janieco Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Hello has any one been in the position of cancelling a return trip to Oz from the U.K. My parents are booked to fly with Etihad in March, for a 6 week holiday in Oz. My mum has just been diagnosed with a tumour and needs surgery A.S.A.P. The travel agent has told them that they can only get the airport taxes back. I am going to chase it up directly with Etihad but thought I would ask on here first so I that I am well armed to tackle this before I make contact. They do not have travel insurance as they were going to take it out prior to leaving and were under the impression that it only covered them from when the flight commenced :sad: Any info or advice would be sincerely appreciated, cheers Janieco xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritChickx Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Well airport taxes are about half the fare so you could probably get about half back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 It really depends on the conditions of the travel agent and airline. I found that the travel agents can be more restrictive than the airline direct, so tend to book directly. It may well be that the tickets were sold with a 'no refund' clause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janieco Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Okay Peach I will check that out, thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 It will depend entirely on the conditions attached to that particular ticket when it was purchased. It is usually a matter of reading the "fine print" to understand them all. Sometimes it is possible to use the ticket to fly at a later date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith and Linda Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I would chase it up with the airline direct so you get the right info, the refund will probably have to go through the travel agent but at least you will know that the agent is not ripping you off. Also did they pay with a credit card which may have complimentary travel insurance included? I use my credit card insurance and have had two claims (one very large) with no problems, also my brother had to cancel his holiday due to his wife being diagnosed with cancer, and they got everything back 100% on the credit card insurance. Sorry to hear of your parents health and hope it works out well in the end, but it does act as a warning to others about travel insurance, the insurance covers you for the cancellation from the day you take it out, and the rest as the holiday actually starts, there is no extra cost of insurance for taking it out sooner, as you state the dates and number of days of travel. Good luck and best wishes Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janieco Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 I believe they have been told it would be around 300 pounds for taxes !! I am so upset as this is a really stressful time and my parents are in their 70's. I will follow this up with the travel agent, thanks BritChickxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janieco Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Thanks Keith, that's great info. Many thanks for your kind words also Janieco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 The tickets are almost certainly non-refundable as refundable economy tickets are about twice the price of non-refundable ones. There is seldom much joy to be had in asking to have them refunded even with a good reason for not travelling (everyone who chooses not to travel will have a good reason). The best you might hope for is to get them to waive their rules and allow them to be used at a later date but if they were deep discount tickets, even this is unlikely. I'm also sorry for the distressing news; hopefully early medical treatment will lead to a happy outcome. The price of plane tickets is nothing compared to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I certainly got taxes back on the unused return portion of my ticket and my son did the same some years earlier - we both just said our circumstances had changed. Of course it wasn't the whole amount but the tax portion is still quite significant. Talk to the airline and jump up and down if necessary. So sorry that this has hit your mum - hope surgery is successful and she has a full and speedy recovery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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