Lufthansa Will Not Issue Any Refunds for Now
Many airlines are struggling right now, which is something that we have mentioned repeatedly in recent weeks. We have seen a few lawsuits already accusing airlines of withholding cash refunds, with Southwest being the latest.
While many airlines are trying to avoid giving refunds, Lufthansa is going a step further. They are clearly stating on their website that cancelled tickets aren’t being refunded until further notice. This could apparently take up to 12 months. Take a look at their current policy below:
We kindly ask for your understanding that due to the current situation refunds will be processed at a later time. We will inform you proactively on the Miles & More website once we restart the refund process.
Flight cancelled
| Regular Flight Award | Fly & Save Award (e.g. Mileage Bargain) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket unused | full refund at a later date | full refund at a later date |
| Ticket partly used | partial refund at a later date | partial refund at a later date |
Flight not cancelled
| Regular Flight Award | Fly & Save Award (e.g. Mileage Bargain) | |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket unused | refund at a later date with a cancellation fee of 50,-EUR | no refund, but rebooking possible |
| Ticket partly used | no refund, but rebooking possible | no refund, but rebooking possible |
Conclusion
I don’t see how this could be legal. You pay for a flight, the airline cancels the flight, and then tells you they will pay you back later. Ryan wrote a good article about EU compensation rules.
What’s even crazier in this case is that Lufthansa is not even bothering with such refund requests right now.
HT: Loyalty Lobby
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A good portion of your ticket goes to taxes to the airports you are flying to/from, fuel, employment of crew (ground and air), etc. If most of that wasn’t needed or used by the airline (the flights were cancelled after all so no fuel was used or taxes paid and no full pay checks for all that were laid off) for the flights that were cancelled AND they got a HUGE bailout….. exactly why can’t they pay me back? Heck. Give me a payment plan to give me my money back. Do I get interest on the money of mine they still have? The airlines are having a tough time… yea. Me too. That several thousand dollars in tickets I paid sure would help out my family. And to whomever said oh Lufti will pay me back in 6-12. Ha. Funny. Have they dealt with Lufthansa recently? They employ trained scam artists on the phone lines. I have to obey the law. Why don’t they!?
And an award that is cancelled they are charging a $50 fee? Really?
I can see why the German government would allow this. If LH needs to issue 5 billion in refunds, the German government is just gonna have to give them five billion in extra bailout money. They aren’t going to let Lufthansa fail so at that point they would rather let them ignore the law and screw passengers than give further government aid.
Just don’t fly them in the future. This is really typical of Lufthansa in case people didn’t know Because of their awful attitudes I stopped flying them in 2014. Never boarded them again and I never regretted it. Always happy to avoid sketchy comoaniutbat create headaches. Think about your happiness
Sounds smart.
I’d be fine with this if I had a Lufti ticket that was cancelled. They’ll pay it back in 6-12 months when things improve.
It’s better than most airlines that give a total runaround. Totally fine with it!
12 months. Interesting, Lufthansa managed, somehow, to grab 11 billion dollars in public money in just a few hours of paperwork. Read up on it. They needed only a few hours by LH administration staff to prepare and file for the EU and German government funds. 11 billion dollars. But it will take them 12 months to maybe return your own money to you. That’s why all this bailout business must end. Free markets are dead, at least for the big boyz. The little guy and his business can start anew if they want.
I had a booking with Lufthansa (at the end of March) using Wells Fargo points. Lufthansa canceled portions of flights and I’ve been waiting got refunds for over 2 months. What can I do as this was done using my Wells Fargo points??
May be technically legal and Lufthansa found an out in the EU requirements. They are refusing to refund and are acknowledging the obligation but stating they will be processed at a future date. Unless the EU regulations have a time limit by which refunds have to be processed this is probably not in violation.
Gotta love the creativity!!
Legal requirement is refund within 7 days, no gray area whatsoever according to EU Transport Commissioner
https://milestomemories.com/european-union-says-flight-refund-policy-isnt-vague-youre-owed-cash/