Spirit Airlines Refunds Saugus College Student's Ticket After Hurricane Altered Travel Plans
BOSTON (CBS) – Spirit Airlines has apologized to a college student from Saugus who had trouble re-booking a flight back to hurricane ravaged South Carolina this past weekend.
Emily Colbert is a freshman at Coastal Carolina University. Her parents bought her a ticket on Spirit to come home last week before Hurricane Matthew hit campus.
Her return flight was scheduled for Monday, but Colbert needed to re-book it because the university won't let students return to campus until the hurricane damage is cleaned up.
Emily's mother Deanna tried to get the flight changed but they claimed Spirit Airlines refused, telling them flights after Sunday did not fall under their Hurricane Matthew policy.
So the Colberts contacted WBZ-TV looking for help.
"We've sent an apology to the customer and issued a full refund for her return flight," Spirit Airlines spokesman Stephen Schuler said in an email statement Monday.
Deanna Colbert confirmed the refund and apology.
"I responded and asked about the other students. My main concern being their safety. They said that after seeing the aftermath of the storm they are now making adjustments accordingly," she told WBZ Monday.
"Originally, our travel advisory made it possible for customers to modify or cancel reservations at no charge for travel dates between October 6th-9th for Myrtle Beach. However, as we are seeing the aftermath of the storm, we have been making adjustments accordingly, so that we can properly assist our customers who are in difficult situations," Schuler said.