[Tom Otley]

TominScotland – exactly – credit card is the best bet.

There are tens of thousands of tourists who were in the Alps, all of whom are now trying to find their way home, often with difficulty because the flights have been cut.

The airlines, meanwhile, cannot cope with people ringing – as IanfromHK has found – and since the fleets are moving towards 90% grounding, there are millions of passengers or future passengers affected, all of whom are trying to get clarity – some very urgently, some just to find out if their holiday in July is still on.

[openfly]

That tight shower at BA have just charged me £35 each for our Avios flight cancellations to CPT…even though the FCO is now advising against all but necessary travel to South Africa!!

[SimonS1]

[postquote quote=993634][/postquote]

Travel would be difficult anyway. Many foreign nationals including UK are blocked.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-51906053

[openfly]

@SimonS1….I hear what you say, but if the FCO advises not to travel why are they still charging the £35 canx fee per person?

[SimonS1]

[postquote quote=993657][/postquote]

Not sure. However to my knowledge unless you fall within the ‘book with confidence’ guarantee BA is not waiving charges (unless flight is cancelled).

To be fair the FCO has had cautions in place against various parts of the world for some time now, that doesn’t automatically mean free flight changes.

TBH in my view the airlines should have a blanket ‘free changes’ model now.

[AnthonyDunn]

Hi Kingston,

Yes, that was/is very clearly our understanding and we responded almost immediately. Unfortunately, in the “interim”, I took the car in for its annual service/MOT and got aerosoled by some cretin sneezing and wheezing immediately adjacent to the exit of the bus I caught to get back home. I’m now internally quarantined for seven days from Senior Management and we’ve imposed a strict biohazard regime for her safety. Fortunately, my mild cough/headache and sneezing has not (touch wood) got worse and my temperature is stable. I’ve also just plotted the 12-weeks lock down period and that extends to early/mid June20.

Thankfully, we have (a) decent food supplies (b) plentiful cleaning supplies (c) excellent/helpful neighbours (d) cash (e) world radio (f) Netflix (g) lots of unread books (h) the replanted back garden to maintain and (i) each other. In the scheme of things, we consider ourselves to be astonishingly fortunate – notwithstanding the experiences we have been through over the past twelve months.

It’s going to take an exercise in self-discipline and self-denial the likes of which we’ve never really had to demonstrate before but we will get through this just as our forebears did.

Best wishes to you and every other BTer.

3 users thanked author for this post.

ASK1945, K1ngston, MartynSinclair

[K1ngston]

[postquote quote=993677][/postquote]

Thats the spirit AnthonyDunn, as they say thank god for Netflix! We have now essentially been landlocked here in Phuket as I cannot travel to Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam or Australia without 14 days or more quarantine and yesterday Malaysia took the decision to effectively close its borders not allowing people to leave let alone arrive which is the first of its kind here in Asia!

Again I wish your good lady continued health and we look forward to seeing pictures of the garden when finished 🙂

[MarcusGB]

The Foreign office secretary of State, Dominic Raab, made the following announcement in Parliament a few hours ago.
It effectively now should trigger refunds on the basis that the FCO advises against all travel, either from the Airlines, via your Credit Card, or Insurance Companies. European Airlines at least. This amongst many restrictions on borders imposed Worldwide, by many countries, making it extremely complex as many have advised from their own experiences now on the various threads.
There are flights within the EU still from some countries, which for this “transition period” exiting the EU, include to the UK.

“COVID-19 Exceptional Travel Advisory Notice
As countries respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including travel and border restrictions, the FCO advises British nationals against all but essential international travel. Any country or area may restrict travel without notice.”

One of many sources The Independant…

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-uk-travel-advice-foreign-office-warning-dominic-raab-a9406416.html

[Nogbad01]

Just had to cancel 2 trips today. One with Lufthansa and one with BA.

Have to say I was very impressed with both. Just logged into “manage my booking” and chose “cancel” and straight away it was done.

In Lufthansa case, money refunded, in BA case voucher issued for future travel for full amount of ticket.

No hassle. As it should be of course.

Different story with Avis, who except the cancellation online, but then email you to say you have to email them to ask for your money back.
Don’t see why they cant just refund it. Just another barrier erected in the hope that some people will not be bothered I suppose.

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=993731]Different story with Avis, who except the cancellation online, but then email you to say you have to email them to ask for your money back.
Don’t see why they cant just refund it. Just another barrier erected in the hope that some people will not be bothered I suppose.[/quote]

Typical shabby behaviour from Avis then.

[ASK1945]

[postquote quote=993734][/postquote]

I never pay Avis upfront. This simplifies cancellation. I cancelled my booking for this week at TLV 10 days ago, without any problem and any payment.

I appreciate that in some countries it does cost a bit more to tick the box which says “Pay at pickup” but with Avis that is almost always worth it, for peace of mind. I usually do the same for hotels, for the same reason (even with the frequent price penalty), unless I am booking just a few days before my intended arrival.

[MMalins1]

I have several flights with EasyJet that I need to request a refund for.

I received emails advising me the flights have been cancelled but only with links to receive a voucher, not a refund. When looking at the T&Cs on EasyJet’s website it says that in case of flight cancellations you are entitled to a refund, but this can only be obtained by calling their customer service number 0330 365 5000.

I have now been trying to reach the customer service center for almost 2 weeks, calling every day several times. I always get the same message that “in view of the high amount of calls, please call later” and then they hang up.

As a comparison, I also had to cancel flights on Lufthansa and called their customer service center as well. Although also very busy I was allowed to stay on the line and wait for my turn (it did take over an hour but I got there and my flights were refunded). The EasyJet way looks like a tactic for the airline to force people to take the voucher.

I wonder if I can get some advice from other people who are experiencing the same thing.

Thanks!

[SimonS1]

Easiest solution – if you can’t contact Easyjet just raise a dispute with your card provider to do a charge back or if a credit card claim under S75 Consumer Credit Act.

[MMalins1]

Thank you!

[MartynSinclair]

I recall someone saying refunds on Ryan were easy, but refunds on Easy were difficult.

Junior just emailed by Ryan about a cancelled trip.Understandably Ryan pushing for their voucher credit, but he preferences a refund.

Email gave a link to refund page, but it just takes you back to trying to persuade you to take voucher.

Any tips of how to get a refund on Ryan for cancelled flight or is a charge back the best option.

[Author]

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