Kulula Airlines (kulula.com), a South African low-cost carrier, ceased operations on June 1, 2022, and entered liquidation on June 9, 2022, alongside its parent company, Comair. As a result, no new bookings or flights are available, and the cancellation policies below reflect the airline’s practices before liquidation, based on available information. For refund requests related to canceled flights, customers face significant challenges due to the liquidation process, and only those booked through specific channels (e.g., Discovery Vitality) have had refund opportunities.
Kulula Airlines Cancellation Policy (Pre-Liquidation)
24-Hour Cancellation Policy: Kulula did not explicitly offer a standard 24-hour free cancellation window for all bookings. However, for bookings made more than 72 hours before departure, passengers had 24 hours to ticket, implying a potential window to cancel without immediate penalties if unticketed. Specific fare rules applied, and refunds were subject to fare brand conditions.
General Cancellation Rules:
- Standard Fares: Cancellations incurred a fee, often 100% of the fare, depending on the fare brand purchased (e.g., Flexi vs. non-flexible tickets). An admin fee of R150 plus VAT or a cancellation fee was applied to all refunds processed. Refunds were made to the original payment method and could take 6–8 weeks via BSPLink.
- Flexi Fares: No cancellation fees were charged, but fare differences applied if rebooking. These tickets offered more flexibility for changes or cancellations.
- Non-Refundable Tickets: Most low-cost fares were non-refundable, with a 100% cancellation fee unless covered by insurance or airline-caused issues. Customers could request a refund of airport taxes (e.g., QW or QX codes on tickets), which airlines pay to airport operators for boarded passengers, within 30 days of the request.
- Tickets were valid for 12 months from the commencement of travel, and refunds could be requested up to 12 months after ticket expiration, per fare rules.
- No-Show Policy: Passengers who failed to check in or board at least 20 minutes before departure forfeited their seat and fare for that leg. Onward or return flights were canceled but retained value for rebooking, subject to a rebooking fee (R300 per person per sector, excluding VAT) and fare differences.
Cancellation Fees:
- Standard cancellations: R150 admin fee plus VAT or up to 100% of the fare, depending on fare brand.
- Group bookings: 100% cancellation fee applied.
- Rebooking fees: R300 per person per sector (excluding VAT) for changes, plus fare differences.
- Airport tax refunds: No fee, but processing could take 30 days.
Airline-Caused Cancellations:
- If Kulula canceled a flight, passengers were entitled to a full refund or rebooking on a later flight, per South African legislation. Refunds were processed without further liability.
- For delays of 3+ hours, Kulula offered re-accommodation on another flight or a full refund if no alternatives were available.
- During liquidation, only Discovery Vitality bookings were refunded. Other customers received Travelbank credits (valid until November 30, 2021, for pre-May 5, 2020, tickets) or became creditors in Comair’s business rescue process, with no guaranteed refunds.
Special Cases:
- Weather Cancellations: A separate policy applied for weather-related cancellations, but details are unavailable. Customers could request tax refunds.
- Insurance: Cancellation insurance or bank card coverage could reimburse tickets for covered reasons (e.g., illness), subject to strict conditions.
- Grounding (March 2022): After a temporary suspension by the SA Civil Aviation Authority, Kulula’s “no refunds” policy frustrated customers, offering only 6-month credits for canceled flights, unlike British Airways (Comair’s franchise), which provided refunds.
Additional Notes:
- Changes incurred a R300 fee per person per sector (excluding VAT), plus fare differences. Name changes were allowed for R300 per passenger, unlike many airlines.
- Kulula’s Travelbank allowed unused ticket value to be credited for future bookings, but this is no longer functional post-liquidation.
- Customers with bookings via third-party platforms (e.g., MakeMyTrip) faced additional hurdles, as Kulula directed refund requests to the booking agent.
