Cathay Pacific No Refunds for Flight Cancellations Class Action

When an airline cancels a flight, passengers ticketed on that flight expect refunds. However, in the days of Covid-19, many airlines are refusing to give those refunds to passengers, instead asking them to reschedule flights or accept a voucher that’s good only for a limited time. The complaint for this class action brings suit against Cathay Pacific Airways, Ltd. for refusing to refund tickets on its cancelled flights.

The class for this action is all persons living in the US or its territories who bought tickets on a Cathay Pacific flight, scheduled between February 1, 2020 and the date of class certification in this case, whose flights were cancelled by Cathay Pacific, and who were not given a refund.

Airlines were some of the first companies to feel a contraction of business because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cathay Pacific flies 8,000 routes, in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, and South America. In normal times, it carries more than one million passengers each month. Among its destinations are larger cities in the US. It sells tickets to passengers directly and through third-party websites and travel agents.

The World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020. At that time, the incidence of the disease was increasing dramatically around the world, including in many of Cathay Pacific’s destinations.

Many state, city, and local governments began issuing shelter-in-place orders or orders that prohibited non-essential travel, especially air travel, which does not permit passengers to adhere to social distancing guidelines. With the loss of passengers, airlines have had to cancel flights in order not to operate them with a too-small passenger load that will cause losses.

The complaint alleges that, like all too many airlines, Cathay Pacific has been canceling flights but requiring passengers to reschedule or accept expiring vouchers in place of refunds.

The complaint quotes Cathay Pacific’s General Conditions of Carriage as saying, “Where we fail to provide carriage in accordance with your contract with us, or where you request a voluntary change of your arrangements, we will refund any unused Ticket or portion thereof…” It also sets forth conditions for refunds of canceled flights, saying that “If no portion of the Ticket has been used, an amount equal to the fare paid” shall be given back to the passenger.

The complaint claims that the Conditions of Carriage to not “permit … the issuance of any vouchers or coupons [in] lieu or monetary refunds in the event of cancellation.”

The Department of Transportation (DOT) Aviation Office “has advised carriers that refusing to refund a non-refundable fare when a flight is cancelled and the passenger wishes to cancel is a violation” of federal regulations. On April 3, it issued a reminder to carriers “that passengers should be refunded promptly when their scheduled flights are cancelled or significantly delayed.”

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Air Travel Delays or Cancellations, Airline TIckets, Airlines, Failure To Pay For Refund