Unexpected Flight Cancellation Costs Family 30,000 Extra

A family reunion in Washington turned into an expensive nightmare for 82-year-old Ulla Vaena. Suddenly, their flight tickets were canceled without explanation, prompting her to demand answers from SAS.

On August 30, Ulla Vaena, her partner, and her 15-year-old grandchild were set to travel to Washington for a significant family gathering, coinciding with the confirmation of two other grandchildren living in the USA.

"We have been looking forward to this trip. It's important for us to be there. We have a very strong family bond," says Ulla Vaena, who resides in Stockholm.

The trip with SAS was booked as early as March, with a minor date change in April.

Suddenly, at the end of June, the couple received an email from SAS stating that the trip had been canceled—without any action on their part.

"We had no chance to cancel because we were in the countryside and fully occupied all day," says Ulla Vaena.

Is there any risk that you accidentally canceled these tickets?

"No, we didn't use the computer that day."

Paid 51,000 SEK

The initial tickets cost over 21,000 SEK for three people.

"We got back just over 2,000 in total. There were extra costs for seats and service. SAS said we might get the rest back when we returned."

Ulla and her partner contacted SAS but received no assistance.

According to Ulla, the company advised her to book new tickets and file a complaint about the other tickets after the trip.

However, since the booking is canceled, Ulla can no longer access a specific booking number needed to file a complaint.

"First, we spoke to a person who was like a robot, who just said they couldn't do anything."

When they asked how the cancellation could happen, they received no answer.

"We said we didn't cancel the tickets and asked if they could see how it happened. No, we were told. It could be checked somehow, but then you needed to go higher up at SAS, and we got no help with that," says Ulla Vaena.

The new tickets the family booked cost around 30,000 SEK. In total, they have now spent over 51,000 SEK on flight tickets.

Rebooked with Lufthansa: "Disappointed"

Due to the hassle, the couple did not dare to rebook with SAS and chose Lufthansa instead.

Ulla's partner has also received bookings from strangers on his computer, she says.

"It's a bit strange. We wonder if someone has accessed his email and canceled our trip too."

Both Ulla and her partner have traveled with SAS for many years, but now they don't know what to do in the future.

"Of course, we are disappointed. Especially because we couldn't find out how the ticket was canceled. Has someone hacked the system? Who did this? You feel completely defenseless. We don't recognize SAS at all, and had hoped they had a bit better contact with their customers."

Expressen has contacted SAS, which has not responded to the criticism.