Travel Troubleshooter: One more time for the back rows — if the airline cancels your flight, you get a refund

Q: I booked a ticket on AeroMexico from Sacramento to Sao Paulo, Brazil, with two stops in Mexico. The airline canceled my flight three weeks later and rebooked me on a different flight.

The new itinerary included a 10-hour stopover and no longer met my needs, so I asked for a refund. I called AeroMexico three times to ask for my money back. Although the representatives were very friendly, they were unable to help me. When I asked for a supervisor, there was never one available.

AeroMexico has given me two options: Either I accept a flight voucher, or I take the new flight. But I thought when an airline cancels a flight or makes substantial changes to someone's itinerary, I'm entitled to a full refund, even for nonrefundable tickets. Can you help me?

A: You're correct: If an airline cancels your flight, you get a refund. That's a Department of Transportation regulation. The airline must reimburse you within a week if you paid by credit card, which you did.

Ah, but wait — does that apply to an AeroMexico flight to Mexico City? As a matter of fact, it does. DOT regulations affect any commercial aircraft operating in the United States, regardless of destination.

Airlines would prefer that you accept their new flights or a ticket credit, and you can do that if you want. But you don't have to. During the pandemic, airlines said they couldn't offer refunds because of "extraordinary" circumstances. But the DOT reminded airlines that they were required to.

It looks like you tried to call AeroMexico to resolve this. Then, you sent a formal request in writing — first through the airline's website, and then to one of the executive contacts that I publish on elliott.org. The airline ignored you.

Asking for a supervisor in a phone call rarely works. Chances are, they will pass you off to a colleague pretending to be a supervisor and tell you "no" a hundred different ways.

You also told an agent that you would take legal action if you didn't get a refund. I understand your frustration, but if you do that, your complaint may get routed to the airline's legal department, which is often a dead end.

Remaining calm and polite and reminding the airline of its requirements under the law would have been more effective. You also could have filed a complaint with the DOT. The agency would have contacted AeroMexico, and I'm sure you would have received a refund quickly.

None of that was necessary. I reached out to the airline, and it agreed to refund your ticket.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit consumer organization. Contact him at elliott.org/help or chris@elliott.org.