Tom Scruggs pays Norwegian Airlines a $79 change fee to get on an earlier flight. But then the airline rebooks him on a later flight. Can he get a refund?
Question
I’m trying to get a refund from Norwegian Airlines. I booked two round-trip tickets from Stockholm to Oslo recently. The return flight was scheduled to arrive in Stockholm at 8 p.m. I subsequently learned of an appointment I had in Stockholm at about 7:30, so I changed our return flight to an earlier time. Because this was a more expensive flight, I paid an additional $79 for this change.
Just before our flight, I received an email from Norwegian Airlines requiring us to change to a later flight. The airline would not offer any compensation for the amount we paid for the earlier flight.
Interestingly, we arrived in Oslo with enough time to catch the earlier flight. Although there were seats available, we were not allowed to board. I discussed this with the gate agent at the time, even showing her my original flight itinerary, but was still denied boarding.
I missed my appointment in Stockholm but still had to pay $79. In essence, I paid for something that was not provided to me. Can you help me get a refund? — Tom Scruggs, Decatur, Ga.
Answer
What you experienced was something like a trip in vain. You had an appointment in Stockholm, you paid extra to get to it on time, and Norwegian Airlines then rebooked you on a later flight.
I think the worst part of your story is that they wouldn’t let you on the correct flight, which still had seats. That’s a senseless airline rule that ruined your chances of making it to your meeting.
Does Norwegian Airlines have a problem with refunds?
A look at our case files suggests that Norwegian Airlines sometimes balks at refunding customers.
For example, here’s a 2019 case where the airline refused to refund a customer who had purchased a ticket through an online agency. Travelocity blamed the problem on a “system upgrade” but looking at the case with some perspective, I have to wonder.
Norwegian Airlines also dragged its feet on this case involving a passenger who was downgraded to a train. The airline agreed to refund him, but then stalled.
And then there’s this consumer problem involving a replacement ticket that Norwegian Airlines refused to cover. Unfortunately, I couldn’t resolve that one, but Norwegian could have done better — much better.
Together, these consumer cases seem to paint a picture of an airline where the money only goes one way — its way. But don’t get too carried away. For everyone one case my advocacy team gets, there are tens of thousands of refunds that go off without a hitch. But knowing what I do, I would say they aren’t effortless.
But this Norwegian Airlines flight change case was different
There’s absolutely no justification for this. Norwegian should have immediately refunded the fare difference when it changed your ticket. And when it had available seats, it should have rebooked you.
I’ve found myself in a similar situation flying in Europe. I arrived a little early for a flight and saw another flight with the same airline going to my intended destination. It had available seats, but the ticket agents wouldn’t rebook me. Why? They said it “wasn’t fair” to the other passengers who might want to get on the earlier flight. What nonsense! By the way, the airline went out of business a few years later. Serves ’em right.
I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the Norwegian Airlines customer service representatives. A brief, polite email to one of them might have helped them see the absurdity of the situation and led to a prompt refund. You tried to email them but no one responded to you.
Airlines have a lot of rules, but most of them are there for one reason: To enhance their revenues. Norwegian Air wanted more money from you to change your flight but was unwilling to pay you back when it changed your flight. That seems profoundly unfair to me.
You might have avoided this by giving yourself a little more time or maybe scheduling your meetings for the next day, which would have given you plenty of time to get from Oslo to Stockholm. Changing your ticket wouldn’t have been necessary then.
You reached out to my advocacy team for help. I contacted Norwegian Airlines on your behalf. The company refunded your $79.
