Well, I’m quite surprised by this, even if the amount isn’t quite right.
I’ve written extensively about Air Belgium, which is the airline that began flying between Charleroi and Hong Kong over the summer. By late September the airline announced that they’d be “temporarily pausing” scheduled flights, which came as a surprise to exactly no one.
I had booked a roundtrip ticket on the airline, with the outbound from Charleroi to Hong Kong in business class, and the return from Hong Kong to Charleroi in economy (though they ended up upgrading me on the return, given that they canceled my flight twice, so that seemed like fair compensation).
I then tried to get a refund for the return, given that they no longer had flights they could book me on.
So I spent several weeks emailing them requesting a refund. In the end I emailed them about a dozen times. They claimed they couldn’t refund my credit card, so then asked for my bank account info so they could post a refund there.
Well, after several more emails back and forth, I’m happy to report that I finally received a refund from the airline… yay!
The refund is only for $238.72.
I’m not sure how exactly they arrived at that number. The return portion of my ticket actually cost 238EUR, so it seems like I got short-changed.
So I was hoping I’d at least get a refund based on the correct price, but whatever. And that doesn’t even account for the fact that they’re obviously not making up for the fact that I had been upgraded from economy to business class on the return as compensation for them canceling my return flight twice, not that I was expecting them to.
But hey, I got something, which is more than I was expecting from Air Belgium, especially given the rumors that existed about them just a few weeks ago…
@John Belgium Airlines is probably the most bizarre airline out there, and Lucky found it interesting to report on. For aviation enthusiasts, the articles were very interesting. If they upset you so much why not ignore them?
Talk to your bank? Did your balance change yet? It could be sitting in a clearing account awaiting your word to convert it. Web site may not be multicurrency aware.
@Steffl: it says 'including all taxes and fees' on the booking site, so he got the taxes and fees refunded. He did use the outbound so of course he doesn't get back anything of the other taxes..
@lucky: the missing conversion is strange.. but otherwise you got reimbursed correctly. Why would you get a cashback on an upgrade? If you book a hotel room and cancel it later you'll get the cash back you paid....
@Steffl: it says 'including all taxes and fees' on the booking site, so he got the taxes and fees refunded. He did use the outbound so of course he doesn't get back anything of the other taxes..
@lucky: the missing conversion is strange.. but otherwise you got reimbursed correctly. Why would you get a cashback on an upgrade? If you book a hotel room and cancel it later you'll get the cash back you paid. you wouldn't expect to be refunded for the complimentary upgrade your get at check in, right?
BelgianRail finally processed my refund late last week, five months after I filed the request. I was shocked they did it so quickly. Should've taken 2 to 5 years.
Wow, a decent comment by Debit?! I have seen it all now.
NOT TRUE!!
JZ says:
November 18, 2018 at 8:39 pm
yeah, i really dont know why you keep on writing this airline that no one cares but you.
There is a ton of former airberlin employees (especially cockpit) who hoped for a job at that airline and reading what's going on with that carrier is interesting to a lot of them and mostly aviation geeks too, of course not those mile collectors,...
NOT TRUE!!
JZ says:
November 18, 2018 at 8:39 pm
yeah, i really dont know why you keep on writing this airline that no one cares but you.
There is a ton of former airberlin employees (especially cockpit) who hoped for a job at that airline and reading what's going on with that carrier is interesting to a lot of them and mostly aviation geeks too, of course not those mile collectors, ..... hhhhhmmmm, well i do that too, but still interested on there daily rollercoaster ride as covered by Benjamin (as mom calls him) too.
to keep things RIGHT: ..... you actually "lost" money Lucky Your paid fare as of your post was €238,37 but the refund was US$238,72 (with today's exchange rate, that should be about US$272,07 So either your bank is charging the typical US incoming wire fee (Citibank = US$20,-) and maybe if you look at your credit card invoice from the original purchase .... there might be a slightly higher US$ amount on there too!
...
to keep things RIGHT: ..... you actually "lost" money Lucky Your paid fare as of your post was €238,37 but the refund was US$238,72 (with today's exchange rate, that should be about US$272,07 So either your bank is charging the typical US incoming wire fee (Citibank = US$20,-) and maybe if you look at your credit card invoice from the original purchase .... there might be a slightly higher US$ amount on there too!
I still think, they DID refund the right amount.
BUT ....... what about the taxes and airport fees?!?!? Need to be refunded too on the unused portion, as you NEVER used the services on the canceled flight!
Yeah, refunds are a tricky business worldwide!
yeah, i really dont know why you keep on writing this airline that no one cares but you.
I would be suprised if the failure to convert from euros to dollars happened at your bank.
I, for one, have really enjoyed the Air Belgium articles. They’re just a bit different from the usual flow.
@John - Go have a bourbon and a soak in the hot tub. If you're so incensed at the relevance of an article, generally you don't read it. Spending precious time expressing your annoyance on something which you had a choice of opening, is silly.
I wouldn't be suprised if the failure to convert from euros to dollars happened at your bank.
"I’ve written extensively about Air Belgium, which is the airline that..."
Yes, you´ve written extensively about Potemkin-Airways and nobody could care any less. The friggin airline never really had any passengers but you, never flew any route that had any demand whatsoever, probably never had a business plan and doesnt have a competitive edge in any shape or form. None. Nada. Nothing. Why dont you give it a rest already? I mean, seriously, WN flying...
"I’ve written extensively about Air Belgium, which is the airline that..."
Yes, you´ve written extensively about Potemkin-Airways and nobody could care any less. The friggin airline never really had any passengers but you, never flew any route that had any demand whatsoever, probably never had a business plan and doesnt have a competitive edge in any shape or form. None. Nada. Nothing. Why dont you give it a rest already? I mean, seriously, WN flying between BNA and BUR is probably more newsworthy and relevant to people...
Dont get me wrong. I like your blog (mostly) and I`m a regular but this is getting so annoying.
They probably refund you the original costs of ticket (Economy Class).