Hi, flyer talk brain trust. I've never been in this situation before, and various phone calls/searches, etc., have yielded very different answers.
Here's my problem....
I had booked an Air Canada flight from YYZ-SFO which is scheduled to leave YYZ tomorrow morning -- the first predicted day of the flight attendant strike. I bought this ticket at vayama.ca -- which means that many, many of the faster online and phone options for inquiring/changing, etc., are NOT available to me. For example, Air Canada reservations cannot re-schedule or cancel the flight -- I must do this through vayama (and their information on the AC situation is understandably a little confused). Also, this flight is not cancellable -- that is, if it's cancelled, then the cash amount is banked towards a future flight (up to a year later) with a $150 penalty.
Normally, I'd show up at the airport and let the chips fall where they may. But unfortunately, I really must be in San Francisco. So I booked a flight through Westjet (this time, directly) as a backup. Alternate flights were already disappearing by as early as last Wednesday.
So -- I have 2 tickets tomorrow. One with Air Canada, one with WestJet.
Air Canada has published their policy about passengers affected by the strike:
http://www.aircanada.com/en/news/tra...r_updates.html
Air Canada has introduced a flexible rebooking policy to enable customers booked for travel over the next six days on a rolling window basis (September 16-21, 17-22, etc.) to change their booking, free of charge to an earlier or later date until December 9, 2011, subject to seat availability.
Our flexible rebooking policy permits changes to flight dates free of charge, but not refunds at this time. We continue to operate our normal schedule as talks continue to avoid a disruption. Normal fare conditions apply with respect to refunds. In the event of cancellations due to schedule changes, full refunds would be available.
Customers wishing to change flights purchased directly through Air Canada are requested to use the on-line Self Service Rebooking Tool. Customers can also contact Air Canada Reservations; however wait times are longer than usual due to increased call volumes. Customers who booked travel through a travel agent must contact their agent directly.
In the event of a work disruption, Air Canada will implement a partial schedule including codeshare flights operated by its partner airlines.
The airline will provide further updates as developments warrant.
Here's what I need to know.
Can a refund apply only to one leg of the ticket?
Do I have to check in in order to be eligible for the full refund in event of cancellation because of the strike (in this case, the $150 rebooking would not apply)?
If I check in, what happens if I don't show up?
Is it possible for me to use only the return portion of the Air Canada flight? (At this point, if I could, I'd be willing to eat the cost of the one-way flight from YYZ-SFO, and I'd just cancel the return leg of the Westjet.... if the strike is resolved by the time of my return)
I'm going to try and get some questions answered by vayama but I thought some folks here might know.
Thanks very much.