It’s challenging to write about traveling when there are more significant problems in the world. Vacations and social events should be the least of our priorities. However, since the pandemic, many of our travel plans have been postponed. I’m documenting the process to get refunds, vouchers, or credits for all my canceled flights.
I was hoping to finish this article last week. Yet, it has taken longer than expected to contact or receive information from several airlines. It’s understandable given the extraordinary circumstances. Out of my five canceled trips, I’m still waiting on a resolution or clarification on three of them. Since we need some good news, I’ll share my resolved cases now and will give the pending cases another week, hopefully by then we have a positive resolution.
The Process
I’m trying to avoid overwhelming the airlines’ phone systems. Queues are taking hours, and since my travel is not essential, I’ll start reaching airlines via other points of contact.
First, attempt to cancel your trip online. Several airlines have updated their websites to allow for instant cancelations online. Second, contact them via twitter if possible. I’ve received answers within a business day. Third, contact them via email. Fourth, if all previous steps failed, call them.
If all else fails, I will explore other routes such as a claim with my credit card; I haven’t gotten to that point yet.
My canceled flights are:
- DFW-Boston
- DFW-Guatemala
- DFW-Panama
- Lima-Panama
- DFW-Lima
The Details
1) DFW-Boston Roundtrip 3/28/20-3/31/20
- Status: Resolved
- Carrier: American Airlines
- Ticket type: Paid
- Amount: $214.8
- Difficulty: Low
- Outcome: Airline credit
- First contact attempt: 3/23/20
- Resolution date: 3/23/20
- Points of contact: 1
As of 3/25, AA hadn’t canceled this flight. I was going to a concert and visiting family in Boston. Unfortunately, the show got canceled, and I don’t think this is the best time to visit my family. I would have preferred a refund back to my credit card, but since the flight is still available and I will use this credit, I accepted this resolution. AA’s updated its website to complete this transaction online.
2) DFW-Guatemala Roundtrip 3/18/20-3/24/20
- Status: Pending
- Carrier: American Airlines
- Ticket type: Award ticket using British Airways (BA) Avios
- Amount: $225.04 + 8800 Avios
- Difficulty: Intermediate (Pending)
- Outcome: Airline credit (Pending)
- First contact attempt: 3/16/20
- Resolution date: Pending
- Points of contact: 3
This trip was a flight via American Airlines using British Airways reward points (Avios). Guatemala banned all travel from the United States, and AA promptly canceled this flight. Unfortunately, I couldn’t cancel it online with AA and had to do it with BA’s website since I booked it with BA. BA’s cancelation system was charging me a penalty to cancel this trip because it didn’t reflect this flight as canceled. Possibly an out of sync update between AA and BA. I contacted them via twitter and email on 3/16/20. That same day, their online cancelation system changed from a refund to my credit card to a promise of a voucher for future use. Still, the information wasn’t clear since I bought this ticket with points and only paid taxes. I submitted this request hoping to get my points back.
I understand paying with points and fly with a partner airline can get confusing, and they are working under pressure; however, I would expect British Airways to research their answers before replying. Their email reply on 3/22 was that BA is not responsible for AA’s canceled flight, and I wasn’t entitled to any reimbursement. Since I paid BA for taxes and fees and used their reward points, this is incorrect.
On Sunday, 3/22, I received a twitter message asking for my email address to investigate more, I provided this information. Today I got an email that I’ll get a voucher for part of my trip, but it doesn’t specify the amount or when BA will redeposit my Avios points back my account. I prefer a more straightforward cancelation system and information. Still, I understand the airline industry is going through a difficult time and expect BA will solve this by next week.
3) DFW-Panama Roundtrip 4/9/20-4/12/20
- Status: Resolved
- Carrier: United Airlines (UA)
- Ticket type: Paid
- Amount: $479.85
- Difficulty: Low
- Outcome: Airline credit
- First contact attempt: 3/23/20
- Resolution date: 3/23/20
- Points of contact: 1
United Airlines canceled this flight since Panama closed its borders. I paid for this flight via American Express Travel using Membership Rewards. It’s considered a paid ticket, not a reward ticket. UA has updated its website to process cancelations online and receive future airline credit. I was able to complete the entire transaction after a few clicks.
4) Lima-Panama 4/9/20-4/12/20
- Status: Pending
- Carrier: Avianca
- Ticket type: Award ticket using Avianca Lifemiles
- Amount: $124.24 + 37,430 Lifemiles
- Difficulty: Intermediate (Pending)
- Outcome: Pending
- First contact attempt: 3/23/20
- Resolution date: Pending
- Points of contact: 2
This trip was part of the same family trip to Panama and canceled for the same reasons. Avianca didn’t give me the option to cancel online and asked me to contact the call center. On a previous call, I learned that Avianca’s customer service for award tickets is separate from paid tickets. That learning experience took me 2 hours on hold. Fortunately, this time after contacting Avianca’s call center, I connected straight with Lifemiles instead of their reservation system in less than five minutes. After explaining that Avianca had canceled the flight due to the current situation and asking Avianca to redeposit my miles and taxes, the customer service agent told me she could cancel my trip. However, she told me I needed to email their support group to confirm if I was entitled to receive my miles back and any taxes and fees. As of right now, Avianca has canceled my ticket but cannot confirm if I’m going to receive anything back. According to the agent, this has to go through ‘validation.’ I emailed their support group and haven’t received an answer as of today, 3/25. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt given the circumstances; however, my following experience with them makes me concerned.
5) DFW-Lima One Way 5/21
- Status: Pending
- Carrier: Avianca
- Ticket type: Award ticket using Avianca Lifemiles
- Amount: $15.60 + 15,000 Lifemiles
- Difficulty: Difficult (Pending)
- Outcome: Pending
- First contact attempt: 3/09/20
- Resolution date: Pending
- Points of contact: 4
Avianca canceled this flight before the pandemic closed borders in Latin America. Initially, I was leaving Thursday afternoon and landing during the first hours of Friday. It seems Avianca canceled this flight for good, and Avianca rebooked me on a flight where I had to stay a night in El Salvador, take another flight the next day and arrive in the afternoon. Not only I had to pay extra to stay in a hotel in El Salvador for a night plus transportation, but I would also miss an entire morning of an already short trip. I called to inquire about better alternatives or cancel the trip. Since the customer service agent didn’t provide any feasible options, I asked him to please cancel the flight. As of right now, his solution has been the most inefficient I’ve had dealing with canceled flights. The agent canceled my flight but told me he wouldn’t be able to refund my miles or taxes until after seven days of an investigation they would have to do. After seven days, I would have to call back Avianca and ask if I needed to pay for a penalty for canceling my award ticket and confirm if I would get my miles redeposited and any taxes. I calmly repeated what he just told me to make sure he understood what he was telling me: That I needed to call again to confirm if I didn’t owe Avianca $150 more for a flight they had canceled.
After thanking him for his time and already a bit frustrated with the number of transactions needed for a refund, I contacted Avianca via twitter on 3/9. Via twitter, they did reply within a business day asking me for more information, I missed this message and provided them with the missing information on 3/22. Also, I added this information to the email sent to their support group as part of my other claim on 3/23.
I haven’t received any positive communication from Avianca yet, and as much as I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, this is an issue that started on 3/9. I’ve tried 4 points of contact, via phone, twitter twice, and email once. I hope that by next week we get a positive outcome, I’ll give them two more business days and contact them again; otherwise, I might have to submit a claim via my credit card and give up on receiving anything from Avianca. I really hope we don’t get to that point.
Current Status
I understand that the travel industry is currently struggling. I’m trying to submit my claims without interfering much with their overwhelmed customer service systems. Nevertheless, it would be much easier for all the parties involved to get a resolution on the first point of contact, online or on the phone. All these inefficiencies create more work for everyone. The fact that I was able to receive airline credit so quickly with AA or UA saved me time and saved them work during a very challenging time. I hope the second part of this article brings a positive resolution for all outstanding issues.
Thank you for reading and stay safe!