Recently, we wrote that airlines tend not to refund tickets during the coronavirus period, even if the flight is cancelled. We reported on this in the lattest TravelGuys TV #4, which you can find on our YouTube channel.
Also, we recently said that Air France had a rather customer-oriented exchange and refund policy. But it is not the only one.
While the German group is very discreet on its website, the communication made by Lufthansa Group to travel agencies is quite different.
Reimbursements are difficult everywhere
As we told you in TGTV #4, airlines are currently reluctant to refund airline tickets, whether due to cancelled flights, a traveller’s desire not to travel, or entry or exit restrictions in the traveller’s country of residence and/or destination.
Most airlines officially offer non-refundable vouchers that allow you to book another trip in the next 12, 18 or 24 months. Bertrand and I experienced this with Lufthansa: we had two trips planned in March, one to Malta and one to Zurich, and the airline did not offer a refund under any circumstances. I had to call customer service to get my tickets refunded.
Three weeks later, as the refund had still not arrived, I called customer service again and was told that I had been offered a voucher, that the airline no longer refunds by default, so I have to wait until I have a new destination, then call back to use the credit for the amount of the ticket I paid initially, with an additional €50 to cover any fare difference.
While the practice is questionable from a commercial point of view, since the cancellation in both cases came from the airline, it allows the airlines firstly to preserve their cash, and secondly to ensure that the customer will inevitably return to use the coupon. It also relies on the fact that some passengers drop the value of the coupon, which is usually the case in 30-50% of cases depending on the industrya So it’s huge!
Airlines are short of cash… But individuals too!
However, not everyone’s pockets are large enough to absorb a coupon… Many of you reacted on social networks after our recent article on Air France’s customer-oriented policy, in particular on the fact that tickets for cancelled flights are not immediately refunded.
The French airline offers credit notes that are redeemable at the end of their term, allowing the airline to defer its cash outflows by at least 12 to 18 months.
But it is not only the airlines that are in trouble! Some individuals, particularly the self-employed, may be in financial difficulty such that several pre-booked airline tickets are held up in the airlines’ treasury, which may cause some people to be embarrassed.
As we can see at the moment, the health situation will certainly not allow the majority of travellers to take a holiday this summer. What to do with the coupons? That’s the whole point!
Difficult to override EU regulations
In reality, and if you insist strongly, the airlines that cancel flights will inevitably have to reimburse you at some point.
They try in every possible way to avoid this with value-added coupons, maximum flexibility of booked tickets… Everything is done to avoid the reimbursement.
However, we have obtained a document for Lufthansa travel agents and customer service agents, which states that all tickets issued, where at least one flight is cancelled, will be eligible for a refund.
One can imagine that this policy is valid in most airlines whose financial health is at least acceptable, and that, if you insist strongly to the customer service, this refund can happen.
We do not advise people who do not immediately need the money to ask for this refund, as the airlines are in great difficulty and can put themselves in great difficulty by making these refunds. However, if you are in a financial position to do so, you should be aware that this is likely to be possible on most airlines.
Bottom line
Share your experiences, feel free to comment here or on social networks… And in any case, good luck with your life at home, with your future travels, or simply with the management of cancellations and postponements which, as we know, is very time consuming.
Articles similaires
COVID-19 cancellations and commercial measures. What options for airlines?
What if Lufthansa took over Alitalia?
What is the best option to reach New Caledonia?
Alitalia: last chance for the government, Lufthansa sets its conditions
