Not only are flights canceled due to the Corona crisis, passengers also have to deal with the airlines. This is criticized by experts.
- Instead of paying back their money, travelers play for time and often do not reimburse the ticket price.
- Travelers can use the money in the Corona crisis * well - for example for holidays within Germany *, which should be possible again from the end of May.
- Around 600 passengers in Germany were asked about their current experience with ticket refunds - with clear results.
Travelers know their rights
The survey was carried out by the Flightright portal. Passengers who had experienced at least one Corona flight cancellation in the past few weeks were interviewed. The good news: Around 80 percent of the participants know that in the event of a flight cancellation under EU law, they are entitled to reimbursement of ticket costs. Some airlines try to present the legal situation regarding ticket reimbursement as unclear . Finally, the EU Commission confirmed once again that a voucher requirement is not permitted and that passengers have to get the money back for their canceled flight if they want to.
Airlines & Cancellations: Passengers must take action themselves
The results clearly show that airlines do not proactively offer ticket refunds during corona times. Only 42 percent of the passengers surveyed stated that the airline offered them a refund (money or voucher) for the canceled flight without being asked. A good 77 percent of the passengers, to whom the airline did not offer any reimbursement, then became active themselves and asked for it.
Read here : Cancel free of charge: you can't start your summer vacation? You should know that.
Vouchers yes, repayments no: "Systematic breach of law by airlines"
Overall, only 36 percent of those surveyed stated that the airline offered them a choice of reimbursement of ticket costs or a voucher or rebooking. In the clear majority of cases, only vouchers or a rebooking were given for choice. "We are currently experiencing a systematic breach of law on the part of the airlines . Reimbursement of ticket costs is either not offered at all or is only hidden in such a way that travelers without sufficient knowledge do not understand that they have a claim or how to enforce it," said Oskar de Felice Legal expert at Flightright.
Low airlines willingness to pay
96 percent of travelers who asked for a refund from the airline said they had not yet received it. Even in cases in which airlines voluntarily offered a refund, 78 percent are still waiting for it. Regardless of the airlines' communication policy, the willingness to pay is low . "It seems that the airlines are taking advantage of the current exceptional situation of the passengers and circumventing their obligations towards the customers. The airlines probably still had hope here for a legal voucher solution, as the Corona Cabinet intended, and tried to delay the payment unlawfully" , continues Felice.
Read here : Travel experts give hope: "This year? Air travel? Definitely!".
"Flawless violation of the law": Passengers need a lot of patience
According to the EU passenger rights, which continue to apply even in the crisis, airlines have to reimburse tickets within 7 days . In reality, things are different at the moment. The majority of travelers experience that airlines do not meet the legal deadline. De Felice added: "Even if airlines offer the passenger a refund of the ticket price as an option, an actual payment will only be targeted for an uncertain 'if-corona-past-is-day'."
This flawless violation of the law is packaged in new word creations . "Ryanair creatively describes its own repayment delay as a 'payment security restriction' and is therefore shortlisted for the 'consumer word of the year'," said Flightright founder Philipp Kadelbach.
Bad grades for ticket refund process
Satisfaction with customer service as part of the reimbursement process also shows a rather sobering picture: most passengers are disappointed with the service in the crisis. 78 percent of travelers were unsatisfied with the airline's service and communications during the ticket refund process . Only around 22 percent of the participants stated that they were satisfied with the behavior of the airline.
Read here : Expert denounces: Lufthansa behaves "illegally" towards customers.
Flightright helps travelers with free service
The results of the survey clearly show that airlines and passengers are not on an equal footing. When it comes to money , airlines currently seem to stop following the law . "We have long observed that some airlines do not shy away from questionable practices when it comes to saving money or maximizing profits," said de Felice. Affected travelers find it difficult to get their rights in these circumstances. Consumers are just as affected by this unprecedented crisis as the airlines and are partially dependent on money.
"We have therefore decided to offer our ticket refund service to passengers free of charge at the moment . In doing so, we not only want to help the individual, but also to send a signal to consumer protection groups and politicians to safeguard the fundamental basic rights of travelers. It is in our DNA, the airlines to look at the fingers and to put pressure on them with the help of the rule of law in the interests of consumers. It is absolutely right that airlines ask for state aid. On the other hand, they must not authorize compulsory loans from their own customers. That must not be so, " says Philipp Kadelbach.
Also interesting : These are the best and safest airlines in 2020.
Airlines & their flight attendants
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* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
