Plane Fair : Airlines Will Reverse Non-Refundable Policy for Marines Ordered to Somalia

Yes, Virginia, there will be holiday airline-ticket refunds after all for Marines whisked off to Somalia, despite the airlines’ earlier assertions that no refunds were due military people because they weren’t going off to a war.

After pressure from travel agents and inquiries from the media, several U.S. carriers said Friday they had changed their non-refundable policy for tickets bought in advance in response to dozens of requests from Marines and their dependents, who suddenly found themselves holding airline tickets, but with no opportunity or desire to use them.

“It seems like the reasonable and right thing to do. . . . We did get calls last week from enough people who inquired about the refunds. So, we decided to change our policy,” said American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith.

He said the airline notified its ticket agents of the policy change on Monday. By Friday, most major carriers had followed American’s lead.

“Delta will refund tickets that are normally non-refundable to military personnel whose travel plans through Jan. 15 are affected by order to report for duty in Somalia,” said Delta spokesman Rick Beckett.

Industry and Marine officials said they had no estimates on how many military personnel and their dependents would take advantage of the policy changes.

“I can tell you that it’s a substantial number,” Beckett said.

Several industry officials said privately that the policy changes were also due in part to the efforts of Oceanside travel agent Ray Burgess, a crusty, 76-year-old ex-Marine. Burgess owns AB Cruise & Air Travel Lure, a travel agency that skirts Camp Pendleton and whose clients are largely Marines and their dependents.

“When the deployments to Somalia began, a couple of kids called and inquired about the refunds. I told them to bring them in and I discovered the tickets were non-refundable,” Burgess said. “I called United (Airlines) and they said that since Somalia was not a war they weren’t going to refund the tickets.”

Burgess, who has owned the travel agency since 1945, said he kept calling United and other airlines every day, asking executives to reconsider their policy on non-refundable tickets purchased by Marines and their dependents.

On Friday, United spokesman Joe Hopkins said the company had changed its policy. Like the other airlines that are refunding tickets, United will give refunds if the Marine brings the ticket and a letter from a commanding officer certifying orders to Somalia to a United ticket agent.

However, Burgess noted that most Marines holding non-refundable tickets are either en route to Somalia or restricted to military bases awaiting transport to the East Africa nation. He said that other airlines should follow American Airlines’ policy, “which is the easiest and most convenient.”

“American is allowing Marines or their dependents to drop the tickets off at the travel agency where they bought them,” Burgess said. “In my case, I return the tickets to American and get a full refund. When the kids return from Somalia, all they have to do is come in and pick up their money.”

Airlines that require Marines to go to a company ticket agent in order to get a ticket refund are profiting unfairly from the servicemen and servicewomen’s misfortune, Burgess charged.

“A Marine can’t (get a refund) until he returns from Somalia. In the meantime, the airline has sold his seat, but it won’t fly with that seat empty,” he said. “Because of the shortage of seats during the holiday, they’re going to be able to sell that seat a second time.

“In several instances that I know of, Marines paid $483 for tickets bought in advance from one airline. That airline will now be able to keep that money until the kids return from Somalia and sell those empty seats at the regular coach fare of $1,000. That’s not right.”