Airline Can Refund Majority Of Money If I Cancel?

[Clive]

Hello.

I wish to travel to thailand in the near distant future (taking care of sick family member and need a break) and was wondering to the fact that there is alot of serious illness in the family if I cant travel would need to get my money returned.....I am aware that if I were to travel with any airline I would loose some money so it will be a case of damage limitation. Does anyone know of a good airline that will return the majority of the money paid should I need to cancel.

Insurance wont cover me as it has to be immediate family...

any advice would be greatly appreciated..thank you

[maprao]

It is dependent on the class of ticket you buy. Cheaper tickets tend to be more restrictive on changes and cancellation. If you book online you can normally look at the conditions for the ticket you are purchasing.

[jacktrip]

read the conditions when you buy the ticket!

[harrry]

Even the most expensive ticket will have a considerable delay on any refunds. It could easily be three months.

[farang000999]

most airlines these days try to make their money via flight change and cancellations. it does not look good for you.

[WilliaminBKK]

The higher the fare you pay the less restrictive, not what you want to hear but as mentioned it can take weeks for a refund and much longer if dealing with an agent. Some airlines will allow cancellation if extended relatives but you would have to call them directly. Where are you originating from ?

[harrry]

check THai airways. Although they are more expensive than some they generally allow date changes without penalty on even the cheaper fares.

[yermanee]

Do some ghost bookings on different airlines websites, then you can check the cancellation fee of the tickets you're interested in.

It is correct that a refund will take some time, between 6 weeks and 3 months, again depending on the airline.

The fee can range from for example 2.000 Baht with Qatar and more than 10.000 with Finnair.

So some research will drastically improve your chances of getting a near full refund.

Hope to have helped.

Yermanee

[taninthai]

I have had refunds from Eva air

It was bizarre and I thought I wouldn't get any refund,I simply didn't turn up for my flight thought I had cancelled it but I had not when i rang them 2 months later to say i had recieved no money back they said they had no notice of my cancellation and just advised me to go back online and follow the cancellation procedure so I actually cancelled it 2 months after the flight had gone and recieved 300 quid back from a 455 quid flight , as others mentioned it is a 3 month wait for the refund

[besth]

Would you need to cancel the ticket or would you be flying at a later date? If so, many airlines have economy fares that allow changes for up to a year with no extra charges.

[smokie36]

Be sure to book direct with the airline. That's essential for changes on the outbound route.

Edited September 14, 2012 by smokie36

[RKASA]

How about checking the price of a ticket with open return date - it is still round trip but you can call later any time and set your date for return. They used to keep it open as long as 8 months from departure date and if you wanted to keep it open longer up to a year they would add a fee of about 100.00US at that point but you had to tell them about that before the expire date and be within 60 days of the expire date in order to extend the open time and use it before one year from the departure date. Gives a load of freedom of travel date. I have not used one in many years but used them many times in the past - fare was same as normal round trip price at least with the old Northwest it was and maybe Delta still does it.

[D2Pipes]

Emirates have a flat rate charge of £100 on an economy ticket and refunds are faster than 3 months.

You can change the dates for £75 and to cap it all, Dubai has an excellent duty free

p.s. Emirates have a very deserved reputation for being an excellent carrier

[breadbin]

as said, depends on the fare rules, i always make sure the ticket is refundable. It is usual for the airline to take a slice as an 'admin' fee and if you book through an agent they may also have rules about refunds and take their 'admin' fee also!

Just need to read the rules and make sure you are happy with them.

[mikecwm]

Refund surcharge for EVA flight YVR return to BKK is $150 (about 10% of ticket cost).

Some dick-head made the comment that you should read the small print - a bit difficult when you haven't bought a ticket yet.

This is a reasonable question for TV. Unfortunately TV has more than its share of idiots posting garbage.

[MrRealDeal]

Refund surcharge for EVA flight YVR return to BKK is $150 (about 10% of ticket cost).

Some dick-head made the comment that you should read the small print - a bit difficult when you haven't bought a ticket yet.

This is a reasonable question for TV. Unfortunately TV has more than its share of idiots posting garbage.

Actually that would make YOU the <deleted> as you can read the small print on EVERY ticket before you purchase it. It's called the "terms and conditions" which is available to read long before you purchase the ticket ...... You should really know what your talking about before insulting people.

What kind of person thinks the airlines are selling tickets to people without disclosing the terms and conditions before they buy them ? Idiots posting garbage.

Edited September 16, 2012 by MrRealDeal

[robbo1]

I once cacelled a flight for the family through my travel agent and got about 95% refund, I did have travel insurance though so that would be an option.

[asanee]

what most above also do not realise:

1. the actual amount to pay may vary with place of purchase

2. it is not at all universal that a refund would take 3 month-it may-or may not. varies an enormous lot between airlines-and maybe also with reason and procedure followed as to how xxc=cancel. Note-what most people also do not realise is: that the BOOKING agent is the one responsible for any refunds, do not approach airline directly if you did not book via their site-will only hold things up. In general it is often much more easy/cheaper to get an laternative flying date-in that case the airline still ets your custom.

Also: what airlines offer on onboard service does not correspond at all with how they handle refunds.