A few weeks ago, I called out El Al for not issuing refunds on cancelled flights, in violation of US law.
El Al said they wouldn’t issue refunds until they reopened, which currently appears to be pushed off until at least the end of June.
A week ago, El Al added a refund request form on their website.
And a few days ago the DoT issued additional guidance to airlines to start issuing refunds within 7 days of a flight cancellation or else they would start issuing enforcement actions.
Multiple reports are now coming in that refunds for cancelled El Al flights are showing up on credit card statements! The process of refunding everyone will take some time, so at this point you should hold off on trying to reach El Al or your travel agent about your refund status.
As I’ve said before, I’m surprised that El Al didn’t do what other airlines have done and offered to sweeten the pot with a bonus voucher in exchange for not requesting a refund.
But kudos to El Al for starting to process refunds now, and not waiting until they reopen to do so. Then again the DoT fines for waiting that long would likely have been massive…
Have you received a refund for your cancelled El Al flight? Please share the route and where you purchased the ticket from in the comments!
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56 Comments On "El Al Has Started Processing Refunds For Cancelled Flights!"
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How do I know if my flight is canceled? Scheduled for June 11th bought with Chase UR
Anything until June 28 is most likely cancelled.
So how do I go about it? Do I contact chase?
is there a way to track when you flight gets officially cancelled? I tried to look for information on their site and they wont show flight statuses further out than 3 days.
At what point will El Al notify us, scheduled for June 16 flight, that it had been cancelled? How much advance time do they give the customer?
If you figure it out let me know, chase said if I cancel the trip I would have to settle for a voucher, I would like my points back
When my brother canceled his pesach trip he got stuck with a delta voucher he couldn’t use, chase told him there is nothing he can do because he canceled first
I got my points back. Keep asking and threaten if needed.
Before orbafter your trip? And was the flight officially canceled
To all my clients and others that booked through travel agents.
Elal is slowly processing refunds – we had to submit through excel sheets.
This is very primitive, so do understand they have a huge workload at hand.
It will still take weeks, or even more than a month for them to actually process, and credit back onto our agency statements or your credit cards.
Rest assured, we are as happy as you are to get the refund back to you in such times.
I came into office today to help my boss processing refunds.
(I’m not getting paid)
we understand everyone deserves a full refund but we ask you please have in mind when contacting your travel agent that not only that they are not making any profit for the past 2 months they literally refunding profit they made 9 months ago. airlines are pulling back the commission
(hopefully my boss wont ask me to return my paycheck )
It’s illegal for your boss to have you work and not pay you.
I had a flight on Mar 19 and they cancelled the flight and they put me on a earlier flight on Mar 18 can I get a refund on my ticket??
Per the DoT regulations, you are owed a refund if it’s a flight to/from the US.
Even if they put my on a earlier flight
??
if there was a 12 hour time change, you will receive a refund, otherwise, you will be able to use your credit until 12/31/2021,
*Elal has recently extended the validity of the tickets to 12/31/2021.*
CC @Dan
Did you fly on the earlier flight that they put you on?
Yes
But it’s still not the flight what I
booked
Yes! You can get a partial refund for that leg, should aprox $550.
However, you ended up flying on a very high demand flight (at that point) instead, people paid $1900 for a one way on your travel date, so please don’t forget to pay back that $1900.
We can even make it easier if you want, we can keep the $550 from the partial refund, and you only need to pay us $1350 instead of $1900!
Thanks in advance.
If I had an open ticket, from TLV to NYC that was to be used in June and is still open (but I do not know need this ticket as I used other arrangements to return). Anyway to get a refund on this unused and paid for trip?
Contact the travel agent that booked it.
If my second leg of my round trip ticket was cancelled . Am I eligible for refund ? Orig elal told me since my rt ticket was $1180 and one way is $1800 , that I am not?
You are eligible for a partial refund. File a DOT complaint+chargeback.
Thank you
Can I get a refund on a 2nd leg of an open ticket? Flight scheduled originally for June 9th.
How about Turkish airlines They giving me credit for my canceled flight I disputed the charge with my credit card and I didn’t accept The dispute.
How can I get money back
You are eligible for a partial refund. File a DOT complaint and call to escalate the chargeback based on DoT guidance.
I have tickets to fly with elal on June 22, (sapphire rewards) I dont know what’s going on
Chase said I can only get my points back if elal cancels
Hi Dan,
Thanks for posting. I booked ELAL tickets through Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Chase said that I should cancel to receive airline credit. So I did hat 3 weeks ago. Can I now request a refund instead of airline credit?
Thank you, Dan!
Best,
Daniel
You got bad advice if you cancelled before El Al cancelled.
I just got an Elal refund that wasn’t submitted through any normal channel, only through DOT complaint.
Awesome!
What was your flight? DOT told me they could not help because my flight did not include USA. They did say that a notice was sent to Elal.
I have tix as well for June and they don’t show yet cancelled. Seems like we need to wait a bit longer until they officially cancel before requesting refunds
Kudos????really? They sat on what is estimated at $100’s of millions for two months now with not even the slightest attempt at acting righteously. ELAL blows
Read the end of the paragraph?
Personally I agree though. Their brand is even more tarnished than before.
ElAl canceled my flight. I disputed my Chase charge. About three weeks later the charge re-appeared. Called Chase they told me that once elal responded they can’t remove the charge. The response was basically that they’re giving me credit for a future flight. I argued with the Chase finally spoke to a supervisor who wasn’t much of help claiming that there’s nothing they can do since elal ‘changed’ their policy. Until I said I’m recording you that you won’t back your client for being charged and not provided the service paid for. At that point she told me I can write in a re-dispute and fax it and they will look into it – which I did. This happened last week. So far no response.
I got an E_mail from ELAL just today(for 1’st time) as follows:
I only got the E_mail because I filed the complaint as DAN suggested.
Beforehand I sent them 2-3 E-mails and they did not respond.
Dear Mr. Barry S….
Thank you for contacting El Al via U.S. Department of Transportation.
We are sorry to learn of the inconvenience that you and your family were caused due to the changes that were made to the operation of our El Al flights as a result of the Coronavirus crisis.
It is important to update you that due to the recent events related to the coronavirus, our offices are temporary now closed, and the work is made on an emergency basis only.
Despite the above, we have forwarded your refund request to our accounts team. Refund processing of your 6 tickets in booking XXX will be made soon.
We do ask for your patience and understanding during these challenging times.
got refund after amex dispute and credit. now need to see how long until amex claws back the credit
messing up my books but happy el al credited
the june flights which they arent selling but have not cancelled yet is also a bit underhand, this way they dont have to give back refunds yet
Are you surprised?
This is how they operate.
I had 2 tickets booked for March 27th and returning 8 days later – They just changed the flight schedule and my travel agent got me immediate full refund- 3-4 days on Chase card- based upon that id airline changes original flight- you have the option of refusing the terms-
I got a quick and full refund of $$
El Al only stopped refunds on 3/19. Up until then, there was no problem
I have purchased at the time a travel companion to be supplied by El Al for a minor flying at the same time I purchased the ticket. They have so far denied the refund for the travel companion to the Credit Card company and no answer about the ticket itself. The dates that they where going to fly fall into the dates that ElAl cancelled.
I have always had bad experiences with El Al. Would never never use them again.
How do I start the process of refunds for four tickets if vouchers were already accepted in March?
If I booked through a travel website, and not el al directly, will I still be issued a refund?
I had a flight booked to Israel for 3/23. I cancelled due to the covid situation and “banked” the credit with El Al via my travel agent. This morning I had a credit on my card for the full amount.
Has anyone noticed the language on the form stating “Please note this is for use of American citizens only.”? I don’t believe that it was there last week. Also, there is no way that that is in line with DOT regulation/US law.
ELAL CANCELED MY FLIGHT THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO LEAVE 6/23- MY WIFE ASKED FRO A REFUND FROM ELAL OVER TEN DAYS AGO AND ALL I HEARD BACK WAS CRICKETS – I AM NEW TO DANS DEALS ANDS WILL ALSO DFILE A COMPLAINT WITH THE DOT
We had a flight TLV to US that ElAl canceled. We were told at the end of March that we would get a full refund. Should I just wait now, or still file a DOT complaint and complain to the bank? Thanks.
File complaint and chargeback.
Ok, thanks a lot.
I bought a round trip ticket for my son on El Al direct to Chicago from March 26 through April 21 Everything canceled! I would like the amount paid refunded.
My refund of Chase Sapphire miles for 2 tickets booked for April 2020 just came in!
I had a SFO-Tel Aviv round trip flight scheduled March 12+19 that was canceled. Booked through a travel agent with a large group. Travel agent said they submitted refund requests in March. Nothing yet and last week agent said but that we wont see a refund until El Al “resumes operations.” Looks like some flights are happening, so are they in operation now? Also, saw an article that makes me concerned that El Al will go bankrupt and none of us will get refunds. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/business/.premium-israel-never-wanted-to-nationalize-el-al-but-coronavirus-gave-it-no-choice-1.8906117 Curious about your thoughts, Dan. Thanks!
If this story is accurate Elal (and any other airlines obligated to refund only per Israeli law) will not have to refund all the covid cancelled flights. Does anyone read this differently? How can they do this retroactively? And some people already have received refunds for those flights!
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/283492