Cancelling Flights

[markhed]

Slightly fuming here

Had to cancel flights for myself and the family for an upcoming trip to Oz. Cancelled today even though we are not supposed to travel until July.

Penalties are: $250 per ticket (3) plus $75 admin fee per ticket (4). There was no penalty for cancelling the infant fee.

So thats $1,150 to cancel flights 2.5 months in advance. And then the real kicker, the refund of the remainder will be returned to my credit card in 6-8 weeks!!!

F**kin hell! I seem to remember when I paid it was pretty much immediate!! The penalties are crazy!

Before I get slammed, I know all these conditions will have been in the fine print but even till.

For the record, all flights economy and airline is BA.

[Turtle]

It's awful isn't it? In fact you're even lucky you got some money back. Some airlines don't refund at all for economy tickets (or certain fares), they don't let you cancel once your booking goes through. They even charge you a bucketload just to change to a different flight on the same airline on the same day.

[ScoobyDoes]

Leason learned...... when buying from an agent always ask the terms of the ticket compared with the price. Flexibility improves as the price of the ticket increases, obviously...... this is why one person will pay $200 to sit directly next to somebody that's paid $700.

If you buy the tickets online then the Fare Rules are usually there as a link that pops up a list of the terms and conditions where the costs are broken down and terms of cancelation confirmed.

[markhed]

Ticket was bought online.. www.ba.com

[Plavt]

For the record, all flights economy and airline is BA.

Why am I not surprised? When I canceled a flight from the UK to Taiwan by SIA the penalty was a mere SGD25. I never fly BA where I can avoid them but I suppose somebody has to pay for the recent terminal 5 fiasco.

[durain]

For the record, all flights economy and airline is BA.

Why am I not surprised? When I canceled a flight from the UK to Taiwan by SIA the penalty was a mere SGD25. I never fly BA where I can avoid them but I suppose somebody has to pay for the recent terminal 5 fiasco.

it's all depending on the "type of class" you ticket is. the really cheapo ones will cost more for cancellation or change of date. SIA is pretty good for change of date. i think you are allow one change on date on your return flight provided your ticket is in the same season.

[ScoobyDoes]

This again depends on the type of ticket..... if you go for a Y-Class instead of H or R for example then it generally lasts one year. You must leave on the day the ticket says (once you have the ticket) but the return flight can be changed any number of times within the validity of the ticket itself.

Some tickets are 7-days and some are 1-month but i think the longest is 1-year.

As i said, the more you pay for the ticket the more flexibility you have but even on these higher price tickets you can get 100% refund but minus an administration charge. This then depends on the airline.

[markhed]

Well smack my ass and call me Judy!

The refunds for the tickets hit my card today! Still a grand short but at least its not 6-8 weeks!

[durain]

Well smack my ass and call me Judy!

The refunds for the tickets hit my card today! Still a grand short but at least its not 6-8 weeks!

hi judy, glad you got your money back!

[markhed]

Presume im the only one working today??

[ScoobyDoes]

Wow, sounds like your getting screwed every which way and every where you turn...... at least i'm at home

[markhed]

Ah its not too bad, off for a beer soon

[skye]

Most airlines in Singapore let you make phone reservations and not pay until a week or so before you fly, without even paying a deposit, which is way better than in my home country. Of course they cost a bit more than booking online but you are paying for the flexibility. If you are not totally sure of your travel plans, that may be the way to go.