Repayment from Aer Lingus Flight Cancelations Over Christmas

racerboymx

Had a flight cancelled on the 15th of December with Aer Lingus because of the snow and frost. I canceled my flight and was guaranteed repayment within 28 days but as of yet have not received any form of a refund. I tried ringing their help line who was anything but helpful as they just stated it will take 28 days and as I tried to explain to them that time has elapsed I was cut off. Has anyone else in a similar situation been refunded or even been contacted by Aer Lingus??

Bubblegums

I always thought that if the customer cancels the flight then the customer loses out if it is not a transferable flight, but I would think that if you were told by AL that you would get total refund then you will have to go through their hoops in order to get it, but at some point you will need to make a written complaint, their complaints system should be somewhere on their website, you will have to follow their rules on who to complain to. You may end up going to a consumer affairs and/or small claims court if they won't pay out. The public tend to believe that airlines will delay and dodge resolving complaints and refunds in the hope that the customer will just give up...

Try this website, I haven't needed to use it nor do I know of anyone who has used it but it's worth a try? They are supposed to get back taxes etc on cancelled flights, not the entire cost.

http://www.airtaxrefund.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main


This is Irish information;

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Hot_Topics/Guides-to-Consumer-Law/Travel/air-travel/delayed-and-cancelled-flights.html


I know this site is for use within the states mostly but the advice is good...

http://www.airsafe.com/complain/complain.htm

http://www.frommers.com/articles/6806.html

This is a forum type one but if you have a bit of time you could find stuff on AL, a 'name and shame' system!

http://www.airlinecomplaints.org/

another native

Another relevant site to check is www.aviationreg.ie

undo

Bubblegums wrote: »

Try this website, I haven't needed to use it nor do I know of anyone who has used it but it's worth a try? They are supposed to get back taxes etc on cancelled flights, not the entire cost.

http://www.airtaxrefund.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=main

This is not applicable to the OP's situation. Tax-only refunds are given where the customer cancels a flight that otherwise operates as normal. When a flight is canceled by the airline, as was the case with many flights in December, the customer must be offered a full refund of absolutely everything paid, including even the credit card charge. Aer Lingus should process the OP's claim accordingly. That said, I am in the same boat and am also waiting for some snowstorm-related refunds. I think it has been more than 28 days for me as well...

doomandgloom

My flight with airlingus was cancelled - I did rebook for xmas eve, which was the only flight left at the time, but then made it home on the ferry. Did my dutiful-citizen routine and called airlingus to cancel the xmas eve seat so someone else could take it - a member of staff thanked me and assured me that half of my ticket would be refunded. Not a word or a pound since.

CoalBucket

If you want a refund from Aer Lingus you are gonna have to write to their complaints department outlining the situation including your booking numbers, flight numbers etc. If you have your confirmation emails, print them and attach them to your letter.

Bigcheeze

My flight from heathrow was cancelled and I rebooked and flew back the next day. Can I claim for my extra hotel stay, train and meals in London ?

Irish Gunner

I was in the same situation before Christmas. Was told that Aer Lingus would refund my extra nights stay on hotel after flight cancelled

You can only send correspondence via post to their customer services address on their website. Include your flight ref and receipts. The problem is getting them to acknowledge receipt I have been waiting over a month now for this. I can understand that there has been a lot of refunds but when I ring just to ask them to confirm receipt they are not very helpful. Their customer services dont accept phone calls and its easier to call Elvis than to get an answer from them. All I wanted was for someone to say yes its received and it will be processed within x weeks but getting no confirmation from them

Rang them and they said it would be 28 days after letter recieved. Its now close to 40 days so faxed letter again and followed up with another registered letter. I can understand they will be inundated with the cancellations prior to christmas however not once can they tell me how my claim is progressing. Unrelated case but claimed for VHI and they texted me to say refund on way...

Customer service in Aer Lingus = Non existence :mad:

racerboymx

Still no response from aer lingus I even tried their helpline, waited for 10 minutes on hold to be cut off again. I am very disappointed as I am a regular flyer and have always found aer lingus very easy to deal but in this instant is proving me wrong. :mad:

Bigcheeze

Is there a time limit on submitting a claim ?

racerboymx

Finally made some progress, rang Aer Lingus and went straight through to the sales line and low and behold that's where everyone has been hiding. The lady checked my reference number and stated I will receive my payment Friday. The "28 days" refers to 28 working days so expect your payment back in the region of 6 weeks!!

racerboymx

Bigcheese I believe there is some form of time limit, I remember seeing it mentioned in their general terms and conditions but in this case I would like to think not. Better off in my eyes getting it all sorted now when I assume numerous people will be!!

Irish Gunner

Hooray got my Money back today by Cheque in the post:)

This was after I sent them a second letter. No telephone number or email address on the sorry letter they sent.

racerboymx

When I was talking to Aer Lingus they said I did not have to send them any letter or copies of my original bookings etc filling out the online cancellation form was enough!!

jos28

I filled out the online refund form after Aer Lingus cancelled my flight. I did not receive a confirmation email or any acknowledgement that they received my form. Is this normal or should I have heard something from them.

undo

I called them and applied for a refund that way. No confirmation either - so I assume this is normal.

racerboymx

Apparently that is all you have to do, I was told that I would be receiving my payment today but no sign yet, I think its something you just have to sit back and wait for unfortunately but I do admit been left in the dark like this is very poor if you received a confirmation letter it would make everyone a lot more relaxed about the situation. The only way to get in contact with aer lingus over the phone is going threw to the sales department!

undo

I just got my refund. It came through as three transactions - the €5 credit card fee, €15 luggage fee and the actual ticket cost.

I am still waiting for another refund I requested a bit later and a tax-only refund for a flight I canceled myself.

Pythia

It took Lufthansa 7 weeks to refund me for a snow cancellation.

racerboymx

undo wrote: »

I just got my refund. It came through as three transactions - the €5 credit card fee, €15 luggage fee and the actual ticket cost.

I am still waiting for another refund I requested a bit later and a tax-only refund for a flight I canceled myself.

If you don't mind me asking Undo, but when did you apply for your refund because I am yet to receive mine :mad:

undo

I applied for my refund straight away when I knew I would not be flying.

racerboymx

I applied for mine on the 17th of December

greeneyedspirit

jos28 wrote: »

I filled out the online refund form after Aer Lingus cancelled my flight. I did not receive a confirmation email or any acknowledgement that they received my form. Is this normal or should I have heard something from them.

I did the same thing, after the flights on the 23rd Dec. got cancelled - didn't get a chance to put my details through the system until the 30th or thereabouts, and I got my refund about two weeks later, happy days No confirmation email or anything, though, just had the money (all of it, thankfully) back in my account.

CombatCow

Anybody still waiting on their refund from cancelled xmas flights ?

rdtrini

Hi. My flights got cancelled and I also had paid fpr excess baggage.
I got the flight refunded without a problem. With regards to the extra baggage fee that I thought should be refunded, I wrote and faxed a letter and was waiting to hear something back. I gave it a month because I know they must have had so so many customers to deal with and on top of that, all the stuff with the strike that happened in January which caused a lot more cancellations. I was told when I called that the backlog was 3 months and to just please have patience with them. That was fine and I thought very understandable. Around mid February, I called again and even though it took a while to get through, a very nice lady took my details and went to check. She called me back within half hr to explain that all my paper work had been processed and that a refund for the baggage will be issued. In the next 3 days, I got a letter from Aer Lingus saying the same, and within a week after, my cheque was received. So I think it's one of two things - you may need to be a bit more patient with them because their back log was crazy, but on the other hand you may need to be persistent and keep contacting. I'm not sure which worked but with regards to the fare for the flight itself, that happened pretty fast. It was just the excess baggage refund that took a while

DaraghT

Any flight cancelled by the airline entitles you to a full refund of the price of your ticket, though it can take a while, especially with the amount of claims they received over the snow. Even if you miss a flight for any reason, you can still get a chunk of your taxes back.