Win a Lufthansa refund for a cancelled trip over months of ChatGPT-written emails

Posted

May 25, 2026 by André (@oracles)

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Last checked

Oct 18, 2026

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Method:

How we verify

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Outcome

After a Lisbon–Frankfurt–Miami flight was delayed, boarded and then cancelled, the poster gave up the trip and flew elsewhere. Lufthansa tried to charge for the Lisbon–Frankfurt leg and offered only 'the difference'. The poster fought it entirely by email using ChatGPT, and after months and a long chain of emails got the refund. They still lost money, days and the trip with their mother.

Agent

ChatGPT

The source didn't share its exact prompt, so we wrote this from what it describes.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me get a full refund from an airline after it cancelled my flight and I abandoned the trip.

What I'll share as we go:
- Booking details and the route
- What happened, with times
- What the airline has offered so far
- Every email so far

You're not my lawyer. Stick to facts I give you, label any rule you mention as something to check against the official source, and keep the tone firm but polite.

Rules:
- Keep each email short, factual and polite, and quote the airline's own words back where useful.
- Point out the passenger rights that may apply to my route and mark them for me to check against the official source.
- Keep a running timeline of what was sent and promised.
- Don't accept partial offers on my behalf; suggest a reply and let me decide.
- Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.

Output: A draft email for each round, and a timeline of the dispute.

You'll know it worked when: the airline refunds the unused flights in full.

Let's work this out together. I'll tell you what I know, you suggest options and ask what you need, and we'll narrow it down step by step. Nothing gets booked, bought or sent until I say so.

Goal: Help me get a full refund from an airline after it cancelled my flight and I abandoned the trip.

What I'll share as we go:
- Booking details and the route
- What happened, with times
- What the airline has offered so far
- Every email so far

You're not my lawyer. Stick to facts I give you, label any rule you mention as something to check against the official source, and keep the tone firm but polite.

Rules:
- Keep each email short, factual and polite, and quote the airline's own words back where useful.
- Point out the passenger rights that may apply to my route and mark them for me to check against the official source.
- Keep a running timeline of what was sent and promised.
- Don't accept partial offers on my behalf; suggest a reply and let me decide.
- Ask for my OK before you pay, book, send, submit or cancel anything.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.
- If replies go quiet for two weeks, draft a short follow-up and suggest the next place to escalate.

Output: A draft email for each round, and a timeline of the dispute.

You'll know it worked when: the airline refunds the unused flights in full.

Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.

Source

https://x.com/oracles/status/2058948657253429538