Suit Accuses Southwest Airlines of Balking at Giving Refunds for Canceled Flights
Southwest Airlines is being accused in a new lawsuit of being stingy with refunds after canceling flights during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Pennsylvania man alleges that the airline refused to give him a cash refund for a canceled flight from Baltimore to Havana, Cuba, a route the airline temporarily suspended on March 22. Lawyers are hoping to make it a class action and earn refunds for thousands of passengers who have fought and failed to get cash back.
Southwest denied that it was withholding refunds. It said customers have a variety of ways to be compensated for canceled flights, including getting money back.
Airlines are under fire from consumers and federal regulators who say carriers are refusing to give refunds in violation of federal rules and their own policies. Passengers have complained on social media that airlines are playing coy on refunds, offering the cash only after customers ask for a manager or threaten to file a complaint with the government.
Millions of passengers are demanding money back, and companies are short on operating cash, so the airlines are offering outsized incentives, such as guarantees that customers can rebook travel for more than a year. American Airlines in many cases is offering 120% of the original ticket’s price if a customer agrees to take it in credits instead of a refund.
Southwest is known for its passenger-friendly policies, but a lawyer for the plaintiff, Adrian Bombin, said the airline is refusing to offer cash refunds even though its own contract says it has to.
“When Southwest cancels the flight, no matter what kind of ticket you have, they have to offer you a refund if you decline other options,” said Hassan Zavareei, a Washington, D.C.-based lawyer with Tycko & Zavareei LLP. “Southwest is usually known for being friendly to customers, but they aren’t the only airline doing this.”
Similar lawsuits have been filed against United Airlines and Spirit.
The U.S. Department of Transportation warned airlines earlier this month to stop the behavior.
“The Department is receiving an increasing number of complaints and inquiries from ticketed passengers, including many with nonrefundable tickets, who describe having been denied refunds for flights that were canceled or significantly delayed,” said a statement from the Department of Transportation. “In many of these cases, the passengers stated that the carrier informed them that they would receive vouchers or credits for future travel.”
Southwest has canceled more than half of its flights for May and is canceling more as demand for air travel continues to drop.
In Bombin’s case, there are few options for getting to Havana, especially on Southwest, because much of the world’s cross-border travel has halted. Southwest suspended its Havana flights on March 22 and won’t bring them back until at least early June.
Southwest said it would review the allegations in the lawsuit.
“In light of the current circumstances, we previously made additional changes to our already flexible policies,” said a statement from Southwest spokesman Brian Parrish. “If a flight is canceled by Southwest, customers may select a new flight between the same origin and destination on a new date (currently extended until 60 days from the original date of travel) without paying any difference in fare, may receive travel funds for future use (currently extended to June 30, 2021), or may request a refund to the original form of payment.”
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