Not necessarily so.

A couple weeks ago Oman Air cancelled the return leg of a long distance flight due to a change in schedule.

They offered to reroute me with the Qataris via Doha.

I preferred to cancel the (in principle non-refundable) flight and make different arrangements.

The money,~2'500$, was credited to my card 4 days later. Including fees paid for preferred seats.

It's a shame that they stopped service to my city. Beause it's a great airline, which always provided stellar service.