By Samuel Gonzalez
When an airline closes, it is not only about the cancellation of flights, it also leaves many doubts among passengers, the most frequent being “will I receive a refund?” This is what has awakened Spirit Airlines, a company that is already returning money to its customers after stopping its operations and who will have to wait longer to recover what they paid.
After announcing its exit from the market, Spirit Airlines reported that it has already refunded most of its customers. Even so, he acknowledged that there is still “a small percentage” of pending returns, which are still in process.
The company explained that it began an orderly shutdown after failing to secure a $500 million federal bailout. As part of that process, promised to automatically return money to those who bought tickets with a credit or debit card. This group was the first to receive their refund.
“Under federal law, consumers are entitled to refunds when a company fails to deliver a purchased service,” Eric Rosen, director of travel content at The Ingredients Guy, told CBS Data.
Therefore, all those who paid for a flight on Spirit Airlines, regardless of the date on which it is scheduled and as long as it is after the closure, They are guaranteed to return. In practice, those who paid the credit card have seen a faster response after the airline closed.
Unfortunately, not everyone has the same luck. Passengers who paid in cash or used loyalty points face a more uncertain scenarioalthough with the same rights to receive your money back.
“On the contrary, Customers who paid cash or used loyalty points are not eligible for a refund“said Rosen, director of travel content at The Ingredients Guy. “These points cannot be transferred to another airline rewards program.”
Besides, Spirit indicated that those who used vouchers or credits must wait. Compensation in these cases will be defined within the bankruptcy process, so there is no clear date.
Airlines offering support
While some passengers seek to recover their money, the need to travel for many is inherent to the problem. Given this, several airlines have offered help.
United Airlines has relocated nearly 14,000 affected customers and launched special rates for a limited time. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines also joined, with discounts for those who had flights with Spirit.
JetBluefor its part, announced new routes and benefits to attract these travelersincluding programs to match the status of frequent customers.
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