Wizz Air has improved the way it handles claims through different initiatives including introducing an automatic refund process.
This follows enforcement action taken by the CAA in July 1, 2023 after many passengers complained the carrier was failing to meet its legal obligations after cancelling flights.
If an airline cancels a flight, it must provide an alternative flight in good time or cover the cost of replacement flights to the passenger's destination.
Wizz Air reviewed the claims it received for money owed to cover the cost of replacement flights, airport transfers and hotels, for people who booked flights to or from the UK starting from March 18, 2022.
Wizz Air has improved the way it handles passenger claims
PA IMAGES
Customers could ask that claims for flights before March 18, 2022 were also reopened, if the scheduled travel date was within the past six years.
Passengers whose refund claims were rejected at the time have now been paid a total of £1.2million after reassessment.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reported that added payments due to flight disruption were made in around 6,000 cases after 25,000 claims were re-examined.
CAA consumer director Paul Smith said: “This is good news for passengers and our concerns have been validated by the outcome of our actions.
“While we welcome the steps taken by Wizz Air after falling short in its treatment of disrupted passengers, airlines should routinely look after passengers and uphold their rights when flights are delayed and cancelled.
“Passengers have every right to expect their claims to be resolved quickly, efficiently and in line with the regulations. These outcomes will now provide Wizz Air’s passengers with a better experience.”
Wizz Air UK managing director Marion Geoffroy said: “We are pleased the Civil Aviation Authority has recognised the significant steps Wizz Air has taken to improve performance for our customers.
“Like all airlines in Europe, we faced unprecedented operating challenges in the summer of 2022 but the improvements we put in place have led to a better customer experience, and our performance in 2023 was among the strongest in the industry.
“We are seeing a significant uptick in our customer satisfaction scores and we remain fully committed to continuing to improve our operations in 2024 and beyond.”
Wizz Air UK Managing Director Marion Geoffroy told GB News: “We are pleased the Civil Aviation Authority has recognised the significant steps Wizz Air has taken to improve performance for our customers.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Wizz Air has put measures in place to improve customer experience
GETTY IMAGES
"Like all airlines in Europe, we faced unprecedented operating challenges in the summer of 2022 but the improvements we put in place have led to a better customer experience and our performance in 2023 was among the strongest in the industry.
"We are seeing a significant uptick in our customer satisfaction scores and we remain fully committed to continuing to improve our operations in 2024 and beyond.”
As part of the fully automated refund process, 90 per cent of claims in 2023 were completed online, as opposed to 20 per cent in 2022.
This enabled call centre agents to spend more time on complex cases and resolve them more quickly.
Wizz Air revealed that it invested £90million to improve its performance and operations in 2023, which resulted in a high flight completion rate of 99.24 per cent.
Increased staffing at airports for both operations and claim centres has also improved the airline's performance when it comes to dealing with claims.
