Advice on AirAsia flight cancellation & Refunds

[nerdinary]

Hi all,

My partner had a flight booked with AirAsia to fly SYD<>KUL, departing 7th April 2020. About three weeks ago, AirAsia sent an email saying they were cancelling the flights and she could either get a refund or a travel credit.

Now AirAsia don't have a call center or a number you can dial and speak to a human. They only have an automated chat bot (ugh), and if you say the right amount of swear words to the bot in 15 or so mins, they will eventually transfer you to a human on the chat (after a further 20-30 min wait in their "queue"). Following all these, I chatted with someone and requested a refund. They tried to push me for a credit, but I was insistent on a refund and they said ok, keep an eye out on email email and gave me a case number.

Today we get an email from support saying they cannot issue a refund due to "our new policy", and we can get a travel credit instead. Again, to get this credit means going through the chat bot and playing the silly games which has gotten us really frustrated.

I'd like some advice on what my options are here (and yes, I know airlines are having it tough right now) :

* Given I have the original email from them stating that I was eligible for a full refund, does that hold any value? I'm going to try to get through another chat agent and push for it, but if they refuse, what can I do?
* Are these valid grounds to issue a credit card charge back? I've never gone down this path before and would like to hear from those who have.

Thanks.

 

[Oxy]

Absolutely grounds for a charge back. You haven't got what you purchased, or it's significantly different. If you can be bothered, perhaps let AirAsia know beforehand, to give them a chance to sort it out.

Good luck

 

[nerdinary]

Thanks - trying to get in touch with their customer support is like pulling teeth. This is the first Airline I've come across that doesn't actually have a number you can call them on.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

A charge-back may NOT necessarily be the right option here.

Air Asia's (current) conditions of carriage state:

10.5 Involuntary Refund: If a Passenger’s scheduled flight is cancelled, terminated, diverted, postponed, rescheduled or delayed before the Passenger has reached his final destination as a result of a flight cancellation, Carrier-caused missed connection, flight delay, or omission of a scheduled stop due to circumstances beyond our control or for reasons of safety or commercial reasons, we shall at our discretion, either:​

• carry you at the earliest opportunity on another AirAsia flight on which space is available at no charge; or
• refund the value and provide a travel credit toward the purchase of future reservations and ancillary purchases, provided you redeem within ninety (90) days therefrom; or
• refund the full fare of the unused Ticket due to the above said flight interruptions that occur three (3) hours or more before or after the original scheduled departure time.

Note that is says 'at their discretion' - not the passenger's - they will offer one of the three options. So them offering a credit may be sufficient in this case, and the ACCC has already confirmed that for COVID cancellations a credit is sufficient unless there are contractual provisions to the contrary.

You might also want to compare the current CoC with that at the time you bought your ticket, but IIRC they have always been pretty similar. In this case it just looks like Air Asia's policy is to do option 2.

 

[AIRwin]

I received this email from AirAsia today:

A message from Tony — AirAsia Newsroom

When Kamarudin and I started AirAsia nearly 20 years ago, we had a dream of allowing everyone the opportunity to fly. Sadly, that opportunity has now been taken away from us for now.

newsroom.airasia.com

 

[Mattg]

I received this email from AirAsia today:

A message from Tony — AirAsia Newsroom

When Kamarudin and I started AirAsia nearly 20 years ago, we had a dream of allowing everyone the opportunity to fly. Sadly, that opportunity has now been taken away from us for now.

newsroom.airasia.com

So basically, they will begrudgingly give you a refund, if you really insist, but not for 12-16 weeks.

While we strongly encourage you to accept the credit which is instant and comes with a 365-day validity and allows you to change your flight date for an unlimited number of times, we do accept requests for refund on a case by case basis. However, due to the overwhelming number of requests that we have received, it may take a long process of between 12 to 16 weeks.

 

[travelbites]

So basically, they will begrudgingly give you a refund, if you really insist, but not for 12-16 weeks.

That's great news, but has anyone had any success actually getting in touch with anyone from AirAsia support? I am stuck in a loop with the chat bot, when I follow the link to "chat with an agent" it takes me to another page that just times out eventually, despite having the page open in my browser for up to 2 hours (wait time said 23 minutes). Is there a way to circumvent this process? I requested a refund right from the start, but was issued with a flight credit. I wouldn't mind except that I don't know that I will be able to use the credit at all.

 

[hstpctech]

So basically, they will begrudgingly give you a refund, if you really insist, but not for 12-16 weeks.

Hi everyone, I'm in the same situation on refund as well.

They've approved my refund case in May 2020, yet now it's August 2020 the case status still says in progress.

I couldn't reach any support by e-mail, Whatsapp, Facebook, or Twitter.

Are they going to back out on their words?

 

[nickykim]

If you have an approved refund (in writing/email) and you paid for your flight via credit card, check whether there is a charge back code for failure to process a refund (as opposed to failure to provide the service). A couple of AFF members have succeeded getting the refund that way - but you need to know the exact code and make sure the CSO puts the charge back through on that basis.

 

[hstpctech]

If you have an approved refund (in writing/email) and you paid for your flight via credit card, check whether there is a charge back code for failure to process a refund (as opposed to failure to provide the service). A couple of AFF members have succeeded getting the refund that way - but you need to know the exact code and make sure the CSO puts the charge back through on that basis.

I've only got their DM, and there's no code provided.



The thing is, I've just noticed they referred to the wrong case number. The number in DM is closed already without mentioning cash refund. I also got their case closure e-mail for this one on Nov 2020, merely pointing out the unlimited move flight and credit refund option. I thought the notice was just another bulk mail.

 

[nickykim]

If you haven’t received the refund to credit card for B3QVUT, then it would be worth using this as evidence and speaking to your credit card provider - which card? I only know the code for Amex.

There are a couple of Oman Air threads here that give info that might help you.

 

[hstpctech]

If you haven’t received the refund to credit card for B3QVUT, then it would be worth using this as evidence and speaking to your credit card provider - which card? I only know the code for Amex.

There are a couple of Oman Air threads here that give info that might help you.

Thank you for getting back to me; I paid with my friend's card so I guessed it's VISA. Let me reach out to my friend for his bank information.

 

[nickykim]

I think maybe the Visa term is “Credit not processed”. Make sure your friend provides evidence that the credit was promised but not actioned.

 

[hstpctech]

I think maybe the Visa term is “Credit not processed”. Make sure your friend provides evidence that the credit was promised but not actioned.

I doubt he would know anything about any of the terms, since he rarely does any online payment. Most probably, I will need to contact the bank's CSO.

 

[hstpctech]

I think maybe the Visa term is “Credit not processed”. Make sure your friend provides evidence that the credit was promised but not actioned.

So some bad news:
1. The bank said they can't help me with charge-back - their time limit was 90 days after payment. Is that true?
2. There's no credit promised by Air Asia in the bank's record.
3. I've contacted Air Asia again 2 days ago, and as suspected, they're back to credit pushing, completely forgetting their words.
4. There were two legs in my flight, and now Air Asia will provide credit for only one of them. The other leg said to be operating in another region, which is tied up in their court proceeding.

What can I do now? Looks like Air Asia is avoiding their responsibilities, while they don't even operate passenger routes anymore.

I quote from their e-mail:
We noted that you are requesting a refund. As checked, the booking consists of the below flight details;

QZ, 05th August 2020, BDO - KUL

D7, 06th August 2020, KUL - TPE



Please be informed that AirAsiaX Berhad (D7 flight) is currently under business restructuring due to the worsen pandemic outbreak.



Until the proposal is approved by the scheme creditors and sanctioned by the court, we regret to inform you that we are not able to offer the AirAsiaX Berhad (D7 flight) as a Refund, Credit Account or Move Flight.



For more information and assistance, you may refer to this link or email to [email protected].



Hence, we can only return the QZ, BDO - KUL flight. However, the refund process may take longer than usual due to the impact of the ongoing health event where our refund process has been severely affected.



As such, to ease your inconvenience, we are pleased to offer a faster way of getting the amount paid back by converting it into a Credit Account valid to use for 730 days(2 years). It can be processed within 72 hours once confirmed.



These credits can be utilized for bookings made for yourself or anyone you may choose to and to book flights on any routes we have. The actual travel dates can be after the expiry date of the credit period as long as our flight schedule is out. In addition, our credit account also can be used for SNAP booking (hotel + flight) now. Please check out the article "All You Need To Know About Credit Account" via AirAsia for more information on Credit Account.

 

[hstpctech]

The Air Asia CS also slightly hinted me about their Proof of Debt, so I e-mailed them as well.

Quoted from their reply:
Thank you for contacting us. We will reach out to you soonest possible.

The purpose of the POD exercise is to determine the complete amount owed to creditors as recorded in AAX Group’s books and records as at 30 June 2020. This is to ensure consistency of information and because there may be, among others, amounts claimed by creditors which have not been recorded by AAX Group.

It is our intention that once the restructuring scheme is approved and we are back to “business as usual”, the airline will be in a position to extend any entitlements to our creditors. Also upon a successful restructuring scheme, credits may be reinstated for future bookings with AirAsia X Berhad on its discretion.

For passengers/travel agents who did not submit a POD form, we will prepare the documentation for the restructuring scheme purpose using our system record and this will not affect your rights.

If you still have any questions please contact us again at [email protected]. Thank you for your ongoing support and cooperation.

Should I submit an application?