Air Canada non refundable flights cancellation

[Gia2cats]

10 hours ago, BEAV said:

The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) clamped down this week on airlines giving vouchers in lieu of cash refunds to passengers with non-refundable tickets where the airline has cancelled the flight. This includes non-U.S. airlines who operate in/out of the U.S.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/03/coronavirus-travel-airlines-must-give-refunds-not-vouchers-when-flights-are-axed.html

 

If you're holding an Air Canada non-refundable ticket for a flight that operates to/from the U.S.:

1. Go to the AC website as if you're booking a new ticket for the first time.

2. Enter the origin/destination and date of your ticketed flight. If the flight you were booked on no longer displays, chances are it's been cancelled. With airlines cancelling more than 50% of their normal schedules, the odds are in your favor your flight has been cancelled.

3. If you can reasonably determine your flight has been cancelled, call Flights by Celebrity. This is what folks on our Roll Call are doing and they report Flights by Celebrity are taking their info with a follow-up expected in 7-10 days. My assumption is Celebrity will need to verify with Air Canada your flight has been cancelled before they can begin the process of issuing a refund. 

4. Air Canada won't be able to give you the refund because they don't have your credit card information. If you booked with Flights by Celebrity you'll notice on your credit card statement the charge was by them, not Air Canada. The refund will have to come from Celebrity. Although I had a refundable fare with Flights by Celebrity, my refund will be by them, not the airline. 

 

When you call Flights by Celebrity, stress to the Agent the airline has cancelled your flight. That's your "ticket" (pardon the pun) to a refund. 

 

If you've already been issued a voucher, and the airline has cancelled your flight, there's hope it can be changed into a refund. Several U.S. Senators are pushing for this and have asked airlines to reply by April 7. No guarantee, but there's hope. 

 

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Senators-warn-airlines-refunds-15169687.php

 

This past week my Sister was able to obtain a cash refund on a non-refundable ticket w/United after they cancelled her flight. Previous to that, they were only giving vouchers. But she pressed for a refund, knowing her rights under the DOT rules, and United was forced to comply. The airlines are banking on the consumer not knowing what they're entitled to.

Thank you so much for providing this link. I’ve sent it to my Travel Agent in case she hasn’t  seen it. Our American flight was just cancelled yesterday.

[Bo1953]

15 hours ago, bebe08 said:

Thanks for posting this letter...looks like this is a common problem.  I will probably get the same response.  I find it interesting that they state this is the standard protocol.    We had a cruise to Japan booked that was cancelled 2 months ago due to the virus.  Our nonrefundable Air Canada airfare was refunded directly by X. The letter we received from X for our Japan cancellation made it clear that they would take care of airfare refunds.  Now for our most recent cruise cancellation X has changed the rules re nonrefundable air and shifted the work to us.  

Well,  just thinking of everything else X has to do at this juncture, non-refundable fares are most likely at the bottom of the pile.

 

While once they, X, were covering non-refundable airfares, this situation has become so untenable, that they have to punt us back to the airlines to sort out.

 

Very unfortunate to be sure, then again with most of us at home we have some time to spend on doing this.

 

I can watch a movie while on hold for several hours... LOL

 

One with 'non-refundable' air fares have almost nothing to worry about, IF the airline cancels the flight, IF we cancel before that happens then another issue and situation.

 

Good luck regardless, stay safe and bon voyage

 

 

[bebe08]

15 hours ago, Vicjac said:

Bebe08 

By any chance were you on the Eclipse 14 day Southern Caribbean cruise during super bowl Sunday in 2018?

No not us...

[bebe08]

From what I can tell all the flights we were booked on have been cancelled.

In thinking more about this, the airlines don't even have our contact info as we booked thru X, the charge on our credit card was for Celebrity Cruises, and the flights were never ticketed. I did not use a TA everything was booked directly with X.  So wouldn't it be X responsibility to let us know that the flights were cancelled given the carriers don't have a way to contact us?   I understand these are unprecedented times but that is no excuse for X to shirk their responsibility.  I worked for years in an environment were there were often unforeseen spikes in workload, and you have to find a way to get the work done.  That is what you are paid to do.   The airlines are very busy too and this is causing extra work and confusion for all involved.  At the very least there should be some coordination between the cruise lines and airlines on how this will be handled.

 

I have no problem with sitting on hold for a few hours, but not to be told you need to contact X we can't help you.

[Bo1953]

2 minutes ago, bebe08 said:

From what I can tell all the flights we were booked on have been cancelled.

In thinking more about this, the airlines don't even have our contact info as we booked thru X, the charge on our credit card was for Celebrity Cruises, and the flights were never ticketed. I did not use a TA everything was booked directly with X.  So wouldn't it be X responsibility to let us know that the flights were cancelled given the carriers don't have a way to contact us?   I understand these are unprecedented times but that is no excuse for X to shirk their responsibility.  I worked for years in an environment were there were often unforeseen spikes in workload, and you have to find a way to get the work done.  That is what you are paid to do.   The airlines are very busy too and this is causing extra work and confusion for all involved.  At the very least there should be some coordination between the cruise lines and airlines on how this will be handled.

 

I have no problem with sitting on hold for a few hours, but not to be told you need to contact X we can't help you.

I do believe that ALL airlines requires some contact info for any passenger booked either directly or through 3rd party as they would be prohibited by law from accepting only a passenger name and seat assignment.

 

TSA and Homeland Security in the U.S. would require this info be passed to them and the airline for pre-screening purposes not sure about other countries, yet most would require the same info about passenger manifest.

 

bon voyage

[BEAV]

5 hours ago, Perky1 said:

I got my flight thru Choice Air (one way to FLL) back in June, 2019 for April 2020 and it was Air Canada that charged my visa not Choice Air.  It shows on my Celebrity booking as Choice Air and the payment for that amount made the same day.

 

Since your credit card was charged by Air Canada, and your flight has been cancelled, I’d start by calling AC. If you’d prefer a refund vs. voucher, you’re certainly entitled one under DOT rules since the airline cancelled your flight. If AC tries to pass the buck and refer you back to Celebrity, remind them it was AC who charged your credit card for the original purchase. Good luck!

Edited April 6, 2020 by BEAV

[cjcruiser27]

On 4/5/2020 at 2:26 PM, rimmit said:

I don’t mind the fact that it is nonrefundable on a normal basis.  I can even understand it in the current situations.  What annoys me is that previously X on cancelled cruise X was giving full refunds for flights booked with choice air regardless if it was Nonrefundable or not.  I am annoyed that policy changed and now we can only get what the airline offers in regards to flights.

I had nonrefundable flights for 3/29 and the return for April 6, through Celebrity.  After reading their statement on the Celebrity website, I think I should be able to get a refund.  They canceled the cruise, not me.  The woman told me I was not eligible for a refund on the nonrefundable flights.  Anyone know why?  She told me to take it up with the 2 airlines.

Edited April 6, 2020 by cjcruiser27
added more...

[bebe08]

I just received an email from Choice Air Supervisor as follows:

 

Thank you for your email. We have received your request. We are working closely with the airlines to find a solution on nonrefundable fares. We understand the pandemic has interrupted many travel plans and understand the concern our guests have for not being able to use the credit at all and or before expiration. We will contact you once we have a response from the airlines on how this will be addressed. Please allow 7-10 business days.

We appreciate your patience.

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, cjcruiser27 said:

I had nonrefundable flights for 3/29 and the return for April 6, through Celebrity.  After reading their statement on the Celebrity website, I think I should be able to get a refund.  They canceled the cruise, not me.  The woman told me I was not eligible for a refund on the nonrefundable flights.  Anyone know why?  She told me to take it up with the 2 airlines.

That is due to the fact, I believe strongly, X is the Travel Agent and travel agents receive refunds from the airlines and pass them to the client.

 

If the airlines are not passing the refunds to X, how can X pass a refund to you???

 

Airlines are not, in many  cases, are not currently offering refunds on non-refundable flights, although there is anecdotal information that they are and/or may be in the future.

 

As such, a few posters have indicated that X advised them to contact the airline direct, which might be in your best interest and be persistent at that.

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

11 minutes ago, bebe08 said:

I just received an email from Choice Air Supervisor as follows:

 

Thank you for your email. We have received your request. We are working closely with the airlines to find a solution on nonrefundable fares. We understand the pandemic has interrupted many travel plans and understand the concern our guests have for not being able to use the credit at all and or before expiration. We will contact you once we have a response from the airlines on how this will be addressed. Please allow 7-10 business days.

We appreciate your patience.

A very optimistic timeline to say the least, but here's hoping that they really do not mean 7-10 weeks.

 

Yet, please post back if in fact it is days and not weeks.

 

bon voyage

[critterchick]

12 hours ago, Gia2cats said:

Thank you so much for providing this link. I’ve sent it to my Travel Agent in case she hasn’t  seen it. Our American flight was just cancelled yesterday.

 

We had no issue getting a refund from AA when they cancelled our nonrefundable flight to Hawaii this coming Thursday. If your TA booked directly with AA (not going through Choice Air), then one you will need to request the refund for the cancelled flight. Being a control freak, I would do it myself as follows:

 

Go to aa.com and scroll down to the bottom, where you will see a link for refunds on the left. You will need the ticket number for each member of your party (not the reservation number; the actual ticket number, which your TA should have if you don't).  During the process, if the system deems you eligible for a refund, it will still default to getting a voucher. If you'd rather have the refund, deselect that option and click the other one (I think it says "show me other options, but the only one is a refund). At that point the system offered me a 20% bonus to accept the voucher, but I forged on.

 

The refund credited to my CC within 48 hours.

 

3 hours ago, cjcruiser27 said:

I had nonrefundable flights for 3/29 and the return for April 6, through Celebrity.  After reading their statement on the Celebrity website, I think I should be able to get a refund.  They canceled the cruise, not me.  The woman told me I was not eligible for a refund on the nonrefundable flights.  Anyone know why?  She told me to take it up with the 2 airlines.

 

Choice Air/Flights by Celebrity act as a travel agent when it comes to booking tickets. They are bound by the airlines' rules. It appears that, in the past, the airlines were willing to give refunds for nonrefundable Choice Air flights as a matter of good will and that now they are not. If the airline has cancelled your flight and it's operating within the United States, then you are absolutely entitled to a refund. If the flight is still operating, then most of the US airlines are offering a voucher and not charging the usual change fee. 

 

I would advise you to wait until your flight is actually cancelled - if you cancel it yourself, then you are stuck with a voucher. In the above example, our flight was no longer available to book online and the AA rep with whom I spoke initially insisted that it was still flying because it showed in my record. When I pushed back, she put my on hold and verified what I had told her, then cancelled the booking so I could apply for the refund.

[cjcruiser27]

48 minutes ago, bebe08 said:

I just received an email from Choice Air Supervisor as follows:

 

Thank you for your email. We have received your request. We are working closely with the airlines to find a solution on nonrefundable fares. We understand the pandemic has interrupted many travel plans and understand the concern our guests have for not being able to use the credit at all and or before expiration. We will contact you once we have a response from the airlines on how this will be addressed. Please allow 7-10 business days.

We appreciate your patience.

I just received the same one.

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, critterchick said:

I would advise you to wait until your flight is actually cancelled - if you cancel it yourself, then you are stuck with a voucher. In the above example, our flight was no longer available to book online and the AA rep with whom I spoke initially insisted that it was still flying because it showed in my record. When I pushed back, she put my on hold and verified what I had told her, then cancelled the booking so I could apply for the refund.

 

My Sister had the same issue with United. They cancelled her first of four flights, which triggered the email notification to her. But when I tried to emulate her return itinerary as if a new booking, her last of four flights was cancelled as well, even though that info hadn’t yet made it to her booking. 

 

She wasn’t planning to take the trip anyway due to it not being “essential travel”. So I told her to wait to cancel, going on the chance that United would cancel one (or all) of the flights anyway. And that’s exactly what happened, which paved the way for her to qualify for a refund over a voucher. 

 

Excellent advice, Critterchick. 😉

Edited April 7, 2020 by BEAV

[BEAV]

Obtaining a refund even if you’ve already received a voucher:

 

https://www.flyertalk.com/articles/i-already-got-a-flight-voucher-is-it-too-late-to-ask-for-a-cash-refund.html?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=