Allegiant Air Class Action Seeks Refunds, Not Vouchers

Discount carrier Allegiant Air is taking heavy fire for failing to issue refunds for flights it grounded because of coronavirus travel restrictions.

The Allegiant Air class action lawsuit maintains that the carrier has shut down “a vast percentage” of its regular domestic and international flights, but has refused to reimburse its customers for tickets they purchased before then — in violation of its own policy as well as federal orders.

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Plaintiff Rebecca Bratcher of Florida says she paid $49 in March for an Allegiant flight between Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Norfolk, Va. scheduled for April 2.

According to the Allegiant Air class action lawsuit, the airline canceled that flight March 31 because of coronavirus travel restrictions but failed to offer Bratcher a refund.

“In the cancellation email to Plaintiff, Allegiant did not give Plaintiff the option to request a cash refund,” reads the Allegiant Air class action lawsuit. “Instead, Allegiant only gave Plaintiff the option to change her flight, receive a voucher for future travel, or contact customer service for unspecified ‘other options.’”

Bratcher subsequently requested a refund from Allegiant but did not receive her money back.

The carrier’s actions contradict its own Contract of Carriage, as quoted in the Allegiant Air class action lawsuit: “If a passenger’s scheduled transportation is canceled, or terminated before the passenger has reached his or her final destination as a result of a flight cancellation or omission of a scheduled stop, Carrier will, at the passenger’s option … refund the fare for the unused transportation.”

It also violates a U.S. Department of Transportation order that was issued to clarify federal travel policy in the face of the pandemic.

The excerpt cited in the Allegiant Air class action lawsuit reads, in part: “U.S. and foreign airlines remain obligated to provide a prompt refund to passengers for flights to, within, or from the United States when the carrier cancels the passenger’s scheduled flight or makes a significant schedule change and the passenger chooses not to accept the alternative offered by the carrier.”

The Allegiant Air class action lawsuit notes: “The DOT’s Enforcement Notice makes perfectly clear that offering ‘vouchers or credits for future travel’ is not an adequate or appropriate substitute for airlines’ obligations to offer refunds for canceled flights.”

Bratcher’s allegations are backed up by numerous statements other angry customers have posted on the internet, all telling similar stories.

“Allegiant’s consumers have excoriated Allegiant’s refusal or failure to provide its customers with refunds,” the Allegiant Air class action lawsuit says.

Five recent one-star reviews of the airline posted on TripAdvisor.com are included in the Allegiant Air class action lawsuit, some claiming to come from formerly loyal customers.

Here are a few samples:

• “Lala” stated that she received vouchers for her original flight and then for her rescheduled flight — both of which were canceled. She said she ended up driving 11 hours to her destination. “Now I have two vouchers instead of my money back,” she wrote. “I don’t want a voucher. I want my money back!!”
• “David H” noted that the vouchers expire unless recipients call in the extend the expiration date. “This is after their CEO sent an email reassuring customers they’d be taken care of. Extremely misleading,” he wrote.
• “Eruc B” wrote that Allegiant is “basically holding people’s money hostage” at a time when they might need it to buy food. “It is sickening and without compassion.”

The Las Vegas-based airline is among the nation’s largest, carrying about 15 million passengers in 2019, according to the Allegiant Air class action lawsuit. But with the advent of the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced in April that it “anticipates reducing its airline capacity by 80 to 90 percent during April and May, with additional schedule restrictions to come for the summer travel season.”

The Allegiant Air class action lawsuit is claiming unjust enrichment, breach of contract and “money had and received.” Bratcher is demanding a jury trial to recover ticket costs and cancellation fees, plus damages and court costs.

Attorneys for the plaintiff are Don Springmeyer and Jordan Butler of Wolf Rifkin Shapiro Schulman & Rabkin LLP; and Yeremey Krivoshey, Andrew J. Obergfell and Max Roberts of Bursor & Fisher PA.

The Allegiant Air Ticket Refund Class Action Lawsuit is Rebecca Bratcher v. Allegiant Travel Co., Case No. 2:20-cv-00767, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

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