Lufthansa canceled flight: ? refund

[epixx]

I was scheduled to flight WAS to ZRH (Swiss Airlines) and FRA to WAS (Lufthansa) in May on a flight booked on Lufthansa website.  Lufthansa canceled the outbound flight without a replacement.  From the Lufthansa website (and from reading numerous reports on other websites) it appears to me that Lufthansa is not offering a refund (just a credit) when they cancel a flight.

 

What approach should I use to try to get a refund?

 

1.  Contact Lufthansa by phone.  LH website is asking people not to contact by phone unless flight is within 3 days, and phone conversation would not provide written documentation anyway.

2.  E-mail request for refund. Other people have reported that LH is not responding to e-mail requests for refund.

3.  Charge back on credit card.  Is this likely to work if I cannot contact Lufthansa?

4.  I have CFAR insurance, but it only refunds 75% of cost, and I would need to cancel the flight.  I am not sure whether I can cancel the flight (a) if Lufthansa already did it and (b) if I cannot reach Lufthansa. I would need documentation that I canceled the flight (I think), in order to make insurance claim.

 

I appreciate any and all suggestions.  

[BBWC]

The US Department of Transportation ruled yesterday that airlines have to provide a refund if the airline cancels the flight. That applies to foreign airlines flying in and out of the US. Get in touch with Lufthansa again and cite the DOT policy.

[epixx]

Update:  I called Lufthansa on April 6th to request a refund for their canceled flight.  I just received it this week.

[klfrodo]

4 hours ago, epixx said:

Update:  I called Lufthansa on April 6th to request a refund for their canceled flight.  I just received it this week.

Thanks for the update.

Glad to hear it worked out for you.

[cjcruiser27]

4 hours ago, epixx said:

Update:  I called Lufthansa on April 6th to request a refund for their canceled flight.  I just received it this week.

Thank you for the update on that, I am waiting on a refund because they canceled a flight one month will be August 9 and I am waiting for the refund.  I called and requested it by phone. 

[Ashland]

Very interested in this topic. We have a land tour (Christmas Market) scheduled with a tour company for December and they have cancelled it. We booked air through them with Lufthansa. They have notified us that they will be pursuing a refund on our behalf if Lufthansa cancels the flight which I'm hoping they do at this point. I guess worse case scenario if the airline doesn't, is we get a credit as we will certainly book this Christmas Market tour again for 2021.

[FlyerTalker]

7 hours ago, Ashland said:

Very interested in this topic. We have a land tour (Christmas Market) scheduled with a tour company for December and they have cancelled it. We booked air through them with Lufthansa. They have notified us that they will be pursuing a refund on our behalf if Lufthansa cancels the flight which I'm hoping they do at this point. I guess worse case scenario if the airline doesn't, is we get a credit as we will certainly book this Christmas Market tour again for 2021.

 

Remember that LH doesn't care that you are on a land tour.  To them, the reasons for a cancellation don't matter.

 

What does matter?  Terms and conditions of the ticket purchased through the tour operator.  Cancellation policy established by Lufthansa.  Whether your ticket is cancelled by LH (non-operation of your flight) or by yourself/tour operator (no reason to fly).

 

I would be very diligent on this because:

 

If LH cancels the flight, you are working with an intermediary.  They may try to get a refund, but you might just get flight credits.  And will that process go through the tour company as well?

 

If LH doesn't cancel the flight, those refund statements of DOT mean little.  The flight is going, you just choose not to be on them.  Most likely you would get credits, but not necessarily ones that extend out to Christmas 2021.

 

I can't remember where, but I read that airlines may have flights in service, just to avoid the cancellation issues by them not operating.  Now a carrier could issue a credit rather than a cash outlay, as the cancellation is by the pax, not the carrier.

 

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Remember that LH doesn't care that you are on a land tour.  To them, the reasons for a cancellation don't matter.

 

What does matter?  Terms and conditions of the ticket purchased through the tour operator.  Cancellation policy established by Lufthansa.  Whether your ticket is cancelled by LH (non-operation of your flight) or by yourself/tour operator (no reason to fly).

 

I would be very diligent on this because:

 

If LH cancels the flight, you are working with an intermediary.  They may try to get a refund, but you might just get flight credits.  And will that process go through the tour company as well?

 

If LH doesn't cancel the flight, those refund statements of DOT mean little.  The flight is going, you just choose not to be on them.  Most likely you would get credits, but not necessarily ones that extend out to Christmas 2021.

 

I can't remember where, but I read that airlines may have flights in service, just to avoid the cancellation issues by them not operating.  Now a carrier could issue a credit rather than a cash outlay, as the cancellation is by the pax, not the carrier.

 

I'm very aware of all your helpful information...We also have CFAR insurance that I will use if necessary...or possibly a charge back with my AMEX..Hope my options don't turn out to be difficult. Thanks so much.

[Ashland]

How difficult is it actually to get a charge back from amex? For my situation above. My tour operator just emailed me that LH has extended their flight credit through Dec 2021. Tour operator says they will continue to try for a refund at approx 3 days before flight....or should I try the charge back option?

[Ashland]

Just a follow up to my long winded posts above. I rescheduled my Xmas Market tour to Nov 2021 and the tour company will pursue a flight refund first but a flight credit if that fails (flight is still scheduled to leave). LH has extended their flight credit times to Dec 2021 so I'll be able to use that credit. Whew !!!