Third-party travel insurance can provide a false sense of security. But passengers still needed to pay for those flights. In the case of the Primera bankruptcy, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and others stepped in to repatriate passengers at reduced fares.
A spokesperson for American Express confirmed that their card members would still be responsible for trip modification costs. If passengers still want to travel despite the insolvency or, worse, are stuck abroad mid-trip because of it, they’ll need to rebook at their expense. However, if passengers paid by debit card, they will not likely be covered. Credit card companies traditionally reimburse the original fare as the service was not rendered, according to a credit card company spokesperson.
Passengers impacted by an airline’s insolvency can take some solace in the fact that they will likely receive a good chunk of their money back for their flight if they paid with a credit card.
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How to Get Your Money Back if Things Go Wrong However, doing some advance research will help them avoid being caught unaware. Travelers shouldn’t need to pore over airlines’ financial statements before booking. And the low-cost business model is predicated on operating the aircraft many times per day in order to make more on the so-called ancillary fees such as baggage and on-board services (especially when they are often losing money on the passenger fares compared to per-passenger costs). So, why do airlines like Primera go belly up? According to Martin Harrison, a consultant to airlines with ICF Aviation and a former executive at Spirit Airlines and EasyJet, “Airlines stop operating not because they are low-cost carriers, but because they run out of cash to service their commitments.” Airlines are facing headwinds with rising fuel and labor costs, their two largest expenses. Nevertheless, he hopped across the pond with his original ticket on Norwegian but was forced to rebook on Aer Lingus to get home. “The price for it all went up by 400 percent over our original planned budget,” he added. “What should have been a cheap fun weekend getaway became a nightmare the day before our flight,” Cetrangolo wrote in an email. Primera went under just before his outbound travel was to begin. Ignacio Cetrangolo, a former Primera passenger who commented on Reddit about his woes, recounted his own such tale after he and his girlfriend were slated to fly on Norwegian from Boston to Paris in early October and on Primera on the return leg home. (In fairness to the low-cost carriers, passengers complain about every other airline, too.)
Tales of passenger horror stories are well-documented on Reddit, traveler forums, and in angry comments on airline social media accounts. The problems can range from canceled flights because of maintenance issues or labor strife, to customer service that is slow to respond or slow to refund, all the way to going out of business. The bad news is that any of the European budget carriers could let you down and in a myriad of ways. What Are the Risks When Flying With Budget Carriers? Primera is just the latest in a string of examples, in Europe and elsewhere, that includes carriers such as Monarch (which collapsed last year in one of the biggest failures of a British carrier) and Air Berlin (which filed for bankruptcy last year after its funding was pulled). While such news can seem like a shock, especially to air travelers who are directly impacted, Primera’s demise is unfortunately not all that uncommon among budget airlines worldwide. Indeed, there wasn’t even staff left at Primera to assist-the airline had completely disappeared and the company website shut down. Passengers were forced to rebook with other airlines on their own dime to continue their travel. The budget carrier reportedly left thousands of passengers and dozens of employees stranded across its route map in the process. Had I flown a few weeks later, I would have been at least temporarily out the $299, and then some-Primera Air suddenly ceased flying on October 1, declaring bankruptcy. The incredible deal was courtesy of Primera Air, a European low-cost airline. I booked the flight moments after an ad appeared in my Facebook feed: a round-trip fare from Newark Airport to London Stansted for $299, taxes included (I’ve paid more to fly to Buffalo).
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