EasyJet Bristol

[sky9]

I have booked flights fro BRS to GLA on the 3rd July returning on the 10th. I saw a press release a couple of weeks ago showing that these flights were not operating as yet.

Can anyone advise me whether this flight will operate or will it be cancelled nearer to the date. I have had an email from EasyJet offering me credit however I would be unlikely to use is as they don't operate out of my nearest airport so am unsure whether to sit tight until closer to the day of travel.

Any help appreciated.

[MerchantVenturer]

Looking at the easyJet booking engine for the 3 and 10 July on BRS-GLA-BRS only the evening flights on those days appear to be open for bookings. The other flights are shown as 'sold out'. easyJet have been using the 'sold out' device for a couple of months or more in their booking engine with flights that they later cancel, typically a couple of weeks before they are due to operate.

If you are booked on one of the 'sold out' flights in each direction you will get an email from easyJet when they cancel the flights setting out your options.

I've had four sectors (two per booking) cancelled in the past couple of months, two of which were BRS-GLA-BRS that should have operated on 29 May (northbound) and 6 June (southbound) . They were both shown as 'sold out' until a couple of weeks before they were due to operate when I received the cancellation emails. Because the flights were separated by a week (as with you) the northbound and southbound flights were cancelled at different times. With every cancelled sector the emails from easyJet offered options once of which was a refund.

A word of warning though. Although it's possible to reach the digital refund form on the easyJet website the path to it is somewhat lengthy.

The cancellation email from easyJet should contain a link that takes you to the start of the web refund journey where there is a Manage Disruption button against the sector or sectors that have been cancelled. If not you can reach that point by logging in to Manage Bookings.

Click on the Manage Disruption button which takes you to a page where half way down there an option To Request A Refund. To do so you have to click on a Covid-19 Help Hub button. That takes you to another page and the first question is whether you booked directly with easyJet. If you did click on the appropriate button that leads to yet another page where you are asked when you booked. Click on the answer and yet another page appears where you are asked if your flight was cancelled.

Click on the Yes button (obviously not until easyJet have told you the flight is cancelled) and you reach yet another page. Scroll down to paragraph 3 on that page and click on the View My Other Options button. That brings you to a page with three options, the third of which is the refund application form button where a click on that will finally bring up the refund application form on screen. The refund application form is per booking not per sector so it would be best to wait until both sectors have been cancelled by easyJet.

I have had two separate bookings cancelled (BRS-GLA-BRS and BRS-NCL-BRS). I've applied for refunds for both bookings and on both occasions I received an immediate email acknowledgement from easyJet saying: "Thank you for contacting us and for submitting a refund request. We are working hard to process your request as quickly as possible. Due to the exceptionally high volumes currently being processed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we will try our best to complete your request within 28 days following submission. Please do not contact us regarding a previous request unless it has been more than 90 days since you made your original submission. Thank you again for your patience and understanding."

I applied for my BRS-NCL-BRS refund on 23 April but it has not yet been processed.

The last time I looked the easyJet website was carrying this notice: "Please rest assured that we are trying to get everyone’s refund requests processed as quickly as possible. However, our current average processing time means that many customers will likely have to wait for the duration of the summer, and with our backlog continuing to extend, we anticipate new requests taking much longer."

[Coochycool]

MV

You say you applied for refunds, is that to say then that you have not tried to exercise your right to compensation under EU261?

Maybe there is something I'm missing here but I would have thought that under these circumstances, airlines cannot use Covid-19 as an excuse for subsequent cancellation since the situation was already well known at the time of listing, and they are therefore liable?

I have a friend whose Easyjet flight Berlin to Stuttgart has been similarly retracted and seeks advice. It's no good just getting your money back if you've been seriously inconvenienced.

Any advice welcome!

Cooch

[Asturias56]

Ah but the Government has yet to state if they can operate or not - so they CAN claim its COVID related

TBH anyone who books a flight anywhere right now must expect cancellations. changes and a general run-around. The situation is fluid and changes daily - this isn't February 2020 boys.....

[MerchantVenturer]

MV

You say you applied for refunds, is that to say then that you have not tried to exercise your right to compensation under EU261?

Maybe there is something I'm missing here but I would have thought that under these circumstances, airlines cannot use Covid-19 as an excuse for subsequent cancellation since the situation was already well known at the time of listing, and they are therefore liable?

I have a friend whose Easyjet flight Berlin to Stuttgart has been similarly retracted and seeks advice. It's no good just getting your money back if you've been seriously inconvenienced.

Any advice welcome!

Cooch
I had my fare refund from easyJet returned to my credit card account on 17 June. I applied for it on 23 April. I have another outstanding refund claim for later flights that I submitted to easyJet on 24 May.

I believe that Covid19-related cancellations are classed as extraordinary circumstances. I booked all my fights in January/February when the extent of the Covid19 effects on air travel in Europe was largely unknown.