Travelers had confusion and interruptions in Florida in recent days. During the weekend, the Silver Airways regional airline abruptly canceled flights out of Orlando, citing problems retaining its planes leased months after requesting the bankruptcy protection of chapter 11.
The Florida -based airline, which flies throughout Florida and the Caribbean, suddenly canceled all the flights of Orlando International Airport (MCO) starting on Saturday, a spokesman for the Gran Orlando Aviation Authority confirmed to TPG.
“We received a notification on Saturday afternoon that, with immediate effect, all the flights that come out and arrive with Silver Airways are canceled,” said the senior vice president of Angela Starke’s public affairs, in a statement.
For Monday, data from FlightAware flight tracker He showed that almost two dozen Silver Airways flights previously scheduled had been canceled outside Orlando airport.
Throughout the Silver network, Monday’s cancellations amounted to about 9% of all scheduled outings, by FlightTAware.
Why are Silver Airways flights canceled?
A Silver spokesman, who Presented for bankruptcy of chapter 11 in DecemberHe told TPG that despite his restructuring “going extremely well,” he had problems with his plane leased by an external company abroad.
The company, said Silver, “abruptly reversed its previously declared position and immediately required that Silver paid millions of dollars to retain the planes that we have been flying for years,” the spokesman told TPG, and ordered the immediate ground connection of the leased aircraft.
“We are working with our clients to reserve itineraries and minimize the inconveniences for travelers,” Silver said in a statement, pointing out that “he regrets and apologizes for the last minute cancellations of flights from the Orlando International Airport.”
The carrier was “working diligently to solve travelers interruptions and issue immediate reimbursements requested by the client” through his call center.
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Banking presentation in December
When the airline was declared in bankruptcy in December, he said he hoped to ensure a new capital and restructure his debt and promised that all tickets “would remain valid, and we will continue to operate as usual.”
In addition, Silver promised the existing reserves made through Jetblue and United Airlines “would not experience interruptions in their reservations or services.”
Often, airlines can continue with normal operations in the middle of chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization; Such was the case of Spirit Airlines After your own presentation in November (The company expects to get out of bankruptcy at the end of this month).
But it seems that Silver has now encountered a problem in his plans.
What to do if your Silver Airways flight is canceled
Rules of the United States Department of Transportation It requires the airlines to reimburse the passengers for canceled flights, regardless of the reason for the cancellation, if a passenger cannot or choose not to travel. That includes flights bought through a ticket agent or an online travel agency.
However, bankruptcy requests create “a kind of gray travel area” that can make a refund more complicated, Katy Nastro, an expert in flight subscription service expert GoingHe told TPG.
What is the first step after a canceled flight?
The first thing is the first: travelers must discover how to get to their destination.
To do this, passengers can call the airline, in this case, Silver Airways, and try to request a refund or an alternative flight if there is an available one. Silver told TPG that he was working to reserve passengers and issue “immediate reimbursements requested” through his call center.
Read more: Canceled or delayed flight? This is what you should do below
Nastro said that if customers cannot reserve through La Plata, they can try to find “rescue rates” in other airlines, which are discounts that other transporters can offer to help.
“We saw this happened when Wow Air left the business … other airlines could enter and save the day,” he said, added: “It is not very common, but it has happened before.”
And time is of the essence.
“You just want to make sure you can get where you need to go,” said Nastro. “The faster you are, the more probability you will have a seat.”
How to get a refund
The next step is to recover your money if you choose not to travel.
In general, DOT’s policy It requires that the airline emits a quick cash refund In case of cancellation.
Credit card return return
But if Silver cannot provide a refund for some reason, Nastro said that his next stop should be his credit card company.
You want to request a return return (or a reversal of the payment for the services not received). While there is no guarantee that its issuer will reverse the position, it is an option that is worth exploring.
“Your credit card will be the best bet at the end of the day, because there is no dispute that this service has not been provided,” said Nastro.
However, it is not delayed: the Law of truth in loans It requires banks to eliminate a position when a supplier does not deliver a product or service, but only covers the credit card holder for 60 days after the original position was made.
What about travel insurance?
Travel insurance can be complicated because policies vary. However, travel insurance is probably its best option to obtain reimbursements for auxiliary costs such as additional hotel nights or unforeseen non -refundable expenses.
This applies to both traditional travel insurance policies and travel insurance protections. offered as part of a travel card.
“We always say: ‘Question, but we expect the worst,” Nastro said.
Present a complaint before the endow
If everything else fails, Nastro said that his final option is to file a complaint to the DOT, which can be done through a Online form.
“The last step in this headache of a navigation process would be to file a complaint to the DOT, and perhaps in the future I would see some money from that,” he said.
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