Hawaiian Airlines ‘Refuses’ to Issue Refunds for Canceled Flights, Class Action Claims

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Hawaiian Airlines has become the latest carrier to face a proposed class action lawsuit over its alleged failure to issue refunds for flights canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the 32-page complaint, Hawaiian, one of the largest U.S. airlines, announced in April its plan to reduce scheduled service by 95 percent through the end of the month and likely into May. Despite the drastic drop-off in scheduled flights and a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) enforcement notice clarifying airlines’ obligation to issue refunds during the pandemic, Hawaiian has offered in place of refunds only credits on future travel, the lawsuit claims. 

“Hawaiian’s acts are in violation of the DOT’s Enforcement Notice, which requires airlines to provide ‘a prompt refund to passengers . . . when their carrier cancels the passenger’s scheduled flight,’” the suit reads, adding that the DOT Enforcement Notice applies to both “U.S. and foreign airlines.”

Hawaiian fails to offer instructions online with regard to what happens if a customer’s flight is canceled, the complaint claims. According to the suit, although Hawaiian informs customers to “follow the instructions” presented in a cancellation email, the communication only directs flyers to a refund request form. In all, the airline provides customers with neither refund instructions nor guidance toward obtaining such in its coronavirus frequently asked questions page online, the case alleges.

Notwithstanding the lack of clarity for those in search of refunds, Hawaiian does, however, provide detailed instructions concerning travel waivers and trip rescheduling, the lawsuit says.

The complaint touches upon Hawaiian customers’ apparent excoriation of the airline over its failure to issue refunds or seemingly address the concerns of consumers. Included in the complaint are screenshots from customer comments posted on TripAdvisor.com in which frustrated fliers skewered the airline for its alleged refusal to answer phone calls or offer even remotely prompt assistance online.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff bought in early March three tickets for a Hawaiian flight from Los Angeles to Maui set to depart April 14. While the plaintiff submitted a refund request with the airline after the flight was canceled on March 27 due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, Hawaiian, in the days after, did not respond to the consumer’s phone calls, the suit says. As the case tells it, the plaintiff has spent “many hours” on the phone since her flight cancellation in an effort to get ahold of Hawaiian “with the same result each time.” 

“At the time that Plaintiff purchased her tickets, she understood that she would be entitled to a refund from Hawaiian if her flight was cancelled,” the lawsuit reads. “However, Plaintiff was deceived by Hawaiian regarding her right to a refund.”

The plaintiff claims neither she nor other consumers would have booked flights through Hawaiian had they known they would not receive refunds for canceled flights.

To date, some of the nation’s most prominent airlines—United, Delta, Southwest—and a few smaller carriers have been hit with a wave of putative class action lawsuits over their alleged failure to remit refunds while the COVID-19 pandemic rolls on.

The suit looks to cover all U.S. consumers who bought tickets for travel on a Hawaiian Airlines flight scheduled to operate to or from the United States and whose flight was canceled or subject to a significant schedule change without being issued a refund. 

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