All the time, OMAAT readers will share with me the frustrating situations they encounter with airlines, and I try to share my take and provide tips, best I can. Well, I’ve just encountered a situation with a ticket I had booked on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), which is leaving me very frustrated.
I guess I should take responsibility here, though it really exposes how one-sided airline contracts of carriage are, and how unforgiving airlines are when it comes to applying logic to these kinds of situations. Let me explain…
In this post:
SAS canceled my flight, and rebooking wasn’t seamless
On the trip I’m just wrapping up, I flew Emirates’ 777 business class from Dubai (DXB) to Frankfurt (FRA), and my plan was then to connect to Copenhagen (CPH) four hours later, on an SAS A320neo business class flight, which I booked with cash (I paid around $300).
While standing in the gate area at Dubai Airport at around 2AM waiting to board, I received an email from SAS, informing me that my flight several hours later from Frankfurt to Copenhagen had been canceled. Grrr! Can I just mention that I have really bad luck, because the last intra-Europe flight I had booked (from a couple of months back) was also canceled on the day of departure?
The email indicated I should check my options by going to the “my trips” section of SAS’ website, so that’s exactly what I did.
Annoying, despite SAS’ email indicating I could rebook through the website, that wasn’t initially the case, as obviously things weren’t programmed correctly. After pulling up my itinerary, I just saw the standard rebooking options, not reflecting that my flight was canceled:
- I was given the option for a same day flight change, at the cost of 60 EUR
- The option to rebook flights showed as “not available”
While I was initially booked on an 11:05AM flight, I knew there was no earlier flight on SAS, and the next flight was only at 3:15PM. For context, I had only one night in Copenhagen, and was staying at Nimb Hotel, the city’s best hotel, which I booked with a Hilton free night certificate.
So it was important to me to get there ASAP, and I was a little worried the later flight would book out with people rebooking, given that it was operated by a smaller regional jet.
Since I was literally in the boarding area for a flight in the UAE (which also blocks most voice calling apps), all I could do was keep refreshing the SAS “my trips” section, to see if options finally showed up. Well, that didn’t happen for quite some time.
After my flight was airborne, around an hour after I initially checked, I saw the proposed alternative flight, which was the 3:15PM flight I was expecting. That was one of the options, or I could request a refund.
The details on this page were all limited, so I clicked through to confirm the flight. After all, I wasn’t even sure if the rebooking was in business class, since it wasn’t mentioned on the page. For that matter, I wondered if it would even rebook correctly, given previous issues I was having with managing the reservation (with rebooking options not showing up).
Sure enough, the flight confirmed, and it was in business class.
I then decided I was going to look for a better option
As soon as I knew what my “confirmed” option was with SAS, I started considering alternatives. As much as I loved the idea of taking the later flight and getting 250 EUR compensation thanks to EC261 regulations, this was less than ideal:
- I’d realistically only get to the hotel at around 6PM, well after sunset, and I really wanted to enjoy and review Nimb Hotel, and my time there was limited
- I had been traveling nonstop for three days with minimal sleep, and quite frankly, sitting in Frankfurt Airport for another eight hours sounded really unpleasant
I took a look at options (which isn’t all that easy on Emirates’ very slow inflight Wi-Fi), and saw that Lufthansa had a nonstop flight at around 10AM that had award availability in economy, so I could book that for 7,500 points. As much as I would’ve preferred business class and EC261 compensation, this seemed worth it to enjoy the hotel, to get some proper rest, and to avoid an extra five plus hours in Frankfurt.
I then decided to start an online chat with SAS to try to cancel my original flight. However, despite what the website says, the online chat doesn’t actually transfer you to a human, and is just AI (at least it was when I reached out). So instead, I called SAS the second I landed in Frankfurt.
I explained my flight was canceled, and I would like to refund it, as the schedule for the new flight didn’t work for me, and I rebooked a separate itinerary. The agent explained that my ticket was non-refundable, because I had accepted the new flight.
Okay, as she said that, I kind of thought to myself “oh boy, this is going to be a headache.” Technically she’s correct — I did “accept” the new flight, but that’s because the website wasn’t working correctly previously with rebooking, and I wanted to see what the option actually was, in terms of the cabin travel would be in, etc.
She explained that SAS had no further obligation, since I accepted the rebooking, and therefore a cancellation was no longer possible. She insisted there was nothing else she could do. Okay, that’s super annoying — I suppose technically she’s correct that I accepted the alternative, though this just strikes me as incredibly customer unfriendly.
I’m a SkyTeam Elite Plus member booking business class who had a flight canceled on me last minute. The website was bad for rebooking, and I just wanted to see what the alternative option actually was, in full. And then when I reached out almost immediately to explain I didn’t want to take that flight, I was essentially told “tough luck,” because I agreed to the alternative. Grrrr!
Do I just take the loss on this, or try to fight it?
I try to hold myself to a high standard when it comes to how I interact with airlines, and I also know to expect the worst when it comes to airline customer service, and their willingness to apply logic to a situation.
In retrospect, I should’ve probably known better than to confirm the flight, only to then cancel. It was probably a combination of factors — I was super tired, I placed a lot of value in being sure I could get to Copenhagen as soon as possible, and the website was having issues with confirming new flights.
However, I will say, I’ve absolutely had other situations where my flight was canceled, I accepted a rebooking, and then I let the airline know that actually didn’t work, and they were happy to refund me. This just seems like one of those situations where if you step back and apply any sort of logic, you’d say “okay, refunding the customer is the right thing.” But I also understand that the airline industry operates under a system of “computer says no.”
Perhaps the other path here is to try to request EC261 compensation, based on the flight I was rebooked on. Okay, I don’t get my money back, but the 250 EUR would basically cover the ticket cost, and they could only get me to my destination over three hours late. But then I’m sure they’d also argue that I didn’t take the flight…
So yeah, I’m not sure what exactly to make of this, but this is one of the more frustrating situations I’ve had with an airline in quite some time… and maybe I’m just mad at myself here.
Bottom line
SAS canceled my flight at the last minute, which was less than ideal, given that I had just one night in Copenhagen. The rebooking process was far from seamless, but eventually I was able to see what the rebooking option was, and it confirmed.
After looking at alternatives on other airlines and deciding that the flight didn’t work for me, I just booked a ticket on Lufthansa with points, since I valued getting to Copenhagen earlier. However, at that point SAS claimed that I wasn’t eligible for a refund, since I agreed to the rebooking. That’s kind of frustrating, when you consider the consider the big picture, in my opinion.
What do you make of this SAS cancellation saga?
Social media always claims Scandinavian countries are perfect and America is garbage. This means Ben, however nice a person he is, should suck it up and listen to SAS because they are perfect.
This may sound unreasonable but just look at social media, like Instagram. Full of memes about how Americans are all bankrupt from a pimple, are about to die from a gunshot wound tomorrow, and cannot buy gas without getting robbed while Scandinavians...
Social media always claims Scandinavian countries are perfect and America is garbage. This means Ben, however nice a person he is, should suck it up and listen to SAS because they are perfect.
This may sound unreasonable but just look at social media, like Instagram. Full of memes about how Americans are all bankrupt from a pimple, are about to die from a gunshot wound tomorrow, and cannot buy gas without getting robbed while Scandinavians have free houses, health care, and public transit where a bus comes every 2 minutes taking them to any place in less than 30 minutes. America is garbage, Scandinavia is paradise, according to social media.
My in-laws had a similar situation in December with Spirit.
It's a catch-22 because your instinct is to confirm on something quickly so that it doesn't fill up. But if you find a better option later, then I guess you're SOL.
DOT rules don't require a refund if you "accept" an alternative, so I am skeptical that other US carriers would be more generous than they're required to be.
Absolutely fight it. Use the help of Dr. Böse!
Ben, I'm surprised you would consider escalating this. You accepted the new flight...
Hey Ben, I had a similar experience last summer. In the end when I applied for the refund through the line portal and explored what had happened they did kindly issue the full refund. It is kind of a "gotcha" experience on SAS, I hope you the best. But yes do fight it.
Email the COO and CRO to complain. I had some success doing this a few months back. Their emails are [email protected] and [email protected].
For all the shit people give US legacy airlines, their level of customer service during irregular operations is way higher. I can't imagine United, for example, handling this that way, not to mention its vastly superior app and online support options.
When you have strict regulation like Europe does for consumer protection, the airlines stick to the rules. You fund the requirement of what you have to do by eliminating any and all exceptions granted.
Yeah, United wouldn't do this to him. The United app would also pick up they already messed you up and let you change your mind or refund.
American I've had an issue where they rebooked me with a connection,...
When you have strict regulation like Europe does for consumer protection, the airlines stick to the rules. You fund the requirement of what you have to do by eliminating any and all exceptions granted.
Yeah, United wouldn't do this to him. The United app would also pick up they already messed you up and let you change your mind or refund.
American I've had an issue where they rebooked me with a connection, I took it, then they wouldn't let me change back to a nonstop when my circumstances changed because I agreed to the new routing - only could standby (if I did so in the app) to the new intermediate point. Long story short, to go from DCA to CLT I ended up with a 3.5 hour sit in GSO.
I can’t even fathom why you would try and even consider escalating this. It sure sucks, but those are the terms of condition, and you did indeed accept the new flight. SAS upheld its part of the contract — to get you from FRA to CPH.
Even though you’re Skyteam elite plus in J does not equal entitlement to different rules.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lifetime SAS Gold (currently Diamond), and...
I can’t even fathom why you would try and even consider escalating this. It sure sucks, but those are the terms of condition, and you did indeed accept the new flight. SAS upheld its part of the contract — to get you from FRA to CPH.
Even though you’re Skyteam elite plus in J does not equal entitlement to different rules.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a lifetime SAS Gold (currently Diamond), and I loathe SAS at times, but I know the rules and obligations in the contract of carriage.
As airlines continue to transition to AI and automated means for rebooking, even frequent travelers will find that there is no customer service or human empathy for unusual or special circumstances. Rebooking will be based strictly on availability from point A to point B with few or no other options only a rep can find and book. Better plan with plenty of cushion for off schedule operations.
As mentioned by others. Your mistake was booking X flight. Unfortunately at that point you absolved them and binded yourself.
Yes you can push the customer service line but they're not liable for your own choices.
Slow internet and/or bad timing regarding them updating their site are frustrating but you had the option to sort it upon landing where you could've talked with a person who, if you hadn't of rebooked, would still...
As mentioned by others. Your mistake was booking X flight. Unfortunately at that point you absolved them and binded yourself.
Yes you can push the customer service line but they're not liable for your own choices.
Slow internet and/or bad timing regarding them updating their site are frustrating but you had the option to sort it upon landing where you could've talked with a person who, if you hadn't of rebooked, would still be under obligation to resolve things to an acceptable alternative.
Fyi: You have the Right to Alternate Carrier in situations like yours. An airline can suggest you take X,Y or Z flight, with them, when they can do it but that's all they can do, suggest. Aslong as you can demonstrate a flight on BA, VS, DL is of a reasonable comparison then you could have flown with whomever got you there near to your original itinerary & that best suited you. Price difference they have to pay out is irrelevant. They have to comply with your request and pay the other carrier whatever it costs.
All that made the urgency not so tangible but you have the info for the future.
NB: This isn't something I heard from a guy who knew a girl... I've used it several times over the years both long & short haul. For sure the carrier will say you "have" to book on their metal from the couple alternates that suits them but I think most agents will buckle and sort it out with just a firm "Sorry that's not right....". Think I've only had to escalate to a manger once regarding this.
Typical European shit. Focus on rules rather than solving the problem. This is why we are much richer than they are.
Right on.
Because we allow the rich to avoid tax, the powerful to avoid jail, and bully everyone else who goes against us. Oh and we can "liberate" oil rich country whenever we need. We've been doing that since H.W.
the companies are richer, for sure. but your personal cost are much higher, rent, cost of living. sometimes 4-5X higher. and there are no customer protection laws in the us. yes he hast to follow the rules. if he would've followed the rules he would have been gotten everything he wanted PLUS EU261 compensation. In the us when they cancel the evening flight the even don't pay the hotel. here it is law that airlines...
the companies are richer, for sure. but your personal cost are much higher, rent, cost of living. sometimes 4-5X higher. and there are no customer protection laws in the us. yes he hast to follow the rules. if he would've followed the rules he would have been gotten everything he wanted PLUS EU261 compensation. In the us when they cancel the evening flight the even don't pay the hotel. here it is law that airlines have to do that.. I love it. so every part in the world has it's advantages and as costumer we should make profit out of that.
Let it go, Ben. Is it right? No. Is it customer friendly? No. You can spend time and effort fighting it but your time is more valuable than that.
This is the difference between "rules" in USA and Europe plain and simple. You would definitely be able to get refunded if this happened in USA due to a cancelled flight. Not the case in Europe. With benefits like EU261 also comes inflexibility.
I'd probably take the L and book a day rate at the HGI over in the Squaire, get in a nap, or if I simply had to get more time in on the review, get the LH eco flight and eat the SK flight.
This is not America where you can book and cancel flights all day long without consequence because you want to "cover all possible bases".
EU261: SAS (or and other European Airline) must book you in the next available/quickest flight even if it is on a different airline.
Most people don’t know: even if the flight is cancelled due to bad weather or whatever they still need to book you on the quickest available alternative.
Next time: write an email to SAS with your husband in CC (to later prove that the email was sent and received) to...
EU261: SAS (or and other European Airline) must book you in the next available/quickest flight even if it is on a different airline.
Most people don’t know: even if the flight is cancelled due to bad weather or whatever they still need to book you on the quickest available alternative.
Next time: write an email to SAS with your husband in CC (to later prove that the email was sent and received) to book you on flight xxx within a reasonable timeframe of a couple of hours - if they don’t reply, book the ticket on your own and keep screenshots to show it was reasonably priced etc.
you will then have to contact the airline for reimbursement.
sorry Ben, but here you are totally wrong. I am based in FRA, Germany and as a HON ein fly constantly Lufthansa. Even with my status they would do anything once I agree on an alternative. They always tell you also in the Hotline, that once you accept the alternative the original rules (if you have a refundable ticket, for sure it's refundable after that) are valid. No chance. So I never, never ever confirm...
sorry Ben, but here you are totally wrong. I am based in FRA, Germany and as a HON ein fly constantly Lufthansa. Even with my status they would do anything once I agree on an alternative. They always tell you also in the Hotline, that once you accept the alternative the original rules (if you have a refundable ticket, for sure it's refundable after that) are valid. No chance. So I never, never ever confirm anything until I do not know that it will be my final solution. Until I do not confirm anything any agent can do anything with a ticket which is status TK/UN. But if you arrive more then 3 hours late with the alternative booking you are eligible for 250,- EUR EU261 compensation. As you the ticket has Germany contact (departure FRA) you can contact a German lawyer like Dr. Böse and it will be an easy thing. reminder for the US people here: in Germany you have not cost if you fight for your rights before court and you win. then the looser has to pay everything. and in such cases it's quit crytal clear. I never lost a case when I was sueing an airline cause they had cancelt or rescheduled my flight. So in this case we say in Germany: Fass dir a die eigenen Nase - blöd gelaufen und nächstes mal schlauer sein. All the best!
Thanks for bringing up Dr. Böse…so I don’t have to…
None of the rationalizations, excuses you tell yourself changes the fact that you accepted an alternate. The circumstances don't matter. Your motivation was also to make sure that alternate plane didn't get booked up.
I don't know of any airline that does any differently in terms of options once accepted. Note that your booking on alternate may potentially have made a seat on that plane unavailable for sale. So there is a potential cost to...
None of the rationalizations, excuses you tell yourself changes the fact that you accepted an alternate. The circumstances don't matter. Your motivation was also to make sure that alternate plane didn't get booked up.
I don't know of any airline that does any differently in terms of options once accepted. Note that your booking on alternate may potentially have made a seat on that plane unavailable for sale. So there is a potential cost to them of your decision.
After that it is entirely up to them to make an exception for good will. One in 3 or less will do that.
SAS is an almost LCC and so unlikely. But worth a try.
As you got an interesting and informative (for the readers in the future) post out of it, I’d say it’s a reasonable €300 business expense. I know you know this and probably aren’t that upset but I get it.
EU and ME3 usually have these stupid customer unfriendly by the book to the T policy.
The employees can't even do anything if they wanted to help you. They can only wait for an approval by someone hidden in a bomb shelter. The request usually takes 48 hours, and mostly will remain the same customer unfriendly answer.
So basically these airlines tells you to go f**k yourself when something goes wrong.
Everytime I fly...
EU and ME3 usually have these stupid customer unfriendly by the book to the T policy.
The employees can't even do anything if they wanted to help you. They can only wait for an approval by someone hidden in a bomb shelter. The request usually takes 48 hours, and mostly will remain the same customer unfriendly answer.
So basically these airlines tells you to go f**k yourself when something goes wrong.
Everytime I fly ME3, I just hope nothing happens. No delays, no rebooking, no bag damage, no incident. Just check in, fly, arrive, and be done.
I'd escalate at the airline's elite support. The salient point for me: their original email, telling you that if you do A, you can expect B. They promised you, at the time of their writing, that a web page offering you options was available. It wasn't. It may not gain you anything but it seems to me this is their biggest sin. Sadly you're not dealing with a high service culture so manage expectations accordingly. I enjoyed this post and value it highly.
Accepting a new flight makes it non-refundable? Okay SAS or other airlines, if you do this, make it clear to the customer. Don’t hit them with unexpected non-refundability after the fact. Or you may face class action from my peers in the plaintiff’s bar!
Seems pretty clear to me.
If you originally booked a non refundable fare. They would rebook you into the non refundable fare. Accepting a new flight is like you just booked a non refundable flight.
Keep trying, you might find a lawyer stupid enough to do a class action.
@Eskimo is right, Ben booked a nonref flight and only had an opportunity to ask for a refund because the airline disrupted his plans. The accepted wisdom is that such changes should only be accepted once someone has looked into the proposed changes and is actually happy with them.
I would've made the connection for the SAS agent that your delay would've led to EU261 eligibility and that you were planning on pursuing the case if you forced into taking on the SAS flight.
I'm sure escalation onto a supervisor who is authorised to realise that it would be a net loss (once taxes and airport fees are deducted from the cash fare) to fly you, you would've seen your requested refund provided fairly quickly.
I still can't see how EU261 would apply if he didn't take the rebooked flight.
They gave him an option, and Ben took it. No one forced him to take any flight.
N.B. supervisors are not accountants. They wouldn't care the monetary consequences.
the alternative arrives more the three hours later. that's enough for 250,- EUR. that's great EU customer Law.
And that's why he's called Lucky.