Is the 24hr free cancellation policy largely a US/Western policy?
Oct 14, 2014, 6:19 am
#1
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Is the 24hr free cancellation policy largely a US/Western policy?
ive invoked it so many times across multiple carriers i blindly assumed its universal thing
just attempted it with a philippine airlines reservation - just the online tool not the # - and it said "this reservation not eligible for refund/change". couldnt find any wording in reservation mentioning free allowance for cancellation.
just attempted it with a philippine airlines reservation - just the online tool not the # - and it said "this reservation not eligible for refund/change". couldnt find any wording in reservation mentioning free allowance for cancellation.
Oct 14, 2014, 6:59 am
#3
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It's not a US "policy". It is US law. DOT requires all US carriers and all carriers on tickets to/from the US to offer either a 24-hour fee free cancellation or a 24-hour hold on tickets purchased 7+ days out. Most US carriers offer somewhat more generous terms.
Oct 16, 2014, 1:29 pm
#7
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In the USA they have no choice. Unless it's within seven days of the first flight, the airline must give you a refund (to the original form of payment) unless they offered the free 24 hour hold when you purchased the ticket. DOT has fined carriers for being slow to process refunds.
Oct 23, 2014, 5:11 am
#8
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It’s not a universal policy so you need to check the terms before you buy your ticket. Many (non-US) airlines will say that you cannot cancel the ticket and get a refund. Therefore, if you need to cancel you lose the value of the flight unless you can negotiate with the airline a change in date or time (usually pay a penalty). The best thing you can do is buy a travel insurance policy with trip cancellation. If you need to cancel a flight for a covered reason, you can get your money back.
Oct 23, 2014, 11:11 am
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Oct 23, 2014, 1:54 pm
#10
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DOT requires all US carriers and all carriers on tickets to/from the US to offer either a 24-hour fee free cancellation or a 24-hour hold on tickets purchased 7+ days out.
Example: book a flight like FRA-MIA-FRA on fluege.de (a big, but rather shady German OTA). Once you book it, there is no way out of it.
Why should a German court honor some rules from the US DOT?
Oct 23, 2014, 2:35 pm
#11
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That said, I'm pretty sure the DoT is well within its rights to regulate foreign-flagged carriers on their operations in the US. No need to go through a foreign court to make that happen.