Discussion
Hi,
Is there anyone who knows there way around consumer law, particularly in regards to air travel?
I am currently in the US on holiday but am a UK citizen. I travelled here with Thomas Cook flight only and am due to fly home on the 5th October
Last night around 7pm our time the news came out about the collapse. I thought there would be a mad dash for flights so looked into buying a flight with the option to cancel as a banker. I looked for flights from San Francisco to Manchester and Icelandair had flights available. I checked there terms and conditions with regards to cancellations and below is copied what is on their website.
'Cancellations:
The fare is non-refundable (including any carrier imposed surcharges). Unused government and/or airport taxes are refundable.
NOTE: When a customer books and tickets a reservation through Icelandair's US website, reservations system, ticket counters or offices with departure from the USA, Icelandair will allow the customer to cancel the ticketed reservation without penalty and receive a full refund if the customer cancels the reservation within 24 hours of purchase and if the reservation is made one week or more prior to scheduled flight departure. All other refunds will be according to fare rule.'
It is now 14 hours since booking. Now Icelandair are saying they will now not cancel as I have not paid in USD. I wouldn't have booked if that was one of the conditions but this isn't stated on the website, screenshot attached.
Am I right or am I whistling in the wind?
Over to the experts.
Is there anyone who knows there way around consumer law, particularly in regards to air travel?
I am currently in the US on holiday but am a UK citizen. I travelled here with Thomas Cook flight only and am due to fly home on the 5th October
Last night around 7pm our time the news came out about the collapse. I thought there would be a mad dash for flights so looked into buying a flight with the option to cancel as a banker. I looked for flights from San Francisco to Manchester and Icelandair had flights available. I checked there terms and conditions with regards to cancellations and below is copied what is on their website.
'Cancellations:
The fare is non-refundable (including any carrier imposed surcharges). Unused government and/or airport taxes are refundable.
NOTE: When a customer books and tickets a reservation through Icelandair's US website, reservations system, ticket counters or offices with departure from the USA, Icelandair will allow the customer to cancel the ticketed reservation without penalty and receive a full refund if the customer cancels the reservation within 24 hours of purchase and if the reservation is made one week or more prior to scheduled flight departure. All other refunds will be according to fare rule.'
It is now 14 hours since booking. Now Icelandair are saying they will now not cancel as I have not paid in USD. I wouldn't have booked if that was one of the conditions but this isn't stated on the website, screenshot attached.
Am I right or am I whistling in the wind?
Over to the experts.
It's a US DOT rule that tickets marketed to US consumers must have a 24 hour hold or cancellation period where the flight is 7+ days ahead. Perhaps it has been decided that regional sites or selecting a non-US country in the dropdown on a .com site is enough to say it's now a non-US consumer, even if the person is in the US. I'd push for the refund and quote the regulation, then suggest you will file a complain with DOT:
https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files...
https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files...
A short update. Icelandair relented eventually and has agreed to refund the ticket. Apparently I was not eligible under the DOT rule as not a US citizen with a permanent address here, I am sure it added some leverage though.
BA are now flying me home FOC on the 5th under the repatriation program.
I have to say hats off to the UK government, BA and Virgin. All made what could have been a stressful situation a breeze and easy to sort.
To those that helped, thank you, I owe you a pint.
BA are now flying me home FOC on the 5th under the repatriation program.
I have to say hats off to the UK government, BA and Virgin. All made what could have been a stressful situation a breeze and easy to sort.
To those that helped, thank you, I owe you a pint.
Steve Benson said:
A short update. Icelandair relented eventually and has agreed to refund the ticket. Apparently I was not eligible under the DOT rule as not a US citizen with a permanent address here, I am sure it added some leverage though.
BA are now flying me home FOC on the 5th under the repatriation program.
I have to say hats off to the UK government, BA and Virgin. All made what could have been a stressful situation a breeze and easy to sort.
To those that helped, thank you, I owe you a pint.
Nod your hat to the Civil Aviation Authority ATOL division. It's not quite government. Far too organised :-) . It's a QUANGO. Quasi autonomous non government organisation. I used to be their IT manager . A very well organised lot who take great pride in their work. In a nutshell they take a financial bond from all packaged tour operators to cover hotels and repatriation in the event of a tour operator failure. BA are now flying me home FOC on the 5th under the repatriation program.
I have to say hats off to the UK government, BA and Virgin. All made what could have been a stressful situation a breeze and easy to sort.
To those that helped, thank you, I owe you a pint.
They constantly monitor all companies' trading to ensure that the correct amount of bond is held. Tour operators are not keen on them due to the admin involved, but you can see whey they do it. It is compulsory for all packaged tour operators.
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