Passenger Trains > Rocky Mountaineer refunds

From a Facebook site, some customers are getting partial or full refunds from Rocky Mountaineer for their cancelled 2020 trips. Some speak of assistance from their travel agencies or credit card companies. Good news. There are enough reports, some with different outcomes that I believe these are genuine.

I was booked in June, they refused a refund, only offer to rebook 2021 or 2022.

As they should (refund). But on the other  hand, that's what travel insurance is for.  Air Canada needs to do the same but apparently they have the backing of the Canadian government which says they aren't required. We can't even travel to Canada. And my flight was canceled. By them.  Shameful. I will  never even think of flying AC again. WestJet provided great and friendly service on my only two flights. And miles even counted toward Delta status. Everyone in Canada should boycott Air Canada and fly Westjet!

I still have good feelings about Canadian Airlines, formerly CP. They kept AC honest. 

It's a business transaction. Period.  Not a love story. Call your credit card company, and email yourr state Attorney General.  Raise heck !  You may not be able to travel in the future even without COVID.  Times are tough aall around, but in the final analysis, it is your money, not theirs.   Go Get It.

It may or may not be "your" money.  I expect that it depends largely on what you signed (or agreed to).  There's likely some fine print here.

Perhaps. But since RM cancelled the season, I think I'd want my money back and I would fight hard to get it.    If I was 50 instead of 80, I'd likely agree to a postponed trip. But travel at 80+ isn't a given.    

andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As they should (refund). But on the other  hand,
> that's what travel insurance is for.  Air Canada
> needs to do the same but apparently they have the
> backing of the Canadian government which says they
> aren't required. We can't even travel to Canada.
> And my flight was canceled. By them.  Shameful. I
> will  never even think of flying AC again.
> WestJet provided great and friendly service on my
> only two flights. And miles even counted toward
> Delta status. Everyone in Canada should boycott
> Air Canada and fly Westjet!

Many, if not most, airlines are offering vouchers/free re-scheduling, etc. rather than refunds,  even though IATA rules call for refunds when the carrier cancels the flight.  But what are you going to do,  sue them?  Then there's my experience with British Airways.  We had three F-class tickets from Santiago to London for June.  The day I received the cancellation notice,  I called their London number.  It was answered on the second ring, and I asked for a refund.  The lady said no problem and asked me to verify all credit card info, on which the tickets were charged/paid eight months previously.  She said I'd get a credit within 2-3 weeks.  Entire call took four minutes.  And then,  the next day the credit appeared on my card.   Now that's the way to run a business.  

On the other hand, a railfan friend and wife had two F-class tickets on Lufthansa from the US to Germany.  They asked for and received a refund.   Four months later they're still waiting for the credit to show up.  Again, for flights cancelled by the airline.

btw, friends who had travel insurance are getting nowhere as to refunds as they are being told the policy doesn't cover C19 cancellations.  Here in Chile,  Latam seldom if ever refunds full fare tickets which provide for such....which means I'd never book a trip costing more than $200 or so which I'm willing to eat.   Most domestic trips here are within that price range so no problem.  But to MIA,  no way would I book LA.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/20 17:32 by masterphots.

I would think that the best way to handle it would be by disputing the credit card charge.  And I think that if you paid for it with Amex, you're probably in better shape.  My understanding is that they are more sympathtic to the card holder than Visa or MasterCard.

Belmond offered either rebooking for next year or a full refund for an Orient Express trip on which I was booked.  I chose the refund which was given promptly.   Also Delta refunded the airfare.  Complements to both parties.

Gordon



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/20 02:22 by gbmott.

As a good and respectable company, they owe their customer refunds - period. This was debated on the Canadian site as well. 

This is why you should always purchase trip insurance. And get cancel any reason just don't say covid etc

Posted from Android

SpeederDriver Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I would think that the best way to handle it would
> be by disputing the credit card charge.  And I
> think that if you paid for it with Amex, you're
> probably in better shape.  My understanding is
> that they are more sympathtic to the card holder
> than Visa or MasterCard.

Problem with a credit card is, you have to file the dispute within 60-90 days of the charge and many airline tickets are bought many months before.   In my British Airways case,  I bought and paid for the tickets eight months ahead of the initial flight.  Luckily the airline did as promised and required by IATA regulations.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/20 16:30 by masterphots.

There are a number of business interruption insurance lawsuits filed on this issue.

Since the SARS epidemic, most policies exclude virus caused shut downs. But they may (be forced to) cover civil order shut downs in areas where Covid was not a problem.

Posted from Android

andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As they should (refund). But on the other  hand,
> that's what travel insurance is for.  Air Canada
> needs to do the same but apparently they have the
> backing of the Canadian government which says they
> aren't required. We can't even travel to Canada.
> And my flight was canceled. By them.  Shameful. I
> will  never even think of flying AC again.
> WestJet provided great and friendly service on my
> only two flights. And miles even counted toward
> Delta status. Everyone in Canada should boycott
> Air Canada and fly Westjet!

So if I suggested that you boycott Delta would this upset you?

Don't expect a reply. 

4489 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> andersonb109 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > As they should (refund). But on the other 
> hand,
> > that's what travel insurance is for.  Air
> Canada
> > needs to do the same but apparently they have
> the
> > backing of the Canadian government which says
> they
> > aren't required. We can't even travel to
> Canada.
> > And my flight was canceled. By them.  Shameful.
> I
> > will  never even think of flying AC again.
> > WestJet provided great and friendly service on
> my
> > only two flights. And miles even counted toward
> > Delta status. Everyone in Canada should boycott
> > Air Canada and fly Westjet!
>
> So if I suggested that you boycott Delta would
> this upset you?

I booked Amtrak travel last January before I'd ever heard of COVID-19 for this June, and also purchased travel insurance for that trip from the provider referenced on the Amtrak website.

In May, I contacted Amtrak to cancel my trip.   Amtrak provided me a full refund.   I then contacted the travel insurance provider.  They provided a full refund of my insurace premium, also.

Shame on Rocky Mountaineer for not providing full refunds immediately.

chakk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I booked Amtrak travel last January before I'd
> ever heard of COVID-19 for this June, and also
> purchased travel insurance for that trip from the
> provider referenced on the Amtrak website.
>
> In May, I contacted Amtrak to cancel my trip. 
>  Amtrak provided me a full refund.   I then
> contacted the travel insurance provider.  They
> provided a full refund of my insurace premium,
> also.
>
> Shame on Rocky Mountaineer for not providing full
> refunds immediately.

Government vs private entity. Rocky Mountaineer is trying to stay in business. Same as the cruise lines

Posted from Android

goduckies Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> chakk Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I booked Amtrak travel last January before I'd
> > ever heard of COVID-19 for this June, and also
> > purchased travel insurance for that trip from
> the
> > provider referenced on the Amtrak website.
> >
> > In May, I contacted Amtrak to cancel my trip. 
> >  Amtrak provided me a full refund.   I then
> > contacted the travel insurance provider.  They
> > provided a full refund of my insurace premium,
> > also.
> >
> > Shame on Rocky Mountaineer for not providing
> full
> > refunds immediately.
>
> Government vs private entity. Rocky Mountaineer
> is trying to stay in business. Same as the cruise
> lines
>
> Posted from Android

So you're saying that the public sector company in this case offers the consumer better service than the private entity. How quickly ideologies collapse when placed under scrutiny.

andersonb109 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As they should (refund). But on the other  hand,
> that's what travel insurance is for.  Air Canada
> needs to do the same but apparently they have the
> backing of the Canadian government which says they
> aren't required. We can't even travel to Canada.
> And my flight was canceled. By them.  Shameful. I
> will  never even think of flying AC again.
> WestJet provided great and friendly service on my
> only two flights. And miles even counted toward
> Delta status. Everyone in Canada should boycott
> Air Canada and fly Westjet!

Westjet gets good press in some circles, but many people have discovered they are just another sleazy airline. I have friends who have had difficulties with them long before the current pandemic. I have not travelled with them, mainly because they don't have a real Business Class.  Generally the premium section offers economy seats with the middle seat unused. Also, Westjet has no airport lounges. Westjet has put in better "Economy plus" seats in the 737-Max planes which may be used at some future time. They recently commenced some European service and they do indeed have a real Business Class on those wide-bodied jets at a fare that is not in my budget.

This is just one of many articles about passengers' concerns:

https://globalnews.ca/news/7222348/westjet-cancelled-flights-coronavirus-refunds/

Not to defend Air Canada's poor treatment in many cases, they have recently improved their policy. The e-vouchers now have no expiry dates and a generous amount of Aeroplan points are offered as an alternative to the e-voucher. For one cancelled short domestic trip in Business Class I accepted enough Aeroplan points for a one-way Toronto-Vancouver flight in a Signature Class sleeper seat. That is of far more value to me than a refund, although on principle I would have taken a refund if it was available.

All travel insurance policies are not the same, but some will not give a monetary payment if the provider offers a voucher for further travel. I found that out on a cancelled Toronto-New York flight.

VIA Rail has been excellent with refunds. Of course, being a Crown corporation they had better treat passengers well or questions could be asked in the house.