Flight cancelled? Don't ask for your money back or you'll lose!

[rickulivi]

Hi All

I was scheduled to fly from California to EZE on 8/31 but about ten days before my departure date, I got an email from AA saying the flight had been cancelled and they were unable to rebook. The email said me to call a certain phone number, and when I did, the message said to go online and book it. Nothing was available, so I lost my cool and requested a full refund, which I received in two or three days.

I had originally bought two tickets on premium economy back in mid June and paid about $1,350 each, for the round trip.

A few days after the refund, I tried to rebook again and while difficult, the shock was the price. It was nearly 3 times more that what I had paid in June, so I called to complain, twice. Each time I was told that they MIGHT have honored the original price per ticket if I had NOT requested the refund. So, if your flight gets cancelled, I suggest NOT asking for a refund. That might help you get a future ticket at the original price, rather than at the exorbitant prices they are charging these days.

 

[zensailor]

Hi All

I was scheduled to fly from California to EZE on 8/31 but about ten days before my departure date, I got an email from AA saying the flight had been cancelled and they were unable to rebook. The email said me to call a certain phone number, and when I did, the message said to go online and book it. Nothing was available, so I lost my cool and requested a full refund, which I received in two or three days.

I had originally bought two tickets on premium economy back in mid June and paid about $1,350 each, for the round trip.

A few days after the refund, I tried to rebook again and while difficult, the shock was the price. It was nearly 3 times more that what I had paid in June, so I called to complain, twice. Each time I was told that they MIGHT have honored the original price per ticket if I had NOT requested the refund. So, if your flight gets cancelled, I suggest NOT asking for a refund. That might help you get a future ticket at the original price, rather than at the exorbitant prices they are charging these days.
[/QUOTE

you did the right thing....better your money in your hands than theirs.....when my United flight was cancelled last year, I fought to get my money back......reason......I want control over the situation and do not want to be at the mercy of United....you say the person that answers the phone said they ''MIGHT''.....hypothetical at best and in no way obligates them because they ''CAN'', and probably will, charge as much as they can.....remember....thanks to our Supreme Court, they have no obligation to spend or save money on your behalf.....they worship at the alter of the stockholder......consider yourself fortunate.....you do not have to do what AA dictates as a result of having your money.

 

[jblaze5779]

You bought a ticket at a time when prices were low. Then you canceled the ticket and received a refund. Now prices are higher. I don't see why this is a problem.

If you had not received a refund you would be perpetually hanging on for a departure date at their will. That would be ok if you had ultimately flexibility but I don't think it's realistic. Probably better you got your money back and moved on.

 

[toongeorges]

Seems you are better off than with Iberia.

For my girlfriend, I had booked the flights Buenos Aires - Brussels and Rome - Buenos Aires. After she arrived in Belgium, the Argentine government introduced the restrictions on air travel and her return flight was cancelled.

We tried to contact Iberia, which seems to be made difficult on purpose. Nowhere we could find an email address and phone calls to the customer service in Spain or Belgium were never answered, Iberia even automatically hangs up the phone after a while.

We managed to reach a person on the phone with the Italian customer service though. She said we would get a voucher within a week. The voucher did not arrive.

We then tried to contact Iberia again and managed to create an electronic ticket through the Iberia website. We could not contact Iberia directly or explain the issue in the ticket, we had to make a request that they contact us. We asked to be contacted via email, so we have some electronic proof and we could select that the topic was about the cancellation of our flight. The next day we got an email saying that the cancellation was because of external circumstances and that Iberia does not refund such cases. Also, Iberia was looking forward to see us on another one of their flights. When we checked our booking information, the flight Madrid - Buenos Aires had been removed, but the flight Rome - Madrid was still there and we were invited by email to check in for that flight.

We managed to again have someone on the phone from the Italian customer service. (The automated calls of the Spanish and Belgian customer service kept hanging up the phone as we expected.) We explained it made no sense to go to Madrid and be stranded there, that this flight should also be cancelled and asked if we could get a voucher. The person on the phone said she would open a ticket for us to get a voucher and that we would receive it in a week time. This was a couple of days ago, the flight was the 31st of August.

We will wait a couple of days and see if we get a voucher. If not, I will see if I can start a legal action against Iberia that will cost them more than giving us a refund. It seems to be a management decision at Iberia to deny customer service. It would be stupid for them to not give us a voucher if it would cost them more doing so. They do as they like, but I do not want them to keep my money without providing us a flight. It is not our fault either that the flight was cancelled, why would we have to pay for it?

It seems a lot of people have experiences similar to us with Iberia:

Iberia is rated "Bad" with 1.3 / 5 on Trustpilot

Do you agree with Iberia's TrustScore? Voice your opinion today and hear what 2,888 customers have already said.

www.trustpilot.com

 

[SecretShopper]

What type of crappy ass credit cards do yall have. Make a dispute and get the money back. Easy peasy

 

[sts7049]

yeah, with the COVID situations airlines are being a lot more lenient with changes. so it's usually better to just reschedule.

when my july return was cancelled on United, i could basically reschedule onto whichever flight i could get without having to pay any adjustment. if i'd have been refunded, i would have been responsible for the fare difference when rebooking.

 

[Silvie]

I'm also struggling with cancellations and to get to New York. When I bought my tickets online, it said it was flexible, refundable and changeable, after I paid, all of a sudden it was no longer refundable and with a lot of restrictions and small print that was not available online at the time of sale.

 

[jeff1234]

I'm also struggling with cancellations and to get to New York. When I bought my tickets online, it said it was flexible, refundable and changeable, after I paid, all of a sudden it was no longer refundable and with a lot of restrictions and small print that was not available online at the time of sale.

I had the same problem awhile back, began to take screen shots of the offerring and that was useful a couple of times. Same with hotel offerrings.