A Chicago couple thought they had booked an international trip of a lifetime: Flying to Japan to track down and uncover family roots.
But when that trip overseas was canceled suddenly by the airline, getting a refund of the thousands of dollars they paid turned out to be a difficult journey itself.
Aubrey Lehrmann and her newlywed wife, Noby, have planned a lifetime of adventures. The couple loves to travel, so when Noby wanted to explore her familial roots and culture in Japan, the couple splurged on airfare.
“We were really excited to go,” Lehrmann said. “We splurged on business class tickets from Chicago to Tokyo.”
Lehrmann said she did her research and booked the trip through the online travel agency Kiwi.com.
Her itinerary: From O’Hare to Helsinki, Finland, then Helsinki to Tokyo, Japan. All told, the flights cost more than $7,600.
In the months leading up to their departure, the couple was beyond excited, with every minute of their adventure carefully thought out and planned for.
“We were pumped,” Lehrmann said. “We had Post-it notes up for each day for what we wanted to do, we had travel books.”
Then, three weeks before take-off last March, Lehrmann received a notice out of the blue: The couple’s flights were canceled, for a reason no one could have prepared for.
Lehrmann said, “We got an email that our flight was canceled due to the war in Ukraine.”
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The airline, Finnair, said its flights were grounded due to “difficulties flying through Russian airspace,” after the country invaded Ukraine.
Lehrmann and her wife understood the gravity of the situation in Ukraine, acknowledging that what was happening there was much more serious than their trip. With that understanding, Lehrmann said she still felt she was owed a refund, since the airline canceled the trip, and so, she immediately started the process of trying to get her money back.
Unexpectedly in the months that followed, Lehrmann said she found herself ping-ponging back and forth between the airline and travel agency as to who had her money. She ultimately was told the travel agency, Kiwi, would be responsible for the refund.
“I filed a request with Kiwi and for months, it was just ‘Refund Requested,’ and we never got any updates from them.”
Crickets from Kiwi, Aubrey said she stayed organized, documenting every call and every email.
A good piece of advice for any consumer who finds themselves in a refund debate: Always document every interaction with the company, as you never know when a piece of information could be useful.
For all travelers in these situations, they can feel assured that federal regulators have their back.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation tells NBC 5 Responds, “If your flight (including an international flight originating in the US) is canceled or significantly changed, and you do not accept the alternative offered, you are entitled to a refund for the unused transportation – even for non-refundable tickets.”
Passengers who feel the need to file a complaint against an airline or ticket agency can do so with the Department of Transportation, by filling out the Consumer Complaint Form linked here.
When Lehrmann said Kiwi wasn’t responding to her requests, she tried to do a chargeback with her credit card, but this led to more delays and her credit card company siding with Kiwi, denying her claim.
After unsuccessfully trying to get her money back for nine months, Lehrmann contacted NBC 5 Responds for help.
“It was a nightmare and I had gotten nowhere,” Lehrmann said. “Dead end after dead end.”
NBC 5 Responds contacted Kiwi, and within days, the company issued Lehrmann her full refund, plus a $200 credit.
Kiwi said the refund delay was caused by two factors: miscommunication between Kiwi and the airline, “due to the extraordinary circumstances affecting flights,” with regards to the war in Ukraine.
The second factor was the chargeback Lehrmann requested, which froze the refund process on Kiwi’s end.
Now, with their money in hand, the couple says they plan to book that trip to Japan again someday. This time, armed with some travelers’ experience.
“We will plan it, absolutely!” Lehrmann said. “But probably in a few years.”
