American airlines apologized after refusing to refund the ticked of a deceased customer.
The Cantrell family from St. Charles, Illinois was supposed to travel to North Carolina for their annual beach trip. However, their plans changed last fall following the death of nine-year-old Madison "Scout" Cantrell who suffered from a sudden asthma attack.
The mother, Felicity Cantrell, said that although they had their travel booked, including the airline tickets, the family made the decision to change their plans after their daughter, Katie, 13, said it would be rather too painful to go on a vacation without her sister.
Katie told NBC 5 that she could not go back there this year without her sister. "It would never be as much fun without her," she added.
The carrier declined the family's request for a refund for Scout's ticket when they tried to cancel their flight on American Airlines.
The airline said the ticket they had purchased is non-refundable so they cannot offer a refund, issue a travel voucher, nor transfer the ticket to another person.
According to Fox News, although American Airlines expressed their condolences to the family, the letter from the company says that the family's request does not meet the airlines' exception requirements, hence, no refund or transfer of funds will be allowed.
Cantrell said that she was shocked by the initial response of the airline, though the family could take the financial hit of one plane ticket. She then posted her story on Facebook, which received hundreds of comments from sympathizers who were also infuriated by the airline's actions.
Cantrell said that the issue is not about the money, "Clearly, this has struck a chord with people... we can't be the only family this has happened to."
Katie hopes that no other family in the similar situation to experience the same thing. She hopes that no one would be forced to receive such an impersonal letter.
"I know that I would never write this to someone. I don't know how someone could send this to another family," she said. "I would never want to be treated that way and I would hope no one would ever treat anyone else that way."
On March 10, Tuesday, evening, American Airlines got in touch and contacted the Cantrell family and apologized for how the situation was dealt with and later refunded the ticket.
An American Airlines spokesperson told NBC 5 that they have fully refunded the plane ticket and apologized to Mrs. Cantrell for their initial actions. "We extend our deepest sympathies to the Cantrell family on the loss of their daughter, Madison."