Only 29% People Get Full Cancellation Refund from Airlines During Covid Third Wave, Reveals Survey

The rapid rise in Omicron variant led COVID cases also led some airlines to cut down capacity and as a result some of them waived off ticket rescheduling fees and permitted them rebook an alternate flight till March 31, 2022.

New Delhi: The survey received more than 20,000 responses from citizens residing in 332 districts of India. The rapid rise in the Omicron variant-led COVID cases in India have prompted many citizens — who had travel booked during January-March — to revisit their plans, and a subset of them have also approached airlines and hotels for cancellations.

The first question in the survey on airlines asked citizens, For the flight travel that you had booked for January-March 2022, how did the cancellation process work? In response, 29 percent said, Travel agent and/or airline accepted cancellation and refunded full amount, while 14 percent said they received a partial amount.

At the same time, 29 percent of respondents said travel agent and/or airline accepted cancellation and refunded a very small amount. About 14 percent of people surveyed said, travel agent and/or airline did not refund anything but rebooked the ticket for a later date, and 14 percent couldn’t say anything, as per the survey. On an aggregate basis, of those who cancelled flight tickets due to the third COVID wave, only 29 percent were able to get a full refund from airlines/travel agents, it added.

In comparison to the second wave, over twice as many citizens were able to get a flight ticket refund due to third-wave related cancellation. However, the majority still ended up losing money to airlines, the survey said. The survey found out that of those who cancelled hotel booking due to the third COVID wave, only 34 percent were able to get a full refund from hotels/travel agents. On hotel bookings during January-March 2022, 34 percent said travel agent and/or hotel accepted cancellation and refunded full amount, 13 percent of respondents received a partial refund and 13 percent got a very small amount.

Besides, 27 percent of people surveyed said travel agent and/or hotel did not refund anything, and lost the entire booking amount. When compared to the second wave, over 2.5 times as many citizens were able to get a hotel booking refund due to third-wave related cancellation. However, the majority still ended up losing money to hotels, the survey said. Citizens on the LocalCircles platform have been suggesting that the government should come up with a special policy for travel booking refunds till the COVID pandemic is going on, especially for airlines and hotels.

Due to lack of uniformity in cancellation charges by different airlines and hotel operators, the majority don’t approve of the existing travel booking refund policies during the pandemic, said Sachin Taparia, founder, LocalCircles.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the survey:

• A LocalCircles’ survey conducted in August 2021 to understand issues people faced with cancellation of their travel bookings due to the second wave found that only 12-13% of those who cancelled travel bookings due to 2nd COVID wave got timely refunds.
• Amid the rise in COVID cases in the ongoing 3^rd wave as many people cancel their bookings, LocalCircles has conducted another survey to understand how the cancellation process is working this time for flights and hotel bookings they had for Jan-March 2022.
• The survey received more than 20,000 responses from citizens residing in 332 districts of India. 62% respondents were men while 38% respondents were women. 51% respondents were from tier 1, 34% from tier 2 and 15% respondents were from tier 3, 4 and rural districts.

Of those who cancelled flight tickets due to COVID 3^rd wave, only 29% were able to get a full refund from airlines/travel agents

The first question in the survey asked citizens, “For the flight travel that you had booked for Jan-March 2022, how did the cancellation process work?” In response, 29% said “Travel agent and/or airline accepted cancellation and refunded full amount”, 14% said “Travel agent and/or airline accepted cancellation but refunded partial amount”, 29% said “Travel agent and/or airline accepted cancellation and refunded a very small amount”, 14% said “Travel agent and/or airline did not refund anything but rebooked the ticket for a later date”. 14% couldn’t say. On an aggregate basis, of those who cancelled flight tickets due to COVID 3^rd wave, only 29% were able to get a full refund from airlines/travel agents. This question in the survey received 10,151 responses.

Though over twice as many citizens were able to get a flight ticket refund due to 3^rd wave related cancellation as compared to 2nd wave, majority still ended up losing money to airlines

A similar survey conducted by LocalCircles during the 2^nd wave had indicated that 12% of citizens who had booked travel were able to get a full refund due to cancellation of flights. During the 3^rd wave 29% who have booked travel during Jan-March 2022 were able to get a full refund due to cancellation. Though over twice as many citizens were able to get a flight ticket refund due to 3^rd wave-related cancellation as compared to the 2^nd wave related cancellation, the majority still ended up losing money to airlines.

Of those who cancelled hotel booking due to COVID 3^rd wave, only 34% were able to get a full refund from hotels/travel agents

The following question in the survey asked citizens, “For the hotel stay(s) that you had booked for travel during Jan-March 2022, how did the cancellation process work?” In response, 34% said “Travel agent and/or hotel accepted cancellation and refunded full amount”, 13% said “Travel agent and/or hotel accepted cancellation but refunded partial amount”, 13% said “Travel agent and/or hotel accepted cancellation and refunded a very small amount”, another 13% said “Travel agent and/or hotel did not refund anything but rebooked the ticket for a later date”. 27% said “Travel agent and/or hotel did not refund anything and we lost the entire booking amount”. On an aggregate basis, of those who cancelled hotel booking due to COVID 3^rd wave, only 34% were able to get a full refund from hotels/travel agents. This question in the survey received 9,974 responses.

(With PTI Inputs)