US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Advice on Oct. award tix to Cancun

We booked award tix to Cancun in mid-Oct. for our family of 6. We have a non-refundable deposit :( (1/2) on a house and will need to pay the balance in the next couple weeks. When we put this all together 5 months ago, I knew we were taking a chance, however at that time, it looked like we were betting on pretty good odds. Now, I'm not so sure. :confused: We would welcome suggestions/thoughts on possible back-up plans ect. Thanks in advance for your help and the advice you all have given us in the past. ^

i think october is still pretty safe. one of the articles posted about this whole fiasco mentioned that if US had to go back into ch.11, they were forecasted at having 180-270 days left. even if ch.11 was declared today, you would still be well within that window. dont sweat it, and enjoy your trip!

Our concern is they go directly to Chapter 7. If they go the 11 route, I agree, we should be okay.

Our concern is they go directly to Chapter 7.

That scenario seems unlikely. They will probably go into Chapter 11 in early September. They will then either manage to find a way to restructure their employee contracts and ATSB debt and re-emerge next year or they will not be able to obtain the required concessions and they will convert to Chapter 7. I would expect that the process of determining which outcome will happen will take at least a few months.

Of course, no one really knows, but a direct 7 filing in two months is a very pessimistic scenario.

Could travel insurance help you out if you're really worried? There might be a bit of a cost to it (usually 5-7% of the total trip cost) but it should be designed properly to cover you in the event that something goes wrong. You'd have to check the fine print to make sure it meets your needs.

I can't imagine that the government would allow a liquidation without any notice and without any transition plan. They'd be too concerned about the impact on the economy of thousands of stranded fliers while the other airlines work out the purchase of planes, gates, and routes. That has the potential to be a travel cluster-**** not seen since 9/11.

I'm not a bankruptcy expert, but I suspect that there will be some planning to keep Americans flying before anyone files anything, whether its reorg or liquidation.

That wouldn't mean that those of us with US tickets wouldn't get screwed out of some money when the other airlines don't honor our US tickets even after they take on the routes, but at least it means that your trip is likely to be okay.