headingwest

Actually you can book after April 8th, because their policy is still that you can change new bookings to any date up to 27th March 2021.

The Award Miles I was referring to, are the bonus miles for changing the booking. Of course you'd still get the base fare Award Miles.

Lastly, Aegean have only offered this bonus because they know very well that they will be cancelling flights in May (like some airlines have already done). By encouraging people to rebook before the 8th April, they know that they won't have the hassle of people asking for cash refunds when they cancel - I'm guessing on the 9th! Customers will forfeit their legal rights to a refund by booking at a later date, just like they have been by accepting the vouchers. Obviously Aegean's strategy is to 'lock in' as much cash as possible, so that they don't have to refund. The website headline banner 'Change your ticket online at no extra cost, for whenever you want' is probably also to encourage people to make new bookings during these insecure times.

Anyway, it's worked...today I made some bookings!

Pinni

For flights in May? And are you able to move them to a later date for free (and with no fare difference) now? I just want to make sure it really works for new bookings before booking myself.

headingwest

Yes, for May and I am able to rebook right up until 27th March 2021 for free.

Pinni

Great! Does it also work for OTA bookings or only for bookings made directly through A3 or OA? From the FAQs it is not very clear, it only mentions that the rebooking must be made va travel agent in case of cancelled flights. But what about the not (yet) cancelled flights in May? Is it possible to change them for free to a later date online even if the original booking was made through an OTA?

headingwest

Once you have your PNR you are good to go...so whether it's a direct booking or through an agent, it's possible to change flights on Aegean's 'My Booking' function.

All my bookings were through online travel agents, and it works.

giorginho

Thanks for confirming that it works. I also just tried via an OTA and got the PNR, but the "My Booking" gives a message which reads: I am looking into making at least 3 (probably 4) different bookings this way and I would hate it if I needed to call every single time (for various reasons). This was my first ever booking using the swedish website of skyscanner. I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that I paid via "direct" bank-wire (no credit/debit card) in order to get the cheapest price... Doesn't really make much sense, that the PNR is there but the ticket number not!?
Booking class "P" and I even tried the upgrade challenge for this booking and it seems to be working...!

headingwest

I assume that the travel agent has only sent you the confirmation number or PNR, but has not yet issued the e-ticket. That often happens with OTA's, and before you get the e-ticket you won't be able to change the booking (or select seats), because Aegean only has the booking as reserved, but not confirmed. Sometime it can take up to a day for the agent to send another e-mail with the e-ticket, and by then it will be listed in 'My Booking' and you are good to go.

Yes, P can rebook into any economy fare (I got an H!), but I don't know if that means they are eligible for upgrades with vouchers. Also I don't know if I will get miles for H instead of P!

giorginho

headingwest Yeah, that's what I thought as well... so it isn't exactly "get your PNR and you're good to go", but it shouldn't be too much of an issue (I am just a bit anxious to get this over with, because they couldn't possibly need this little cash that badly that they actually planned for exactly how we're taking them up on their 'offer'). I just remembered that about 2,5 years ago I booked a ticket at around midnight for a flight that was due to depart 12 hours later and went to sleep without having received any ticket number, woke up the next day with one and took off :P.
I meant that the upgrade bidding is already active for the current P booking (not a very important piece of info, just making a point that Aegean can definitely see and confirm the booking, but with no ticket number the only thing that doesn't currently work is the re-booking). If the re-booking works out and the flights take place I won't care much about the miles that will be credited, this will save me either quite some cash or a bunch of miles (if I went for award tickets) and even if the grounding continues throughout the summer and I end up having to re-book again it won't be much of an issue, since I fly them regularly (as opposed to my 5th freedom flight FRA-MAD which now went to st).

Edit: Out of curiosity, can you check if your new H fare is allowing further changes and if yes, under what conditions?

headingwest

Very true, 'the PNR and good to go' usually works though, because most agents issue the e-ticket immediately.

The Upgrade Challenge works on P tickets anyway (depending on the route), so that will not be an issue I suspect. Regarding upgrades using vouchers, I asked the call centre and they said they would get back to me on Monday, as they weren't sure...but they put me in I class and seat 1A for the time being. Might be a short time in that seat!

headingwest

It is possible to rebook up until the end of March 2021, but anything above P fare costs more (it varies according to the the selected fare). So it's still free if you can find another fare that was originally booked.

giorginho

headingwest that's good to know, so no fee for the time being just the fare difference (for the 2nd re-booking). I assume, according to this indicator, that you will also get miles for P. Anyway, fares in early 2021 are currently mostly P, so even if I need to re-book a 2nd time I think I'll find something.

Xandrios

Does anybody have any experience with changing upgraded flights?

1. When the flight is canceled - what happens if the new date does not have upgrade availability? Note, flight is canceled thus not a voluntary change.
2. When the flight is canceled - what happens if the flight does not operate on the new dates, and you have to be routed to another city instead of direct? Can you maintain the upgrade on one of the segments?
3. When you use the new voluntary-changes policy but this cannot be done due to the upgrade. Will they allow changing it through the CS for free, maintaining the upgrade?
4. When you use the new voluntary-changes policy does the Fare code actually change to the lowest available, or is the original fare code maintained (even if no availability is shown)?

Has anybody tried any of these yet? I'll be trying to get these answered as they would be crucial to know for rebooking and upgrading my upcoming flights. As it stands now I have 13 flights canceled that need rebooking or canceling, about half of them upgraded in some way or another. I'd be looking to move to non-upgraded ones as far as possible out - or see to find ways to upgrade them.

headingwest

Indeed, as per their website.



It's only (currently) for bookings up until the end of May, that the fare difference is being waived.

giorginho

Yeah, I think they already had that policy according to 7.1 in effect since mid-March, but back then it was for tickets booked until the end of March. Now they have extended that by 1 month. This might see one more 1-month extension... we'll see. Oh man, I was following their re-booking waivers and other offers since that time and was thinking that I should book some tickets before March 31st (we didn't know anything about the "May-rule" back then of course, but I actually had 2 "extended" weekends in May that I was looking at booking. Had I done that, I would now be getting miles on top of that. Oh well... )



codfather

What has Aegeans policy been for basic bookings? Like have they have they been issuing refunds or credits?

I have a booking for early May that I have to cancel but I haven't cancelled it yet.