Airline canceled my flight but won’t give me a refund

ehar TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER >> Hawaiian Airlines canceled my flight from San Jose to Honolulu in June. The airline rebooked me on another flight to a different airport at a different time. I spoke with an agent, who confirmed the change, but said the airline could not refund my money. Instead, Hawaiian Airlines offered a travel credit I could use until 2022. I declined the change and requested a refund.

Doesn’t the Department of Transportation require a refund if a flight is canceled? If so, can you help me get my $268 back?

— Doreen Shew, El Cerrito

ANSWER >> Yes, the Department of Transportation requires that airlines refund a ticket when they cancel the flight. The Hawaiian Airlines agents you spoke to were flat wrong.

This is a common problem in the airline industry. Airlines know the DOT rules, and they know the rules are clear. If they cancel a flight, they have to refund the tickets within a week. For you, the refund made sense on another level: Hawaii had a mandatory 14-day quarantine, which made a vacation impractical. Even if there weren’t a DOT, Hawaiian should have considered a refund.

You kept a terrific paper trail and detailed phone logs after Hawaiian canceled your flight. If I didn’t know any better, I would say your airline is intentionally misreading the DOT rules for ticket refunds. Agent after agent repeated the same line: “We can’t refund your ticket, but we’ll give you a credit.”

I understand why airlines want to keep your money at a time like this. But rules are rules. And you know that if the tables were turned and you were asking for an exception to the rules, most airlines wouldn’t hesitate to say “no.” They can’t have it both ways.

I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of Hawaiian’s executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. A brief, polite email to one of them might have helped your case.

But this is a case where Hawaiian wasn’t following federal rules, so I recommended that you contact the DOT and fill out its complaint form. You did. The DOT agreed with my assessment and contacted Hawaiian Airlines on your behalf. The airline agreed to refund your $268 immediately.

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER >> I recently flew to Papua New Guinea with a colleague. We booked the tickets through EVA Air and Expedia. While we were there, my colleague fell and busted her kneecap at our hotel. She had to be hospitalized and medically evacuated to Brisbane.

I contacted EVA Air and canceled her flight. When I asked EVA Air for a refund for the return tickets, an airline represen

tative told me to contact Expedia. I contacted Expedia, which told me it would take 60 days for a refund.

After 60 days with no refund, I contacted Expedia again. A representative said that EVA Air was “not cooperating” and that I needed to contact the airline directly for my refund. My EVA Air ticket is fully refundable. Expedia promised to refund my airline ticket. Can you help me get our money back?

— Hari Sharma, Burnaby, Canada

ANSWER >> I’m sorry to hear about your colleague’s injury. When something like that happens, you expect everyone down the line, from the hotel management to the online travel agency, to show empathy and to help you. Instead, your airline and travel agency just played a game of pass the buck. How irritating.

Busting your knee doesn’t sound that serious, but when you say your colleague had to be medically evacuated — well, that is serious. I always recommend a reliable travel insurance policy before you set off on an adventure. Travel insurance would have fully covered you in the event of a medical evacuation and covered the extra expenses associated with your return trip.

Fortunately, you booked a fully refundable airline ticket through Expedia. That means you can get all of your money back, minus some administrative fees. This should have been a slam-dunk for Expedia. I’m not sure why you would have to wait so long for a refund. Expedia took your money in two seconds via your credit card. Is it unreasonable to expect it to return it ina day or two? no, it is not.

I list the executive contacts for Expedia and EVA Air on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott. org. You could have sent a brief, polite appeal to one of them.

I think you handled your case very well. You kept an excellent paper trail and you were always polite. Nice work! It should have been enough. But sadly, it wasn’t.

I had to contact Expedia on your behalf. The online agency got in touch with EVA Air again, and this time it sent you a full refund, as promised.