ASTA Calls on Air Canada to Change its Refund Policy
经过戴恩·泰勒(Daine Taylor)/
美国旅行顾问协会(ASTA)呼吁加拿大航空公司在航空公司声称没有义务向取消航班的乘客退款后,撤销其退款政策。
The airline announced its position during a pending U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) enforcement proceeding on June 26, and stated that it was not required to provide refunds for flights cancelled by the airline, if the fare rules for the tickets in question do not specifically require it.
这一决定与运输部规定相反,要求运营商在承运人取消航班或进行飞行时间表的重大更改时,向乘客提供全额退款,并且乘客选择不接受承运人提供的任何替代方案。
“Regardless of whether any of Air Canada’s legal arguments will ultimately be found to have merit, ASTA finds its position disputing the DOT’s authority to mandate refunds to be disappointing in terms of fundamental fairness when the situation is viewed from the traveler’s perspective,” ASTA said in a statement.
“正如DOT所指出的那样,问题是‘不是关于飞行中断是在承运人的控制之内还是外部,而是取消取消是没有乘客的过错的事实。’”
While the DOT maintains that these regulations apply to foreign carriers as well as domestic when the flights were scheduled to travel to the U.S., Air Canada argues that the DOT’s Enforcement Notice is not legally binding and any attempt by the DOT to enforce it would constitute “an unwarranted extraterritorial application of U.S. law.”
“Air Canada’s recently revised cancellation and rebooking policies are not, as written, unfair when the impacted consumer is amenable to receiving a voucher for future travel, and in most respects, they do align with the best practice recommendations of the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA),” ASTA said. “However, in our view it works a substantial injustice for consumers that justifiably relied upon the DOT refund regulation and Air Canada’s previous policy which reflected its adherence to it.”
The group also applauded the work of the airlines that have responded to the crisis by freely providing refunds to affected customers, citing that these flexible policies will provide a much needed boost in consumer confidence in the industry.
“We commend those carriers that, despite the difficult circumstances, have honored their obligations to their passengers under the DOT’s mandate and call on Air Canada to do the same immediately by reversing its current position on refunds. By doing the right thing for the affected passengers, abiding by the established rules and promptly providing refunds for cancelled flights when requested, Air Canada can maintain the trust and confidence of both the agency community and the traveling public as a whole.”