Hawaiian joins growing list of airlines being sued over refunds
Hawaiian Airlines is the latest carrier being sued for failing to provide timely refunds.
The class action suit was filed in Honolulu on behalf of plaintiff Nataly Alvarez.
It is claiming compensation for ‘wilful and malicious conduct’ for failing to issue a refund.
It cites the enforcement notice issued by the Department of Transportation that airlines remain obligated to provide a prompt refund to passengers whose flights are cancelled due to Covid-19.
It relates to a refund of costs, including the ticket price and any optional fee charged for services that a passenger is unable to use due to the flight cancelation.
The notice goes on to say that ‘vouchers or credits for future travel do not serve as an adequate substitute’ for a full refund.
At the time of purchase she understood she was ‘entitled to a refund if the flight was canceled,’ and now claims the airline was ‘deceptive’ in this regard.
Alvarez paid $447 to fly to Maui in mid-April and was informed in late March that the flight was canceled.
All efforts to get a refund have gone nowhere the suit claims.
The class action estimates there are potentially ‘hundreds of thousands’ of Hawaiian customers impacted who have not been able to get a refund.
Several US airlines are facing one or multiple lawsuits for allegedly delaying or refusing to issue full refunds to customers.
These include Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, United, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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