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Rule 260: Involuntary Refunds

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Rule 260: Involuntary Refunds

Q. We had long-standing reservations for a flight to St Louis, connecting in Atlanta. Departure time from our home city was 8:30 am.

We received an email timed at midnight (which we didn't see right away) and then a 5:00 am automated phone call from Delta telling us the flights had been cancelled, and that we'd been placed on another series of flights departing around noon. It would have gotten us to St Louis within five hours of our original arrival time.

The new timing did not work for us, so I called Delta (and after being on hold for quite a while) the reissue desk allowed us to cancel with a full refund ... since they said that it was an involuntary change on our part.

Is this common? I mean, I'm grateful to have a full refund, but with all the schedule changes in the air today, is it Delta's policy to fully refund if THEY change the flights?

 

A. Yes indeed, this is called an involuntary refund and most airlines have a rule in their contracts of carriage covering this. If the flight is cancelled, or the time significantly changed (depending on airline, if it's just an hour or two this doesn't apply) you can get a full refund, even on a non refundable ticket.

You'll find this rule (usually called Rule 260) in the airlines' contracts of carriage. So if you feel like the new flight times are so far off the original that you can't make it to the airport in time, or your trip will be futile, ask for a refund.


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George, We were booked on a non-stop JFK to ZRH on Delta. When they changed it to JFK/ATL/ZRH (departing a full 12 hours earlier), I asked for a refund and got it.
by dhammer53 on Tuesday, January 05, 2010
We were in Quito, Ecuador when a plane crashed on their only runway, closing the runway to all incoming/outgoing flights. We were bussed to Guiyaquill, Ecuador and then put on a flight back to Miami. Because we would be arriving a day later than we were scheduled to fly home, we called Delta and asked to change out plans. We had to agree to $200+ extra charges per person. Those who called family back in the States were able to make the changes without charges. Upon actually arriving home, we tried to negotiate back to the original price with Delta about the situation, citing those who had had family make the necessary flight changes. Delta simply was not going to give us a refund. Since the new charges were on our credit card, we go the credit card company to negotiate with us. One Delta rep finally agreed to drop the changes in charges though we had to pay $40 because the original flights were booked through a travel agent. Six months later, Delta was again asking us for their money! I guess the point is that if you are overseas and find yourself in a similar situation, call your family/friends back home to make the arrangements.
by creche1 on Sunday, August 30, 2009
Continental did the same thing to/for me. It was no problem to cancel as I would have arrived much later in the day and I couldn't handle that. Given that the airline is making the changes, to not refund someone's fare would not be fair.
by Bob1521 on Friday, August 28, 2009
From the 2 previous posts, it looks like you're being spammed now!
I had a flight to London from Las Vegas cancelled by American. They offered to put me on the same flight the next day. This wouldn't work for me because I was attending a special function and would arrive too late for it. At first the rep said there wasn't anything else they could do. I asked about flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, and on to London. The rep said, oh yes, that would work. So yes, keep asking until you get what you need.
by Hansie on Friday, August 28, 2009
Delta had changed our flight schedule to get us in after midnight when I didn't want to get in later than 10pm. When I called and complained they put us on the earlier flight with no extra charges. I don't know how we ended up on such a late flight when I had originally booked the earlier flight. My husband says it was because they were trying to fill the seats on the late late flight.
by ssbeagle on Monday, April 20, 2009
From Detroit to Madison, Wisconsin is so much more expensive than flying to Chicago that I'll catch a ride from Chicago. But when a flight to Chicago was cancelled, and the flight to Madison was departing shortly, I asked Northwest if they could put me on the outbound Madison flight. They did, and a few days later discovered they were quite willing to put me on the return flight from Madison, too. They saved me a very late arrival to a conference, and shortened my trip. So it's worth figuring out what you're really needing, and asking if they have any way to help.
by Jack Tottenham on Monday, April 20, 2009
Our upcoming Delta flight to Charleston SC was concelled. When I called they were apologetic but the replacement routing was very cumbersome. I did not accept their word and continued to press for a better routing. We wound with a more direct flight and a better time. Morale of the story: don't accept their first offer if it's no good. Be persistent but calm.
by on Thursday, August 28, 2008
We actually were offered a full refund on Frontier because the flight *number* changed. I couldn't believe it at first, but they called us and asked us to call back with our confirmation number about our flight. My husband called and they told him that the flight number (not flight time or anything else, just flight number) changed on one of our flights and because of that we were entitled to a full refund of the ticket. So my husband quickly checked online to see what the current price of the ticket was (I had been receiving notices that it had dropped by more than $100), and told them that we did want the refund. So they submitted the tickets for a refund and we turned around and bought them back for about $70 less apiece. When I received the notices that the ticket prices had dropped, I thought we were out of luck because the Frontier web site states that they do not offer refunds if the fare changes, so apparently this is a loophole in their policy.
by on Thursday, July 24, 2008
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