Air Transat cancellation - no refund?

Alan_Bowen

faded flowers, did you book a package holiday or just flights? If you booked a package and the restrictions remain at the time you planned to travel, you are entitled to a full refund from the operator. If its flight only then the airline does not have to refund (and judging by their attitude so far, wouldn't) but since even their own citizens would have to self isolate in the UK and on return to Canada, I doubt they will have any passengers and the flight may well be cancelled anyway

bignred05

gjcar said:

Like AngloLargs I have been offered a refund on my UK to Canada flight but not on the return.  I'll fight it but has anyone got experience of trying a credit card refund on just the one leg of the trip?

do not accept this at all.

Go straight to your credit card and do a charge back, under goods paid for and not received.

you are wasting your time dealing with AT, they are changing/moving the goalposts as they go along to suit one group (themselves) despite the vast majority being entitled to a FULL refund (within 7 days) under UK/EU261 law.
the only problem with the charge back is the length of time it takes, due to the sheer volume of claims being made.

Good Luck

bignred05

AngloLargs said:

My charge back is currently pending, can take up to 8 weeks apparently.

I have noticed that AirTransat have updated their Covid-19 faqs recently, they now state; 

"If you purchased a flight from the United Kingdom to a Canadian destination and your flight was cancelled, you may be eligible for a refund of the value of your flight segment from the UK to Canada."

So I had booked, Glasgow - Vancouver via Toronto and back, do they really expect me to accept a refund on only the UK to Toronto leg, think there'll be an ongoing dispute about this!

stick with the charge back process, its your best option.
do not accept anything off AT, it will effect any chargeback claim.
The fact that AT are now offering refunds on the out bound flight shows AT at fault as originally they were refusing this option, they are still breaking the UK/EU261 law which states we are all entitled to a FULL (not partial) refund.

Chargebacks are taking between 4-8 weeks to process, it won't hurt to chase up any chargebacks after 4+ weeks for an update.
Good luck

** look on Facebook & join a group for more help and advice (Air Transat refund group) UK group

AngloLargs

bignred05 said:

AngloLargs said:

My charge back is currently pending, can take up to 8 weeks apparently.

I have noticed that AirTransat have updated their Covid-19 faqs recently, they now state; 

"If you purchased a flight from the United Kingdom to a Canadian destination and your flight was cancelled, you may be eligible for a refund of the value of your flight segment from the UK to Canada."

So I had booked, Glasgow - Vancouver via Toronto and back, do they really expect me to accept a refund on only the UK to Toronto leg, think there'll be an ongoing dispute about this!

stick with the charge back process, its your best option.
do not accept anything off AT, it will effect any chargeback claim.
The fact that AT are now offering refunds on the out bound flight shows AT at fault as originally they were refusing this option, they are still breaking the UK/EU261 law which states we are all entitled to a FULL (not partial) refund.

Chargebacks are taking between 4-8 weeks to process, it won't hurt to chase up any chargebacks after 4+ weeks for an update.
Good luck

** look on Facebook & join a group for more help and advice (Air Transat refund group) UK group

Thanks, that's my current route and I wont be accepting any partial refund from AT.

jem16

faded_flowers said:

Slightly different problem... My flights uk-Toronto return are still going ahead but currently the Canadian government won't let us enter? And even if they did out holiday was ten days so we couldn't possibly self isolate for 14... Feel like I'm in a lose-lose situation, I can't go because of their own country's rules and if I don't I lose the money, if I cancel I lose the money. 

You could either hold on a bit longer and wait to see if they cancel which is probably likely. Or you could ask them to change your flights to a different date. There would be no charge if you booked before 4th March.

EricaCat

faded_flowers said:

Slightly different problem... My flights uk-Toronto return are still going ahead but currently the Canadian government won't let us enter? And even if they did out holiday was ten days so we couldn't possibly self isolate for 14... Feel like I'm in a lose-lose situation, I can't go because of their own country's rules and if I don't I lose the money, if I cancel I lose the money. 

I am in a similar situation. I have been reading this forum (very helpful, thanks!) and been in touch with Air Transat this week. I sent a note to the Air Passenger Rights group on Facebook and received a helpful reply. I hope it helps you too. I wrote: Thanks for the advice on the Air Rights page which has helped so far. Our situation seems different from others who have been posting, and I am wondering what my next step should be, and hope you will be able to provide some assistance. We are meant to fly from Glasgow to Canada on 28th July returning in August, but as Canada is not allowing tourists in, that’s impossible. I have been in discussion with AT about this since 15 July when we received an email from AT saying our flights had been changed. Our departures (since time of initial booking 4 Feb) were changed by 1 day and our returns by 3-4 days. I pointed out that the Canadian Government announced a ban on tourist travel until 31 July, and extension of its mandatory quarantine measures until 31 August.  The Air Transat website states that flights will resume on July 23 “provided that the travel restrictions applicable on that date allow it”. We received this reply on 16 July: “Thanks for your patience, Heather. We know about Canadian regulations however we won't cancel our operations. We confirm that Regulation EC 261/2004 governs your flight segment departing from the United Kingdom. You will receive communication that will enable you to submit a refund request, should you wish to do so. Please note that we will be sending out said communication over the next several weeks by order of scheduled departure date. Once you have registered your refund request, kindly allow a delay of 5 to 6 weeks for completion. You will receive a confirmation via email once the refund is processed.” I responded reminding them “passengers who give up their travel in response to health authority advisories are entitled, not only as matter of fairness but also as a matter of law, to a full refund to the original form of payment” and in addition to health regulations, there are significant changes to our itinerary. According to EU regulations, “However, if the airline changes your flight altogether (i.e. you will travel on a flight that has a different flight number than the one you initially book), this is regarded as a flight cancellation instead of a flight schedule change. A significant change of schedule gives passengers more options. In most cases, the airline will offer you the choice between getting a refund or a rerouting on a comparable flight. Note that if the airline offers you a rerouting as an alternative to the schedule change, you do NOT have to accept it if the flight is not to your convenience. In this case, contact the airline to ask for a different flight or a refund.”

This is the response I received from Air Transat:

Hello Heather, I'm Genevieve.

While I understand your frustration, we've come to that solution by discussing it with the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

As you know, COVID-19 and its consequences on the tourism industry have forced us to significantly decrease our capacity and cancel certain routes initially scheduled for the 2020 summer season. We are truly sorry that this global pandemic and the changes it has imposed has disrupted your travel plans and we are aware of the many inconveniences caused by this situation beyond our control.

We believe that, in such a force majeure situation, the options already offered provide great flexibility to our clients, since you have the choice of accepting the new travel date, modifying it at no charge, or postponing your trip by obtaining a travel credit valid for 24 months after your original return date.  To do so, you have already received the link to apply for the postponement and credit on file.

That said, we confirm that Regulation EC 261/2004 governs your flight segment departing from the United Kingdom.  Therefore, you also have the option to request the refund of the value of the originally scheduled flight segment from the UK to Canada. The residual balance on file will remain as a future travel credit. 

In view of the foregoing, you will receive written notification informing you of your options within the next few weeks. These notifications will be sent out by priority of departure date. To receive your refund, you will have to fill out the online form included in the email you'll receive.

Thank you for your understanding and have a great evening.

I wonder: do I have enough information to proceed with a credit card chargeback or do I have to warn AT that I am going to try that route? Thanks for your help!

I received a helpful reply from Martin at Air Passenger Rights advising me to start the Credit Card Chargeback and to send a letter of Complaint to the CAA. I am working on both those things now. 

jem16

EricaCat said:

faded_flowers said:

Slightly different problem... My flights uk-Toronto return are still going ahead but currently the Canadian government won't let us enter? And even if they did out holiday was ten days so we couldn't possibly self isolate for 14... Feel like I'm in a lose-lose situation, I can't go because of their own country's rules and if I don't I lose the money, if I cancel I lose the money. 

This is the response I received from Air Transat:

Hello Heather, I'm Genevieve.

While I understand your frustration, we've come to that solution by discussing it with the UK Civil Aviation Authority

We know that the CAA has been discussing the situation with Air Transat. However what i don't believe is their comment on coming to that solution as the CAA website makes it very clear that if the outbound leg is cancelled, then a FULL refund is due not half of it.

bignred05

You are wasting your time with AT, once you have your initial cancellation and a refund option refusal 

the next step is a chargeback 
this can/will take 4-8+ weeks to resolve, once you get this AT then have 45 days to appeal this.

its then down to you/us to defend the charge back with AT unclear breach of UK/EU261 law as well as moving the goal post as time goes on to suit themselves as “they believe” & “fair” 
two things personally I’m not interested in, what I am interested in are my rights under EU261 which clearly states I am entitled to a full refund within 7 days.

also an interesting point is Air Canada have given full refunds, so one Canadian governed airline is giving refunds and the other is moving the goalposts as time goes by to suit themselves. 

EricaCat

Update: I initiated a chargeback with my CC, and they have put the money back on my card. However, as we all know, now it's the long wait to see if Air Transat disputes the claim.

1974Conor

Air transat cancelled our september flights and offered a credit note.  We said no but they would not budge.  took it up with our credit card and they are refusing as they say travel services are still available.  Dont count on credit card companies helping.