SAS has received two fines from the Civil Aviation Authority of NOK 100,000 each, due to too slow ticket refunds. The first one was given to SAS in October. The second came in November. The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority considered a third fine for late refunds of tickets during the strike this summer. But in November, SAS released a new fine for exactly that. BUT: The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority has not yet let SAS completely off the hook. Because it may become relevant with new financial sanctions such as compulsory fines or infringement fees again, over the New Year. This is clear from a letter news has been given access to by the Norwegian Aviation Authority. Going wild with private finances In Stavanger, there is a family whose children have been told that there will be no big Christmas presents this year because of SAS. They have two children aged eight and twelve. But only the youngest girl took part in the holiday, which was extra long because of the strike. – Christmas is approaching, and we have had to tell the children (in a kind way) that there won’t be big Christmas presents this year, says Helge Zakariassen. It’s awkward to have a minus on the credit cards because of SAS, says Zakariassen. Photo: Foto Privat He goes on to say somewhat humorously that the family joke a lot about this around the dinner table. “About that when we get money from SAS, we will …”. But there is a lot of seriousness behind it. Because he is worried about whether he will get the money back from SAS. The family received large outlays when, due to the SAS strike, they returned home 11 days later from a holiday in Spain. They had to pay for the hotel, food and flight home themselves. He has purred many times. And was promised that the case would be dealt with by 29 November. But at the time of writing, they still have not received the 40,000 kroner back. This is how Zakariassen and his family lived in a hotel, while they waited to come home during the strike. They tried to live reasonably. Photo: Privat Foto – It is worrying, because we still have a deficit on our credit cards, and with all other expenses that are only increasing, the fact that so much money is missing is clearly felt in the private economy, says Zakariassen. Not least, it is frustrating with the high interest costs that credit cards entail, he continues. The frustrations have periodically spilled over into the night’s sleep. – We have contacted SAS 40-50 times by telephone, as well as by e-mail and chat, without getting clear answers. The last response he received from SAS on 16 December was that they do not know when the case will be processed, and they cannot promise anything. The time before he contacted them in November, he was promised that the matter would be dealt with by the New Year, concludes a frustrated family man. Here from good times on this year’s holiday. Little did they know that they would have to wait almost half a year for money from SAS. Photo: Foto Privat About 45,000 is still missing in reimbursement from SAS Two families in Ålesund are also very frustrated and upset with SAS. They have appealed their case to the Transport Appeal Board. Anne Marte Valderhaug Bjørkavoll and her family were on their way to a holiday in Croatia, together with another family at the beginning of July when the pilot strike in SAS started. They spent NOK 93,500 during the strike to get to and from their holiday. Without the help of SAS. In September, they told news that they were missing NOK 77,000 in reimbursement for expenses they incurred on the way to the holiday, and for hotel and board before the return flight home. Now more than 5 months after the strike, they still haven’t received all the money from SAS. Here, a taxi is waiting from the airport to a hotel in Split, in Croatia. When the return journey with SAS was canceled this summer during the pilot strike. Photo: Private images They have received standard EU compensation as they are entitled to according to EU regulation 261/2004. Now there are expenses that remain to be covered. – The status is that we have received a little money now and then, but we still need approx. NOK 45,000 according to our accounts, says Anne Marte Valderhaug Bjørkavoll to news. This is money the families have put out in connection with alternative travel to the holiday resort, hotel and food as the plane did not go home until two days after the strike had ended. – We have waited patiently. But now it’s starting to be enough. We have spent a lot of time, and had a lot of frustration because we are not getting our money, says Bjørkavoll. We almost give up. But hopefully the money from SAS will arrive soon, says Bjørkavoll. Photo: Private photo / Private She believes that SAS receives too little punishment for creating trouble for its customers. – 100,000 in fines, for example, is only a symbolic sum for a company like SAS. But 50,000 for a family is a lot! Now they have to repay their customers, she says to news. Experiencing poor customer service Despite numerous inquiries to SAS, the families that news has been in contact with have not received a reason from SAS as to why they have not been able to cover all expenses. And they are unsure of what they have received back and what they haven’t. – SAS requires careful descriptions of expenses, plus attachments of receipts. While they themselves pay out little by little, without any description of what they cover, says Bjørkavoll. She does not understand why SAS cannot just finish a case. Instead of holding on to small amounts over months. She suspects that it is an extortion tactic from SAS. The family in Stavanger has also contacted SAS 40-50 times without getting clear answers. SAS rejects that it is a withdrawal tactic The fact that it takes time to process the refund claims is solely about the large volumes that came in after the strike, Tonje Sund says. She is press manager at SAS Norway. In an e-mail to news, she writes: “We do not have the opportunity to handle individual customer cases via the media, but on a general basis it is important to emphasize that everyone who is entitled to compensation from SAS should of course receive it. That it takes time is about the large volumes that came in after the strike, where nearly 400,000 people were affected. We have multiplied the capacity of customer service to be able to handle the cases as quickly as possible and still aim to be ready with the customer cases related to the strike by the end of December. It is not difficult to understand that this has been frustrating for the customers concerned, and we deeply and sincerely apologize for that” We would first of all apologize to the customers who have had to wait for compensation, it is not difficult to understand that frustration, says Healthy. Photo: Roy Pettersen / news The Norwegian Aviation Authority does not rule out a new compulsory fine for SAS SAS has informed the Norwegian Aviation Authority that they need until December to pay people back all of the refunds. The inspectorate is now waiting to see if SAS has actually paid everyone back by the New Year. – SAS has on several occasions given us assurances that they are working hard on this, but the results seem to be slow to come, says Håvard Vikheim to news. He is director of communications in the Norwegian Authority. And confirms that a new fine for SAS may be relevant. Photo: The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority – The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority has asked SAS to explain what guidelines, procedures and quality systems they have, because it seems that they have challenges in conducting good and efficient case management. We expect an answer to this at the beginning of January, and we will then assess the matter again. And we do not rule out a new round of compulsory fines or infringement fees, he says. Many have waited far too long for their money, and we expect the company to pay back legitimate claims, faster than they have been able to do so far, concludes Vikheim. In a letter that news has seen, it is stated that SAS will be given a deadline to report the status of passenger claims as a result of this summer’s strike per 1 January 2023, by Thursday 5 January. The letter also states that several passengers feel that SAS does not pay late interest, as they should. The Authority therefore asks SAS to also account for that, and a number of other questions about how they follow up on passenger rights. All by January 5. SAS Norway’s press manager, Tonje Sund, writes in an e-mail that she is puzzled by the claim that the inspectorate thinks the results can wait. They have continuously explained to them in detail what they have done to reach the goal of refunds. In addition, SAS is awaiting further dialogue with the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority after the New Year. SAS’s goal is repayment before the New Year. Sund points out that it has been an extraordinary situation of historic proportions. Nearly 400,000 customers were affected by the strike. And very many of the cases are handled manually and individually to ensure that it is done correctly, she writes. “So even though we have increased the pace tenfold in dealing with customer support, there will unfortunately be a waiting period. I would venture to say that there is no customer center in the world that is equipped to handle such a peak completely seamlessly. To put it in perspective, we have received as many cases as a major Norwegian insurance company handles in the course of an entire year.” She adds that work is being done in high gear to resolve each individual case as quickly as possible and by the end of December, as communicated to the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority.
ttn-69
The Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority does not rule out a new fine for SAS over the New Year – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
