easyJet cancels flight. Moved to one that is selling for less. Entitled to refund of the difference?

aroominyork

easyJet cancelled our late afternoon PMI-LGW flight and moved us to an early morning one. So that we do not lose a day of our holiday, they agreed we could bring both the outward and return flights forward a day. The new flights were selling for about £150 less than the ones we originally booked because the cancelled return flight was especially expensive. I asked on Chat if I would receive a refund for the difference between the price we paid and the cost of the flights we are taking, and was advised to use the website's Complaints page. I did that and received a standard reply of FAQs. Am I entitled to a refund, essentially as if I had asked for a full refund and then rebooked?

la531983

No because their flights are sold as non refundable anyway so you would never got a refund under normal circumstances. You were lucky you got the unaffected flights moved tbh, they are essentially sold as singles. 

aroominyork

la531983 said:

No because their flights are sold as non refundable anyway so you would never got a refund under normal circumstances. You were lucky you got the unaffected flights moved tbh, they are essentially sold as singles. 

That is not correct, see their terms re cancellation:

Has your flight been cancelled or have you been denied boarding? If so you can also obtain:

1. reimbursement of the cancelled flight; or
2. reimbursement for the part or parts of your journey already made if the flight no longer serves any purpose in relation to your original travel plans, together with, where relevant, a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity; or
3. re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at the earliest opportunity; or
4. re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at a later date at your convenience, subject to availability of seats.

la531983

Quite clearly part 3 applies here to your cancelled inbound leg, they have rerouted you.  All four can't apply, only one can - hence the word "or" at the end. It doesn't say you get a refund for the price difference if there is one. 

During the pandemic I regularly had to move flights around with Easyjet and the new dates cost less and I got nothing back, such is life.

Caz3121

aroominyork said:

easyJet cancelled our late afternoon PMI-LGW flight and moved us to an early morning one. So that we do not lose a day of our holiday, they agreed we could bring both the outward and return flights forward a day. The new flights were selling for about £150 less than the ones we originally booked because the cancelled return flight was especially expensive. I asked on Chat if I would receive a refund for the difference between the price we paid and the cost of the flights we are taking, and was advised to use the website's Complaints page. I did that and received a standard reply of FAQs. Am I entitled to a refund, essentially as if I had asked for a full refund and then rebooked?

You should have assessed all your options before making any decisions. It is common that if you choose to move to a cheaper flight then there is no refund of the difference.]

If this was a flight-only booking and your return flight had moved by over 5 hours then you would have been able to claim a refund either for that flight alone or the entire booking. You would not have got a free change for the outbound flight so would have needed to factor change fees (if you only refunded the affected flight) or purchased new outbound flights also (if you cancelled all)...you would need to do the sums on the costs of these other changes and deduct them from the £150 to see if you made the right or wrong decision.

If this was a package holiday then change needs to be over 12 hours before classed as 'significant'

jimi_man

aroominyork said:

la531983 said:

No because their flights are sold as non refundable anyway so you would never got a refund under normal circumstances. You were lucky you got the unaffected flights moved tbh, they are essentially sold as singles. 

That is not correct, see their terms re cancellation:

Has your flight been cancelled or have you been denied boarding? If so you can also obtain:

1. reimbursement of the cancelled flight; or
2. reimbursement for the part or parts of your journey already made if the flight no longer serves any purpose in relation to your original travel plans, together with, where relevant, a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity; or
3. re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at the earliest opportunity; or
4. re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination at a later date at your convenience, subject to availability of seats.

The important words here are ‘or’ between each section, not ‘and’. 

It works both ways. If it was a last minute cancellation and they moved you to another service that was twice the price then you wouldn’t have to pay the difference either. 

Exodi

aroominyork said:

easyJet cancelled our late afternoon PMI-LGW flight and moved us to an early morning one. So that we do not lose a day of our holiday, they agreed we could bring both the outward and return flights forward a day. The new flights were selling for about £150 less than the ones we originally booked because the cancelled return flight was especially expensive. I asked on Chat if I would receive a refund for the difference between the price we paid and the cost of the flights we are taking, and was advised to use the website's Complaints page. I did that and received a standard reply of FAQs. Am I entitled to a refund, essentially as if I had asked for a full refund and then rebooked?

Are you still able to book the flights for £150 less?

If so point out to EasyJet that you could easily just accept a refund from them and re-book the flights but in the interest of time and convenience want to see if they're able to save everyone the hassle?

la531983

Exodi said:

aroominyork said:

easyJet cancelled our late afternoon PMI-LGW flight and moved us to an early morning one. So that we do not lose a day of our holiday, they agreed we could bring both the outward and return flights forward a day. The new flights were selling for about £150 less than the ones we originally booked because the cancelled return flight was especially expensive. I asked on Chat if I would receive a refund for the difference between the price we paid and the cost of the flights we are taking, and was advised to use the website's Complaints page. I did that and received a standard reply of FAQs. Am I entitled to a refund, essentially as if I had asked for a full refund and then rebooked?

Are you still able to book the flights for £150 less?

If so point out to EasyJet that you could easily just accept a refund from them and re-book the flights but in the interest of time and convenience want to see if they're able to save everyone the hassle?

It's not clear if the flights moved by cancellation (inbound) were 150 cheaper, the flights moved by customer choice (outbound) were 150 cheaper, or both changes combined were 150 cheaper. 

Remember she chose to move the outbound flights herself so any price difference refund there would be totally down to goodwill. 

CKhalvashi

la531983 said:

No because their flights are sold as non refundable anyway so you would never got a refund under normal circumstances. You were lucky you got the unaffected flights moved tbh, they are essentially sold as singles. 

Not correct. A refund must be given in the case of airline compensation under legislation.

To answer the question, a refund or rerouting applies, not both. OP has chosen the rerouting and therefore does not get a refund.

la531983

CKhalvashi said:

la531983 said:

No because their flights are sold as non refundable anyway so you would never got a refund under normal circumstances. You were lucky you got the unaffected flights moved tbh, they are essentially sold as singles. 

Not correct. A refund must be given in the case of airline compensation under legislation.

To answer the question, a refund or rerouting applies, not both. OP has chosen the rerouting and therefore does not get a refund.

I was talking about the leg she moved out of her own choice, I didn't make that clear. 

Easyjet flights are sold point to point as singles, not returns. 

CKhalvashi

la531983 said:

CKhalvashi said:

la531983 said:

No because their flights are sold as non refundable anyway so you would never got a refund under normal circumstances. You were lucky you got the unaffected flights moved tbh, they are essentially sold as singles. 

Not correct. A refund must be given in the case of airline compensation under legislation.

To answer the question, a refund or rerouting applies, not both. OP has chosen the rerouting and therefore does not get a refund.

I was talking about the leg she moved out of her own choice, I didn't make that clear. 

Easyjet flights are sold point to point as singles, not returns. 

A single PNR is considered a single booking. This is the case whether the tickets are priced individually or not.

The options available to OP were refund and rebook or accept the rerouting. If the flights were more expensive there is no more to pay, if the flights are less expensive there is no refund.

I understand fully the legislation and work with this on a daily basis.