Call Kurtis: Winter storms and refunding Disneyland trips
A Pine Grove family says the Southwest Airlines mess in December kept them from Disneyland. So when trip insurance wouldn't cover their losses, it was time to call Kurtis.
It all really comes down to the true reason for the canceled trip: was it weather, or did Southwest not have its act together?
The happiest place on earth was not in the cards for John Patron, his wife and granddaughter in December. They were caught in the Southwest Airlines meltdown, when the airline struggled to recover from bad weather, canceling nearly 17,000 flights.
Patron realized he and his family wouldn't be able to make the trip. Southwest credited him for the canceled flights, but on such short notice, Disney Vacations wouldn't refund the $3,542 vacation package in Anaheim. Fortunately, John had trip insurance.
"I should get my money," he told CBS13. "I should get refunded."
While the policy did cover trip interruptions in certain cases of inclement weather, Aon Travel Insurance rejected his claim, citing Southwest's "operational issues." That's something the head of the Department of Transportation hinted at being the real reason for the airline's cancellations, considering some competitors recovered from the December storms much faster.
"In the area of weather, airlines usually get a free pass," CBS Travel Editor Peter Greenberg said, weighing in on the issue.
But was this weather? Was this an operational issue? Was it both?
Stuck between the airline and the travel protection company, we remembered during the bad publicity, Southwest's CEO announced the company would go above and beyond in compensating its travelers. So we put Patron in touch with Southwest, which agreed to review his claim.
A representative for the airline told CBS13 that they have paid 99.5% of all claims filed related to the December meltdown. That's something Greenberg said has set a precedent for other airline disasters going forward.
And Patron's claim now gets to be included. After we reached out, he says the airline then reimbursed him for the Disney Trip, which he is now rescheduling.
"As it works out, my granddaughter would like to go this summer," he said.
In this case, CBS13 also checked with Disney Vacations, which offered to refund Patron and credit him with a new trip. But because he decided to take Southwest up on their offer, he no longer needs that credit to be made whole.