US Airways tells customer her cancer isn’t terminal enough for a refund

January 15, 2013

Not the friendly skies. / Photo by wbav - Flickr — Not the friendly skies. / Photo by wbav – Flickr

Ben Coleman and his wife were supposed to fly from New York to Oakland last November on US Airways. The couple had purchased nonrefundable roundtrip tickets on US Airways for just under $1,000.

But in October, Coleman’s wife was diagnosed with cancer.

“Her diagnosis is positive and the doctors tell us — nothing is certain, of course — that it will be a hard year, but expect that she will lead a long healthy life.”

That’s when things got a little complicated.

Coleman explains,

I called US Airways to cancel my ticket and hope for a refund. This was several weeks before my travel dates.

I was told that because I bought a non-refundable ticket there was nothing that they could do except issue me credit that would be good for one year from the ticket purchase date.

They also informed me that due to rebooking fees and other fees, the actual amount of my credit would be much less than my original purchase price. This is, of course, pretty unhelpful as there is no chance we are flying anywhere before this credit expires.

I was told that I can email their customer service desk to appeal.

He did appeal, in writing. US Airways asked for documentation of his wife’s condition, a process that took several weeks. After submitting the paperwork, the airline rejected his refund request.

I was told on the phone that they only refund tickets in cases of terminal cancer.

Are you kidding me?

I get their super strict policy — I did buy a non-refundable ticket — but why make me go to my wife’s doctor, waste his time, and the precious time I have with him, and ask him for this favor, if you’re just going to reject it?

Coleman wants me to see if US Airways will reconsider its decision, and I’m tempted to.

Here’s how the conversation is likely to go: I’ll ask US Airways to take a look at the case, and it will ask if I’m aware that Coleman could have purchased a more expensive, flexible ticket. And I will ask the airline how much such a ticket would cost, and then we’ll get into a debate over whether it’s fair or reasonable for someone to pay three times more for a ticket just to be able to change a date or get a refund.

It’s an unwinnable argument.

What puzzles me about this case is that a US Airways representative actually told Coleman that his wife’s cancer needed to be “terminal” in order for her to get a refund. Isn’t it enough that she’s going to be suffering through chemotherapy treatments for the rest of the year, and that the ticket credit will certainly be unused?

Like Coleman, I understand that nonrefundable means nonrefundable. But come on. Passengers cut airlines some slack when they can’t operate a flight for reasons beyond their control. It’s not as if the Colemans thought it was possible they’d have to cancel their trip for medical reasons.

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bodega3

When you click on coach/economy fares, you also get a chance to see higher coach fares. Book those and then you see the word REFUNDABLE.
bodega3

Soutwest just did away with this capability. Obviously the policy was being abused. This is how many of the current rules have come about. When I started selling airline tickets, we could change them very easily.
bodega3

I think you are correct. I am sure the wording from the doctor wasn’t as clear cut as the OP thought it would be.
http://www.facebook.com/judyserie.nagy Judy Serie Nagy

As previously reported, I had to cancel 2 tix on Virgin Atlantic several years ago due to a serious back issue; I would not have been able to fly for 10 hours. The agent told me that they couldn’t waive the penalties and fees unless I was dead. I actually appreciated their candor! We are again discussing the meaning of “non-refundable” aren’t we?
Michael__K

They claim they do give refunds if it’s “terminal cancer.”

If so, that raises prices for everyone too, no? Does that mean they shouldn’t do that either?

I’d love to see the math. I suspect we’re talking about a few pennies (if that) on an average airfare. Which I for one would gladly trade for seeing passengers like the Colemans treated better.

But as others have pointed out, the carrier can help the OP’s without even issuing a refund in this case. They could use some discretion and extend the standard 1-year expiration deadline on her ticket.
sirwired

Yes, if you die, or are soon going to, I think even Spirit will refund your ticket. But the line has to be drawn somewhere, and US Airways apparently believes that somebody that isn’t terminal will probably find some way to use that ticket some time in the next year.

And the number of passengers that either die, or are diagnosed with a terminal disease is so small that it is indeed insignificant. Allowing cancellations for “any medical emergency” (as you proposed) is not insignificant. (And wide-open to abuse.)
Jennifer Minchau

I’m really torn on this one as there can be a black and white side of this argument and a gray side. If it is looked at as black and white, you buy a non-refundable ticket, the expectation is that you use it or lose it, or in this case pay the change fee up to a year. On the other hand, the part of me that lives in gray would like to hope that if in the same situation that someone would show some compassion and work with my situation, especially if the airline was notified within a reasonable amount of time so they could resell the seats.
Michael__K

I see. So we can just ignore the disclaimer on the home page and the plain language in the contract which states that cancellation (and other) fees may still apply even for “REFUNDABLE” tickets.

I’ll keep that in mind the next time someone who comes to Chris for help gets blasted for missing a detail like that.
sirwired

Ticket transfer / resell is not allowed in order to prevent “ticket arbitrage.” If it WAS allowed, the industry’s standard pricing model of selling cheap advance purchase fares and charging last minute (usually business) travelers a premium would become utterly broken. This would raise leisure fares by quite a bit and shrink the number of seats overall as fewer people flew.

I could see transferring the credit being allowed for a nominal fee, but that credit should be fixed to the dollar amount of the fare, not the routing/date.
bodega3

The fare on the carrier’s website dictates the rule. Discounted Economy fares are nonrefundable. Full Economy fares usually are refundable. You have to read the rules and then print them out if you are going to purchase a ticket using those rules. It isn’t rocket science!
bodega3

What did the rule of the fare state regarding medical cancellations? Usually on international tickets, there is a medical rule. However, without a doctor’s note, you aren’t going to get a waiver.
sirwired

But if the airline cancels their flight for any reason whatsoever (even totally outside airline control), or delays the flight by a significant amount you are entitled to a full refund if you want it; they don’t get “off the hook” at all.
Michael__K

Where did I propose “allowing cancellations for any medical emergency?” Did you confuse me with someone else? I don’t have a blanket opinion on that — the details matter.

I think, at a minimum, allowing exceptions to the 1-year ticket expiration deadline for documented serious illnesses that require a year or longer of travel-free recovery time is a no-brainer.
sirwired

Michael: That was my bad… I did confuse you with another poster; I corrected the post about 30 seconds later, but not until Disqus sent out your notification.
bodega3

I just went to USAIR’s website and no where on the home page do I see what you say you saw. As for fares, I booked roundtrip coach/flexible and this is what came up:

$1,458

per
person

Refundable

When I booked roundtrip coach/economy, this is what came up:

$318

per
person

Non-refundable
++++++++++++++++++++++
Not sure what isn’t clear on this for you?
Michael__K

It isn’t supposed to be rocket science, and it generally isn’t with most carriers. But you can’t read and print rules you can’t find.

Which is why I’m asking for a citation. Why won’t you cite the fare rule from usairways.com?
Jeanne_in_NE

Glad to see you’re still out there, ARW. Haven’t heard from you in a long, long time.
Michael__K

What part of the CoC passage I already quoted — which states that cancellation penalties may apply to “refundable” tickets — do you not understand?

BTW, on the usairways.com home page, hover on the “?” next to “Fare rules” and you’ll see this:

Flexible – Fares are fully refundable and may be changed at any time (fees may apply).
bodega3

I did. I showed you two!!!
bodega3

You are confusing cancel with a change fee. You can cancel for no fee. If you change your flexible fare a fee MAY apply but it also MAY NOT apply.
Carrie Charney

Are you sure you could have cancelled for any reason? Those policies usually contain a lot of “gotchas” in the fine print.
Michael__K

No, you didn’t. A price and the word “refundable” doesn’t tell us what refundable ticket cancellation penalty applies.
Guest

“You can cancel for no fee.”

How generous of you to tell me so. Once again, why won’t you quote where usairways.com tells us so?
Michael__K

“You can cancel for no fee.”

How generous of you to tell me so. Once again, why won’t you quote where usairways.com tells us so?
Carrie Charney

Suspicious skin spots are not monitored. They are removed partially or totally for biopsy.
anacoluthon

The Colemans could have purchased their nonrefundable tickets plus travel insurance, right? If you develop an illness or other covered events listed in your policy that prevents you from completing the travel, you just file a claim with the travel insurance company and at least get some of your purchase price refunded.

I really feel sorry for them, I’m sure they probably need the money for living expenses now that Mrs. Coleman has such a serious illness. You would think the company would just refund it; but in the meantime I buy travel insurance or else gamble on unforeseen circumstances.
Cybrsk8r

It seems to me that maybe the airline could meet them halfway on this. How? OK, so the ticket is non-refundable. But how about issuing a credit, but allowing the customer to transfer that credit to someone else if they can’t use it?

Maybe a parent would give the credit to one of their children for a trip home, or even donate the airline credit to charity and get a tax deduction. I can think of a few right off the top of my head. Make-a-wish, or organizations which fly soldiers home on leave come to mind.
flutiefan

“a US Airways representative actually told Coleman that his wife’s cancer
needed to be “terminal” in order for her to get a refund.”

so he claims.
nonrefundable means exactly that. it would be nice if USAir refunded them, or waived the change/penalty fees, or extended their worth. but they aren’t required to nor should be shamed/coerced into doing so.
flutiefan

“We let the airline off the hook when there’s a delay for reasons beyond its control.” no, you can almost always get a full refund when your flight doesn’t go.
flutiefan

most of those people didn’t buy the correct policy for their needs.
flutiefan

” Passengers want compensation for any sort of irregularity”

you got that right!!! just this week i had a 55 year old woman demand compensation when she showed up to my gate at 3:22pm for her 3:10pm flight and it was gone. and i mean DEMAND.
flutiefan

the airline probably didn’t know the cancer was treatable until they saw the documentation. i have a feeling that the OP didn’t mention that part originally, that it wasn’t terminal.
James P

I voted yes because there is some middle ground for both parties. I get the non-refundable but what in concept would allowing for credit on another flight hurt? Especially if the original seat were resold.
bodega3

There aren’t any so there is nothing available to post other than REFUNDABLE. I sell tickets Michael, I know the rules. Geez.
vmacd

Travel insurance. It’s a lot cheaper than a refundable ticket and would cover having to cover due to illness.
reasonedthought

Exactly. I remember in the late 80′s, when the airlines went to nonrefundable, non-changeable, except if the passenger brought a note from a doctor, then they could change. We got all sorts of notes handed to us, including dentists, chiropractors and my favorite one, a doctor of theology! People took advantage of the airlines. And yes, I’ve heard the argument that it was in response to the airlines being unreasonable however that is little more than a rationalization for equally bad behavior. My grandmother taught us all that two wrongs don’t make a right.
Linda

I’m just so tired of people who do not understand the word “non-refundable”. BUY TRIP INSURANCES, IDIOTS!
Guest

Nice to know that you “know” the rules and can assure us that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with the language of the contract.

Is it unreasonable to expect the rules you “know” to be clearly documented on the carrier’s own website for the benefit of the rest of us who aren’t as brilliant as you?

“REFUNDABLE” tickets on US Airways can have “CANCELLATION PENALTIES” — says so in their own CoC.

If you want to tell us that you’ve never heard of such cancellation penalties in practice, that’s a contribution to the discussion that might be of value to some readers.

I don’t see how your spending so many replies misdirecting and ducking my simple request for the carrier’s documentation is of any value to anyone.
Michael__K

Nice to know that you “know” the rules and can assure us that we shouldn’t concern ourselves with the language of the contract.

Is it unreasonable to expect the rules you “know” to be clearly documented on the carrier’s own website for the benefit of the rest of us who aren’t as brilliant as you?

“REFUNDABLE” tickets on US Airways can have “CANCELLATION PENALTIES” — says so in their own CoC.

If you want to tell us that you’ve never heard of such cancellation penalties in practice, that’s a contribution to the discussion that might be of value to some readers.

I don’t see how your spending so many replies misdirecting and ducking my simple request for the carrier’s documentation is of any value to anyone.
TonyA_says

Maybe people will learn that DIYing means they need to find the correct info by themselves. It can be found if they know how.
JenniferFinger

Sorry, but I disagree with that. It still doesn’t make for good customer service to look for loopholes-especially involving cancer. Cancer sufferers, terminal or not, are in terrible pain, especially if they’re on chemotherapy, not to mention the side effects like nausea and hair loss. Giving them a dismissive back of the hand like what happened here may have saved US Airways money in the short run, but it will lead to very bad publicity which could really hurt them in the long run.
JenniferFinger

It was poor customer service to make the rule that distinguishes between “terminal” and “non-terminal” cancer in deciding whether or not to allow for a refund. As I said, any cancer can go very quickly from “non-terminal” to “terminal,” and even with a doctor’s note, it’s very subjective. Even if the doctor claimed it was “terminal,” I wouldn’t put it past the airline to bring in someone of its own to counter that the doctor was wrong, etc. and keep fighting it out, while in the meantime the cancer sufferer is 1) denied a trip that s/he paid for, 2) denied a refund, and 3) forced to get all this documentation in the first place that’s just being used against him/her as a weapon by the airline.
JenniferFinger

I’m sure you’re right. Customer service representatives are often forced by their employers to do their jobs in ways that, interestingly, offer no “service” to the customers.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Alan-Gore/100000957978287 Alan Gore

How would the small number of actual unused tickets really compare to the CSR time invested in judging all the reasons people have for seeking exceptions to non-refundability?

Now consider the value of the accounting data that market prices on a secondary ticket market would represent. You can bet that with today’s yield management software, no airline is going to consistently underprice tickets to the extent that traders on such a market would be able to make reliable speculative trading profits.
bodega3

Go by the rules of the fare Michael. A refundable ticket is refundable but if you use a nonrefundable ticket to help purchase the refundable ticket, then the nonrefundable portion remains nonrefundable. Whatever you are reading, as I don’t see it, is giving you the most restrictive considerations as they can’t print every possible scenario. If you need assistance, call a good ticketing TA. They have all the information at their fingertips and can help you with any scenario you might come up with. No online reservation site, including the airline’s, will give you everything you need to know.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Alan-Gore/100000957978287 Alan Gore

Think about this for a moment: haven’t passengers bitched for years about the lack of any slightly more expensive option to get the flexibility of being able to change tickets without losing everything? This option is exactly what Southwest offers, and which legacy airlines claim is impossible. Yet WN makes a ton of money offering this option, which is why the resentful legacy carriers make it a point to lock it out of their fare search engines and interline agreements.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Alan-Gore/100000957978287 Alan Gore

And do international carriers lose money because of this tiny bit of humanity? Of course not – they make it up in goodwill from passengers who are more willing to book with them next time.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Alan-Gore/100000957978287 Alan Gore

“I wouldn’t expect an airline to waive a fee if I were, say, violently ill with stomach flu that made it impossible for me to fly. ”

Which is exactly why so many people in this situation fly anyway, even though it means infecting the rest of the flight.
TonyA_says

You need to ask the carrier and not bodega. Here’s what the DOT says.

9. CONTRACT TERMS

Throughout this booklet, we have tried to provide you general information about airline travel. It is important to realize, however, that each airline has specific rules that make up your contract of carriage. These rules may differ among carriers. They include provisions such as check-in deadlines, refund procedures, responsibility for delayed flights, and many other things.Domestic TravelFor domestic travel, an airline may provide all of its contract terms on or with your ticket at the time you buy it. Some small “commuter” carriers use this system. Other airlines may elect to “incorporate terms by reference.” This means that you are not given all the airline’s rules with your ticket [The proof has a weird symbol here; it should be a dash] most of them are contained in a separate document which you can inspect on request or on the airline’s web site. If an airline elects to “incorporate by reference” it must provide conspicuous written notice with each ticket that: 1) it incorporates terms by reference, and 2) these terms may include liability limitations, claim-filing deadlines, check-in deadlines, and certain other key terms. The airline must also:* Ensure that passengers can receive an explanation of key terms identified on the ticket from any location where the carrier’s tickets are sold, including travel agencies;* Make available for inspection the full text of its contract of carriage at each of its own airport and city ticket offices;* Mail a free copy of the full text of its contract of carriage upon request.DOT also requires most U.S.airlines to post their contracts of carriage on their web site, if they have one.There are additional notice requirements for contract terms that affect your air fare. Airlines must provide a conspicuous written notice on or with the ticket concerning any “incorporated” contract terms that restrict refunds, impose monetary penalties, or permit the airline to raise the price after you’ve bought the ticket.If an airline incorporates contract terms by reference and fails to provide you the required notice about a particular rule, you will not be bound by that rule. In addition, a DOT rule prohibits airlines from changing a term in your contract after you buy your ticket if the change will have a significant negative effect on you.
TonyA_says

Bodega has access to a GDS which also has access to all carriers rules.
You a customer don’t. Therefore you have the right to go to the airline offices and ask for it. I do not think the current rules says it need to be posted for you online.

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