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Airline Refunds - What Are Your Rights In Australia ?

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Immanuel Debeer | 21/07/2020

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If there’s one thing almost all of us has had to experience over the last few months, it’s flight cancellations. And with that comes the questions: can I get a refund?

Australia has some of the most robust consumer rights laws in the world. Still, when it comes to aviation, we’re lagging behind the likes of Europe, where the customer is in the pilot seat in the event of a cancellation or flight delay.

Understanding the ACL (Australian Consumer Law) will not only help you in obtaining a better outcome for almost anything you purchase, but it will also help you when it comes to flight cancellations in Australia.

When you purchase a flight, it’s the airline’s job and responsibility for getting you to your destination. After all, that’s what you pay them for. When this doesn’t happen, you might have rights under the Australian consumer law.

The Airline Cancels VS You Cancel

Let’s set things straight first; there’s a considerable difference between YOU cancelling your flight (for whatever reason) and the airline cancelling your flight. When you are the one instigating the cancellation, you will have to abide by whatever terms and conditions came with your ticket.

Due to COVID, a lot of airlines have adapted very flexible policies. However, you lose any leverage you might have had when you are the one cancelling.

Pro Tip: If you have existing bookings you want to cancel, wait for the airline to cancel on you or make a change to your booking. When the airline changes something to your reservations such as departure date or departure time; the ball is back in your court! When such an event happens (more often than not) you will be entitled to cancel or change your flight free of charge.

Understanding The Fare Rules

When you purchase a flight, your ticket will come with a set of fare rules; it’s up to you to read these rules and understand them since they act as a contract between you and the airline of which the terms and conditions are set out in the “conditions of carriage”. Fare rules might differ between booking classes etc., so there’s no one rule, it really depends on your ticket.

Your Rights In Australia

The ACL gives consumers certain protections and guarantees when they buy goods within Australia. These rights and guarantees are in addition to whatever warranties or claims a company might make. When you purchase products and services, they come with automatic guarantees that they will work and do what you asked for. Any company doing business in Australia must abide by these laws, and if a business fails to deliver, you as a consumer have the right to repair, replacement or refund; cancelling a service; compensation for damage & loss.

Flights would fall under the “service” category of the Australian Consumer Law so if an airline cancels your flight; you are entitled to a refund if that’s what you want.

Can I Claim Compensation?

For certain services, you can claim compensation for damage and loss. However, the law is very clear in its definition. For example, if you got your flight cancelled which meant you couldn’t be at work and therefore lost money, you can not claim. Why? Because a business does not have to pay for damages or losses that: are not caused by their conduct, or their products or are related to something independent of their business (i.e. COVID) after the goods left their control.

To further clarify, if an airline smashes your luggage, you are entitled to compensation because this is due to the airline’s mishandling. But they are not liable for some diseases which causes governments to restrict travel (because this is out of their control).

Should I Accept A Voucher?

No, unless there’s an incentive for you to do so. People might argue that we should all accept vouchers because airlines are doing it tough…well, guess what! Everyone is doing it tough! So if you want a refund because your flight was cancelled; you are well within your rights. If you do plan to accept a voucher, make sure the airline in questions is giving you an incentive for doing so. For example; they could offer you additional credit, points or other benefits to sweeten the deal.

I already Accepted A Voucher, Can I Still Get A Refund?

If the airline was the one cancelling your flight and you already accepted a voucher, you can still change your mind. You will just need to call the airline and request a full refund instead.

What If The Airline Goes Bust?

You’re still entitled to a refund but time is generally of the essence. Since bankrupt companies usually don’t answer phone calls or emails, it’s much easier to call your credit card provider and initiate a chargeback. The only reason you need to start a chargeback is that the service you paid for was not provided; simple!

My Credit Card Company Denied A Chargeback

This happens, you submit a chargeback, and you’re feeling positive about your credit card company having your back…wrong! On occasion, a chargeback will be refused. Most airlines will counter them by saying that they offered you a voucher, and you accepted. It’s all an attempt to try to make you go away but don’t give up. Explain your reasons to the credit card company and get them to reinstate the claim, if they refuse you can lodge a complaint with the AFCA.

Who is the AFCA (Australian Financial Complaints Authority)? The AFCA is any credit provider’s worst nightmare and will cost them a lot of time and money to deal with your complaint. More often than not, when you mention AFCA, you will get a much more proactive response from your bank or credit card provider. It’s the AFCA’s job to police credit license holders so too many complaints against a license holder could put their license in jeopardy. If you have a valid claim, you will be heard.

What If You Book With A Travel Agent?

The same rules apply. Since you are paying them, they will need to comply with the Australian Consumer Law just like any other business. Yes, they might have nothing to do with the cancellation of your flight but this is a case between the consumer and the supplier (in this case, the travel agent). They can then raise the case with the airline and seek a refund/compensation as a business.

Of course, most travel agents are small independent companies, so you should allow some patience as they need your support to survive this shit storm. More often than not they will need to get the money refunded from the airline first before being able to pay you.

If your travel agent is an OTA (online travel agent), you will need to deal with them directly. In this case, it’s crucial to establish if they are operating in Australia or offshore. If they are outside Australia, your best bet would be to initiate a chargeback via your credit card.

Summing Up – Know Your Rights

It pays to know your rights. In Australia, we have some of the most robust consumer laws in the world which keep businesses accountable for the goods they sell. Although we don’t have flight compensation regulation such as EC261 in Europe, we do have a pretty robust system that supports consumers.

Suppose you do get knocked back in your quest for a refund. Seek help! Your taxpayer dollars go to services specifically set up to provide legal/mediation services between you and any Australian business. If you have attempted to solve the issue on your own but are not getting anywhere, here’s a list of the local State and territory consumer protection agencies who will act on your behalf to enforce ACL:

Access Canberra (https://www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au/app/answers/detail/a_id/2270/)
NSW Fair Trading (https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/)
NT Consumer Affairs (https://consumeraffairs.nt.gov.au/)
Office of Fair Trading Queensland (https://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/)
SA Office of Consumer and Business Services (CBS) (https://www.cbs.sa.gov.au/)
Tasmania Consumer, Building and Occupational Services (CBOS) (https://www.cbos.tas.gov.au/)
Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) (https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/)
WA Consumer Protection – Department Of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/consumer-protection)

For more info about your consumer rights, check out the ACCC website here.

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Immanuel Debeer

Chief points nerd and travel hacker at Flight Hacks

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  1. Hi, I run a small company and booked flights for a contractor who works for me to fly into SA. Now there are border restrictions due to COVID and he can no longer fly here without having to quarantine when he leaves, i want to cancel the flight.
    I realise i will only get a flight credit – but it will be in his name not the company – paid for on my company credit card.
    can I claim the credit back for the company- or how does this work? I am out of pocket $1000 now if I cancel the flight and then the credit will be in the workers name?

    • Hi, I think your best option will be to call Virgin Australia and ask for the credit to be assigned under your name. That shouldn’t be an issue since you paid for it. Alternatively, you can make free flight changes until the end of January so that’s worth considering as well. Cheers, Immanuel.

  2. Hi
    I booked a airfares on BYO jet for the family in middle of January my oldest daughter has just had her leave application denied can I claim her fare back Virgin airlines

    • If your VA flights were affected due to covid, you are able to change the dates or get a travel voucher. I believe this goes until the end of January.

  3. Hi,
    I am a bit late but I found your post very interesting and I have a question:

    I booked a flight with an online travel agent and the flight has been cancelled by the airline one day before the departure date.
    I am trying to get a refund but the travel agent wants to deduct taxes and the extra I paid for the flexible ticket option saying these are not refundable, even if the airline cancelled the flight and I have not been given any other option.

    Is this correct?

    • Hi Giacomo, if the airline cancelled the flight on you, you have every right to get all the money back you paid. Sounds like BS what they are telling you. The problem is that depending on which online travel agent you used, they might be based overseas in which case you’re at their mercy when it comes to getting your money back. Worst case scenario you can initiate a chargeback via your credit card but leave this as a last resort as it might hinder any refunds they will give you.

  4. Hello
    Thanks for your post. I recently had my flight to Italy in June cancelled by Etihad about 30mins after booking and payment thru a Australian OTA (Jetzy). Originally wanted to rebook after they quoted 12-15 weeks for a refund. They also wanted to charge a $80 booking fee. Quoted covid as well.
    Your post encouraged me to raise a dispute with my bank for a quicker and full refund. I paid via credit card so if I don’t get any joy I’ll try AFCA as well.
    Your post helped me realise I didn’t have to put up with a 12-15 week wait. Or I’d just try to rebook and probably get charged a higher price. I think I’ll wait until the whole travel drama calms down. Cancelled flights make me nervous 😬

    • Thanks for the comment! Make sure to raise the dispute within 6 months of the transaction, many banks won’t allow you after this time limit. I’ve never heard of Jetzy but after a quick look it appears they have a holding company in Australia but are located overseas (I think NZ?). In this case, it might be harder to get anything from them but still worth a try as they have an Australian ABN.I would find your local ombudsman and get then to help you raise a case.

  5. Bit of a update. Submitted all the info to the card issuer, Commonwealth Bank 2 months ago and sort of forgot about it. Thought I’d get a update so a week ago I emailed the CBA ago for a update. Waited and didn’t get any reply so went to AFCA and filled in their online form. Pretty straightforward btw. A day or two after got a call and a email from the CBA 😉 thought I’d stick to emails so replied back via that. Got a real email to a person too, not a generic help desk one. At least with email it’s a written record I can submit to AFCA for their dispute process. If they won’t respond AFCA will step in again on June 17.
    If I was doing it again I wouldn’t leave it up to the card issuer for so long. I should have just submitted the info to CBA and asked for a reply within 2 weeks, mention AFCA as well. Then if no reply just go straight to AFCA. It seems obvious that the card issuer is just hoping you’ll go away. Only thing that got movement was AFCA complaint.
    Than

    • Hi Jeremy, thanks for sharing! Good to see the AFCA stepped up! As a general rule, make sure to lodge any bank disputes within 6 months for them to take it serious.

  6. I had my return tickets to Sydney postponed as i ahd to pay extra $270 for it. After my payment they changed my date for 10 days later. i had been calling the online ticket provider in regards of me not receiving any booking reference or my change of booking confirmation emails. Had to call them several times from overseas. It was Etihad Airlines, whenever i called all they said was give us 24 hr we will reach back to you soon. I have waited till 2 second last day of my flight. It was insane as i know my flight is day after but i don’t have any mails provided, no mails, no confirmation mail, no booking ref nothing. With a long hour of discussion with a team member at the call they suggested that they will cancel and provide me a full refund of both of my charges that i have made and can feel free to book in any other tickets of my favourable time.
    It has been 3 months of me returning to Sydney, i have only had my $270 return. I am still waiting for full refund, sick of calling them all the time, waiting for their response. Saw this ite, i will probably try with commonwealth as i paid through my travel card its doubtful. Lets see what happens. What would you recommend me to do in this case?

  7. Hi
    I booked flights back in February through Flight centre, a week later they changed our flights, which didn’t work with us, so we cancelled, they said a refund would take up to 12 weeks, last month i called they as we were still waiting, they said the airline didn’t receive our request and lodged it again, saying there will be another 12 weeks, is right? the refund is for $1800, what should we do next?

  8. My friends flight to Sydney from Cairns via Brisbane was changed last minute to divert from Brisbane through Melbourne which meant fyling for 9 hours . I am staying in Hamilton Island and mentioned it to my son who said they had the same problem with their flight to Hamilton. Island from Sydney being redirected through Melbourne with an overnight stay. They had already paid for accommodation on H Island so had to rebook flights at a cost of 1200 Aud. another holiday maker sitting nearby said they had the same problem again costing them over 1000 Aud Is this normal in Australia or is something being done about this practice

    • In that case, you should be entitled to a full refund in cash/points or whatever you used to pay for the flight. No other recourse as the flight isn’t canceled technically speaking.

  9. Hi,

    I I have booked Singapore Airlines flights via webjet and wanting to cancel and receive a credit to re-book with Singapore airlines at another time. Alternatively, I would like to change my travel dates.

    Webjet have advised my flights are non-refundable however this information was not disclosed to me at the time of booking. It simply stated in accordance with the airlines individual policy. Singapore Airlines cancellation policy states that the flight is non-refundable if stated at the time of booking, however as previously stated the flights I booked did not state they were non-refundable.

    The Fare Rules available on the webjet site at the time of booking this flight specifically has a provision for refunds, credits and changes with a penalty to be incurred. However they state the Fare Rules displayed at the time of booking is not specific to individual airlines, just their generic rules.

    Do I have any rights to follow this through for a credit or a change?

    • Hi Rachel, I know Webjet definitely disclose the fare rules; it’s actually a check box you have to tick right before the payment button. To be fair, making sense of it when you actually read the fare rules would require some knowledge of codes and ticket rules. In any case, it sounds like what you purchased was non-refundable. Since you didn’t book with Singapore Airlines directly, the terms of the sale are set by Webjet, unfortunately. In this case, I don’t think there’s much you can do other than hope for a sympathetic outcome by Webjet.

      • Hi,
        I have booked a Singapore airline ticket for July 2023 for $3400 via a travel agent that was known through a friend of a friend. Upon paying for the ticket I received no tax invoice but just an itinerary with very vague terms and conditions more or less stipulating some airline tickets are refundable and some are not. I did not think circumstances would change with myself where i was unable to travel so i did not think much of it but they have. I approached the travel agent and asked what the cancellation policy was for a refund. The travel agent responded the ticket was non refundable and i was only eligible for a credit note that lasts one year. This did not sit right with me as i had paid top dollar for my flight and after research it did not seem hard to get a refund or a partial refund if circumstances changed even when booking online. I further contacted other travel agents who advised me what this travel agent was doing was not right and to find out through Singapore airlines my fare rules, cancellation fees with the airline and if the ticket was a refundable ticket upon purchase. I got through to Singapore Airlines and they advised me my ticket was refundable at the service fee of $260 and he had to request a refund on my behalf as i had paid the monies to him. I approached the travel agent and advised that my ticket was refundable as per Singapore Airlines confirmation. Hours later i called Singapore Airlines back again to obtain more information and was told your booking is managed by a travel agent and we are unable to give you any details. A TOTAL different response to what i received the first time.
        What do I do in this case?? as i am so distraught, have a dodgy travel agent who is lying to me, making his own rules and refusing to refund me. The travel agent has no website, no shop and completes everything through watsapp. I feel helpless and like i have no rights. I have gone to the bank and lodged a claim but given it was EFT transfer he can just deny the request. Moving forward i do not want to have any contact with this travel agent either.

        • So you paid an EFT transfer to a stranger on WhatsApp? So many red flags, but at least you have a real ticket. Unfortunately, it’s your own responsibility to check the conditions of the ticket before purchasing; if SQ says the ticket was refundable for a fee (most are with a fee), I’m sure you can ask your agent to process that request. For future bookings, always pay with a credit card and use a reputable company. Or just book directly with the airline… this is usually the easiest option.

          • It was a friend of a friend I booked these flights through. Stranger somewhat as I did not know him personally. The travel agent has since came back when i confronted with him that Singapore Airlines advised me my ticket was refundable and has said that if ‘Singapore Airlines authorises him he would request for the refund’. I am hoping this man will be half decent and do the right thing. I have definitely learnt a big lesson here that I will only use credit card and a reputable agent.

  10. I bought a ticket requiring a transfer between airlines from kiwi.com. I found out this requires a reclaim of bags and customs clearance, which makes it practically extremely risky. They offer a cancel and re-book option, which eventually I took and duly paid for the rebooking. But they tell me I am not now eligible for any refund from the original ticket.

  11. Thai Airways International has been taking too long to refund the flight which I had cancelled since last year June,2022. It was a flight which I needed a transit visa so I cancelled the flight right after the next day. I had called them at least 3 to 4 times and they confirmed that the refund is in progress but I had hardly heard any news from them either through email or via text or calls. I felt like this has been taking too long and took too much of my time every time I tried calling them regarding the refund. And I also have an additional issue: the credit card I used to pay had now been expired so it has been quite a complicated case for me. Is there anyway you could suggest of what appropriate action I could take for them to increase the speed of the refund process?

    • Hi, since you cancelled the flights, the conditions of the ticket you purchased apply. If it was fully refundable, I don’t see why you shouldn’t get a refund. In any case, it’s hard to tell without knowing the conditions of your ticket.

  12. Hello, I had to book a flight to the USA, which I then had to cancel less than 12 hours later. This was through Fiji Airlines.

    I understood that the flight was not refundable but was told I could get a credit if I had to cancel.

    After canceling the flight, 3 days later I got a notice saying that I don’t qualify for a credit. They referred to a very hard-to-find document on their website with a table that has a line saying “Flexible: no. This looks to me like an unethical scam.

    Can they legally refuse to provide a credit?

    • Hi Alan, if they told you in writing you were going to get a credit then a credit would be due. However, if it’s not in writing it would be a case of “he said she said”, in which case it would be hard to argue against their terms and conditions.

  13. I had return flights from Melbourne to Denpasar booked and fully paid with Lion Air (Batik Air) via Flight Network at start of May. Batik Air then emailed a week before flight date and said both flights were cancelled. I contacted Flight Network who said there weren’t any flights with Lion/Batik Air on the days I needed so I asked for a refund and booked through a different airline (and Flight Centre). Then 2 days before my flight date I got emails saying that the original flights were back on (with one hr time delay) with check-in details. Flight Network are bored and uninterested , telling me I just need to wait for a response from Batik Air. I don’t know where I stand. They cancelled my flights and had no suitable alternatives at the time of cancellation, so I had to book elsewhere. However I am now 2K out of pocket, and Flight Network have no interest at all in helping me recover those funds. How long do I wait for Lion/Batik Air to respond to my refund request?

    • Call your bank and proceed with a chargeback to your credit card. And for future reference, avoid booking through OTAs where possible unless you’re 1000% certain you will not require customer service.

  14. My family flew from Dublin to Perth in January and the first flight was delayed getting into Istanbul resulting in us missing the other 2 x connecting flights-1 with Turkish airlines and 1 with Malaysian airlines.
    We booked with Jettzy online travel agent based in NZ, we also had CommBank Travel Insurance with a cancellation policy, nether CommBank accepts that cancellation cover is accepted and Jettzy have not refunded the 2 x missed flights. Turkish airline cannot refund us as we did not book direct. We had to spend AUD$11,000 to get flights from Istanbul to Perth 2 days later. Turkish airlines did look after us with hotel and meals but took a lot of arguing to get this agreed in Istanbul airport.

    See Turkish airlines response below due to the delay.
    In our investigation, we found that your TK1978 Dublin/Istanbul flight dated 5th of January, 2023 was delayed 1 hour and 10 minutes; 33 minutes due to the late arrival due to en-route delay, 14 minutes due to the change of fuel after briefing due to operational reasons, 15 minutes due to the collection and loading of carry on baggage at the gate or issuing excess ticket during the boarding, and 8 minutes due to the Air Traffic Control capacity. As a result, you were unable to board your onward flights which are TK0060 Istanbul/Kuala Lumpur and MH0127 Kuala Lumpur/Perth dated 6th of January 2023.

    Basically, do not get travel insurance as they will not cover you for cancellations.
    Do not book with a travel agent as they will ignore you.
    Do not book flights with 2hour overlays as any delays will leave you exposed as we were.

    Any advice??

    • Hi Noel, was your whole trip on one PNR? If so, EU261 would give you legal protection as Ireland would still fall under European passenger laws. See: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm if this was the case, your claim would be very straightforward and Turkish air would be forced to rebook you at no charge, pay compensation and provide hotel + transport.

      However, if you had 2 separate tickets, it would be your own responsibility to arrive to the airport in time for your flight. 1h10min minute delay isn’t sufficient enough to get compensation alone from the airline, that said, your travel insurance should protect you (in theory) for a missed connection due to a delay. I’m not familiar with Commbank Travel insurance so you’d have to check if theres’s a minimum time delay before you can claim. If they are denying your claim, that might be the case.

  15. Great article and break down of scenarios, still very valid 3 years on!
    I am having trouble finding information on something a little more situational. Rather than a cancelation or delay I have been given a reschedule (well in advance), but the reschedule has resulted in a nine hour delay between flights, overnight, at a transit airport. Originally we were flying into Melbourne at 22:00 and then flying out from Melbourne to Tokyo at 00:20. No problems.

    Now the Tokyo leg of the flight has been changed to departing at 07:30 the following morning but the incoming Melbourne flight is still arriving at 22:00 (there are no flights in between that and the departure). Apart from losing 7 hours of day in Tokyo, which is frustrating in itself, is there anything that the airline is obligated to do about forcing me (and my 7yo son) to wait in an airport for nine hours over night? I know delays and cancellations can result in a hotel room, but because this is a reschedule do they still have an obligation for that?

    Thank you for any advise!

    • Hi Andrew, in that case there’s not much you can expect from the airline, personally I would take this as a bonus as it gives you the opportunity to book an airport hotel and get some rest in between flights. I’m not sure which airline you’re flying or which city you’re transitting but some airlines will put you up in a hotel (worth to ask anyway).
      If you have travel insurance you would be covered in such an event. For example, my Amex Platinum card pays out $700 per covered person (max $1400) if there’s a delay of 4h or more.

  16. Thanks for the info.
    Do you know if I’m entitled to a refund when flights are cancelled due to bad weather and I’m not offered a suitable alternative by the airline? At the airport I was promised a refund within 30 days. Eight months later, Ive been given credit that I have to use within 4 months and only for the same route, which for me means loosing the money altogether.

    That day I also missed a connection with another airline and had to buy much more expensive flights for the next day. I’m only trying to claim what I paid for the ticket though and not compensation for my other missed flight or extra money I had to spend, as I understand it was due to a storm, but it doesn’t seem fair to me that they can get away with not refunding me at all.
    Thanks for any help!

    Thanks for

    • I’d say technically yes. However, depends on the airline and country if they will play ball. Personally I would contact my credit card company and start chargeback procedures.

      • Sadly I payed with debit car 🙁 so the money is long gone. The flight was with Air New Zealand, bought in Australia through a website. I was initially promised full refund since they didn’t offer me any alternatives, but this was a just said by staff at the airport and later on the phone so I can’t prove it. Now the website I bought on says I received credit and only for the same route and to use within four months, for me this means loosing the money alltogether

  17. After I had made an on-line reservation for an.internal flight departing some 4 months from now I found that I had booked for the wrong month, a month later than what I wanted. I immediately contacted the domestic airline and asked if they could correct the date. I was told that it would cost me $200 to do so – which was more than if I repurchased on-line (which I later did). I was told that they could cancel the flight but that I would not receive any refund, i would have to forfeit everything. The airline has over 4 months time to sell the seat. It is wrong, wrong, wrong!!!

    • Which airline? Both Virgin and Qantas allow a free change in 24h for this exact reason. In the US it’s even law so every flight flying to, from or within the US need to offer a 24h refund/change window. In Australia we don’t have such protections but most airlines will accomodate you.

    • I’m not sure what RAA is but in the future, I would recommend booking with the airline direct as this will be the most efficient when it comes to getting refunds etc.

  18. Hi , we had booked 4 tickets from Sydney to India through Skyscanner website and it was through My trip. Thai airline cancelled the flight from Bangkok to Delhi so we did cancel the ticket and my trip said that we will get the full refund as it was cancelled by airline. Now I have been calling to my trip but every time they tell us the same answer that their team is working on this and they have not got any refund from the airline as per their system. Now I called Thai airlines and somehow was able to get the actual status of refund and I have recorded the conversation I had with airline, they are clearly telling that “money has been refunded to Agents ticketing centre in chikago” , I already sent the recording by email to My trip , already going to be 1 month, still they are saying that we have not got the refund, looks like Chicago ticketing centre has not updated the system and my trip doesn’t want to refund my money which is around A$5000, please help advise what can be done since we have a proof of recording and all the email Vik versatilnd from day 1, that they committed to us for full redfund.

    • That’s why you should always book with the airline direct instead of going with an online travel site. All good when things go as planned but in these situations you’ll be waiting for your money a while.

  19. Hi,
    I booked a flight to Scotland in December 2022 through Flight Centre [Luthansa outsourced to Qantas for 1st leg]. Was due to fly out in October this year but in September was diagnosed with 3 blood clots [1 in lungs] so was unable to fly. Cancelled flights, giving them a copy of medical certificate, and was told would get a refund but would have fees taken. On website international flight cancellation fees are $300, with a max off $600
    Refund arrived today – from a $2648 fare I received $428.
    Why is there such a difference and what can I do about it?

    • Hi Jem, sorry to hear about you situation. Your ticket should have its own terms and conditions attached, depending on the fare type it should also state what the fees are or you could have asked them. Each fare type has a different set of rules and by the sounds of it, yours was very restrictive. I would have enquired about this before proceeding with the cancellation because maybe there was a better outcome if you moved the ticket to flight credit or managed to change the date. In any case, if you have travel insurance, they should cover you in this case due to the medical reasons.

  20. Jetstar cancelled our flight (mechanical) and we flew about 13 hours later. They are refusing to refund covered expenses (based on their own policy), saying that Agents’ notes after we all waited (at about 2am) for lodging) claimed we were required to take their hotel offer. This is a bald-faced lie – they told us we did not have to wait if we had other options and they’d pay. This is a “they said/they said”. What approach would you suggest? It was our of Darwin, flight to Bali. So far I’ve got NT Consumer Affairs and AFCA to threaten with.

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