Cancelling [VA fare rules & COVID-19 uncertainty]

[mickismick]

After reading the West Australian yesterday about Qantas gouging and this experience, they are not great corporate citizens and don’t value their customers like they are suppose to in their public rhetoric. Yet they ask the taxpayer to bail them out!!!!!!

They were never my favourite airline, but Alan Joyce's anti-competitive behaviour in trying to sink Virgin through this crisis was the final straw for me. He and Qantas have always been anti-competitive, but his rally cries to his stood-down workers to petition the government to not offer assistance to his competitors was a whole new level. While he's at the helm, I'll no longer support the business.

 

[a*0]

Next step is credit card chargeback - any advice here?

I did a chargeback through Amex after getting no reply to my online enquiry and Amex appears to have approved the chargeback almost immediately.

FYI - If your cancelled flight is to/from USA or has a leg departing EU your entitlement to a refund under US DOT rules or EU261 is pretty clear regardless of what the ACCC thinks

 

[SydneySwan]

Anyone know what the situation is with international flights with a domestic component?

I booked SYD - BNE - HND - BNE - SYD. On manage my booking the HND legs have evaporated but the SYD- BNE legs still show. Obviously I don't need these legs because I was going to Japan not Brisbane. I don't know if VA is trying to force me to cancel under their 'you no longer want to go' rules. If so that seems very shonky. My flights are in May.

 

[mickismick]

Anyone know what the situation is with international flights with a domestic component?

I booked SYD - BNE - HND - BNE - SYD. On manage my booking the HND legs have evaporated but the SYD- BNE legs still show. Obviously I don't need these legs because I was going to Japan not Brisbane. I don't know if VA is trying to force me to cancel under their 'you no longer want to go' rules. If so that seems very shonky. My flights are in May.

That happened to me for NTL-BNE-DPS return legs. The international legs disappeared a fortnight ago. The domestic legs disappeared today. All automatic.

Edit: these were redemption flights. Still waiting on points to be refunded into my account.

 

[Bell21]

Does anyone know what would happen with cancelled VA domestic flights, which includes an AMEX travel credit? They haven't cancelled my SYD-MEL flights yet (8 April), so I need to wait for that to happen, but I assume they'll just give me a travel credit for the cash components I paid for and I'll need to take it up with AMEX re the travel credit.

Also, for a separate MEL-SYD flight (9 April), they've cancelled my flight and suggested an alternative flight time (this will likely get cancelled too) - I assume I can request a travel credit for this flight from what I can gather, as I'm under no obligation to take a rescheduled flight time?

 

[Mrsfefe]

This email came from Virgin today. I had a points flight booked to MEL next Monday which has been cancelled by Virgin.


Virgin Australia announced the temporary suspension of international services from 30 March to 14 June 2020 and changes to domestic capacity in response to expanded government travel restrictions and increased impacts on travel demand from COVID-19.

We know times are tough right now, and we’re sorry that your travel plans have been impacted.

Given the service has been cancelled, we’ll be returning your Points to you. If your booking was a “Points plus Pay” booking, the “Pay” portion of your booking will be refunded to original form of payment and processed within 21 business days.

 

[mickismick]

Received my points back for my reward booking this afternoon. It took about 10 days from the time the flights were cancelled to receive the points. Still waiting on the cash component.

 

[JohnK]

If your fare permits a refund, you will get a refund.

What if fare does not permit refund?

Flights Easter Monday have been rescheduled 4 hours earlier which is a waste of Easter Monday.

Also I have 3 separate bookings and who knows when I will be able to find time to travel with wife and daughter again. Christmas airfares and accommodation are ridiculously priced.

I know airlines are doing it tough but I'm also doing it tough. If they insist on travel credit then add it all to my travel bank. I don't want manage 3 travel banks.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Hopefully they should be able to arrange that for you @JohnK , agree that a some element of common sense and flexibility should apply.

 

[AIRwin]

https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/covid-19-coronavirus-information-for-consumers#travel-cancellations-and-changes

 

[Rebus]

Just posed this question over on the Etihad forum but imagine that contributors here may be equally able to shed some light. I'd like to know if a VA reward booking for travel on EY is 'locked in' and would now be handled by EY in the same way that any of their direct bookings would be in the event of the flight being cancelled owing to Covid-19 restrictions? Or is it the case that VA won't yet have paid EY for the redemption thus giving EY the option to wash their hands of it in the event that VA found themselves in strife?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/covid-19-coronavirus-information-for-consumers#travel-cancellations-and-changes

So the sticking point on getting a cash refund looks to be where the flight is cancelled as a result of government restrictions. ie If a voucher in these circumastances is offered then that is an out for the company.

 

[shuuy]

Well SYD-HBA-SYD turned into SYD-MEL-HBA-MEL-SYD and now is only SYD-MEL.

Will call one more time, and if no cash refund, then credit card chargeback (I put it on a US card) is how we will proceed)

 

[trooper]

How do major schedule changes affect the ability to get a refund rather than a credit? I can find nothing on the VA website. (Hard enough to find anything there I reckon) Have a booking CBR-BNE-TSV vv for early june… A very confusing set of flights in MMB seem to indicate we are now booked CBR-MEL (overnight) -TSV which is simply unacceptable.

EDIT: Ok... more searching - and a helpful link on FT shows that we SHOULD be able to get a refund... wish us luck!

 

[aspro2]

An update about the refund of a reward ticket (VA booked on SQ, flight cancelled). I've mentioned earlier in this discussion that an email was received on 20 March telling me that the booking would be refunded. Today, 5 April, the points are back in my account (i.e. 16 days after notification). No fees refunded to my credit card yet (but as it's Sunday, that may not have been processed yet).

 

[Milefest]

Just emailed VA specifically requesting a refund for a cancelled flight, they disregarded that request and issued a travel credit. I intend to issue a charge back with Amex.

 

[muppet]

So the sticking point on getting a cash refund looks to be where the flight is cancelled as a result of government restrictions. ie If a voucher in these circumastances is offered then that is an out for the company.

No flights have been cancelled due to government restrictions.

Flights are permitted. Some people are restricted from flying (non-residents, non-essential service) but if the airline cancels on you it is for commercial reasons.

Its different if they are still flying and you have to cancel due to government restrictions. But if the airline cancelled on you, money back.

 

[Harthagan]

No flights have been cancelled due to government restrictions.

Flights are permitted. Some people are restricted from flying (non-residents, non-essential service) but if the airline cancels on you it is for commercial reasons.

Its different if they are still flying and you have to cancel due to government restrictions. But if the airline cancelled on you, money back.

Agreed. The issue is that the money is not being given back. Customers are being forced to take travel banks instead of cash refunds.

How do people do these credit card chargebacks? I've never done one before, never thought Virgin would be the first

 

[aspro2]

Its different if they are still flying and you have to cancel due to government restrictions. But if the airline cancelled on you, money back.

The ACCC sees it differently under the current circumstances (see earlier in this thread and others)

 

[Harthagan]

The ACCC sees it differently under the current circumstances (see earlier in this thread and others)

So tell me, what happens to everyone's travel bank if vigrin goes into administration in a few months time? Is the ACCC going to guarantee the customers will not get shafted?

There is no foreseeable timeline for when virgin will begin normal operations again (if at all) so how does it make any sense to give us all worthless travel banks unless it's just a means to fund their existence a little longer by delaying the inevitable.