Refunds and cancellations - who have been the good guys?

A snowHead

@peerless ploughman, you are not protected outside of any abta/atol guidelines. As it stands now I wouldn't be booking with anyone who wouldn't take payment via credit card as debit chargeback or legal redress for bank transfer could be a little troublesome if required. I'm sure there are providers out there who are struggling and will genuinely try to help out, but if they are screwed cr4p flows downhill pretty quickly.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Ryanair has been accused of barring passengers who pursued chargebacks against the airline during the pandemic from taking new flights this year – unless they return their refunds. Shocked

An investigation by MoneySavingExpert (MSE) has found that holidaymakers who sought refunds from their credit card provider have faced last-minute demands of up to £600 if they want to board a Ryanair plane.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

As the airline acted like d1cks refusing refunds, why the F*** would anyone rebook with those money grabbing w@ankers.
Surely the way they treated their customers should have been a big red light.
I have no sympathy for the customers who were treated really badly, and then went ahead and rebooked with the same company - what were they expecting ???

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I dont like him or his airline’s practices. I usually filter out Ryanair when searching for flights as dont even want to be tempted by his “cheap” flights.

But people have short memories and vote with their wallets.

You'll need to Register first of course.

Flew 4 times with RyanAir: it was the first time, the only time, the last time, and one flight too many! The seats were really uncomfortable, the cleanness was "iffy" they sold all kinds of crap (lotto scratch type etc) so the flight attendants were constantly bumping into people (while looking hurried and stressed), there were all kinds of announcements on the PA, they inflated the flight time to be sure to arrive in time, even though the plane left late. Easy Jet while not without faults was at least bearable when I flew with them

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Absolutely no issues with Ryanair. New, comfortable and clean planes, got my refunds after phoning, staff all perfectly fine. I don't really care what they sell as I'm not buying.

After all it is free

BTW I'm not a big fan of Ryanair as a rule. I like the budget airline pricing model as applied by the wider industry, but think Ryanair take it too far and to a degree mislead. I also echo the comment above about the management's publicity antics.

The main reason I am down on them though is my experience of using them to fly to Eastern Europe. I did that trip several times and on every occasion the Ryanair staff's treatment of the Eastern Europeans on the flight (specifically at boarding time) was so markedly different to the treatment I received (as a middle aged, middle class, Western European Anglo Saxon) that I was embarrassed to even witness it. I don't think Ryanair could ever completely redeem themselves in my eyes after that.

But I still think they are correct in their 'pay us for the last flight, if you want to get on this one' stance.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I've finally got my refund from Lufthansa for Easter last year. Well they say I have but it hasn't hit the card yet.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Thought I’d add to this with some recent experiences with Expedia, BA and Amex insurance.

In short, I was due to fly to Canada, got Covid (grr) less than a week before my flight so had to rearrange. I’d booked BA flights, but via Expedia (biiiig mistake, it turns out). Thus BA won’t touch the booking for any changes, and it all had to go through Expedia.

Expedia: what an absolute PITA it has been trying to get them to rebook my flights. I spent about 8 hours on the phone or online chat to them. I could see that effectively the same flights I’d booked, but on later dates, were available via both BA & Expedia. Expedia however couldn’t/wouldn’t book me on those flights. The ONLY flight they said they could book me on was via Mexico City and Dallas. To fly to Calgary from LHR Puzzled

After many, many hours and honestly nearly crying in frustration at the utter ineptitude of all of Expedia, I cancelled the flights. I allegedly have a full credit for the value of the flight, but this isn’t showing in my account and the confirmation email the chap sent me shows the correct value, but in Canadian dollars… Be Nice please!

knows what will happen when I try to claim that credit rolling eyes

Amex insurance have been the opposite of Expedia. Incredibly professional and efficient, helpful and reassuring. Answered my various panicked questions calmly, and took the time to go and check that I would be covered for cancelling my old flights, and rebooking new ones. I’ve lodged the claim for the cost difference - very easy, took about 10 mins - and allegedly will have a decision within a week. So far so good, but I suspect if they don’t pay out I’ll probably have a different view Laughing

BA only really used them for confirming they couldn’t change my original booking, and then for booking the new flights, but given their general flexibility on direct bookings in these pandemic ridden times, I’ll be booking direct every time in future. Plus, speaking to them on the phone they have access to routes that aren’t on their website (which is why I’d booked via Expedia to begin with…) and I found them generally very helpful, including providing advice on what Expedia should be able to access, etc.

So, in all: Expedia are on my poo-poo list, Amex insurance and BA are on my good guys list.

All of this is subject to change if my insurance claim and/or flights go badly Laughing

Ms T.

snow reports

@Mistress Twerkle, Good luck with your trip and final settlement.

I always compare the market on flights then book directly with the airline after similar experiences with the likes of Last Minute versus Lufthansa and even dare I say it Ryanair.

One less disinterested party to deal with if things go wrong for what is usually a minimum cost saving.

Over the years, Easyjet have always been super helpful, and I haven't got a bad thing to say about them. I remember a particularly embarrassing moment when we booked the wrong airport, and Easyjet changed the booking without fuss.

Recently we decided to re-instate a holiday that had been postponed from March 2020 (not skiing related I should add). The hotel had given us a voucher, and they happily re-booked us (with just a €90 invoice to cover the increase in price since 2020). Easyjet had given us a voucher, but it expired in 2021 and, because it was just £150, I had written it off. But when we re-booked the flights I laughingly entered in the Easyjet voucher number and, hey-ho it was accepted! There was even a £12 credit because the new flights were cheaper!

Easyjet are still my favourite airline!

In contrast, there is RyanAir. Michael O'Leary says "if you don't like it then don't fly with us", and that's exactly what I do!

You know it makes sense.

I had great experience with KLM.
I has booked Aberdeen Amsterdam Munich in December but Germany weren't allowing uk residents in.
I called 2 days before my flight and asked to change flight to innsbruck? Yes no problem. 5 minutes in phone and all sorted no fee.
When I was supposed to return in January I tested positive on my pre-departure uk test. I called morning of flight to tell them I couldn't travel that day.
They asked if I wanted to reschedule but not knowing when I would be able to travel that wasn't an option for me. So I was offered a voucher or refund. I requested to refund. 2 weeks later refund was in my account. I was very impressed.
They also allow you to take a ski bag up to 23kg instead of a suitcase plus 2 hand luggage items.
Booked with them again for eosb.

Help!!

Refunds and cancellations - who have been the good guys?

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