Austrian Airlines is the flag carrier airline of Austria and part of the Lufthansa group which carried around 150 million people in 2019, more than easyJet and beaten only by Ryanair. However during Covid-19, Austrian had to cancel 95% of its flights leaving 2 million paying passengers in the lurch.
The UK regulator the CMA is even conducting an investigation into whether airlines like Austrian Airlines, easyJet, Ryanair and others breached consumer rights laws during Coronavirus.
How to get a refund on a cancelled Austrian flight?
If you're one of the many unlucky Austrian Airlines passengers waiting on a cancelled flight refund due to Coronavirus travel bans, you have a few options. Some options require more time than others, and with varying chances of working.
What are all the flight refund options available during Covid-19?
Option 1: Contact Austrian Airlines
You can call, email or use social media to get in touch directly with Austrian. Unfortunately, this is what everyone else is doing (2 million others) so you'll have to join the queue.
| Telephone | 020 76608190 |
| Website | https://www.austrian.com |
| @_austrian |
| Time Taken: | 6-10 Months |
| Chances of working: | Moderate |
| Cost: | Free |
Option 2: Use a complaints website
These sites help you send a polite letter of complaint, based on EU law. Unfortunately this can be like screaming at a brick wall (or banging your head against it), since the airlines don't take these automated letters seriously, especially during Covid-19.
Even if you do win, they'll take 25% of your refund, leaving you with no holiday and no money to book one in the future.
| Resolver |
| Flightright |
| ClaimCompass |
| Time Taken: | 2-3 hours |
| Chances of working: | Moderate |
| Cost: | 25% of your refund |
Option 3: Chargeback on your credit card
You can ask your bank or credit card company to process a refund, also called a chargeback. During Coronavirus, this has become more difficult, and can take months.
| Time Taken: | Months |
| Chances of working: | Moderate |
| Cost: | Free |
Option 4: Take legal action against the airline
By using a licensed solicitor to commence legal proceedings against the airline, you can get them to sit up and pay attention.
- The solicitor gathers details of the case using our online platform (5 minutes)
- The solicitor prepares a letter before action (no time or effort for you, handled by a licensed solicitor)
- The letter is sent by the solicitor to the airline (no time or effort for you)
| Time Taken: | 5 minutes |
| Chances of working: | 95% success rate |
| Cost: | £149 including VAT |
If you want a licensed solicitor to take legal action against the airline, that's your strongest option. It's also more affordable than you think (starting at £149) by using Lawhive.
(Lawhive is the UK's largest online network of licensed solicitors, on average costing ⅓ of the cost of a high street law firm and consistently gets rated 5 stars by customers.)
With Lawhive, you get the advantages of a licensed solicitor helping you get your money back, but for a fraction of the cost of going to a law firm. Like a complaints website, Lawhive is completely online, but it's much cheaper since you won't have to give away 25% of your refund. If you booked through an online travel agent like Opodo, BudgetAir, eDreams or Lastminute.com you can ask your solicitor to commence legal proceedings against them instead of the airline.
What else can Lawhive help with?
Lawhive's network of solicitors can also help you resolve neighbour disputes, or a dispute with your tenant or landlord, create or dispute a will, get a divorce, and negotiate custody arrangements, all online at a third of the cost of a high street law firm.