Traveling is actively slowing down and it is really easy to understand why. Fewer people are buying airplane tickets and those that have flights planned in the following months seriously consider canceling. The coronavirus outbreak is influencing travel agencies and airlines from all around the world. This often leads to dropped calls, huge wait times and even the use of social media websites to help advise travelers.
The official advice offered right now is to wait and not cancel your airline ticket right now. This is especially the case when your getaway is scheduled to happen in a few months. However, according to Flightright, this is something you have to be careful with. The company helped thousands of people deal with delayed and cancelled flights, managing to bring in hundreds of millions in compensation. The company highlights that all airlines, from British-airways to US airlines want to minimize the economic impact of flight cancellations.
The good news is that most of the major airlines understand that they need to act now. They are actually offering waivers that allow travelers to cancel or change upcoming flights without having to pay fees, which are normally at around the $200 mark or more. However, this does not mean that the airlines offer a refund. This obviously infuriated, surprised and confused travelers.
In order to get a refund, you need to talk with a representative, get lucky and have a flight officially cancelled or work with a company like Flightright. If the airline cancels a flight, no matter the reason for it, the passengers are fully eligible for refunds. This is true even when they bought non refundable tickets like the basic economy ones. This is an option that is rarely broadcasted though since airlines prefer to rebook passengers or issue credit. Such moves are done in order to retain revenues.
As expected, the current demand for airplane tickets is going down. Flights are being canceled left and right because of this. As an example, Delta Airlines actually cancelled 70% of its flights. Due to this, those that were supposed to fly with Delta in the following months can end up with their flights cancelled, although the official list of cancellations was not announced until now. The same goes for many US airlines.
When the flight is cancelled, you are offered a full cash refund. You are not given travel credit. However, if the cancellation was processed before the flight was announced as cancelled, you most likely received travel credit so you can’t get cash. Due to this important reason, it is a very good idea to wait until your flight is actually cancelled or its date is close and it is clear you will not fly. When the airline does not cancel the flight, you can still opt for travel credit.
How Long Should A Traveler Wait?
The best thing you can do is to cancel your flight some days before the scheduled date. This is because you need to be sure you have time to reach travel agencies or airlines when this is necessary. Also, airlines recommend that passengers only call if the date of the flight is in the following 72 hours. However, this might be a little too close for comfort.
What you need to do is to know the policies of the airline in regards to cancellations and flight changes. Some airlines are strict while others are more permissive. For instance, Delta says that if the customer can’t reach the airline before the departure date, changes are still going to be processed. The ticket number simply automatically becomes unused eCredit in one day and the client is allowed to use it in the future.
