I spent hours—literally hours—planning five flights for spring travel. The first one was for a dream trip to Hawaii with my family, then I had a flight to New York and I booked my dad a flight from Florida to New York. It was a good experience—not exactly good in a fun way but more of an educational way, which is why I took notes and thought I would share them with you. Here’s my experience calling five different airlines for refunds:
Hawaiian Airlines
We were flying Hawaiian Airlines from LAX to Honolulu because they fly a wide-body plane (A330), which I prefer over American’s narrow-body A321. I secured row 11, which is a premium economy seat in a section with just 1.5 rows. The reason I put 1.5 is because there’s only one row of two window seats on both sides but the middle has two rows of 4 seats across. We had the two seats on the window and I was across the aisle in the bulkhead. Hawaiian emailed me to tell me the flight canceled and I filled out a form online and I’m waiting for my full refund. If it goes through, which it should, it was pretty painless.
UPDATE: On Saturday, May 9 at 9:35pm, I finally got around to calling Hawaiian Airlines to tell them that they’d only refunded me for the tickets and not the $240 in extra legroom seats. The automated system said hold time would be over an hour but I could text so I chose that option and it worked great. The agent issued the refund and then sent me a text survey after which I gave high remarks. Although, I’m not sure why Hawaiian didn’t refund the seats in the first place? I purchased them at the same time and when I asked for a refund originally via their website, I referenced them. I wonder if airlines just try to make you jump through hoops so you finally give up.
RELATED: Coronavirus Resource Page
American Airlines
American Airlines (AA) emailed to inform me that our Maui-LAX flight was canceled for April 15th. I booked with AA because I have elite status and the flight from Hawaii to L.A. is an hour shorter so it’s doable on the A321. And since I’m Executive Platinum, I get Main Cabin Extra (5″ more legroom) seats and luggage for free. I called AA’s Executive Platinum desk on Thursday at 8:25am on April 2. No hold time. The call took two minutes and the agent canceled and gave a full refund with no questions asked.
Update: I called again a couple of days ago (Wednesday, April 8 at 5:40pmPT) to cancel another reservation after I received an email from them stating my Toronto to New Orleans (via Charlotte) flight for May 6 was changed by several hours. I called their Exec Plat line and had no wait and the agent refunded it in full with no questions asked. Easy as can be. Total call time: 5 minutes and that’s only because we made small talk about what’s going in the world. American Airlines (AA) so far is really shining and I’ve been hearing the same from other AA passengers. Kudos to them.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines (SWA). I called at 820pm PT and the hold time was nine minutes. When they said they could do a callback, the wait time changed it to 11 minutes. They called back in about that time.
Backstory: I booked us Honolulu-to-Maui tickets since they were cheaper than with Hawaiian, it’s a brand-new route for Southwest, they offer two free checked bags, and they fly a 737, which is bigger than Hawaiian’s 717s. Yesterday, they sent me a text letting me know that they had canceled our flight but an hour later they sent me an email trying to upsell me to book a car rental for our flight. WTH?
I called the 800-number but the agent couldn’t find my confirmation number because I was giving her a JetBlue one! That was the next airline I needed to call. We figured it out when I asked if she was working from home because I thought many JetBlue agents do. She said, “This is SWA!” Doh!
RELATED: Try the Airline’s International Call Center If You Can’t Get Through
Once I gave her the right confirmation code, she offered to rebook us or give us a travel credit good for a year. I asked for the refund and she said no problem. She said the refund could take up to 30 days to go through. Then she said they won’t be able to refund me because my credit card expired, which it had, but that’s ridiculous. I told her that my new card had the same number, just a different expiration date. She said she was sorry but that she could only issue a travel credit good until 2021. I politely held firm. She put me on hold and then came back when it went through. The total call time was 20 minutes.
JetBlue
I called JetBlue at 8:55pm on Friday, April 3, 2020. The hold time was 25+ minutes. They didn’t give me the option to text them like the last time I had called. The hold took 35 minutes for them to answer and the agent sounded tired. I was told that even though my 91-year-old father’s PBI-LGA flight had been changed to PBI-BOS-LGA, they could only give me a credit good for 18 months in either my name or my dad’s name. I kindly told her about the DOT rule (read about that here) and she said she was well aware of it but that this is JetBlue’s stance. Even though the flight was only $63.40 (I bought it when it went on sale), I asked to speak to a supervisor because they’re flagrantly breaking the law. She quickly put me on hold, which took about seven minutes. The agent was nice and working from home. I asked why I had to escalate this to a supervisor to get a refund and was told that basically, the agent didn’t know the directive had changed yesterday from management. Ridiculous. He agreed to refund it. It will take 7-10 days to go through. Total call time: 51 minutes.
Air Canada
My last call of the night was Air Canada (AC) at 9:48pm on Friday, April 3, 2020 for our Toronto to New York flight in May. (FYI: You need to press 1 for “English,” 2 for “Reservations,” then 4 for “Other.”) It took three minutes just to go through their repatriation flight info (there was no way to bypass it) and then I was informed that the wait time would be 20-25 minutes. The actual hold time was 15 minutes. I spoke to a nice agent at an overseas call center (sounded like India but I didn’t ask for some reason). He said that Air Canada’s policy is not to give a refund even if the flight cancels. I told him about the DOT rule but he didn’t care. This Air Canada flight falls under the DOT’s rules, which apply to flights flying to, from or within the United States, regardless of airline. I didn’t put up a stink since I was tired and my flight wasn’t canceled. It was just changed by three hours, and they offered a 24-month credit, which was generous. I’ll wait to see what happens. Total call time: 18 minutes.
Update: Air Canada sent me an email yesterday stating they changed my flight again so I reached out to them in a direct message via Twitter. They replied within 10 minutes then they went silent. See below:
Hi. I called and spoke to your Int’l call center last week. The rep said they could only offer a credit but according to the DOT you’re supposed to offer a full refund when you cancel or significantly delay the flight. Our flight was canceled and they put us on a new one but we just want to stay home. Here’s our conf #XXXXXX. Thanks for your help.
Air Canada (April 9, 2020; 4:01pmPT)
Hello Johnny,
Air Canada Social Media /Charlie
Thanks for the prompt reply! Just to be clear so Air Canada isn’t going to abide by the D.O.T.’s rules? “U.S. and foreign airlines remain obligated to provide a prompt refund to passengers for flights to, within, or from the United States when the carrier cancels the passenger’s scheduled flight or makes a significant schedule change and the passenger chooses not to accept the alternative offered by the carrier.” https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-issues-enforcement-notice-clarifying-air-carrier-refund… We appreciate the two year offer but we’re not planning on flying AC in the next couple of years.
Never heard back so I might have to play hardball. What would you do?UPDATE (May 12, 2020): I took matters into my own hands and this is what I did to get my money back from Air Canada.
There you have it: My experience with five different airlines, dealing with flight cancellations due to coronavirus.
What has your experience calling airlines for refunds been like?
Have you been calling airlines for refunds? Have you had any particularly easy or difficult experiences? Leave a comment below!
I can just see the TV ads now.
You know the trial lawyers are salivating over their upcoming opportunities to file class action lawsuits against the airlines for failure to comply with D. O. T. refund guidelines.
;-)
I canceled an AA flight for early April from ORD to Augusta, Ga. as soon as AA said flights could be canceled, in mid-March. Both of the flights i had booked were subsequently canceled. The story I got was that they would give refunds to those who waited until it was officially canceled, but because I canceled earlier, I could only get a credit. It was a pricey ticket.
Frustrating. I think I”ll call again and try your escalation idea. Thank you.
Air Canada cancelled my round trip from Tampa to Lisbon with a stop in Toronto for this May. I asked for a refund and all they would give me is a credit which can be used for up to two years. Not what I want or will probably be able to use. I submitted a written complaint on their web-sight siting DOT regulations. I received an e mail that said they would give me an answer within the next 120 days. Someone needs to get DOT on Air Canada’s case.
I’m with you and about to do the same. It’s crazy. Thanks for sharing
We had a vacation booked for Aruba this week. We were flying United. Prior to the DOT mandating any flight canceled was due a refund, United only offered us a credit for a future flight. After the new ruling, I called United right away. I was shocked I was able to get through to a live human within a few minutes. I explained that we had already been issued a credit but that due to the new ruling, I would prefer a refund. She tried twice to convince me to keep my credit, saying that United has extended the time in which I could use it. I believe it was 9 months. But don’t quote me on that. I told her we purchased 4 first class tickets in the prime spring break travel season which were very expensive and I was uncertain when we would feel comfortable to fly again. She left me on hold for 25 minutes. I swear they do this hoping that you’ll hang up in frustration. It does not take 25 minutes to find my reservation when I provided her my confirmation number. In the end, the refund was process on their end, however it has not made it to my credit card yet. She said within 7-10 business days. We’ll see. Good luck to all that are in search of refunds. Stay Safe!
I was thinking the same thing that they put you on hold for so long so you will hang up. It’s crazy. Glad you got your refund. Stay safe
I had a Delta ticket to fly back from Paris CDG on March 20.
The travel ban went into effect on March 13. On March 12, the CEO of KLM AirFrance sent an emaiI (I am Delta Sky Miles and KLM Air France Flying Blue members.) stating that flights could be changed without fees. At CDG on March 13, an Air France desk agent (part of Sky Team with Delta and Delta’s ground crew in Paris) REFUSED 3 TIMES to change my flight from March 20, which was cancelled and saying “we are here for Air France customers and if we help Delta, then people will be working late”, to a flight on March 14 that was only 50% full. I refused to leave the desk and she said “I don’t have to help you but I will”. She then changed me to the flight that I saw was available but charged me 398 Euros, which when I got to my hotel noticed was clearly marked as a “Penalty Fee”.
We had troubles and could not check in on line then troubles checking in the next day and were told our ticket numbers were not valid, but that got ironed out.
In Detroit, both Delta and Air France agents told me I should be getting a refund from Air France.
I called Air France many times and have been unable to get through.
I emailed Air France and received an auto-reply in minutes, but have not received a refund or any other contact from Air France and it is now over 3 weeks.
That’s ridiculous. If you don’t get a refund I would contact Chris Elliott’s team. He’s a consumer ombudsman
Excellent experience with AA. Initially gave vouchers minus $200.00 as flights had not
Been canceled yet. Then gave vouchers for $200.00. Reservations for PIT/HNL/PIT.
All done thru email. Will be rebooking trip for March 2021 when the time comes and using
Gov’t check to upgrade to 1st. Great job AA!
Agreed. AA has surprisingly surprised me. I’m happy to be an elite flyer with them these days
Horrific experience with United in mid March when international European travel was prohibited by US government and then UK travel was added.
United’s position was it would only offer a free change or similar credit. If you have an award ticket this is likely a dagger, because you lose the difference between what you paid and the new booking, if the new booking is less. On an award ticket, for Europe, this means you could lose 30k miles and $170 if you happen to rebook on a domestic itinerary..
I was having none of this. The rep on the one-day refused to offer a refund, indicated he was working on giving me the credit, I had to raise my voice to tell him not to make any changes and leave everything exactly the way it is if you cannot give me a refund.
Then a couple hours later, about 48 hours before the London flight which could not be legally flown from Denver based on government regulations that do not allow Denver as an acceptable UK airport under the current restrictions….I finally received a text from United that my flight was cancelled. No email no other notification whatsoever.
so I called again back to United, three hours total between the two calls, received a rep who could not see that the flight was canceled because it required a click-through on its own technology systems. Once she identified that it was canceled, only then was I eligible for a refund – the miles immediately, then the $177 taxes fees and another $70 in seat charges.
But quite an ordeal. And also a very good alert to fully verify what the supposed free change credit rules are. In most cases you must use the amount paid whether miles fees or airfare, on one booking. If it’s more than the original obviously you pay the difference, but if it’s less, you likely forfeit whatever you paid that is the difference.
And the other lesson is, we all are creatures of habit to be proactive with travel. In this situation it is more beneficial to wait until it gets closer to the actual flight date and you may have better options, including refund.
If you’re confused or the slightest uncertain, or there is no time frame that requires you to make a decision (ie 60+ days Ual redeposit deadline), take your time and think it out. Sleep on it and make sure you’re doing the best for you and your family, and not for the airline
The flights were all originating within South America other than the delta flight was from Aruba to the USA. Thanks
So far only offered airline credit for the following airlines that cancelled on us: Avianca, LATAM, Delta. Any advice? Thanks
They canceled the flight? Was it to, from or within the U.S.? If yes, call them back and cite the D.O.T.’s rule. They owe you a full refund
I just had an excellent experience with United. They originally offered me credit good up to 1 year for three of our upcoming trips. I called back today and asked for that money to be refunded and they did. No problem at all.
I didn’t yet know about your “wait-it-out until the airline cancels to get a full refund” approach. So, I received a voucher for an AA flight I knew was useless. When I called to apply it to a trip to Greece in the fall (they have the best non-stop ORD to ATH RT anyway) it took all of 5 minutes, including momentary hold time, with the most pleasant rep ever. Side Note: I have an Iberia RT ORD to MAD for May 3rd, which I know will get cancelled and I was going to wait for the refund. However, Iberia is now offering an additional 10% added to your voucher if you go that route, and they’ve extended their “fly by” dates to June 30, 2021 (it was March 31, 2021). Now I can replan and rebook for another May in Spain. Thanks for all the info you’re sharing.
Emirates cancelled my paid First Class FCO-DXB-HND flight. I requested refund same day EK cancelled. No response and not even acknowledgement of receipt of refund request inspite of numerous requests to website, phone and EK Customer Service twitter account.
That’s ridiculous. Did you call your credit card company and ask for a chargeback?