Flight refund help

Js181

Hi

Back in November we had a flight cancelled due to a technical issue with the plane on Air India.  

Due to the fact we had to be in India by a certain date and the airline had no idea as to when the flight would leave, I had to book another flight.  I spoke with the staff at the check in desk and explained the situation and they agreed a full refund would be provided, but I would have to contact the agency I booked through.
So I tried to get the refund back through the online travel agency and emailed/called over the period of a month but they never provided anything other than generic replies.
I then decided to initiate a chargeback through my CC company.  The online travel agency has since disputed the case and said the plane did leave but we never utilised the flight.  They’ve provided a graphic which shows the flight left a few hours after the initial departure time.  Obviously this never happened as the flight was cancelled.  

The CC company now want me to provide  correspondence/cancellation proof by the merchant.  What kind of proof would be acceptable?  I don’t have anything from the travel agency or airline to say the flight was cancelled.  

Any help is appreciated 

Mark_d

The airline had no idea when the flight would leave so you booked another flight?  Perhaps it was a bit hasty booking this replacement flight so quickly.

From you message it sounds like your original flight was only delayed by a few hours due to this technical issue.

eskbanker

There are public domain sites such as https://www.flightera.net/en/ that track historical timings of flights, what shows there for your flight number and date?  If it supports the view that the flight left late, what evidence can you produce that it was definitely cancelled, e.g. screenshots of departure screens, phone call logs, etc?

Js181

Mark_d said:

The airline had no idea when the flight would leave so you booked another flight?  Perhaps it was a bit hasty booking this replacement flight so quickly.

From you message it sounds like your original flight was only delayed by a few hours due to this technical issue.

No the flight was cancelled and we were provided with a hotel for the night but they told us the flight definitely wouldn’t be leaving in the next 24hours and it could be 2-3 days.  They had no definitive time or day of then the flight would go.

Js181

eskbanker said:

There are public domain sites such as that track historical timings of flights, what shows there for your flight number and date?  If it supports the view that the flight left late, what evidence can you produce that it was definitely cancelled, e.g. screenshots of departure screens, phone call logs, etc?

Checking on this site it says the flight departed late but doesn’t mention cancellation.  I’ve tried a few others as well including flightradar, which doesn’t list the flight as going out on that day.

eskbanker

Js181 said:

No the flight was cancelled and we were provided with a hotel for the night but they told us the flight definitely wouldn’t be leaving in the next 24hours and it could be 2-3 days.  They had no definitive time or day of then the flight would go.

If a flight is cancelled then it shouldn't be leaving at all!  Unspecified postponement is delay rather than cancellation, but was there no correspondence at all (text/email) from the airline regarding the hotel, etc?  Do you have any evidence of your stay there perhaps?

Js181

eskbanker said:

Js181 said:

No the flight was cancelled and we were provided with a hotel for the night but they told us the flight definitely wouldn’t be leaving in the next 24hours and it could be 2-3 days.  They had no definitive time or day of then the flight would go.

If a flight is cancelled then it shouldn't be leaving at all!  Unspecified postponement is delay rather than cancellation, but was there no correspondence at all (text/email) from the airline regarding the hotel, etc?  Do you have any evidence of your stay there perhaps?

No texts or emails from the airline.  We were told at the gate that the flight was cancelled and a hotel would be provided.  We did sign some paperwork and provide a list of names etc at the hotel but I don’t have a copy of that.

MeteredOut

If you share the flight number and date, others might be able to help determine whether it was cancelled or just delayed. I'd never trust gate staff with such critical information.

And I very much doubt the travel agency (assuming reputable) would fabricate false flight information to the credit card company as part of denying the chargeback.

If you don't have anything in writing that proves you were told it was cancelled, or evidence that it was cancelled, i can see this being a challenge for you.

Js181

MeteredOut said:

If you share the flight number and date, others might be able to help determine whether it was cancelled or just delayed. I'd never trust gate staff with such critical information.

And I very much doubt the travel agency (assuming reputable) would fabricate false flight information to the credit card company as part of denying the chargeback.

If you don't have anything in writing that proves you were told it was cancelled, or evidence that it was cancelled, i can see this being a challenge for you.

Hi

The flight number was AI170, 25th November 2023 from LGW.
It came up on the departure screen as well regarding the cancellation but I don’t have any photos.  The flight doesn’t show up on most of the sites I’ve checked.

MeteredOut

The fact that there are sites showing details of it flying and being delayed suggests it was not cancelled.

eg, https://nl.flightera.net/en/flight_details/Air+India-London-Amritsar/AI170/EGKK/2023-11-25

So, unless you have proof that you were told it was cancelled by airline staff, then I think you're stuck. Even if airport staff (who might not work for the airline) or the departure screens said cancelled, and you had evidence of that, the airline could still state they did not inform you of the cancellation (that's what will be in the T&Cs) and to pick that issue up with the airport.

The above site says it left 2 hrs 24 minutes late. At what point did you leave to get the other flight?

Js181

We were told after 10pm that the flight would be cancelled.  I have some messages from the official Gatwick WhatsApp with one at 22:20 stating there was an issue with the flight and to contact the airline.  At this point all passengers were called to the gate and told verbally that the plane had an issue and it would not be leaving.  They also told us all other flights were full and they couldn’t provide any details on when the flight could be rescheduled for, but definitely wouldn’t be in the next 24hrs.  

So we spoke to the check in staff and explained we needed to be there Monday by latest and asked about the refund.  They agreed a refund would be provided and put details in the notes.
It’s at this point we booked another flight which left the following day from Heathrow, we stayed in the Hotel until the following morning and then made our way to Heathrow.