Flight cancellation refunds

[superal]

Recently had applied for a refund on  an Emirates flight  to the UK .  Was told the ticket could be left open for 2 years but that did not suit so I asked for a refund and was told they are very busy processing refunds and it will take between 3 to 4 months .  I said it doesn't take that long for you to take my money does it ?     This is outrageous and I believe a ploy to discourage you from asking for a refund .   Anyone with similar experiences ?   

[edwinchester]

Caught up in the Thai Airways debacle and was told a minimum of 6 months before a refund.....if we get one at all.

Will never fly Thai again even if we eventually get our money back.

[Saltire]

I had a British Airways flight return to the UK booked last year to go 21/5 this year.

 

I contacted them and they said if I cancelled they would give me a voucher but not a refund. The voucher was for the same value (£650) and valid for a year and for any route. At the time I felt I would probably use the voucher but as covid developed in the UK and elsewhere, I feel I made an error. The flight was cancelled by BA later on so if I had been patient I may have got a refund.

 

Now I need to wait to see a) will BA still fly to BKK/LHR and if so probably less regularly.b) how much will the voucher cover as fares are already 50% higher. To go to the UK in December is now over £1000 so I'd need to pay the difference.

 

On the positive side if I had taken the trip I'd probably be well and truly stuck there till now. I have pretty much written the cost off.

 

 

 

[stouricks]

BBC News - Coronavirus: Emirates set to cut 9,000 jobs, citing pandemic
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53369463

 

I have my refund vouchers from earlier this year. I am not crossing my fingers!

Edited July 13, 2020 by stouricks

[superal]

5 minutes ago, stouricks said:

BBC News - Coronavirus: Emirates set to cut 9,000 jobs, citing pandemic
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53369463

 

I have my refund vouchers from earlier this year. I am not crossing my fingers!

Please explain , refund vouchers ?   Emirates will pay me direct to my bank account , no mention of 

Refund vouchers 

[superal]

15 minutes ago, edwinchester said:

Caught up in the Thai Airways debacle and was told a minimum of 6 months before a refund.....if we get one at all.

Will never fly Thai again even if we eventually get our money back.

Wish you luck Ed but looks dodgy

[steven100]

41 minutes ago, superal said:

refunds and it will take between 3 to 4 months

the reason they told you this is because of cash flow or liquidity problems.

They will stretch refunds out as far as possible so as to lower their risk on having to get a bailout should governments continue to lockdown and block international flights.

I bought a group ticket in February, and for a substantial booking as it was a group+hotels, probably one of their larger refunds ... however I did get an email today to confirm my refund will be processed by August 10 or sooner. So I feel better at least.

 

The problem with refunds from Qantas, Air Asia, Thai or any of the other airlines is that their is a higher possibility that they will run out of cash and therefore dishonor the refund. Not saying they will .... but in this environment anything is possible. I wouldn't put it past any airline not paying up ....  imo

[stouricks]

8 minutes ago, superal said:

Please explain , refund vouchers ?   Emirates will pay me direct to my bank account , no mention of 

Refund vouchers 

Refund vouchers were issued by Emirates, and many other airlines, which allow you to re-book flights up to 24 months after they were issued, same price. If it is not convenient, they will exchange for cash.

I thought that there would be so many asking for refunds, which there are, it would take ages, which it does. Just like having money in the bank, AS LONG AS THE BANK DOESN'T GO BUST!

[tonray]

Air Asia...still waiting 4 months......never book again until I get my refund ...

[superal]

4 minutes ago, stouricks said:

Refund vouchers were issued by Emirates, and many other airlines, which allow you to re-book flights up to 24 months after they were issued, same price. If it is not convenient, they will exchange for cash.

I thought that there would be so many asking for refunds, which there are, it would take ages, which it does. Just like having money in the bank, AS LONG AS THE BANK DOESN'T GO BUST!

Thank you , 

                Initially at my first enquiry I was told I had to do nothing because the ticket would be valid for a future flight which at the time was fine  . This time I was told to apply on line , not need vouchers as their  rep sent me a confirmation by email . 

[Mike Teavee]

23 minutes ago, Saltire said:

I had a British Airways flight return to the UK booked last year to go 21/5 this year.

 

I contacted them and they said if I cancelled they would give me a voucher but not a refund. The voucher was for the same value (£650) and valid for a year and for any route. At the time I felt I would probably use the voucher but as covid developed in the UK and elsewhere, I feel I made an error. The flight was cancelled by BA later on so if I had been patient I may have got a refund.

 

Now I need to wait to see a) will BA still fly to BKK/LHR and if so probably less regularly.b) how much will the voucher cover as fares are already 50% higher. To go to the UK in December is now over £1000 so I'd need to pay the difference.

 

On the positive side if I had taken the trip I'd probably be well and truly stuck there till now. I have pretty much written the cost off.

 

 

 

Thanks for posting that, I had my 16th (returning 31st) May flight to UK cancelled with Qatar & hadn't thought of it from the point of view that if I'd have gone, I may still be sat in the UK waiting to get back (I'm on a Non-Imm O "Retirement"), so that's cheered me up in a "Silver Lining" kind of way.

 

BTW QATAR sent me a refund vouchers for the full cost + 10% before I even knew the flight was officially cancelled, I'm still hoping to re-book when I can. 

 

 

   

 

[ThailandRyan]

38 minutes ago, edwinchester said:

Caught up in the Thai Airways debacle and was told a minimum of 6 months before a refund.....if we get one at all.

Will never fly Thai again even if we eventually get our money back.

The question is whether or not Thai Airways will ever fly again as Thai Airways or be rebranded due to the re-organization under Bankruptcy protection laws.  

[Upnotover]

7 minutes ago, superal said:

Thank you , 

                Initially at my first enquiry I was told I had to do nothing because the ticket would be valid for a future flight which at the time was fine  . This time I was told to apply on line , not need vouchers as their  rep sent me a confirmation by email . 

Emirates offer 3 choices.  1) Keep ticket valid 2 years in which case you do nothing.  2) Travel voucher valid 2 years (also refundable as cash if not used).  3) Cash refund.  In the latter 2 cases fill up their form online, they do keep the 3rd option rather quiet until you get to the form though.

[mike787]

Money laundering...good luck if u get it back.

[FritsSikkink]

All airlines have cash flow issues, some will go under, others might not.  

[SteveK]

Their systems are set up to take your money, not return it, which has to be processed manually. With thousands of claims needing to be paid, of course it's going to take ages. But part of me can't help but be cynical and wonder if they are hoping many customers will either forget about it, give up, or accept vouchers with an expiry date which may not end up getting used. Especially seeing as so many of the airlines are in such dire financial straits. I suspect that in many cases the airline will end up going bankrupt before some customers get a refund, which will also make your vouchers worthless. If you booked with a credit card I would contact them instead to get your refund and explain that the airline is dragging it's heels.

[seajae]

I have been tld I will get my singapore airline refund in 4 to 6 weeks, thai smile are the problem, I booked and paid for tickets for my wife, daughter and grandson as well as myself and they have said they will only allow the person on the ticket to be able to use it and only for 12 months, trouble is my daughter & grandson live in Australia and will not be back here within 12 months. I have told them as I booked and paid for all the flights I want the refund in my name and not just swapping tickets with a  12 month time limit, I want a full repayment of what I paid them. My booking for us all with air asia has been all credited to me through my online account but I have 2 years to use it, smile appear to be trying to keep as much as they can even after the govt has said airline should refund tickets especially when they cancelled the flights or re scheduled them

[jackdd]

In case you paid by credit card just tell them that they have two weeks to return the money.

In case it's not returned within the two weeks contact your bank and tell them to make a charge back.

[tiocfaidh]

I was happily stuck in Thailand back in March for a month while Etihad cancelled my flight 4 times.

Iended up paying more to fly with EVA Air one way back to the UK than the whole of the Etihad fair. I asked Etihad for a refund they offered me a voucher.

When I got back to the UK I put a charge back in with Barclaycard and I am pleased to say I got a full refund for the Etihad ticket.

[ChaiyaTH]

flightright.com always did the job for me but this is only with EU flights so not sure about OP. Have gotten back money twice on delayed and cancelled flights to TH from EU. They take a fair cut but also guarantee costs for legal, always gotten money within 2 months.

Edited July 13, 2020 by ChaiyaTH

[treetops]

4 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

flightright.com always did the job for me but this is only with EU flights so not sure about OP. Have gotten back money twice on delayed and cancelled flights to TH from EU.

Are you talking about refunds for cancelled tickets, as per the thread, or compensation claims under EU Law?

[Yorkshire Tea]

I got 100% refund from Emirates.  Took about 3 months.

[richard_smith237]

If the flight originated or destination is within the EU regulation 261/2004 provides that airlines must refund your ticket no later than 7 days after the scheduled flight by bank transfer. 

 

If cancellation was within 7 days of your flight you can claim up to 600 Euros compensation

 

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/holiday-cancellations-and-compensation/if-your-flights-delayed-or-cancelled/

 

Of course... the real issue is getting the airlines to play ball.

 

 

I have a flight in 3 days with Qatar Airlines, they still have not cancelled my ticket but know the flight cannot take passengers to Thailand. Their website no longer has the option to book flights into Thailand, yet my booking is still confirmed when I phone them up - very immoral. 

[steven100]

they hope I die before the refund is due

 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by steven100

[treetops]

4 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

If cancellation was within 7 days of your flight you can claim up to 600 Euros compensation

If cancellation was due to Covid then any claim would be unsuccessful.

[andux]

For airlines like Thai Airways or other Asian airlines at the verge of bankruptcy, I suggest doing a chargeback if you bought with a credit card.

 

You'll get your money in 30-60 days.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Rental car companies are using a similar tack in approaching refunds.

 

I cancelled a rental car  ( U.K. ) on Feb 25th, initially they sent me an email saying I would be fully refunded in 5 - 21 business days.

That deadline passed, they then offered me a 1 year voucher, I declined and they then said my refund would be issued in 45 - 90 business days.

That deadline passed, they now tell me “ no more refunds, only 2 year voucher available “.

 

I feel abused !!

[richard_smith237]

43 minutes ago, treetops said:

50 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

If cancellation was within 7 days of your flight you can claim up to 600 Euros compensation

If cancellation was due to Covid then any claim would be unsuccessful.

 

Not necessarily so, because the airline is unable to claim Force Majeure for an existing situation. 

(I was sold the ticket in June). 

 

Regardless, I won’t be holding my breath for any compensation claim - without doubt they’ll refuse it, but there are companies which push the claim for you. 

 

Etihad snapped a pushchair in half - they refused a compensation claim. I got the CAA involved who contacted Etihad on my behalf - the claim was valid and Etihad were held to the Montreal Convention. 

The CAA response was that Etihad rejected the claim the next step was to involve a lawyer and sue them. All for a £400 pushchair. Etihad knew we were never going to sue.

I’ve never flown Etihad Since - I was a Gold Card Member.

 

[treetops]

11 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Not necessarily so, because the airline is unable to claim Force Majeure for an existing situation. 

(I was sold the ticket in June).

Force Majeure is not an issue with EU261 claims (which I think is what you're referring to with the 7 day and 600 Euro comment).  The reason for refusal of claims would be that Covid is an "extraordinary circumstance" and this has essentially been endorsed by the EU in interpretative guidelines.  Personally I see why selling it in June could/should be interpreted differently, but the current guidelines don't account for that.

 

https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites/transport/files/legislation/c20201830.pdf

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by treetops

[tiocfaidh]

13 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Not necessarily so, because the airline is unable to claim Force Majeure for an existing situation. 

(I was sold the ticket in June). 

 

Regardless, I won’t be holding my breath for any compensation claim - without doubt they’ll refuse it, but there are companies which push the claim for you. 

 

Etihad snapped a pushchair in half - they refused a compensation claim. I got the CAA involved who contacted Etihad on my behalf - the claim was valid and Etihad were held to the Montreal Convention. 

The CAA response was that Etihad rejected the claim the next step was to involve a lawyer and sue them. All for a £400 pushchair. Etihad knew we were never going to sue.

I’ve never flown Etihad Since - I was a Gold Card Member.

 

Disgusting treatment of a gold member.....but then i am gold too and they did't give a s**te about me either so it must be their policy  ????