If an airline sells you a service, you should be able to get a refund if you default. But when is it not worth even bothering to ask?
I asked this question last week when I had serious Wi-Fi connection issues during an American Airlines flight. The carrier charged $17 for this privilege. I figured the effort to get the money back would cost over $17 in time and hassle.
Turns out I was wrong, according to over 100 readers who set me straight after I asked for advice in our weekly Your Money newsletter.
Almost everyone who asked for a refund because the WiFi wasn’t working properly got their money back. Many had even cracked the code that allowed the request to be made in less than 60 seconds.
This week I summarized their knowledge and spoke with the major airlines and credit card companies who were willing to answer my many detailed questions.
First, some tips from the airlines on the quickest way to request a refund:
Alaska Airlines
Go to care.inflightinternet.com. You can chat with a representative about a refund on this page or contact the airline using the email address or phone number provided there.
American Airlines
I ended up asking American for a refund without knowing exactly how. After browsing around the website for a few minutes, I found a place to email the airline. The response I received contained vague platitudes but no compensation.
Readers suggested a different tactic: Find the email receipt for the Wi-Fi purchase, click reply, and request a refund. I tried that too, and a few hours later I received an apology note and an “offer” for a discount code for a Wi-Fi “pass of your choice” for a future flight. I followed the readers’ advice and politely declined the offer. The response said my refund had been processed.
American says the Wi-Fi and Connectivity page on its website is the best place for passengers to request refunds from one of its three Wi-Fi providers.
Delta Airlines
Delta is rolling out free Wi-Fi for members of its frequent flyer program on all flights this year and next, and more than 700 aircraft already have it. People who want to pay and request a refund should go to delta.com/wifi and click on “Customer Support.”
JetBlue Airways
All internet access is free with the airline, but flight attendants may, at their discretion, offer a $15 credit if Wi-Fi (or something else) is problematic.
Spirit Airlines
The airline has set up a page on its website just for Wi-Fi refunds.
Southwest Airlines
Email the airline at: support.southwest.com/helpcenter/s/email-us. However, keep in mind that sometimes the airline will proactively send refunds if they know something didn’t work out well.
United Airlines
United will also send a refund notification via email if any issues are discovered. If you have experienced Wi-Fi problems, the airline asks that you wait a few days for this notification. If you don’t end up receiving one, visit the Refunds page on the website.
If you have any issues flying with a regional airline partner, you will need to contact Intelsat, the Wi-Fi provider. Unsure whether this is a United flight or a partner flight? When you purchase the service, the Wi-Fi provider name should be listed on the receipt.
Other things you should know
Is it worth asking flight attendants for help?
Yes. They may be able to reboot the system and get the WiFi working or improving. With some airlines compensation is also possible on site.
How bad does the WiFi have to be for me to request a refund without being an idiot?
I found Alaska’s answer reasonable:
“While we don’t have a hard and fast policy on this, we would characterize poor Wi-Fi as a lack of connection for more than 20 minutes at any given time during the flight, an inability to stream movies or video clips without multiple buffering events, or a disruption.” It’s consistent with me unable to send or receive emails,” Cameron Greenberg, a spokesman, said in an email.
What happens if I just click “Reply” on the email receipt I received when I purchased Wi-Fi and ask for a refund?
This can work, and it worked for me with American.
Can I decline if the first offer of compensation is a coupon or frequent flyer miles?
Yes, that often works, as I found at American. It’s worth trying because a refund gives you money back, while miles and vouchers are easy to forget. And the worst that can happen is that you get a “no” as an answer.
Why not just dispute the WiFi charges with your credit card company if their customer service is better than the airline’s?
In general, you should first give each service provider a chance to fix the problem.
However, I understand that it is tempting to go directly to the card issuer. As I reported more than a decade ago in a column about the art and science of using your credit card company to dispute purchases with merchants, some industry observers believe that major banks automatically credit their customers in disputes over such small dollar amounts. In other words, you may not even bother contacting the dealer.
The airlines I spoke with had no comment. Capital One and American Express said they investigated each dispute. Citi, which partners with American on various credit cards, declined to answer the question. Chase didn’t respond.
Do airlines ever reject a WiFi refund request?
Rare, it seems. But this is not an invitation to dupe them. They may have their eye on you.
“Whenever a guest gets in touch, our provider reviews their complaint,” said Mr. Greenberg, from Alaska. This also includes checking whether the passenger has used “significantly” more data than other passengers.
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2024-06-08 09:04:13
www.nytimes.com
