The Cantrell family faced one of the toughest moments a family can bare; the passing of a child. Last fall, 9-year-old Madison Cantrell passed away after she suffered from a deadly asthma attack.
The Cantrell family, who usually travels to North Carolina every year, decided that the trip would have to be cancelled because of these hard times, and the trip would bring back some hard memories for the family.
Madison’s mother, Felicity told NBC 5, “Emotionally, I couldn’t go back there this year without her,” and “It would never be as much fun without her.”
Although the family decided not to travel to their usual destination, American Airlines, the carrier the family chose to use this year, would not let the family refund the tickets they had purchased in advance.
The flight company exclaimed, “The ticket purchased is non-refundable so we cannot offer a refund, issue a travel voucher, or transfer this ticket to another person.” They then went on to state their “sincere condolences,” but “determined the request does not meet our exception requirements.”
Felicity was severely upset with the companies response and decided to share the story on Facebook, where people could not believe what they were reading.
Felicity writes, “This is not about the money. Clearly, this has struck a chord with people. We can’t be the only family this has happened to. I know that I would never write this to someone. I don’t know how someone could send this to another family. I would never want to be treated that way and I would hope no one would ever treat anyone else that way.”
The Airline was broadcasted and called out for their actions and lack of understanding. They decided to reach out to the family and NBC 5 as well where they apologized and stated, “We extend our deepest sympathies to the Cantrell family on the loss of their daughter, Madison. We fully refunded Madison’s ticket last night and apologized to Mrs. Cantrell for not doing so immediately when she first contacted us.”
Even though flight companies like American Airlines have strict cancellation policies, the companies’ initial actions have been called harsh and despicable to a lot of people.
Photo By: RushHourDaily