Airline won't refund ticket after passenger dies

Q: I recently bought a pair of tickets through Expedia for my husband and myself. We planned to visit Germany this fall as part of a retirement trip. Shortly after that, my husband passed away very suddenly.

I contacted Expedia about a refund, but was advised to get in touch with our airline, Lufthansa, directly. Lufthansa told me my husband's ticket was nonrefundable. I asked if they would resell his seat, since he couldn't make the flight, and they admitted they would. When I said that it appeared that Lufthansa would profit from the death of my husband, they admitted that that was the case. This really offended me. I tried to send an email to Lufthansa's president, but they have turned me down. What would you advise? -- Ursula Maul, Wynnewood, Pa.

A: My condolences on your loss. Most airlines refund tickets -- even nonrefundable ones -- when a passenger dies. What's more, it's highly unusual for a representative to "admit" that the airline will profit from the death of a passenger. Maybe the representative you reached was having a bad day. I certainly hope so.

I'm concerned about your online travel agency's role in this debacle. Why did Expedia hand you off to Lufthansa in your hour of need? One of the reasons you do business with an online travel agency is that they are trusted intermediaries in case something goes wrong with your flight. If they simply sent you to the airline when you needed help, then why not book a ticket directly with Lufthansa the next time, cutting out the middleman?

I might have started the refund process by sending a brief, polite email to Expedia, explaining that you wanted a refund for your husband's ticket. It may have still referred you to the airline, but at least you would have given it a chance to do what it promises it will do, which is to take care of you.

I would have stayed off the phone, too. These days, the odds of you getting put through to an outsourced, overseas call center, where someone is just trying to process your complaint quickly, is too high. Your case required special attention, which neither your agency nor your airline seemed willing to give you.

You had the right idea with the email to Lufthansa's president. I might have started a little lower on the corporate food chain. I list the names of the managers on my customer-service wiki, On Your Side at (http://onyoursi.de/). If Expedia was unable to help you, then a polite email with your husband's death certificate should have worked.

I contacted Lufthansa on your behalf. It apologized for the "inaccurate" response to your request and agreed to refund your husband's ticket.

Christopher Elliott is the author of "Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals" (Wiley). He's also the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the co-founder of the Consumer Travel Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for travelers. Read more tips on his blog, elliott.org or e-mail him at chris@elliott.org. Christopher Elliott receives a great deal of reader mail, and though he answers them as quickly as possible, your story may not be published for several months because of a backlog of cases.

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If an airline downgrades your ticket, you have recourse

Question: I was astounded to read in the July 24 "On the Spot" column ["Enjoy Your New Seat"] that an airline can reassign a confirmed seat to allow passengers with children to sit together. Suppose I have booked a seat in business class because I can't physically fly in coach. If there's an equipment change and there are fewer seats in business class, can airlines downgrade me to coach and refuse to refund my purchase?

Mary-Lynne Fisher

La Crescenta

Answer: Yes, airlines can downgrade your seat, but they should refund the difference between the cost of the original seat and the new one.

But I was astounded to hear Jonathan Harriman, an attorney with Anolik Law Corp., a Bay Area company that specializes in travel law, say this: "You don't have a seat till you're sitting on it on the plane." So who really has the upper hand?

Advantage: airlines.

But you do have some "friends" who can come to your rescue if you're unseated.

First is the airline's contract of carriage, which says what the airline can and cannot do. Quickly now, answer this: If there's a snowstorm in Chicago and you miss your connection there on a United flight, does the airline have to find a hotel for you? If you have the contract of carriage handy, you'll know that. You can read it ahead of time, print it out or download an app. (A new app, The Plane Rules, from contracts expert Terry Trippler, is helpful. Here's what it says in answer to that question: The "rule reads that United's only liability for delay, cancellation or misconnection [in case of weather] is to refund the unused portion of your ticket." (Good luck finding a place to sleep.)

Advantage: consumers. Sort of.

Second is 49 United States Code 41712, the "Unfair and deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition" law, which says: "On the initiative of the secretary of Transportation or the complaint of an air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent, and if the secretary considers it is in the public interest, the secretary may investigate and decide whether an air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent has been or is engaged in an unfair or deceptive practice or an unfair method of competition in air transportation or the sale of air transportation. If the secretary … finds that an air carrier, foreign air carrier or ticket agent is engaged in an unfair or deceptive practice or unfair method of competition, the secretary shall order the air carrier, foreign air carrier, or ticket agent to stop the practice or method."

Advantage: consumers who know the law.

Third is the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Transportation. If you think the airline is not adhering to rules and regulations, you also can file a complaint with the DOT. Call (202) 366-2220 or go toairconsumer.dot.gov/CP_AirlineService.htm to record or file a complaint online, respectively. Note that the recorded message at the start of the hotline says that airlines are really in the best position to resolve service issues. (Right. Everybody who believes that, stand on your head.)

Advantage: consumers who know how to complain effectively.

In many of these cases, intent may be key, Harriman says. Let's say you have that business-class ticket and you paid $3,000 for that seat — the last one. The plane is sold out. But here comes a guy who will pay $5,000 for the ticket, so the airline decides to dump you. The airline "shouldn't be doing this as a way to screw people out of their money to make a little bit more money…. That's a wrongful act," Harriman says.

Advantage: consumers, although the passenger really would not have a way to find this out. Still, the passenger should be given the difference between his fare and the coach fare, if he's downgraded. And, Harriman says, you need to be told that you can get cash for this, not just vouchers. (Airlines love to give vouchers, which, if you're angry enough, you'll probably never use.)

And what if you've bought a coach ticket that can be upgraded and you use miles to buy a business- or first-class seat but you get moved back to coach? Isn't that deceptive?

No, Harriman says. On most airlines' websites, those kinds of purchases don't come with guarantees. Here's what American says about its awards flight upgrade: "You will have a confirmed seat, as long as award seats are still available for the award you are using when you make your reservation. However, all accommodations are subject to availability at the time reservations are made." Which means they can take them away whenever they wish.

Advantage: airlines.

If you do lose your upgrade, "You should get your miles back and you should battle for bonus miles," says Trippler, who spent part of his career working for the airlines. Sometimes, he says, airlines will give you miles to go away and quit complaining.

Advantage: annoying consumers, which many airlines consider most of us to be.

Have a travel dilemma? Write to travel@latimes.com. We regret we cannot answer every inquiry.

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US Airways joins Delta in refunding ticket taxes paid before FAA shutdown

By Associated Press

2:37 p.m. CDT, August 2, 2011

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — US Airways Group Inc. says it will offer direct refunds of ticket taxes that travelers paid before the taxes lapsed on July 23.

The taxes can add up to $60 or more on a $300 round-trip ticket. They stopped when the Federal Aviation Administration partially shut down. Travelers who bought tickets before the shutdown but flew during it are due a refund.

Some airlines have been telling travelers to ask the IRS for a refund. The IRS has asked airlines to refund the money directly. Delta said on Monday that it would offer direct refunds, and US Airways joined them on Tuesday.

Most airlines raised fares by the amount of the taxes, so travelers have been paying the same amount during the FAA shutdown as they did previously.

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