Using a credit on El Al Airlines from a cancelled flight

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Bkatlanta

Jul 9, 2020
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I was told in March 2020 by a service rep at El Al that I can cancel my EWR - TLV flight (scheduled for 31 March) due to COVID and receive a credit good for year.
Okay, so now it's time to rebook my flight (my daughter lives in Israel and is expecting her 1st daughter on 01 December).

When I get to the payments page there's no way to utilize the credit.

Some facts:
1. I did not receive an actual acknowledgment from El Al that I was getting credit. It was just someone on the phone.
2. El Al has disconnected phone support for now
3. I've emailed them numerous times on this issue, starting June 30th. I get automated replies from them, nothing more.
4. I've initiated a claim with Amex, but not very hopeful because I initiated the cancellation. Plus Amex is now taking 6-8 weeks to resolve these claims.
5. I was logged on to my frequent flier account when I attempted to rebook. There was no evidence of a credit anywhere on my account, and, as stated, it was not on the payment page when checking out for my new flight
6. My original ticket number was: XXXXXXXX

Edited by moderator to remove ticket number.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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Bkatlanta

Jul 9, 2020
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Yikes, thanks for the info. I just alerted everyone I know. They are still accepting bookings apparently!
This is kind of criminal if you ask me.

Say hi to Chris for me.
 
S

smd

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jsn55

jsn55

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Like a million other consumers, this is an awful situation. But it's not fatal. Your credit will appear at some point ... months and months down the road. I don't think a country is going to see its' own airline go down through no fault of its own. Even if you didn't get written confirmation at the time, when you cancelled the flights you created a credit ... assuming that ElAl functions like all the airlines I know about. A situation like yours is way down on the bottom of the priority list for an airline fighting for its life. The wheels will start to turn, slowly at first, but pretty soon everybody will get attended to. I suggest that you follow ElAl on FlyerTalk to be sure my predictions come true. You want to verify that your credit is good long enough for everything to get straightened out, and to be sure that you don't get lost in the works. As soon as life returns to normal, you'll be able to reach them if they don't reach you first.
 
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jsmithw

Feb 11, 2018
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Neil Maley said:
It remains to be seen if the government is going to take on the debts that ElAl owes for all the canceled air. ElAl has not been following the DOT rules about refunds (like Air Canada).
Click to expand...
According to the article in the Jerusalem Post, Israeli law also requires that passengers be reimbursed for cancelled flights.
 
Neil Maley

Neil Maley

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We have those DOT guidelines however as of now, the DOT has no power to force the airlines to refund. Air Canada has openly defied this DOT rule and has said they are not refunding.

ElAl has no money to refund. They have stopped flying and the Israeli government is reported to be infusing them with cash for a sale but makes no mention of how they are going to handle thousands of canceled flight refunds.

Unless the DOT goes after these airlines and fine them or pull slots our “rules”mean nothing.

If the airlines don’t have liquid funds to refund, what can the DOT do?
 
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Tamcamp

Jun 7, 2020
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Neil Maley said:
It remains to be seen if the government is going to take on the debts that ElAl owes for all the canceled air. ElAl has not been following the DOT rules about refunds (like Air Canada).
Click to expand...
I actually did get a refund for my two March-April BOS-TLV r/t tickets for flights El Al cancelled. I’m still not sure if it was from my DOT complaint, my Amex complaint or my request directly to the airline, but I got my Amex credit after 2 1/2 months. El Al did email me, acknowledging the DOT complaint, after the credit already appeared in my Amex account. I was traveling to a family wedding, which was postponed until September. I don’t think it will happen in September either; if it does, we unfortunately won’t be there...
I think the key here is that the passenger cancelled prematurely, hence only getting flight credit. I waited for El Al to cancel (multiple texts and emails, in two languages) to ensure a refund. It took patience but I knew it would happen.
 
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jsn55

jsn55

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I would avoid any airline in the future who just walks away one day, stops answering the phone, doesn't respond. Shows complete disregard for their pax. You have to be truly mismanaged to behave like that and I'd never fly them. It's the same concept as a couple of well-known airlines being in financial trouble for years and years but still operating. I'm not setting foot on an airplane that's been maintained by that kind of management.
 
Barry Graham

Barry Graham

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jsn55 said:
I would avoid any airline in the future who just walks away one day, stops answering the phone, doesn't respond. Shows complete disregard for their pax. You have to be truly mismanaged to behave like that and I'd never fly them. It's the same concept as a couple of well-known airlines being in financial trouble for years and years but still operating. I'm not setting foot on an airplane that's been maintained by that kind of management.
Click to expand...
The situation with El Al is very complex.
 
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Barry Graham

Barry Graham

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Neil Maley

Neil Maley

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Barry Graham said:
El Al has not stopped flying for good. What we've been reading about is politics between the unions and management. El Al is not dead. By the time we can fly to Israel again (which most people can't at the moment) this will be resolved.
Click to expand...
The government is supposedly infusing them with cash, but who knows what that will include. I hope they can straighten this out so all these people with credits can use them.

But this is why the OP can’t book anything.
 
B

Bkatlanta

Jul 9, 2020
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I have an update: Amex has just credited my account for the full amount.
One caveat is that they may decide to rebill my account at some point after they get more info from El Al. But that seems unlikely.
Thanks everyone for your help and support.
-Berl
 
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jsn55

jsn55

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Bkatlanta said:
I have an update: Amex has just credited my account for the full amount.
One caveat is that they may decide to rebill my account at some point after they get more info from El Al. But that seems unlikely.
Thanks everyone for your help and support.
-Berl
Click to expand...
Three cheers for AmericanExpress.
 
Neil Maley

Neil Maley

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Y
Bkatlanta said:
I have an update: Amex has just credited my account for the full amount.
One caveat is that they may decide to rebill my account at some point after they get more info from El Al. But that seems unlikely.
Thanks everyone for your help and support.
-Berl
Click to expand...
You were given a conditional credit that may not be permanent. ElAl has usually 30 days to respond to the claim. After that Amex looks at the case she decides to make it permanent or not. You will hear from them at that time.

I don’t believe ElAl has anyone in their offices so if they don't respond you will likely win.

Let us know the final outcome. Good luck.
 
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