Air Transat keeping $1,600 for a flight I physically cannot take, need advice on refund options.
Hey everyone, looking for advice on a situation with Air Transat. I'll be upfront, the mistake was entirely mine, but I'm hoping someone has been in a similar spot or knows options I haven't tried.
In May I booked two one-way Eco Budget flights from Montreal to Lisbon for me and my partner as part of our permanent relocation from Quebec to Portugal. I made a clerical error and booked July 30th instead of June 30th (our actual moving date). I only noticed 3 days later when reviewing the confirmation, which meant I had already missed the 24 hour cancellation window for a full refund.
Completely on me. I know. Eco Budget is the cheapest non-refundable fare and I accepted those terms when I bought it. I'm not trying to pretend otherwise.
Since we still needed to leave on June 30th my partner had to buy replacement tickets for the correct date. So we've now paid twice for the same one-way journey for the same two passengers on the same route. Air Transat is holding $1,600 for a July 30th flight that is physically impossible for us to board as we'll already be living in Portugal by then.
If I cancel now they'll only refund me $182 in taxes.
I called Air Transat twice. Both times agents told me the Eco Budget fare is 100% non-modifiable and non-refundable and refused to let me speak to a supervisor. I then sent two formal emails escalating the situation. They responded in writing both times essentially saying "fare conditions apply, decision is final."
I'm a Quebec resident so I've been reading up on consumer protection options available here. I paid with Amex so I'm also wondering if there's anything on that front, though I'm not sure how realistic that is for something like this.
Honestly at this point I'm grasping at straws and would appreciate any advice anyone can offer. Has anyone successfully recovered money from Air Transat or any airline in a similar situation? Any experience with credit card chargebacks against airlines in Canada, and do they actually work? Is there anything at all I can do to recover this $1,600 or is there no possible options for me?
This is a decent amount of money for us to lose over a one digit date mistake on a flight we cannot use, and I genuinely don't know where else to turn. Again, I realize it was my mistake and I take accountability, but if you guys have any advice, experience, or even just pointing me in the right direction, it would really mean a lot. Thanks in advance.