Under federal rules, U.S. airlines are required to automatically issue you a refund — not vouchers — if they cancel your flight for any reason and you don’t rebook.
So when that didn’t happen for Cathy Hruban, she contacted In Your Corner for help.
With their grandkids now old enough to travel, Hruban said she and her family were set to fly on American Airlines from Philadelphia to Orlando, where they planned to catch a cruise. But their big trip ran into trouble before they ever got off the ground.
“When we got [to the airport], we found out that our flight was canceled,” she said. “We’ve got basically 11 people going on the trip, eight are at the airport, and what are we going to do?”
Unable to rebook, Hruban said the family decided to pile into their vehicles and drive the nearly 1,000-mile journey so that they would still make their cruise.
Luckily, they made it aboard, and the trip otherwise went off without a hitch.
“While we’re on the ship, no memories of what we went through, Hruban said, laughing. “We just enjoyed it thoroughly.”
But after they returned home, Hruban said the refund she expected for their canceled flight never appeared in her account. Following several calls with customer service, she said she was told she’d have to request a refund through the airline’s website.
“For each person I booked with,” she said. “And then I got an email saying they were non-refundable fares, but they would give us credit. I’m thinking, ‘I want my money.’ It was over $1,500.”
After a few more failed attempts with customer service to resolve the issue on her own, Hruban contacted CBS News Philadelphia.
“That’s when I thought, ‘I need some help,'” she said. “And I saw ‘Josh In Your Corner’ and I said, ‘That’s my man.'”
The Department of Transportation rule that went into effect last year requires airlines to issue refunds for a canceled flight without passengers needing to ask, even if the tickets were non-refundable. Refunds must be issued within seven business days if the passenger paid by credit card and within 20 calendar days for other forms of payment.
CBS News Philadelphia contacted American Airlines on behalf of Hruban to find out why she wasn’t issued an automatic refund.
After investigating Hruban’s case, a spokesperson explained the delay was the result of a system issue caused by partial use of her ticket, since Hruban and her family still took their return flight home.
Ultimately, American Airlines issued Hruban a full refund of $1,527.50 to her credit card for the canceled portion of her trip.
In an emailed statement, an American Airlines spokesperson said, “We want our customers to have a positive experience with us and apologize for any inconvenience caused. Our Customer Relations team has been in touch with the customer who received a full refund for the canceled flight.”
