Call For Action gets JetBlue customer long-awaited refund after cancelled Boston flight
BOSTON - There was a lot of bad weather this summer, which meant lots of cancelled flights at Logan Airport. That's just what happened to Xiaopeng Gong's daughter earlier this month. She was due to fly from Boston to Philadelphia on JetBlue on a flight he booked through Expedia.
She was leaving on a rainy Sunday when Gong says he got emails from both Jetblue and Expedia.
"Your flight was cancelled," he told WBZ-TV, describing the emails.
Gong immediately got on the phone to JetBlue to try to rebook the ticket and was told the wait to speak to an agent was two hours. The recording suggested trying the online chat.
"Then chat tells us it's four hours waiting time," he said. "During this wait time, we got disconnected."
Running out of time to get his daughter back to Philly, Gong booked her on Amtrak. He then contacted JetBlue for a refund and was shocked by the airline's response.
"This is an uncontrolled weather reason, so there is no refund, no credit," he said, recalling what a JetBlue representative told him over the phone.
Gong spent a week talking to agents, supervisors and even reaching out on Facebook with no luck.
"The Department of Transportation has clear rules, they need to refund this," he said.
He's right. The U.S. Department of Transportation website states, if your flight is cancelled and you choose to cancel your trip as a result, you are entitled to a refund.
Frustrated with the airline's response, he reached out to WBZ-TV's Call For Action and we contacted JetBlue. Less than 24 hours later a spokesperson responded with this statement:
This customer's flight was cancelled due to severe weather, which does qualify the customer for a credit or refund for the cost of the flight. The customer booked through an online travel agency, and it is standard that if the customer wants a refund, they need to coordinate with the company they bought their tickets with. As a courtesy, I've asked our customer service team to proactively work with the customer and the online travel agency to coordinate a refund. I've been notified the refund has since been processed. As an apology for the long hold times this customer experienced, we have also provided a $100 travel bank credit for future travel.
We always strongly recommend our customers book directly with JetBlue to avoid issues with accommodations and customer service.
"Only after the news media got involved, then they called me this morning and they apologized and issued the refund," Gong told WBZ. "I am very thankful to the news media."
If you need to reach Call For Action dial 617-787-7070 or email wbzcallforaction@cbs.com