If a flight is canceled, airlines often do not reimburse the ticket price, even though they have to.
A lawyer from Stiftung Warentest explains the trick with which those affected get their money back.
Berlin - will your summer vacation work this year? Optimists have long since booked. Since the beginning of the corona crisis, however, airlines have repeatedly had to cancel flights spontaneously. Those who have already booked will then get their money back - however, they have to apply for a refund and often wait months for the transfer. "Be persistent!" Advises Michael Sittig from Stiftung Warentest. He is a lawyer, an expert in passenger law and explains how those affected should take action against the fraud of airlines.
If you do not get your money back immediately in the event of cancellation, the first step should be to contact the airline and request a refund of the ticket price by email, explains Sittig in an interview with
Der Spiegel
.
“If that doesn't work, do the same again as a letter, formally with registered mail and acknowledgment of receipt.
You should set a deadline in it and announce the initiation of legal action after it has expired, ”he advises.
Stiftung Warentest: With this trick, those affected get their money back if their flight has been canceled
If an airline still does not react, Stiftung Warentest advises that the arbitration board for public transport (söp) be involved.
The body organized under private law then contacts the airline free of charge, obtains an opinion and then makes a recommendation for arbitration.
If the söp answers, the airlines transfer the outstanding money in most cases.
Because if the lawyers at söp find that the passenger's claim is justified, it will only be more expensive for the airline if it does not pay.
In a court case, she would eventually lose, explains Sittig in the
mirror
.
Stiftung Warentest: Low-cost airlines are reluctant to pay money back in the event of flight cancellations
And yet: Michael Sittig from Stiftung Warentest reports on cases in which airlines do not pay even after the arbitration. “Then you have to deploy heavier artillery. That means calling in a lawyer or filing a court order for payment, ”he says. The former is only recommended with legal protection insurance due to the high cost risk.
Low-cost airlines in particular are considered black sheep when it comes to refunds.
However, due to liquidity problems in the past year, Lufthansa also kept numerous customers waiting for their refunds.
There are also differences within the low-cost airlines: For example, the Hungarian airline Wizz Air has a dubious reputation, according to air passenger rights expert Sittig.
At Ryanair, on the other hand, processing via söp mostly works smoothly.
But the two airlines have one thing in common: "If you ask for your money on your own, you won't get very far with low-cost airlines," explains Sittig in an
interview with
Spiegel
.
Even the contact details are well hidden on the websites.
Flight canceled?
Stiftung Warentest advises against passenger portals on the Internet
The arbitration board for public transport offers its service free of charge.
In addition, there are various online passenger portals that want to arbitrate for a commission.
According to Sittig, these companies are reputable, but expensive.
He therefore advises those affected to take action against airlines that are lazy about payment on their own initiative.
Even if you have booked your flight via a portal such as Opodo and are therefore referred back and forth between the two contracting parties in the event of a cancellation, you are always entitled to reimbursement from the airline.
“As a passenger, you don't have to be interested in where your money is, with the portal or the airline,” explains the lawyer at Stiftung Warentest.
