Virgin Atlantic allowed me to buy tickets for flights it knew it was to scrap

I paid for two return premium economy flights between Melbourne and Hong Kong (via Sydney) with Virgin Atlantic in early February, only to receive an "important information" email eight hours later saying that the flights had been cancelled because the route had been scrapped.

The outbound flight was on 9 May, and the email said the route was ending after 5 May. I was asked to call Virgin to have my booking switched to an alternative carrier. But Virgin then told me they were unable to do this and instructed me to request a refund. The Virgin flights cost A$3,243 (£1,800). But as I still needed to travel, I was forced to pay higher ticket prices with an inferior carrier.

As a British expat who has lived in the US and Australia for the past decade, I have flown almost exclusively with Virgin, have silver membership of its Flying Club and now feel completely let down. I understand that strategic decisions, such as cancellation of routes, are not taken lightly. But surely, taking payment for services in the full knowledge that you're not intending to provide them is misrepresentation? I have just got back from the trip to find the refund has still not materialised. Sitting on more than A$3,000 for over 17 weeks is astounding in today's consumer-led marketplace.

How do I get my money back, and am I entitled to claim interest?AC, Melbourne, Victoria

This was a major commercial decision (the route was closed after 10 years as it was deemed unprofitable) and the company would have planned its formal announcement very carefully.

There was clearly some sensitivity about the timing, given the inevitable job losses, and the need to consult with unions and staff. But there were implications for passengers, too, and in our view you definitely got a raw deal as you ended up having to book your own, more expensive, substitute flights.

The Civil Aviation Authority says that once a flight is cancelled the operator is legally obliged to offer a reroute at the earliest possible opportunity, or give a full refund. If the customer does not receive what he/she is legally entitled to, and they have to book alternative flights, they are entitled to claim the costs back.

We contacted Virgin Atlantic and it set about speeding up your refund, apologising for the delay. It has also given you 10,000 Flying Club miles – redeemable on Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines, as well as Virgin Atlantic.

It said: "We will discuss all options with passengers booked on the services and will look to either offer a full refund or rebook them on to another carrier. In this case we made several attempts to book an alternative flight for AC but were unfortunately unable to do so. We appreciate this led to the passenger needing to pay a higher price for his new flight. We will look at this issue further if he contacts our customer relations team."