No airline ticket refund after passenger dies

Q: I recently purchased a pair of tickets through Expedia for my husband and me. He planned to travel to Germany this fall as part of a retirement trip. Shortly after my husband died suddenly.

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I contacted Expedia about a refund, but was advised to contact our airline, Lufthansa, directly. Lufthansa told me my husband's ticket was refundable. I asked if he would sell his seat, since he could not make the flight and admitted that they would. When I said it appeared that Lufthansa would benefit from the death of my husband, who admitted that that was the case. This really offended me. I tried to send an email to the president of Lufthansa, but I have rejected. What would you advise? – Ursula Maul, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania

A: My condolences on your loss. Most airlines ticket refund – even non-refundable – when a passenger dies. What's more, it is very rare that a representative of "admit" that the airline will benefit from the death of a passenger. Perhaps the representative who came to have a bad day. I hope so.

I worry about the role of its online travel agency in this debacle. Why Expedia will give Lufthansa in its hour of need? One of the reasons why doing business with an online travel agency is that they are trusted intermediaries in case something goes wrong with your flight. If you just sent to the airline when you need help, why not book a ticket directly with Lufthansa next time, eliminate the middleman?

I could have started the refund process by sending an email short and polite Expedia, explaining that he wanted a ticket refund her husband. There may still refers to the airline, but at least you would have the opportunity to do what it promises it will do is take care of you.

I have been talking on the phone, too. These days, the chances that puts you in contact center outsourcing, call long distance, in which someone is trying to process your complaint quickly, is very high. Your case requires special attention, that neither the agency nor the airline seemed willing to give.

I had the right idea in the email to the president of Lufthansa. I could have started a bit further down the corporate food chain. I list the names of the managers in my customer service wiki, on your side. If Expedia could not help, then a polite email to the death certificate of her husband should have worked.

I contacted Lufthansa on their behalf. He apologized for the "inaccurate" the answer to your request and agreed to refund tickets of her husband.

© 2011 Christopher Elliott … Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

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Submited at Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 at 4:00 am on Tips by john
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