Airlines can charge for rebooking tickets again

With the loss of validity of the laws that made the rules for rebooking airline tickets more flexible on December 31, companies are authorized to re-charge fees for changing flights and now have a maximum of seven days to reimburse the consumer if the company itself cancels. the trip.

Since March 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the rebooking of tickets was free of charge. In the same period, the deadline for consumer reimbursement had been extended to 12 months.

Only in the case of ticket purchases made up to one week before departure and whose cancellation occurs within 24 hours after purchase, the consumer is exempt from paying fees. In this case, as in effect during the pandemic, the passenger is entitled to a full refund, without fines, within seven days.

Between March 19, 2020 and December 31, 2021, thanks to the emergency rule created by law nº 14.174/2021 and amended by law nº 14.174/2021, passengers could cancel trips without paying a fine. The exemption occurred if the buyer agreed that the amount paid for the purchase of the original ticket would be converted into credits for the purchase of a new ticket within 18 months.

Those who opted for reimbursement after canceling their own trip, in turn, were subject to the fees and fines provided for in the purchase of the ticket. The refund should be paid by the company within 12 months from the date of the canceled flight.

If the company canceled the trip, the customer was entitled to rebooking on another flight, refund or credits for future use.

With the end of the laws in force in 2020 and 2021, the rules of Resolution No. 400/2016 of Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) and the Consumer Protection Code will apply again.

understand what changes

Markdown

• The customer continues to be able to opt for reimbursement in future credits and is not obliged to accept the measure; credits can no longer be made available to third parties, as happened in the first two years of the pandemic
• The option for credits no longer exempts the consumer from fines due to flight rescheduling
• The deadline for using the credits, before 18 months, is “free negotiation” between the passenger and the company, according to Anac

Withdrawal and refund

• After flight cancellation by the company: companies had 12 months to make the refund, starting from the date of the flight; the deadline is again seven days, from the request for reimbursement made by the passenger

• After the passenger withdraws, up to seven days before the trip and up to 24 hours after receiving proof of purchase: The seven-day refund period continues to be valid from the date of the passenger’s request

• Reimbursement will no longer be based on inflation adjustment by the INPC (National Consumer Price Index), as in effect until December 31

• The rule that provided for suspension of the collection of open purchase installments, in the event of a refund request, was extinguished

For Carolina Vesentini, a lawyer at Idec (Instituto de Defesa do Consumidor), the return of the seven-day period for reimbursement benefits consumers, but the end of the adjustment of the value by the INPC, for example, makes it even more important to carefully read the contract ticket purchase.

“Consumers should always check when buying the fine or tariff charged if they give up the trip, and make sure they can afford it. People buy in excitement and don’t pay attention to it,” says Vesentini.

Fernando Capez, director of Procon-SP, says that the agency has received several complaints from passengers who had flights canceled by companies facing financial difficulties caused by the pandemic or have restricted the offer of flights due to the high in cases of Covid-19. and influenza.

“The law determines that the company must make the refund within seven days or the rescheduling of the ticket. But many companies are not doing either of the two”, he says. The situation is even worse, he says, when the companies involved have no representation in Brazil to whom aggrieved consumers can turn.

The agency recommends that customers research the reputation of companies on sites such as Procon and Reclame Aqui before purchasing the ticket, and avoid purchasing trips from companies that have received a high volume of complaints about cancellations. It also guides consumers to find out about the existence of an office or representation of the company in Brazil, to facilitate contact in case of problems with the purchase.