Q: I recently requested a refund from Overseas Adventure Travel for an air ticket I purchased through them for a Cathay Pacific flight. I had booked a round-trip premium economy ticket from San Francisco to Hong Kong. A representative from OAT’s air department recommended the upgrade to premium economy because Cathay Pacific had a special rate. I paid OAT an extra $1,300 for this upgrade.
On the flight to Hong Kong, I was not seated in premium economy. The reason for this action by Cathay Pacific was a change in aircraft. Even at check-in online, the change in seating was not revealed. I was very upset and stressed over this. I paid good money to be seated in a seat of my choice for this 12-hour flight.
I have contacted OAT several times. They keep telling me that it takes time to get a refund from the airlines. I believe that going on four months is way too long of a wait. I desire a refund from OAT to my account of $650, half of the round-trip ticket. Can you help me?
A: If you had a ticket in premium economy, you should have sat in premium economy. Cathay Pacific could have been more proactive about notifying you, and the refund should have been automatic and much, much faster.
An aircraft change — or “equipment change,” in airline parlance — happens fairly routinely when a plane isn’t working correctly, or the airline needs to accommodate more passengers. Still, I think Cathay Pacific might have alerted you when you checked in and offered other options, such as rescheduling you on a flight with premium economy.
By the way, premium economy is kind of a misnomer. All economy class seats should have a minimum amount of legroom and amenities, particularly on a 12-hour flight. Premium economy is a lie, if you ask me. They should just call it economy class and get rid of the tiny seats that you had to endure for half a day.
You were correct to contact Overseas Adventure Travel in writing. It sold you the Cathay Pacific upgrade. And you’re also right that four months is way too long to wait. If you’re still on hold after a month, you can escalate your case in writing to a manager. I list the names, numbers and e-mails for Overseas Adventure Travel on elliott.org.
Ultimately, this refund was up to Cathay Pacific. I should note that your trip happened before COVID‑19 — so no pandemic excuses! You could have contacted Cathay Pacific or appealed to a manager. I list executive contacts for Cathay Pacific on my site, too.
I reached out to OAT and Cathay Pacific on your behalf. Five months after you requested a refund, you finally received it.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit consumer organization. Contact him at elliott.org/help or chris@elliott.org.
rn//Load jQuery library using plain JavaScriptrn(function(){rn var newscript = document.createElement(‘script’);rn newscript.type=”text/javascript”;rn newscript.async = true;rn newscript.src=”https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.1.0.min.js”;rn (document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0]||document.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0]).appendChild(newscript);rnvar newscript2 = document.createElement(‘script’);rn newscript2.type=”text/javascript”;rn newscript2.async = true;rn newscript2.src=”https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/js-cookie/2.1.3/js.cookie.min.js”;rn (document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0]||document.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0]).appendChild(newscript2);rn})();rn/********TEST CODE for METER SNOW PLOW ANALYTiCS*******************/rnvar meter = {};rn$(document).ready(function(){rn // console.log(“this loads well”);rn $(‘.js-optimizely-click-goal’).click(function(){rn // console.log(this);rn meter[‘type’] = $(“input[name=”offer”]”).val();rn if(meter[‘type’] = 131){meter[‘type’] = “Premium Digital Access”;}rn else if(meter[‘type’] = 130){meter[‘type’] = “Sunday Print + Digital”;}rn else if(meter[‘type’] = 129){meter[‘type’] = “7-Day Print + Digital”;}rn else if(meter[‘type’] = 128){meter[‘type’] = “Sunday Print”;}rn meter[‘date’] = new Date().toLocaleString();rn // console.log(meter[‘type’]);rn // console.log(meter[‘date’]);rn var json_meter_cookie = JSON.stringify(meter);rn Cookies.set(‘meter_sign_up’, json_meter_cookie); rn rn });rn});rn/************************************************************************/rn // FACEBOOK TRACKING PIXEL #1rn !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)rn {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?rn n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};rn if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;rn n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;rn t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];rn s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,’script’,rn ‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);rn fbq(‘init’, ‘590074241155998’); rn fbq(‘track’, ‘ViewContent’);rn rnrn{% endblock %}”},”start”:”https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/limit-signup-optimizely/start”},{“id”:”limit-signup”,”count”:12,”action”:”ignore”,”mute”:true,”action_config”:{“template”:”{% extends “grid” %}rnrn{% block heading_text %}Youu2019ve read your 10 free articles for this 30 day period. Sign up now for local coverage you wonu2019t find anywhere else, special sections and your favorite columnists. StarTribune puts Minnesota and the world right at your fingertips. {% endblock %}rnrn{% block last %}rn{{ parent() }}rn{# limit Krux pixel from https://www.squishlist.com/strib/customshop/328/ #}rnrnrn{% endblock %}”},”start”:”https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/limit-signup/start”},{“id”:”meter-desktop-331″,”count”:10,”action”:”ignore”,”mute”:false,”action_config”:false,”start”:”https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/meter-desktop-331/start”},{“id”:”PDA991499opt”,”count”:9,”action”:”ignore”,”mute”:true,”action_config”:false,”start”:”https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/PDA991499opt/start”},{“id”:”limit”,”count”:8,”action”:”inject”,”mute”:false,”action_config”:{“template”:”rn.o-overlay,rn.o-overlay * {rn display: block;rn box-sizing: border-box;rn}rnrn.o-overlay {rn position: fixed;rn top: 0;rn left: 0;rn width: 100%;rn height: 100%;rn font-size:14px;rn background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);rn z-index: 999999;rn opacity:1;rn transition:all .01s;rn}rn.o-overlay h1 {rn font-family:popular-bold, ‘Popular’;rn font-size:28px;rn}rnrn.o-modal {rn width: 100%;rn max-height: 100vh;rn overflow: auto;rn position: absolute;rn top: 50%;rn left: 0;rn -webkit-transform: translateY(-50%);rn transform: translateY(-50%);rn}rn.o-modal-middle {rn padding:5px 5px;rn position:relative;rn background:#F6E463;rn text-align:center;rn border-top:1px solid rgb(246, 228, 99);rn -webkit-box-shadow:0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0);rn box-shadow:0px 0px 0px rgba(0,0,0,0);rn}rn.o-modal-inner {rn background: #ffffff;rn margin: 0 auto;rn width: 100%;rn max-width: 600px;rn position: relative;rn}rnrn.o-button {rn display: inline-block;rn font: bold 18px/1 Whitney, sans-serif;rn margin: 0;rn padding: 0;rn border: none;rn text-decoration: none;rn color: #fff;rn background: #00824A;rn padding: 15px 20px;rn border-radius: 4px;rn border: 2px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);rn -webkit-transition: all .1s;rn transition: all .1s;rn cursor: pointer;rn text-shadow: 0 1px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);rn}rn.o-button:hover {rn text-decoration: none;rn color: #fff;rn border-color: transparent;rn background: #00824A;rn opacity:0.9;rn}rn.o-cta {rntfont:bold 38px/1 Whitney, sans-serif;rntcolor:#00824A;rntpadding:5px 0px;rntdisplay:block;rnttext-align:center;rntoverflow:hidden;rntcursor:defaultrn}rn.o-block {rn text-align: center;rn font-family:’Whitney’,sans-serif;rn}rn.o-block img {rn width: 150px;rn height: auto;rn display: block;rn margin: 0 auto 10px;rn}rn.o-block .text-left {rn text-align:left;rn}rn.o-block.pad {rn padding: 10px;rn}rn.o-block.pad-top {rn padding-top: 30px;rn}rn.o-block.pad-right {rn padding-right: 30px;rn}rn.o-block.pad-bottom {rn padding-bottom: 30px;rn}rn.o-block.pad-left {rn padding-left: 30px;rn}rn.o-block.shadow-out {rn box-shadow: 0 0 7px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);rn}rn.o-block.shadow-in {rn box-shadow: inset 0 0 7px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);rn}rnrn.o-small {rn color: #010101;rn font: italic normal 13px/1 Whitney, sans-serif;rn margin: 10px 0;rn}rn.o-small:first-child {rn margin-top: 0;rn}rn.o-small:last-child {rn margin-bottom: 0;rn}rn.o-small.left {rn text-align: left;rn}rnrn.o-small a {rn display: inline-block;rn color: inherit;rn text-decoration: underline;rn}rn.o-small a:hover {rn color: black;rn text-decoration: underline;rn}rnrn.o-bg-green {rn background:#86cff2;rn color:#ffffff;rn}rnrn.o-info {rn display:inline-block;rn position:absolute;rn bottom:20px;rn right:20px;rn overflow:visible;rn z-index:1;rn}rn.o-info:hover {rn padding-left:2em;rn padding-top:2em;rn}rn.o-info:hover div {rn display:block;rn}rn.o-info button {rn width:1.5em;rn height:1.5em;rn border-radius:100%;rn font-weight:bold;rn line-height:1.5em;rn padding:0;rn margin:0;rn border:0;rn text-align:center;rn font-size:1em;rn tbackground:#F6E463;rn}rn.o-info div {rn background:#F5F5F5;rn position:absolute;rn right:1.5em;rn bottom:1.5em;rn box-shadow:0 0 10px rgba(0,0,0,.5);rn padding:20px;rn font-size:12px;rn line-height:1.3;rn display:none;rn width:300px;rn border-radius:7px 7px 0 7pxrn}rn.o-info div a {rn text-decoration:underline;rn color:#005776;rn}rn }rnrnrnrnrnrn rn rn rn Premium Digital Access
starting at 99u00a2 rn trn SUBSCRIBErn Already a subscriber? Log in.rn rn All Star Tribune readers without a Digital Access subscription are given a limited number of complimentary articles every 30 days. Once the article limit is reached we ask readers to purchase a subscription including Digital Access to continue reading. Digital Access is included in all multi-day paper home delivery, Sunday + Digital, and Premium Digital Access subscriptions. After the 1 month Premium Digital Access introductory period you will be charged at a rate of $14.99 per month. You can see all subscription options or login to an existing subscription herern rn ?rn rn rn rn rnrn”},”start”:”https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/limit/start”},{“id”:”nag”,”count”:7,”action”:”lightbox”,”mute”:true,”action_config”:{“height”:null,”width”:”630px”,”redirect_on_close”:null,”template”:”{% extends “shell” %}rnrn{% block substyles %}rnrn .nag {rn padding:0;rn }rn .nag-inner {rn padding:0 20px 50px;rn }rn .nag img {rn width:auto;rn margin:0 auto;rn }rn .nag h1 {rn margin-top:-20px;rn text-transform:uppercase;rn color:#61bf1a;rn text-align:center;rn font:normal 26px/1 ‘Popular bold’, serif;rn }rn .nag h2 {rn font:bold 28px/1 ‘Benton Sans’, sans-serif;rn font-style:italic;rn text-align:center;rn }rn .nag-status {rn text-align:left;rn background:#f5f5f5 url(“{{ static_url(‘img-icon-warning.png’) }}”) 12px 10px no-repeat;rn padding:12px 35px 10px;rn margin-bottom:65px;rn }rn .nag-status p {rn display:inline-block;rn margin-bottom:0;rn font:normal 14px/1 ‘Benton Sans’, sans-serif;rn font-style:italic;rn }rn .nag-status p:first-child {rn color:#ff8200;rn font-weight:bold;rn }rn .nag-status p:last-child {rn color:#ccc;rn float:right;rn }rn .nag-status .btn-link {rn color:#61bf1a;rn }rn .nag-divider {rn border-top:1px solid #e7e7e7;rn text-align:center;rn width:100%;rn max-width:500px;rn margin:40px auto 20px;rn }rn .nag-logo {rn display:inline-block;rn background:#fff;rn padding:10px;rn margin-top:-24px;rn }rn .nag-btn {rn display:block;rn font-size:24px;rn padding:20px;rn border-radius:5px;rn margin:20px auto 0;rn }rn .log-in {rn margin:-40px auto 30px;rn max-width:400px;rn }rnrn{% endblock %}rnrn{% block page %}rn{#rnrn{{ limit – count – 1 }}rnrn{{ form.flow_form_open({nextAction: ‘firstSlide’}, null, null, ‘_top’) }}rn {{ form.btn(‘Save Now’) }}rn{{ form.flow_form_close() }}rnrnrn {{ form.get_general_error_messages([‘authenticate’]) }}rn {{ form.flow_form_open({nextAction: ‘login’}, [‘authenticate’], ‘login-form’, ‘_top’) }}rn rn {{ form.login }}rn {{ form.flow_form_close() }}rnrnrnKeep reading rnu2022 Log inrnrn }}){kind=logo}
rnrn#}rnrn rn
You have {{ limit – count – 1 }} articles leftrn
rn Keep readingrn u00a0u00a0u2022u00a0u00a0rn Log inrn rn rn rn rn {{ form.get_general_error_messages([‘authenticate’]) }}rn {{ form.flow_form_open({nextAction: ‘login’}, [‘authenticate’], ‘login-form’, ‘_top’) }}rn rn {{ form.login }}rn {{ form.flow_form_close() }}rn rn  }})
rn
Over 70% off!rn rn rn  }})
rn rn rn
99u00a2 for first 4 weeksrn {{ form.flow_form_open({nextAction: ‘firstSlide’}, null, null, ‘_top’) }}rn {{ form.button(‘Save Now’, ‘btn nag-btn’) }}rn {{ form.flow_form_close() }}rn rnrn{% endblock %}rnrn{% block last %}rn{{ parent() }}rnrn{% endblock %}”},”start”:”https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/nag/start”},{“id”:”x”,”count”:4,”action”:”ignore”,”mute”:true,”action_config”:false,”start”:”https://users.startribune.com/placement/1/environment/3/x/start”},{“id”:”multi-start”,”count”:3,”action”:”fly_in”,”mute”:true,”action_config”:{“location”:”bottom_left”,”slide_direction”:”bottom”,”group_id”:null,”display_delay”:”0″,”collapse_delay”:”10″,”template”:”rn.fly-in-group,rn.fly-in-group *,rn.fly-in-group *:before,rn.fly-in-group *:after {rn box-sizing:border-box;rn -moz-box-sizing:border-box;rn -webkit-box-sizing:border-box;rn box-sizing:border-box;rn -webkit-text-size-adjust:none;rn margin:0;rn padding:0;rn}rn.fly-in-group {rn position:relative;rn width:300px;rn background:#484848;rn box-shadow:0 0 10px rgba(0,0,0,.3);rn}rn.fly-in-header {rn width:300px;rn height:70px;rn}rn.fly-in-collapse {rn background:#333333 url(“https://users.startribune.com/static/flow_group/14/slide/1531/1624710778/img-nag-savemoretoday.gif”) center center no-repeat;rn width:300px;rn height:70px;rn cursor:pointer;rn}rn.fly-in-close {rn position:absolute;rn top:0;rn right:0;rn height:20px;rn width:20px;rn display:block;rn color:#FFF;rn font-size:20px;rn line-height:1;rn text-decoration:none;rn cursor:pointer;rn text-align:center;rn}rn.fly-in-close:hover {rn color:#E0E0E0;rn}rn.fly-in-body {rn text-align:center;rn}rn.fly-in-body p {rn color:white;rn font:bold 14px/1 ‘Benton Sans’, sans-serif;rn text-transform:uppercase;rn margin:30px 0 7px 0;rn text-align:center;rn font-style:italic;rn}rn.fly-in-body h2 {rn color:#fff;rn font:bold 25px/1 ‘Benton Sans’, sans-serif;rn text-align:center;rn font-style:italic;rn}rn.fly-in-body h2 span {rn color: #A4A4A4;rn text-decoration:line-through;rn}rn.fly-in-start-btn {rn color:white;rn background:#61bf1a;rn font-family:”Benton Sans”,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;rn font-weight:bold;rn line-height:1;rn text-decoration:none;rn text-transform:uppercase;rn border:none;rn -webkit-appearance:none;rn cursor:pointer;rn padding:15px 0 12px;rn display:block;rn margin:10px auto 30px;rn width:130px;rn border-radius:5px;rn font-size:16px;rn}rn.fly-in-footer {rn background:#333 url(“https://users.startribune.com/static/flow_group/14/slide/1533/2757847127/img-logo-st-sm-darkgrey.png”) center center no-repeat;rn height:35px;rn}rnrnrn rn rn u00d7rn rn rn
From justrn