I purchased two business class tickets through Chatdeal to fly American Airlines from Dallas to Oakland. The airline downgraded us to Economy Plus and told us at the gate that we would automatically receive a refund for the price difference within 7 days. We also received a $600 coupon from American Airlines for the inconvenience.
After returning to the US, I called American Airlines several times to inquire about a refund. At first, the rep said I would have to wait 7 days after the flight ended. Then, the rep said they couldn’t find my flight information because it was a codeshare with Qantas.
In the end, the American Airlines representative said that since our tickets were with Qantas and American Airlines was only the operating carrier from Dallas to Auckland, the airline was not responsible for the refund.
I have contacted Qantas several times, including Chatdeal as I purchased the ticket through them, but so far the issue has not been resolved. So far no one has taken responsibility for a refund. It’s clear they are just passing the buck. It’s been almost 3 months since my flight. Can anyone help? — Margarete Honig, Cave Creek, AZ
American Airlines should have immediately refunded the difference between Economy Plus and Business Class.
A 16 hour flight from Dallas to Oakland is pretty long even in business class. But economy plus? Not for any price. Don’t get me wrong, I love Oakland. But getting there from the US is the worst. So, to be clear, downgrading to economy plus was a big deal.
The problem is that you booked your ticket with Qantas and technically the American portion was a codeshare flight, so the American representative who promised you a refund was really rude – you were a Qantas passenger, not an American passenger.
But that doesn’t matter, if the airline is promising a refund, it doesn’t matter if there’s a codeshare arrangement behind the scenes. If you do the math, you could get about $6,500 back.
Your case is confusing. You should have done what you should have done. You should have contacted the online travel agency (Chatdeal) and asked them to escalate the issue to Qantas. However, you took the word of the American Airlines representative and they promised to refund your ticket.
Plus, in an amusing twist, American Airlines issued me a $600 coupon as an apology, making it seem like I received a ticket credit rather than a refund for the downgrade.
Incidentally, I have contact information for executives at American Airlines and Qantas on my consumer advocacy site. ElliotI think a brief, polite appeal to one of them might have made things go better.
I contacted Chatdeal on your behalf and a representative agreed to contact Qantas and a few weeks later you contacted my advocacy team to give them an update.
“I just wanted to let you know that I received my refund,” you said. “Thank you for your help!”
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or contact him through his site for support.
