Hi

I am planning a trip to Paris and Rome next summer. Indian passport, flying in from Orlando, FL and planning to begin the visa procedure. This trip would be like a 2 week stopover in Europe on the way home to India (I am a student).

The biggest obstacle is the Schengen visa. I need to book flights for this and while I have not faced visa problems in the past (with Schengen or otherwise) I want to be cautious this time. Booking flights could potentially lose money if the visa is denied.

Right now I'm looking at doing the entire journey on Lufthansa (MCO-FRA, FRA-BLR) and intra Europe transport separately. If the visa is denied I stand to lose a min of 300 euro in this case. Another option is booking Iceland Air/WOW air/Norwegian etc directly to CDG/ORY and Qatar/Emirates/Etihad/Air India etc from FCO-BLR.

Any plan/insurance etc which can shield me from losing money if the visa is denied? I am in Orlando, the consulate is in Miami and I only have a short period of time to apply for the visa so want to get it right the first time- so I would like to go with fully paid flights. Any suggestions? My dad has many miles with EK so anything possible with that?

Thanks
Ansh