But does Aer Lingus’s Conditions of Carriage (Now referred to as CoC) make very little sense? I’m currently going through them to see if there is any way of getting my money back, the fight on the customer service front isn’t going to plan at the moment but when the only way to contact them is by fax or post…. You are stuck dealing with reservation agents.
So I’m looking over everything and their fare rules say no refunds unless you are on a business class flight. Or as the rules say
NO REFUND AT ANY TIME EXCEPT FOR BUSINESS CLASS
However when you look at the Conditions of Carriage you see the following:
2.5 CONDITIONS PREVAIL OVER REGULATIONS
Except as provided in these Conditions of Carriage, in the event of inconsistency between these Conditions of Carriage and any other regulations we may have, dealing with particular subjects, these Conditions of Carriage shall prevail.
So when I’m reading that it looks like to me, if there is something in the fare rules which doesn’t agree with the conditions of carriage, the conditions of carriage win over, but they also say this:
3.1.3 Some Tickets are sold at fares which may be partially or completely non-refundable. You should check the fare rules at the time of booking and choose the fare best suited to your needs. You may also wish to ensure that you have appropriate insurance to cover instances where you might have to cancel your Ticket or are prevented from travelling.
But since I’ve just proven the fact the fare rules don’t seem to apply any more that statement is pretty much usless And section 4.2 goes:
If you do not travel, you may apply in writing for a full refund of taxes, fees and charges paid, in which case the refund may be subject to a reasonable administration charge.
So in theory if I wasn’t to travel on that flight I could claim a full refund (bar an admin charge for the refund itself) since under section 4.2 of their CoC it says if I don’t fly I get a refund.
But when you look at Article 10 - Refunds, it seems to be promising for me with one snag.
ARTICLE 10 - REFUNDS
10.1 We will refund a Ticket or any unused portion, in accordance with the applicable fare rules or Tariff, as follows:
10.1.1 Except as otherwise provided in this ARTICLE, we shall be entitled to make a refund either to the person named in the Ticket or, to the person who has paid for the Ticket, upon presentation of satisfactory proof of such payment
10.3 VOLUNTARY REFUNDS
10.3.1 If you are entitled to a refund of your Ticket for reasons other than those set out in 10.2, the amount of the refund shall be:
10.3.1.1 if no portion of the Ticket has been used, an amount equal to the fare and any taxes, fees and charges paid less any reasonable service charges or cancellation fees;The rules in 10.2 cover the following: “If we cancel a flight, fail to operate a flight reasonably according to schedule, fail to stop at your destination or Stopover, or cause you to miss a connecting flight”
If you look at 10.1 it says “in accordance with the applicable fare rules” but section 2.5 seems to invalidate the fare rules, so I’m not sure where I stand with them on that part. However I think since I have proven their fare rules are not in line with their CoC so the fare rules don’t apply anymore so that section is null and void so I can get a full refund if I don’t fly with that ticket.
So this is my thinking, if I was to book another ticket with Aer Lingus at the lower rate and not fly using the higher priced ticket I can claim a full refund on it and get my money back. Would anyone with a more detailed knowledge of contract law care to look over my ideas?
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