Another recent development in the process is the lawsuits brought against the travel provider and travel agent when they request a refund. A recent lawsuit filed in Florida against a hotel and travel agency claims that the traveler`s passover trip was canceled due to the pandemic and that travelers were not satisfied with the refund offered. As we all know, the agency is trapped in the middle of this kind of litigation, since the funds have already flowed from the client to the agency and then to the hotel. – “Class actions, class arbitrations, private attorney general`s actions, and all other proceedings in which a person acts as a representative are not eligible.” Not surprisingly, many of the newly filed lawsuits related to COVID-19 are focused on the travel industry. In February, a senior Irish minister reportedly warned that a supervisory agency might have to intervene if insurers fail to pay business interruption claims. Other trades in the travel industry are also facing coronavirus disruptions, with British Airways postponing £450 million in pension payments as part of a deal with the New Airways pension scheme. In February, the airline announced its intention to repay funds for interest-bearing pension payments. The move will help the airline keep hundreds of millions of dollars in cash, according to the Guardian. “The government should strengthen and expand existing DOT rules for passenger flight refunds, especially in force majeure situations such as a global pandemic,” Consumer Reports said in a letter to the agency last month. “In addition, the DOT must vigorously enforce these refund rules with U.S. airlines, foreign airlines, and other ticket vendors, including the resolution of outstanding claims that, in some cases, have not been resolved since March 2020.” Refund lawsuits against airlines are accelerating, but will they succeed? The data was released last month in the Air Travel Consumer Report, which includes information on the number of complaints.

In total, the DOT received 102,550 complaints against airlines, travel agencies and tour operators last year, up from 15,342 in 2019, an increase of more than 500 percent. Your waiver may include, for example, “The parties agree that each party may only bring claims against the other in an individual capacity and not as a plaintiff or class action plaintiff in an alleged class or representative action lawsuit, or thirty Travel Agents have joined forces in a proposed class action lawsuit asking insurance providers to pay for the business interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A few days later, another passenger filed a lawsuit against Delta Air Lines, accusing the airline of behaving in a “deceptive and unfair” manner by ignoring ticket refunds and the demands of its passengers after the outbreak. Expedia, which received the highest number of complaints in December 2020, was the subject of a class action lawsuit for denying refunds for flights cancelled due to last year`s coronavirus outbreak. Less than a week later, the same law firm sued American Airlines in court, saying it required customers to rebook a flight or travel voucher instead of returning their money. UC Berkeley Law graduate Guy Saperstein has filed a class action lawsuit against Thomas P. Gohagan & Company (“Gohagan”) for failing to provide a cash refund to its reservation holders and against Travel Guard Americas LLC (“Travel Guard”) for denying benefits to its policyholders in connection with the cancellation of a cruise for UC Berkeley Alumni – European Coastal Civilizations: A trip from Lisbon to London (“Cruise”). Many UC Berkeley alumni book trips through Cal Discoveries Travel, which is part of the Cal Alumni Association, which offers UC Berkeley alumni community education-focused trips through Gohagan, among other things. In March 2020, in the face of the pandemic, Gohagan cancelled the cruise and denied Mr. a refund of money. Saperstein and others who paid Gohagan for the cruise.

Travel Guard also refused to provide trip cancellation services to Mr. Saperstein and others who had arranged the cruise with Travel Guard. Mr. Saperstein alleges that Gohagan`s failure to provide a refund breached his contract with the reservation holders and that Travel Guard`s refusal to provide services violated, among other things, the contract with the policyholders. “During this unprecedented global health and economic crisis, consumers` need for travel voucher refunds is urgent,” the lawsuit said. “Travel vouchers offer little security in this crisis, especially when many people now need money to pay for basics such as food and rent.” – Class actions can be filed in state or federal courts. What most people don`t know is that most class actions are known as “opt-out” cases (as opposed to “opt-in”). This means that an angry customer can pretend that there are other customers who are more frustrated and angry – without having to find them first. .