British Airways Loses Bid to Dismiss Coronavirus Refund Class Action Lawsuit

A class action lawsuit alleging British Airways withheld cash refunds on canceled flights due to the coronavirus pandemic was given permission by a federal judge to proceed after BA tried to dismiss the case.

Like many airlines, British Airways canceled thousands of flights en masse at the start of the pandemic last year as travel restrictions went into effect and people were told to block them.

The lawsuit alleges that BA violated its own terms of carriage by forcing customers whose flights had been canceled to accept a future travel voucher instead of receiving the cash refund they wanted and entitled to.

Stephen Ide, who bought round-trip tickets from Boston to London for $ 701.46, filed the lawsuit in New York state after first accepting a future travel voucher only to then realizing that the voucher was within the had to be used for the next 12 years. Months.

The lawsuit alleges that British Airways forced Mr Ide to accept the voucher for a cash refund when it deliberately changed its website by removing the option to request a refund online and instead instructing customers to call overloaded call center workers .

Mr Ide tried to call the BA call center but was disconnected because the lines were congested. He looked at BA’s website, where he found the option to request a future travel voucher. Mr Ide felt that this was the only option and requested the voucher.

Four more attempts to call British Airways went unanswered, but when he finally got through to the agent he was told to file a complaint through the airline’s website – a process which was flawed and which ultimately did not allow Mr Ide to resolve his complaint actually to be submitted.

“BA’s unlawful practice of refusing refunds has robbed consumers like Mr Ide of the money they paid for canceled trips during a time of crisis when they needed access to these funds,” the lawsuit explains. “Very few BA customers manage to get refunds for canceled flights to which they have a contractual right,” claims the lawsuit.

“The members of the class are so numerous that connection is impractical. The class has at least thousands of members. BA sells millions of tickets each year, and the recent BA flight cancellations affected thousands of US travelers. “

British Airways had moved that the case should be dismissed on the grounds that the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 excluded the action. US District Judge Jesse Furman dismissed this argument, but agreed that the claim should be limited to damages only.

British Airways also managed to argue that one of the plaintiffs should arbitrate his case as he signed an arbitration clause when booking his tickets through Expedia.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that at the height of the pandemic, airlines owed passengers $ 35 billion in total canceled flight refunds. IATA had urged consumers to accept future travel vouchers to prevent some airlines from going bankrupt.

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Mateusz Maszczynski

Mateusz Maszczynski is an international flight attendant with experience with a major airline in the Middle East and Europe. Mateusz is passionate about the aviation industry and helping aspiring flight attendants make their dreams come true. Cabin crew recruitment can be tough, extremely competitive, and just a little confusing – Mateusz was and has been there. He knows exactly what really works.

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