An online survey revealed that only 29% of people who canceled their flights due to the latest spurt in COVID-19 cases were able to get a full refund from airlines/travel agents. The survey, conducted by community social media platform LocalCircles, also found that of those who canceled hotel bookings, only 34% got a full refund. The survey received over 20,000 responses from citizens living in 332 districts of India. 62% of the respondents were male while 38% were female.
A similar survey conducted by LocalCircle during the second wave indicated that 13% of citizens who had booked hotels were able to get a full refund due to hotel cancellations. During the third wave, 34% of people who traveled during January-March 2022 were able to get a full refund due to cancellations. Although more than 2.5 times more citizens were able to get hotel booking refunds due to cancellations related to the third wave, compared to cancellations related to the second wave, most still lost money to hotels.
As COVID cases began to rise in India with the advent of the Omicron version of COVID from early December, many who had traveled during the months of January-March revisited their plans and a subset of them decided to cancel. Contacted airlines and hotels for
Last week in December, a LocalCircle survey had found that even though India was at increased risk due to the Omicron version of the coronavirus, at least 58 percent of citizens were planning to travel between December and March.
Only 29% were able to get a full refund
The first question citizens were asked was, “How does the cancellation process work for the flight journey you booked for January-March 2022?”
In response, at least 29% said that “the travel agent and/or airline accepted the cancellation and refunded the full amount”, 14% said “the travel agent and/or airline accepted the cancellation but partly amounted”. refunded”, 29% said “the travel agent and/or airline accepted the cancellation and refunded a small amount”, 14% said “the travel agent and/or airline did not return anything but the latter Rebooked the ticket for the date”. 14% could not say.
Overall, only 29% of those who canceled flight tickets were able to get a full refund from airlines/travel agents. This question got 10,151 responses in the survey.
Majority lost money to airlines
A similar survey conducted by LocalCircle during the second wave indicated that 12% of citizens who had booked travel were able to get a full refund due to flight cancellations. During the third wave 29% of those who booked travel during January-March 2022 were able to get a full refund due to cancellations. Although more than twice as many citizens were able to get flight ticket refunds due to cancellations related to the third wave compared to cancellations related to the second wave, most still lost money to airlines.
34% were able to get a full refund
The next question citizens were asked was, “How does the cancellation process work for the hotel you booked for your stay during January-March 2022?”
In response, 34% said “the travel agent and/or hotel accepted the cancellation and refunded the full amount”, 13% said “the travel agent and/or hotel accepted the cancellation but returned the partial amount”. Of course, 13% said “the travel agent and/or hotel accepted the cancellation and refunded a small amount”, another 13% said “the travel agent and/or hotel did not return anything but tickets for a later date” Rebooked”. 27% said “the travel agent and/or hotel did not return anything and we lost the entire booking amount”.
Overall, of those who canceled hotel bookings, only 34% were able to get a full refund from hotel/travel agents. This question got 9,974 responses in the survey.
The majority are still losing money for hotels
A similar survey conducted by LocalCircle during the second wave indicated that 13% of citizens who had booked hotels were able to get a full refund due to hotel cancellations. During the third wave 34% who have booked travel during January-March 2022 were able to get a full refund due to cancellations. Although more than 2.5 times more citizens were able to get hotel booking refunds due to cancellations related to the third wave, compared to cancellations related to the second wave, most still lost money to hotels.
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