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Cathay Pacific: how to cancel, rebook or get a refund on your flight

31 Mar 2020 by Hannah Brandler
Cathay Pacific B777-300ER; photo courtesy of Cathay Pacific

The coronavirus pandemic has caused huge problems for airlines, most of whom have had to ground most or all of their fleets. Cathay Pacific is no exception. These decisions have resulted in millions of passengers wanting refunds for their cancelled flights.

What should I do?

Bear in mind that that all airlines are overwhelmed by the current situation, and so will be working through hundreds of flights with tens of thousands of passengers.

If your flight is not for this week or next week, it may make more sense to wait a few weeks until the airlines have sorted our resourcing issues in call centres and also improved their online refund procedures. Many airlines also spent much of March sorting out urgent repatriation flights.

For general advice on claims, including EU261 claims, see

Cathay Pacific has cancelled my flight. Am I entitled to a refund?

If the airline cancelled your flight, then yes you are.

Cathay Pacific is waiving cancellation and no-show fees for bookings impacted by coronavirus. This applies to tickets for flights scheduled between March 17 and May 31, 2020.

To request a refund, log into the Manage Booking page. If you purchased your ticket through a travel agent or a third-party website such as Skyscanner or Expedia then you must contact them directly. The carrier is unable to process refunds for these bookings.

Passengers who booked a redemption ticket must contact Asia Miles through this online form.

Postponing your flight

If you don’t want to cancel your flight, you can rebook your ticket via the Manage Booking page. There’s no urgent rush as you have until May 31, 2020, to change your ticket.

Cathay Pacific is currently waiving change fees. This means you can change both the dates and destination without incurring a change fee. Instead you would only pay the fare difference (if the new flights are more expensive). Tickets must be booked on a Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon flight.

The new ticket, however, must follow the same fare rules of your old ticket. For example, certain travel dates might not be available if the old ticket was in low season and the new one is in peak season.

The airline has two waivers for different time periods. This is because the airline is actively encouraging future bookings by allowing customers the option to change the flights an unlimited number of times for no extra charge.

Tickets booked on or before March 23, 2020 for travel until May 31, 2020

Passengers can rebook a ticket for travel on or before December 10, 2020.

Tickets booked between March 9 and April 20, 2020

Passengers can rebook a ticket for travel on or before February 28, 2021.

cathaypacific.com

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