First leg of flight cancelled, my options?
Discussion
I booked a 1 way flight flight from Las Vegas to Heathrow last week. We fly from Las Vegas to LA, then from LA to Heathrow.
5 days later, that first flight has been cancelled, and the only other option/best option given to us by the travel agent gives us a 6 hour lay over at LA. This is obviously not what we paid for, not what we wanted and certainly not what we would have gone for had we known in advance.
Now, speaking to the Airline who have cancelled the flight (Virgin America), refunds are available through my travel agent (they say), but speaking to the second airline (New Zealand) to who handle the long haul flight they have explained to me that the Travel Agents have booked the flights 'separately', so they are under no such requirement to refund anything - it isn't their problem effectively. This leaves the Travel Agent, who are not likely to budge easily. No chargebacks on debit card as a 'service' is being offered, travel insurance doesn't cover flight cancellations.
However, the CAA say...
''If your flight has been cancelled, your airline must get you to your destination or offer you a full refund. If
your flight is delayed by more than 5 hours and you no longer want to travel you are entitled to a full
refund. If you are a transfer passenger you are also entitled to a flight back to your original departure
point. Be aware, once you accept a refund your airline no longer has to look after you. If you are on a
package holiday and you choose to cancel your outbound flight, you may lose your entire holiday.
If you decide you still want to fly, your airline should help get you to your final destination. Airline call
centres and websites will be very busy but be patient and persistent. If you allow your airline to re-book
you then you will have a better chance of getting on an earlier flight with no risk of extra cost or the hassle
of seeking a refund.''
So technically, our first flight was cancelled and the early flight lays us up for 6 hours.
Can anyone shed any light on this? I will ring CAA tomorrow, and the Travel Agents are going to ring the second airline New Zealand to see what they say.
5 days later, that first flight has been cancelled, and the only other option/best option given to us by the travel agent gives us a 6 hour lay over at LA. This is obviously not what we paid for, not what we wanted and certainly not what we would have gone for had we known in advance.
Now, speaking to the Airline who have cancelled the flight (Virgin America), refunds are available through my travel agent (they say), but speaking to the second airline (New Zealand) to who handle the long haul flight they have explained to me that the Travel Agents have booked the flights 'separately', so they are under no such requirement to refund anything - it isn't their problem effectively. This leaves the Travel Agent, who are not likely to budge easily. No chargebacks on debit card as a 'service' is being offered, travel insurance doesn't cover flight cancellations.
However, the CAA say...
''If your flight has been cancelled, your airline must get you to your destination or offer you a full refund. If
your flight is delayed by more than 5 hours and you no longer want to travel you are entitled to a full
refund. If you are a transfer passenger you are also entitled to a flight back to your original departure
point. Be aware, once you accept a refund your airline no longer has to look after you. If you are on a
package holiday and you choose to cancel your outbound flight, you may lose your entire holiday.
If you decide you still want to fly, your airline should help get you to your final destination. Airline call
centres and websites will be very busy but be patient and persistent. If you allow your airline to re-book
you then you will have a better chance of getting on an earlier flight with no risk of extra cost or the hassle
of seeking a refund.''
So technically, our first flight was cancelled and the early flight lays us up for 6 hours.
Can anyone shed any light on this? I will ring CAA tomorrow, and the Travel Agents are going to ring the second airline New Zealand to see what they say.
NPI said:
Andehh said:
...they have explained to me that the Travel Agents have booked the flights 'separately',
If that's the case, it strikes me as a bit dodgy the travel agent doing that without explaining the risk to you.Does your (to OP) travel insurance cover this?
Travel Insurance doesn't cover cancelled flights, which had me a tad frustrated. As for the travel agent, flashy website, 4 offices around the country, protected by ABTA/IATA and a 24 hour manned phone number.... all seemed fine. There's a lesson being learn't in the midst of all this!
Yeah, appreciate the suggestions guys but the more I look into it the more I see there isn't much that can be done. They are still offering a service, doesn't originate in the EU and they have enough T&Cs to ensure that the airline could change the plans and fly you to Timbuktu and back without batting an eyelid at the disruption to travelers.
Lesson learnt, book the the big airlines direct and don't fanny around with the online Travel Agent offering the cheapest service possible...
Lesson learnt, book the the big airlines direct and don't fanny around with the online Travel Agent offering the cheapest service possible...
Your Travel Agent has made a "split-booking" for the trip with two different airlines.
What should happen is that the agent makes this clear to you at the time of booking and offers you an insurance to cover that split, i.e. to cover for the loss or movement of one part of the trip to cover the whole trip. You wouldn't believe how may people turn down paying the extra £10.00 for a £2k to £3k or more trip to be covered and take the risk.
That aside; you should have had this risk made clear to you and been offered it; if you did not accept the package insurance then your terms and conditions and your contract should have had in it that the risk was explained and you have refused cover.
Was it explained?
From what you have said above it wasn't explained so your 2 separate flights have been made at risk and the risk is not known to you therefore your agent needs to answer for this.
The alternative is the risk was explained and you have either not understood or you have accepted it and are now not happy that the risk is realised.
Let's hope the agent turns out to be at fault.
What should happen is that the agent makes this clear to you at the time of booking and offers you an insurance to cover that split, i.e. to cover for the loss or movement of one part of the trip to cover the whole trip. You wouldn't believe how may people turn down paying the extra £10.00 for a £2k to £3k or more trip to be covered and take the risk.
That aside; you should have had this risk made clear to you and been offered it; if you did not accept the package insurance then your terms and conditions and your contract should have had in it that the risk was explained and you have refused cover.
Was it explained?
From what you have said above it wasn't explained so your 2 separate flights have been made at risk and the risk is not known to you therefore your agent needs to answer for this.
The alternative is the risk was explained and you have either not understood or you have accepted it and are now not happy that the risk is realised.
Let's hope the agent turns out to be at fault.
Was never made aware it was a split booking, nor the risks involved. The company is omega flight store, and I struggle to find any terms and conditions which explain split flights.
http://www.omegaflightstore.com/
edit to add; Checked the itinerary and we only have one ticket number. I used this to confirm with Air New Zealand that it *isn't* a split ticket, but that it is does have separate air fare. She was utterly useless at being able to explain what this mean't or what my options would be from here.
http://www.omegaflightstore.com/
edit to add; Checked the itinerary and we only have one ticket number. I used this to confirm with Air New Zealand that it *isn't* a split ticket, but that it is does have separate air fare. She was utterly useless at being able to explain what this mean't or what my options would be from here.
Edited by Andehh on Thursday 27th March 07:34
OP what is it you want them to do?
If it's not a split ticket then presumably it's a single itinerary: LAS to LHR via LAX?
So your original LAS-LAX flight has now been cancelled and they've rebooked you on an alternative flight in order to maike sure you make the connection at LAX.
They have surely done what they need to do to get you to your destination. What do you want?
Compensation for waiting 6 hours at LA airport? That's what your travel insurance is for.
If it's not a split ticket then presumably it's a single itinerary: LAS to LHR via LAX?
So your original LAS-LAX flight has now been cancelled and they've rebooked you on an alternative flight in order to maike sure you make the connection at LAX.
They have surely done what they need to do to get you to your destination. What do you want?
Compensation for waiting 6 hours at LA airport? That's what your travel insurance is for.
oyster said:
Compensation for waiting 6 hours at LA airport? That's what your travel insurance is for.
Basically, that's what I am after. For a 6 hour layover, I would have booked with a cheaper alternative. I booked & paid a bit more due to not wanting to be in this exact situation (but not so much that I could fly direct).Will look into sodding this flight and using the money refunded to get a decent hire car for the journey.
Andehh said:
oyster said:
Compensation for waiting 6 hours at LA airport? That's what your travel insurance is for.
Basically, that's what I am after. For a 6 hour layover, I would have booked with a cheaper alternative. I booked & paid a bit more due to not wanting to be in this exact situation (but not so much that I could fly direct).Will look into sodding this flight and using the money refunded to get a decent hire car for the journey.
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