Trying To Cancel Flights to Thailand
Discussion
My wife, newborn daughter and I are due to travel to Bangkok next week, and though we've seen quite a few coups in Thailand over the years I'm not particularly in favour of taking a newborn anywhere near an area where there is civil unrest. My wife's sister (who lives in Bangkok) has recommended we not travel, and says that where she lives is basically shut down. Though I doubt we'd be in any imminent danger, I'm not willing to chance it.
I e-mailed our airline, but despite a State of Emergency being called and The UK Foreign Office warning "anyone considering going to Bangkok should urgently review their plans" (Australia, Russia and Hong Kong's governments have stated this too), the airline (rhymes with 'Yeti' and a verb 'to possess') has informed me of the following:
For kind information, Suvarnabhumi Airport is currently not being targeted by the protesters and operations remain normal as of now and appears calm at this time.
Right now, the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport open normally to services to the airlines also traveller as well Etihad Airways operating with normal schdule flights.
In other words, "tough luck". Our tickets are non-refundable, and they're unwilling to postpone them to a later date. I've checked with my insurance company any they charge a £100 excess per person, so £300 would be lost.
At what point would the airline accept a cancellation and offer a refund? Does all out what have to be declared, or is it only when The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are circling?
Has anybody faced a similar situation before, and if so can you offer any advice?
I e-mailed our airline, but despite a State of Emergency being called and The UK Foreign Office warning "anyone considering going to Bangkok should urgently review their plans" (Australia, Russia and Hong Kong's governments have stated this too), the airline (rhymes with 'Yeti' and a verb 'to possess') has informed me of the following:
For kind information, Suvarnabhumi Airport is currently not being targeted by the protesters and operations remain normal as of now and appears calm at this time.
Right now, the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport open normally to services to the airlines also traveller as well Etihad Airways operating with normal schdule flights.
In other words, "tough luck". Our tickets are non-refundable, and they're unwilling to postpone them to a later date. I've checked with my insurance company any they charge a £100 excess per person, so £300 would be lost.
At what point would the airline accept a cancellation and offer a refund? Does all out what have to be declared, or is it only when The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are circling?
Has anybody faced a similar situation before, and if so can you offer any advice?
Thanks Phil.
Somewhat miraculously, things appear to have calmed down hugely over in Thailand, so it may be ok for us to go in a weeks time. I've mailed our insurance company to ask for clarification to see if we're still fully covered despite the State of Emergency, but the airline still hasn't shown any interest at all in us postponing the flights.
Somewhat miraculously, things appear to have calmed down hugely over in Thailand, so it may be ok for us to go in a weeks time. I've mailed our insurance company to ask for clarification to see if we're still fully covered despite the State of Emergency, but the airline still hasn't shown any interest at all in us postponing the flights.
If you're unsure then surely it's neither here nor there if you have to cancel? Even if you lost the full cost, you'd have spent that anyway if you did go, so arguably you're no worse off.
If the FO specifically advise agaainst travel then normally your travel insurance cover ceases.
Next time buy travel inusrance without £100 excess.
If the FO specifically advise agaainst travel then normally your travel insurance cover ceases.
Next time buy travel inusrance without £100 excess.
Nolar Dog said:
Love how you gave a cryptic clue to Etihad then included their name in the cut and pasted email.
Brilliant!
I'm laughing my arse off at my stupidity Brilliant!
As an aside, I just received this from The Foreign Office:
Thank you for your e-mail asking about our travel advice for Thailand. We are no longer advising against all but essential travel to Bangkok. Full advice should be viewed via our website at: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-ove...
Our Travel Advice is based on objective assessments of the risks to British nationals. The decision to advise against either all travel or against all but essential travel is not taken lightly and is made when we consider that the risk is unacceptably high. We are keenly aware of the knock on effects of such strong advice. However, ultimately trade or political considerations cannot be allowed to influence the advice. The safety of British travellers is the FCO's paramount concern. We cannot stop British nationals travelling to a destination against our advice. We understand that holiday / insurance firms and airline carriers generally take FCO Travel Advice into account when deciding whether or not to cancel, but the final decision is theirs and theirs alone. The FCO cannot intervene in a commercial dispute.
I cannot give you any information on travel other than what is already on our website. It is not possible to foresee how our travel advice will change prior to your trip, but it is kept under constant review. If the travel advice needs to be amended, this would be reflected on the FCO website at the earliest opportunity.
You should continue to monitor our Travel Advice up until the day you are due to travel. A convenient way to do this is to subscribe to our website for e-mail alerts. This is a free service, which can be accessed via the front page of the FCO website at: http://www.fco.gov.uk <http://www.fco.gov.uk/> just click on subscribe (top of the page to the right) and follow the instructions. Should you encounter any difficulties please let us know.
Travel Advice Team
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