Refund failures ‘like theft’ says airline boss
Travel firms’ failure to issue prompt refunds for cancelled holidays is “a bit like theft”, according to the boss of Jet2.
Steve Heapy, chief executive of the airline and tour operator, said delays in making payouts during the coronavirus pandemic has given “a very bad impression” of the travel industry.
He expressed hope that his firm’s commitment to paying timely refunds will be rewarded with future bookings.
Recent analysis by consum er group Which? claimed more than £1 billion is being withheld in partial or full refunds from package holiday customers.
In July, the Civil Aviation Authority published a report stating that Virgin Atlantic, Easy Jet, Ryan air and Tui were among the airlines which initially either did not offer cash refunds or had large backlogs of requests.
The CA A said its discussions resulted in those carriers changing their practices.
Jet 2 was found to be the only UK airline consistently processing cash refunds quickly from the outbreak of the virus.
In an interview, Mr Heapy said :“Some companies in the travel sector have not been refunding customers, which I think gives a very bad impression for the travel industry as a whole.
“We’ve respected that it’s customers’ money at the end of the day, and they should have it back. That’s been our guiding principle.
“We have given our customers their refund as quickly as possible and I think they will remember that.”