For those who have attempted to get a refund from your Airline...........?

[sncbird]

Were you successful? Which Airline you were going to fly on and when were you going to travel.

We are scheduled to fly non-stop on United out of O'Hare to Orlando on Oct. 12th returning on Oct. 20th. We have a 4 & 5 year old that are now very afraid to fly. I personally am concerned there are still terrorists out there, bomb threats at the airport etc.... Other questions I have asked myself, when we do go to War how often will the FAA shut down the airports? With all the carriers cutting their schedules and downsizing, will our flights be cancelled?

We still have a few weeks to go but, it's VERY unsettling. I certainly do not want to be stuck at an airport for several days with a 4 & 5 year old. So, we're thinking seriously about driving. We're looking at $400.00 in penalties but, we will feel more in control if we drive. I'm curious how the airlines have been in issuing full refunds.

It is very hard to be as excited about our trip as I was a week ago. This is such a difficult decision but, compared to what so many others are going through, it's minor. So many of us have heavy hearts!!!

 

[laurenk]

Hi sncbird,

I have not gotten a refund for our trip on November 30th, but we are very concerned, because we WERE due to fly out of National. US Air says that we can change now, for $100 penalty per ticket or wait til it gets closer to our trip. We were told by them, that they believe it will never reopen. If we wait til the "official" announcement, they will put us on a flight out of Dulles. I would prefer to drive, but my DH wants to fly. At this point I really don't feel like going, but would like some sort of compensation or refund for my $800.00.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

you will be safer now than ever to fly. wait until you get closer to the date of travel. you wil have clamed down quie a bit. I leave wed at 8 am. I am counting down the hours until I get on the plane and take off. doesn't bother me a bit.

 

[jpeppers]

I checked on the possibility of getting a refund for my flight on 9/14 and was told it wasn't possible. The E-mail I received said I could reschedule with the $100 fee waived but since I had purchased the tickets for $269 and the price is now $460 it would have cost me $191 to try another time. My flight actually did go out that night but I wasn't willing to take the chance of sitting in an airport somewhere stranded like so many others. Under the circumstances I don't care about the money but I really thought they would atleast reschedule at the same fare since I bought the ticket directly from them. I was impressed with Priceline though offering my money back if I didn't make it to my hotel. I'm not going to take them up on it but I feel it was really good under the circumstances and it was only 1 night.

 

[Cora]

I called United on Friday to cancel my mom's trip to Calif on Oct 3 and was given a full refund (I was fully prepared to have them say sorry, use it within one year). No questions asked...in a heart beat I will fly United... The reservationist at United said "How can we make people fly, when this horrible thing just occurred!"
Cora

 

[sncbird]

Cora,

I'm so happy for you!! Your post is very encouraging!!! Can you post the phone number you called for United?

Thanks!!
Sncbird (Christine)

 

[Cameo]

We cancelled our reservations with Northwest for our trip to begin Sept. 18. One of our tickets was purchased and three were using frequent flier miles. Our itineraries were simply cancelled and we were told to call back with the ticket numbers sometime within the next year and we would be issued new itineraries. They were very helpful.

The WorldPerks agent did say some people were very upset and wanted them to work miracles. What can they do though? It's not their fault. They are going to have a hard enough time staying afloat. I guess I will not complain about prices. At least I am still here and have the money available to take vacations. If I have to shell out a little bit extra to take a trip and ensure that our airlines continue to fly, I would consider it part of keeping America going. Maybe that's sappy, but that's how I am rationalizing it right now.

 

[Pluto4President]

I actually changed our flight to leave sooner 9/27 instead of 9/29. No penalty charge and I received an airline credit because the new fair was lower. As I read a post by Beverly Lynn, It's actually safer now to fly with all of the stepped up security in place.

 

[KarenT]

I changed my December 1st flight for an earlier flight and wasn't charged a thing. And was given a credit to be used within 1 year for the fare difference. Excellent customer service.


KarenT

 

[Cora]

Christine,
The tel # for United is their regular 800# reservation number...sorry I don't have it handy but it's on their website. http://www.ual.com
Cora

 

[Mouser]

I was in Orlando during the attack and was due to fly back on Sept 13th..my flight was cancelled and I got the full cash refund for the second half of my trip from Delta when I got home here. We kept our rental car and drove home, my refund was given to me here at my home airport when I returned the rental car..no problem at all...I think Delta is handling it well.....

 

[sncbird]

I was encouraged by Cora's post so I thought I would give United a call. The person I spoke with was not helpful at all. I explained to her our reasons for wanting to cancel our tickets and she told me: Our tickets are non-refundable and if we wanted to we could get a credit less a $100.00 per ticket penalty fee. I told her we payed $250 per ticket and the same ticket was $900 2 days ago and when I checked today our flights are booked there and back (my guess is they cancelled other flights and booked people on these flights). I told her they could sell our seats at today's prices and make $2600 more on them. No Go. I'm going to wait a fews days and try again.