Advice on flight cancellation refund please

My 78 year old mother had a hip replacement in April. She booked a flight with Air Zealand in August 2006 to fly from London to Hong Kong in May 2007. When she booked the flight, she did not expect to have the hip operation. By Jan this year, as soon as she knew that she would need the operation, she rang Air New Zealand to postpone the flight till October this year.

 

When she saw her orthopedic specialist for review last week, she had mostly recovered from her hip operation. However the specialist said that if she had to fly in October, she would need to be very careful about sitting/standing and should take a toilet seat raise with her to use on the flight. The specialist wanted to see her again in 6 months. She rang Air New Zealand to postpone the flight further but was told that the flight was only open up to October, and could not be postponded further.

 

She decided to cancel the flight but was told that no refund was allowed for the type of ticket she bought. A doctor's letter wouldn't help either as the rules were set out by the airline.

 

I understand that for restricted air-ticket, no refund is allowed for cancellation. But my impression is that she will be entitled to a refund for airport tax and fuel surcharge, as these are supplementary charges to the airfare, and if she does not fly, she should at least get these back.

The key here is to be persistent with the airline. No airline would like to get word on the street that they denied a ticket refund to a 78-year old that was unable to fly due to a hip-replacement surgery.

 

Just be persistent and keep up the calls and letters to the airline, gently escalating them each time. If you used a travel agent, perhaps they can help as well.

 

Or as an alternative, do you have trip cancellation insurance covering this? Not knowing the terms of the specific policy, but this might be a covered basis for a claim.

Another place to check would be the credit card company. Depending on the card used, some have travel insurance included and may be able to assist you.

 

And maybe think about getting a credit instead of a refund -- if she plans on making the trip in the future.

I understand that for restricted air-ticket, no refund is allowed for cancellation. But my impression is that she will be entitled to a refund for airport tax and fuel surcharge, as these are supplementary charges to the airfare, and if she does not fly, she should at least get these back.

You ought to be able to get at least the taxes back. I'm not sure about fuel surcharges; that may depend on the carrier. But carriers are entitled to charge an administration fee for processing the refund. Often, this can exceed the amount refundable. So ask carefully about all these things. And as JJPNYC says, be persistent - at least about these items.

The key here is to be persistent with the airline. No airline would like to get word on the street that they denied a ticket refund to a 78-year old that was unable to fly due to a hip-replacement surgery.

In the UK, airlines would not get much bad press from taking this stand. You are expected to have travel insurance for all trips to cover these possibilities. Indeed, there have been times when certain travel could not be booked unless you either bought, or could prove that you already had, adequate travel insurance. The market understands that there are fares that are non-refundable (which means "non-refundable"), and the it is the travel insurer not the airline that should bear the loss if a customer goes sick.

 

Having said that, many airlines do have discretionary policies to be more generous, so some persistence (and the right attitude) may well pay off. Call centre agents are often not the best place for information. If you get no joy, start writing letters.

This is why travel insurance is a good idea.

I would go for the voucher for future travel. Don't know of any airlines that will give money back on a non cancellable flight. However they will give a voucher for another flight.

When I cancelled an AA flight they said they would issue a voucher good for 1 year for a future flight

Ask to speak with a supervisor

I would go for the voucher for future travel. Don't know of any airlines that will give money back on a non cancellable flight. However they will give a voucher for another flight.

When I cancelled an AA flight they said they would issue a voucher good for 1 year for a future flight

Not so easy in the UK market. I have thrown away more tickets than I like to remember.

 

But it's always worth asking.

We had a similar issue. Mom broke her hip on Celebrity in January and her physician said we needed to cancel our early May Med cruise because she wouldn't be up to such a trip within that timeframe. We had Upper Class tickets from ORD to LHR on Virgin and then business class on BA from LHR to Barcelona and then from Venice to LHR. I called both airlines as soon as we got back home from her surgery and physical rehab, and I was surprised by the responses. Virgin gave us a full refund once I sent them all the information from her doctor/hospital proving her accident. But, I received absolutely nothing from BA on first try. I asked about a voucher for their flights that we might use on later flights, but they refused that. After many conversations, I did receive the taxes as a refund, but nothing else.

Virgin gave us a full refund once I sent them all the information from her doctor/hospital proving her accident. But, I received absolutely nothing from BA on first try. I asked about a voucher for their flights that we might use on later flights, but they refused that. After many conversations, I did receive the taxes as a refund, but nothing else.

There was a big difference here. Your Virgin ticket was for long-haul, on which there may be different fare rules or discretionary policies. In contrast, the BA ticket was short-haul.

The key here is to be persistent with the airline. No airline would like to get word on the street that they denied a ticket refund to a 78-year old that was unable to fly due to a hip-replacement surgery.

 

Or as an alternative, do you have trip cancellation insurance covering this? Not knowing the terms of the specific policy, but this might be a covered basis for a claim.

 

Non-refundable is non-refundable ... and, indeed, that's the point of travel insurance. Bad press? Shouldn't matter if the pax is 78 years old and recovering from surgery or a 25-year-old who saved every penny for 8 years for the trip and is now in the midst of chemo treatments and, therefore, unable to travel.

 

I apologize if my post seems cold ... but it's a lesson for us all that anything can happen to make us change/cancel travel arrangements, and we all need to plan for eventualities or be ready to bite the bullet on costs.

 

I'm sorry your mother wasn't able to travel ... but I'm not certain a refund is in order.