 domestic airlines survive this, it will be Delta and Southwest, who, not coincidentally, are the 2 airlines doing best by their customers. Delta may have the last laugh in this situation.

Sayhello

Hopefully they just are overlooking Alaska....I feel like they've been handling things very well too. For people affected by delays and cancellations that led to their flight being impacted by one hour or more they're doing full refunds.

I'm able to cancel my flight in October right now for travel credit and no fees if I want to also - for whatever reason or no reason at all. It just goes into my account for future use. They're letting everyone do so through the end of the year if they wish for any flight purchased before 2/26/20, or through 4/30/21 if they buy 2/27-5/31/20.

They also extended our elite status for this year to cover next year as well.

 

[Cliffside]

Just curious....for those who were able to get a refund from United how long did it take. On 4/15 I called United and requested a refund based on the fact they cancelled my return trip from Prague for the river cruise that was cancelled. After much discussion with the United associate and advice from the boards they granted me a refund. These tickets were purchased half with Chase ultimate rewards and half cash. My ultimate rewards are already back in my account but no sign of the cash yet. Does anyone now how long United has been taking in terms of refunds. My Delta flight that was cancelled...the money was back 2 days later.

 

[TXTransplant]

Just curious....for those who were able to get a refund from United how long did it take. On 4/15 I called United and requested a refund based on the fact they cancelled my return trip from Prague for the river cruise that was cancelled. After much discussion with the United associate and advice from the boards they granted me a refund. These tickets were purchased half with Chase ultimate rewards and half cash. My ultimate rewards are already back in my account but no sign of the cash yet. Does anyone now how long United has been taking in terms of refunds. My Delta flight that was cancelled...the money was back 2 days later.

You may need to take that up with Chase. I also have some tickets that were purchased partially with points and partially with cash. The charge on my credit card says “Chase travel” and not the airline.

 

[Cousin Orville]

Just curious....for those who were able to get a refund from United how long did it take. On 4/15 I called United and requested a refund based on the fact they cancelled my return trip from Prague for the river cruise that was cancelled. After much discussion with the United associate and advice from the boards they granted me a refund. These tickets were purchased half with Chase ultimate rewards and half cash. My ultimate rewards are already back in my account but no sign of the cash yet. Does anyone now how long United has been taking in terms of refunds. My Delta flight that was cancelled...the money was back 2 days later.

Our flight was cancelled on Apr 20th. Got most of my refund a couple days ago. Called to ask for a refund on my the seat Econ+ upgrades for that trip. Still waiting on that.