By Christopher Elliot | Correspondent
Q: I booked a flight from Tampa to San Diego on American Airlines. The day before my flight, I received a notification that it had been canceled due to Hurricane Milton. I requested a refund but American Airlines issued a flight credit that expires in one year. I only booked the ticket the day before, so I feel I should get a full refund. Can you help me get my $321 back? – Nathan Ciurzynski, Bradenton, Fla.
A: You should have received a full refund for your canceled flight. When an airline cancels your flight, it owes you a refund, regardless of the reason for the cancellation. It doesn’t matter if your ticket was refundable or not. You should get a refund. Full stop.
Interestingly, your flight cancellation happened just before a new government regulation went into effect. The rule mandates automatic cash refunds when an airline cancels its flight. If the hurricane had waited a few weeks, then you wouldn’t have had this problem. But your case is important because hurricane season is just starting, and airlines are only getting used to this rule. Who knows, they might forget?
If an airline doesn’t offer you an immediate refund, you should request it in writing. And it looks like you did, which is great. Copies of emails and screenshots of any online chats or messages can be helpful if you’re trying to get a fair resolution. If you have to make a call, note the date and time, and the names of any representatives you speak with.
So what happened? A look at your itinerary suggests American only canceled one leg of your flight, from Tampa to Dallas. I guess that doesn’t count as a full canceled flight. I’m kidding! It certainly does.
You filled out forms and pleaded your case with American Airlines, to no avail. As a last resort you could have appealed to a manager or executive. I publish the names, numbers, and email addresses of the American Airlines customer service managers on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. A brief, polite email to one of them might have resolved your problem.
I contacted American on your behalf to see if the flight credit was its best offer. It wasn’t. “The ticket will be refunded,” an American Airlines spokeswoman told me. And it was.
Let’s hope that with this new federal rule, we’ll never get another refund case like yours. But if you do — well, you know where to find me.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at [email protected] or get help by contacting him on his site.