Airline Refuses to Give Refund to Cancer Patient


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U.S. Airways said they are standing by their decision not to refund money for tickets purchased by a woman diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.

Lynn McKain and her family had purchased five round-trip tickets earlier this year to Belize. The dream trip was booked after she had been cleared of breast cancer. However, she was recently diagnosed with stage four breast cancer and her doctor ordered her not to travel, according to a report on WUSA.

When the McKain family asked for a refund on their $4,200 tickets, the airline refused, explaining that the tickets were nonrefundable.

?We are so sorry to hear about the situation with Mrs. McKain and we empathize with her,? U.S. Airways spokesperson Liz Landau told Fox News & Commentary.

WUSA reported that McKain provided letters and medical documentation to the airline proving that she was not able to travel, but so far ? the airline has refused to budge.

Outrage is growing online. A blogger at The Right Sphere called the airline?s decision ?cold, heartless and just plain mean.?

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I sympathize but the woman needs to stop acting like a victim, everyone knows that it's policy that plane tickets are non-refundable. Again, sucks that she has cancer but that doesn't exclude her from being treated like everyone else.

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yea, it sucks for her but maybe she can try and flog them? not being funny but no one should get a refund unless its fault of the airline ...

I would get ****ed off if i wanted to refund a ticket and they let someone else do it ... you may be thinking "dude she is sick" ... but not my problem, not the airlines problem.. and its not your problem its hers same as the tickets, im sure she will find someone to buy them maybe she should just knock a few hundred off the price

i am a heartless ****** but oh well

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Feel sorry for her, however, it was not the airline's fault that the woman got cancer. I realize that it sounds as if the airline is being mean, but they have to look at their policy and enforce that policy regardless how inhuman it may look or sound. Just because you get sick does not mean you should receive special treatment.

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Take out the word cancer, and you just have someone who cant travel on the date they booked their flight for. Replace it with the words "The Flu" - they're not gonna get a refund either

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As crappy as that situation is for her, I don't see why the airline needs to refund her money. They offered future travel credits for them which is more than they need to do considering she chose not to purchase travel insurance (which would cost peanuts compared to the ticket prices).

If they give refunds in this case, then where do you draw the line on these medical excuses? Everyone has had something unexpected happen in their lives but it's stated quite clearly when things are non-refundable. I wish her all the best in her fight with cancer but the airlines aren't obliged to do anything more, nor do I really think they should.

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Take out the word cancer, and you just have someone who cant travel on the date they booked their flight for. Replace it with the words "The Flu" - they're not gonna get a refund either

Thank you. Agree with everyone else, I sympathize with her and the family, but s*it happens. If they do it for one, they have to do it for all. People getting outraged are just morons.

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Thank you. Agree with everyone else, I sympathize with her and the family, but s*it happens. If they do it for one, they have to do it for all. People getting outraged are just morons.

And she's a moron for not getting travel insurance.
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Im with everyone else. Sure the fact she was re-diagnosed with cancer sucks, but why should a company change their policies for a freak-of-nature event. Just like they have set policies for inclement weather, they never change.

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that's pretty damn stupid how you can't refund tickets..... airlines/ports suck.

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Even though I don't agree with the non-refundable tickets to an extend (till 15 days of the flight date?) I have to say... It's airport policy for everyone.. it sucks that she was diagnosed with cancer, but its the rules :\

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I sympathize but the woman needs to stop acting like a victim, everyone knows that it's policy that plane tickets are non-refundable. Again, sucks that she has cancer but that doesn't exclude her from being treated like everyone else.

This

Isn't this what travel insurance is for?

And this

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I sympathize but the woman needs to stop acting like a victim, everyone knows that it's policy that plane tickets are non-refundable. Again, sucks that she has cancer but that doesn't exclude her from being treated like everyone else.

Sorry, but I didn't know it was policy that tickets are non refundable!

When I first read the topic and the first little bit of the article, I was ready to start screaming how unfair the airline is. If it really is policy, then I won't go that route!

Some exceptions could/should be made though.

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Isn't this what travel insurance is for? It is nice when airlines re-book your flight for free because of unexpected medical condition, but I don't think that they are obligated to.

Yes it is. Always have travel insurance. Also check your credit cards many credit cards give you basic travel insurance for tickets bought with the card.

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Take out the word cancer, and you just have someone who cant travel on the date they booked their flight for. Replace it with the words "The Flu" - they're not gonna get a refund either

How can you compare cancer to the flu?

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I appreciate that the airline is taking a hard line stance on this. However, they could have easily turned this into a great bit of PR by refunding and then blowing their own trumpet as to how sympathetic they are. In the current economy, when a big corporation goes out of their way to help individuals, they get nothing but praise for it.

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it may be policy, that's all it is it's not law, it can still be challenged, no need to just accept it like sheep.

I'm all for consumer rights and, of course, it's unfortunate that her cancer returned, but this case is just silly. If the exception is made for this one individual, then does everyone diagnosed with cancer and unable to travel as a result, get a refund on the tickets? What about others diagnosed with other terminal diseases? What about if it's not terminal, but potentially life-threatening? etc.

Also, I'm guessing the other family members haven't been diagnosed with cancer and are able to travel (whether they should is a different story); why should they be entitled to a refund? There's a reason why they have that policy in the first place; a line must be drawn somewhere.

She would've got a financial reimbursement had she taken out travel insurance. The onus lies on her to cover herself, not the airline.

Having said that, I also agree with vanx (quoted below).

However, they could have easily turned this into a great bit of PR by refunding and then blowing their own trumpet as to how sympathetic they are. In the current economy, when a big corporation goes out of their way to help individuals, they get nothing but praise for it.

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How can you compare cancer to the flu?

He didn't really. His point was valid - it is someone unable to travel on that day for whatever reason.

it may be policy, that's all it is it's not law, it can still be challenged, no need to just accept it like sheep.

Why the hell should they change? Sorry, cancer is aweful. But where do you draw the line?

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I agree that while it is unfortunate that she has cancer, it is not the airlines fault. I'd have thought the sheer value of the tickets would have been enough to force them into taking out Travel Insurance. I could understand if the tickets cost peanuts, but $4,200 is hardly a figure many people can laugh at, especially in this economic climate. I did the calculations before and that's the equivalent to a little over 3 months wages for myself.

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