Travel right now: FAIR WARNING!

[gayl]

I have a booking at Leonardo Harbor Southampton and asked a question I thought could be answered 'yes' or 'no.' My question was: in that I can cancel w/o penalty up to day of arrival, can I also only cancel the 1st day and keep the rest? Will I be charged for Day 1 but keep Days 2 & 3 at my current price?

No answer. So I thought maybe they didn't get it through Booking.com msg center so I used Booking.com email center. Email acknowledged but no response.

Thinking of going to Moxy. Cheaper by £40. Higher rated (8.5 vs 7.6). Closer to National Express Coach stop. Still has a kettle, only missing a fridge but I'm not planning on buying groceries

 

[gayl]

I have a booking at Leonardo Harbor Southampton and asked a question I thought could be answered 'yes' or 'no.' My question was: in that I can cancel w/o penalty up to day of arrival, can I also only cancel the 1st day and keep the rest? Will I be charged for Day 1 but keep Days 2 & 3 at my current price?

No answer. So I thought maybe they didn't get it through Booking.com msg center so I used Booking.com email center. Email acknowledged but no response.

Thinking of going to Moxy. Cheaper by £40. Higher rated (8.5 vs 7.6). Closer to National Express Coach stop. Still has a kettle, only missing a fridge but I'm not planning on buying groceries

I would've been fine (adapted) with either YES or NO. It was the lack of a response that has me staying at Moxy now. That plus more dining options (esp these 2: live music pub & a Greek restaurant) at Moxy.

Is anyone else finding that customer service responses are just plain missing from some sites??

 

[gayl]

Some ppl have all the luck!!

Yesterday DGS2 was informed that his flight from Germany -> SFO was delayed for an unknown time period. That flight had only 1 stop. Then a nonstop popped up AND HE GOT IT! Actually arrived in SF just 1/2 hr after he was initially scheduled to land. With his luggage.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I knew from reading all the information from my tour company that I was entitled to a credit for the land portion of the tour that I missed. So I enquired about it and it took me 3 weeks and 4 people to find out it’s 1200. I have a year to schedule a trip. They don’t automatically give it to you unless you ask. Might do a trip in the states with it next year.

 

[explanade]

I knew from reading all the information from my tour company that I was entitled to a credit for the land portion of the tour that I missed. So I enquired about it and it took me 3 weeks and 4 people to find out it’s 1200. I have a year to schedule a trip. They don’t automatically give it to you unless you ask. Might do a trip in the states with it next year.

Did they also pay for the quarantine lodging and food and any flight change fees or differences in fares?

That would be pretty good if they did, you can get travel insurance but no guarantee they would pay out claims for quarantines or trip interruptions.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Some ppl have all the luck!!

Yesterday DGS2 was informed that his flight from Germany -> SFO was delayed for an unknown time period. That flight had only 1 stop. Then a nonstop popped up AND HE GOT IT! Actually arrived in SF just 1/2 hr after he was initially scheduled to land. With his luggage.

I had something similar for my UK trip. I was on a flight ATL-JFK-LHR because the direct flight was too expensive.

Two days before I left, the nonstop popped up at the same price, so I switched. Boy, was I stoked!

 

[Teacher Terry]

Did they also pay for the quarantine lodging and food and any flight change fees or differences in fares?

That would be pretty good if they did, you can get travel insurance but no guarantee they would pay out claims for quarantines or trip interruptions.

Yes they did as it was their Covid promise for everyone on their tours. It’s one of the reasons I booked with them. I had trip insurance but didn’t need it. If they wouldn’t have I wouldn’t have stayed in quarantine for 8 days as it wasn’t required by Ireland. I would have taken myself to Dublin and got on my return flight that was 5 days after I tested.

 

[braumeister]

When it rains it pours.

(CNN) — More than 1,000 Lufthansa flights have been canceled so far due to this week's strike action, with more than 130,000 passengers impacted.
The German airline announced yesterday it would cancel nearly all of its German-based flights in Germany on Wednesday.

 

[gayl]

Anyone planning on British Air for shorter hops [domestic or European cities] might want to check out alternatives
https://www.wsj.com/articles/britis...sales-amid-heathrow-passenger-cap-11659440564

 

[Teacher Terry]

My kids are taking Lufthansa home from Poland on Thursday. Hoping it goes smoothly.

 

[athena53]

Anyone planning on British Air for shorter hops [domestic or European cities] might want to check out alternatives
https://www.wsj.com/articles/britis...sales-amid-heathrow-passenger-cap-11659440564

Well, better to stop selling tickets than to cancel existing itineraries. I'm holding tickets from LHR-Tirana a week from today and Ljublana-LHR late this month but they were booked awhile ago. Fingers crossed.

 

[Tetto]

Just flew BA from Logan to Heathrow and back. Great people, plane (A380!) and flight. Boarding process was as if designed by a 3 year old; non-existent. Your boarding number meant nothing and the people manning the gate were so untrained as to be laughable. Never fly them again after that fiasco.

 

[explanade]

https://slate.com/human-interest/2022/08/covid-test-travel-positive-negative-stories.html

They have stories about Americans who got infected and had to make a decision whether to fly back while probably infectious or not.

Many of them did, because they wanted to be home.

One case, they have a $5000 claim against travel insurance pending for quarantine costs.

Be surprising if they approved that claim after they probably paid a couple hundred at most on premiums.

 

[Out of Steam]

I'm starting to regret flying on the trip to Colorado I have scheduled for the week after next. My two friends are driving there in a van, but I didn't want the extra six days away from home.

Starting to look like I may not save enough time to deal with the hassles and risks from sitting in airports.

Except for a flat tire and some stomach/sleep issues, this trip went almost flawlessly. All flights were on time, and I was able to change a flight to shorten a long layover without cost.

 

[athena53]

Just flew BA from Logan to Heathrow and back. Great people, plane (A380!) and flight. Boarding process was as if designed by a 3 year old; non-existent. Your boarding number meant nothing and the people manning the gate were so untrained as to be laughable. Never fly them again after that fiasco.

Thanks for the warning. I just realized that I'm flying on BA metal from DFW-LHR next week. Oh, well. As for the trip home, my nonstop from Ljublana to LHR is on BA. Alternatives include Air Serbia with a connection in Zagreb. Never mind.

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, better to stop selling tickets than to cancel existing itineraries. I'm holding tickets from LHR-Tirana a week from today and Ljublana-LHR late this month but they were booked awhile ago. Fingers crossed.

I hope your flights are not with British Airways. Things are really messy there.

Never mind. I see that you were responding to a post about BA. Good luck to you.

 

[Teacher Terry]

My kids made it from Poland to Frankfurt to home on Lufthansa without any issues today. From what I have read it’s a small miracle).

 

[Koolau]

My kids made it from Poland to Frankfurt to home on Lufthansa without any issues today. From what I have read it’s a small miracle).

Congrats! Glad things went well for the kids.

My thinking is that this "mess" has been going on for a couple of months now. It's about time they begin to get it worked out. The underlying issues of pilot shortages, recovery from Covid, etc., haven't changed a lot, but when all else fails, airline companies will eventually do what is in their own best interest - and that is to get their customers where they are going in something like a timely manner. I'm just not counting on that when I return home.

 

[gayl]

I'm checking Virgin Atlantic flight #20 every day now. I changed my hotel reservations so that each reservation is only 1 night. That way if my arrival is delayed a day I'm only charged for the nights I use. And if the whole thing crashes on me then Princess has to refund air & cruise.

 

[gayl]

Congrats! Glad things went well for the kids.



My thinking is that this "mess" has been going on for a couple of months now. It's about time they begin to get it worked out. The underlying issues of pilot shortages, recovery from Covid, etc., haven't changed a lot, but when all else fails, airline companies will eventually do what is in their own best interest - and that is to get their customers where they are going in something like a timely manner. I'm just not counting on that when I return home.

I think Heathrow (and maybe another few EU airports) will get easier as British Air cancels short flights

 

[gayl]

I think Heathrow (and maybe another few EU airports) will get easier as British Air cancels short flights

Maybe Virgin Atlantic is doing it through pricing? My rt SFO -> LHR is 444, booked months ago. There are (a lot of) available seats on the plane but at 1685. Economy class. Wow. I'd pick another day

 

[Winemaker]

No trouble for 4 traveling east coast to Sacramento, 2 legs, on Southwest Saturday 7/30 and return this past Saturday 8/6, return same way.

 

[athena53]

I think Heathrow (and maybe another few EU airports) will get easier as British Air cancels short flights

They better not cancel mine! At the end of the trip I need to get from Ljublana to London.

So far so good on my trip.

Was scheduled to leave Kansas City at 3:30 PM, arrive DFW about 4:45, leave for London at 7:30 PM. I mentioned in another thread tat I called and asked if I could get an earlier flight out of Kansas City (MCI). Sure, but they'd re-rate the entire itinerary and it would cost me $7,000.

So- I get to MCI, get on standby for that flight and am successful. Left 45 minutes late due to a minor mechanical problem, but I'm here. Not only here but in the Flagship Lounge. La-di-da. I'd asked about gate-checking my larger carry-on and they could check it only through to LHR- np pickup at DFW. I don't think I've ever encountered that before. I specifically took carry-on to avoid having my bag get lost at LHR. Fortunately it was one of the larger planes and I had overhead space near my seat.

You know, if they'd asked for $100 or so to confirm the earlier flight when I called I would have paid it. Instead, they got zero and I may be owed a small refund because I accepted Coach on the MCI-DFW leg. This happened to me pre-COVID (stood by for an earlier flight, paid for Business, accepted Coach) and I got a refund for the fare difference on that leg. I'm sure going to pursue it.

 

[gayl]

They better not cancel mine! At the end of the trip I need to get from Ljublana to London.



So far so good on my trip.



Was scheduled to leave Kansas City at 3:30 PM, arrive DFW about 4:45, leave for London at 7:30 PM. I mentioned in another thread tat I called and asked if I could get an earlier flight out of Kansas City (MCI). Sure, but they'd re-rate the entire itinerary and it would cost me $7,000.



So- I get to MCI, get on standby for that flight and am successful. Left 45 minutes late due to a minor mechanical problem, but I'm here. Not only here but in the Flagship Lounge. La-di-da. I'd asked about gate-checking my larger carry-on and they could check it only through to LHR- np pickup at DFW. I don't think I've ever encountered that before. I specifically took carry-on to avoid having my bag get lost at LHR. Fortunately it was one of the larger planes and I had overhead space near my seat.



You know, if they'd asked for $100 or so to confirm the earlier flight when I called I would have paid it. Instead, they got zero and I may be owed a small refund because I accepted Coach on the MCI-DFW leg. This happened to me pre-COVID (stood by for an earlier flight, paid for Business, accepted Coach) and I got a refund for the fare difference on that leg. I'm sure going to pursue it.

Athena, I've been reading about your nightmare .... hoping now that you're on your way to Slovenia alls good. By upping it to 7k they should be able to limit passengers w/o canceling more flights.

 

[tulak]

What nightmare?

Sounds like Athena is relaxing well in a fancy European lounge after a small delay.