No penalty for cancelling, but I only got a voucher = to what I paid.

I had a DFW-NRT-SIN route on the 26th with a confirmed eVIP, switched to DFW-LAX-HKG-SIN primarily on CX, unfortunately all coach then but got the eVIP redeposited and no change fee (but did have to pay a fare diff, luckily it was a company paid ticket).

Definitely not looking forward to the LAX-HKG 15.5 hour flight in Y, but seems like the safer bet and certainly nothing compared to what our friends in Japan are going through right now...

I'm still surprised there have been no cancellations/changes to flights to Tokyo by the US carriers. It is quite baffling to me, esp. in light of today's developments and the head of the US NRC's statements.

I'm also surprised we have not been hearing more stories like this . I've been wondering about crews on these flights and have to imagine AA has seen a lot of crew members attempting to get off the flights to NRT.

Frankly, I am not sure how those crews can get any sleep in Tokyo between the aftershocks and the stress from the nuclear emergency; they obviously can't take a sleeping pill as they need to be alert in case of a sudden evacuation. They must be wrecks by the time they're back at the airport for the flight back.

I was thinking the same thing. European airlines have cancelled flights entirely, Qantas is making a stop in HKG so flight crews can overnight there. Really surprised that the American carriers haven't adjusted schedules.

My wife's due to fly BKK - NRT - DFW - ORF on 28 March. We called AA to see if there was any way of changing this due to the nuclear situation. The agent said we could move the ticket to another date.

When we asked if it could be changed to BKK - HKG - JFK - ORF, she said no, as the BKK - NRT route is run by Japan Airlines and BKK - HKG is on Cathay Pacific. However, reading a previous post, it looks like someone else managed to get this change. Or would that be because he's in business class and we'd just booked a lowly economy ticket?

Is it worth us calling again and trying a different AA agent?

BA has also started stopping at HKG to overnight crews. They've also concentrated all their operations at NRT by temporarily moving the HND flight to NRT.

That's what I was offered when I called back. No refund, but a voucher good for up to a year.

It is always worth calling back and getting another agent.

sort of seems like I should cancel my trip april 14-24 to japan, was planning on spending most of my time in Kyoto, but a few days in Tokyo as well. More than the radiation scare, seems like any extra bodies consuming would just be a burden, no? I wonder if AA will fully refund my ticket and my friend's Aaward ticket. Hope so. So sad what's happening over there.

my Japanese friend and her husband evaced to osaka from tokyo..she included this in her email:

Regarding the situation in Kansai-area including Osaka, no influence
from the earthquake is seen. Supply shortage is not produced and
radioactivity level is normal, and people seem happy as usual. Many
people already moved from Tokyo to Osaka, but the train had empty
seats, and I think they are still not majority because they may be
afraid to lose their job and money to be apart from Tokyo.


What I'm afraid is the same thing as the nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl
happen here after you arrive Japan. If the same thing happens,
anywhere in Japan should be dangerous. The another reason we stay in
Osaka is that we have Itami-airport in Osaka and we will be able to
escape abroad easier than Tokyo.

this doesn't make me feel better at all...

The other experts on FT can confirm, but the news accounts I have read indicate that the vastly modernized design of the Japanese facility makes a situation identical to Chernobyl impossible. I still wouldn't go to Japan right now if you can avoid it, though!

Well, last night DL zeroed out all HND flights between March 22 and May. Now they formally announced suspension of HND-LAX and HND-DTW for that period to "streamline" Japanese ops.



That's my thought was well. I have a weekend trip/MR April 1-4 to HND to visit a friend in Yokohama, booked a few months ago. Now, I don't want to go and consume resources that could be better utilized for the Japanese. On the flipside, in two weeks things might be much better and spending some tourist yen might be a good thing. I'm sitting on the ticket and will likely wait until the last possibly opportunity to change it. Also, AA is currently only allowing me to delay the trip until May 10th, at which time infrastructure may still be strained.

weirdly I had a friend (plat) who said they were letting him get a full refund, when I called, I was only allowed to change ticket to later date which is useless for me given my schedule.

Not sure what to do. Also feels weird vacationing somewhere while a country is going through something so traumatic. I guess we'll sit on it too and see what happens.

Just an FYI: LA Times reports radiation is being detected on passengers arriving from Japan. One passenger set off radiation detectors at Chicago Ohare. :eek:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,6399545.story

The article states "Higher-than-normal levels of radiation are found on the clothing of passengers from Japan arriving in South Korea and Taiwan, but the levels don't appear to be dangerous and the passengers do not appear to be ill, reports say."

"The radiation level detected was 1 microsievert and was located on the man's coat and shoes, Yonhap reported; the abnormal radiation levels disappeared once the coat and shoes were taken off. Kyodo News Agency reported that the South Korean government considers any radiation level above 1 microsievert as "abnormal."

By comparison, a full-body airport X-ray scanner provides 0.0148 microsieverts of radiation, a chest X-ray provides 100 microsieverts of radiation, and a CT scan of the abdomen will provide 8,000 microsieverts. A dose of about 500,000 to 1 million microsieverts will cause radiation sickness.

Only if radiation levels are greater than 100 microsieverts will passengers be directed for a full medical checkup, Yonhap reported; those with lower levels of radiation will be told how to decontaminate themselves."

Rebooked BKK via HKG Visa Confusion
 

Due to wife's worrying, I just re-booked an Award trip to BKK originally on AA Via NRT, was able to grab 2 first awards on CX via HKG (first time on CX and in first so pretty psyched). When I asked the EXP desk about visa requirements she looked it up twice and said as long as I have proof on onward journey there is no need for a visa to transit HKG? Is this accurate?

American citizens are granted visas* on arrival at Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, much different than other areas of China. There is no need to secure a visa in advance; my experience over the years, including February and March of this year.

You can confirm with Timatic or with visa services like TDS - which states

TOURIST TRAVEL

U.S. Passport must be valid 6 months beyond intended stay
No visa required for stay up to 90 days (eff. 10\28\98)
Tickets and Documents for return or onward travel
Vaccination: None required

*They will stamp your passport on arrival (if headed landside) with a stamp that is basically a visitor permit admission stamp ("VISITOR permitted to remain for ninety days from date of entry as shown below") and another stamp from Hong Kong Immigration with the date of entry; on departure, another Immigration stamp with the date of departure will be added - all to the Visa pages of the passport.

Yup. I went to Hong Kong last year and no visa was required before leaving the US.

CIVET FIVE is on the money here. OK, things are in flux in Japan.

The US State Department, based on information from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission "and other sources" has advised Americans within 50 miles / 80 k of Fukushima to evacuate (or, if unable to do so, to remain indoors).

Tokyo is 170 miles / 273 km from Fukushima. Some radiation anomalies have been detected, and it is suspected reactor #4 cooling pool has lost all water, steam and zirconium casings have interacted to produce radioactive gases including hydrogen, which have escaped the building's broken roof (the holding pools are outside the containment vessel). JSDF helicopters have attempted dropping seawater into the building by using fire-fighting "water bombing", but it seems prevailing winds have not allowed them to succeed and crews have been limited to time-over-target because of radiation fears.

Nobody can accurately predict what will happen (other than to say another Chernobyl is not likely for many reasons), and the US has taken a strong position even though it is against the US' best strategic interests to do so (e.g. upsetting the Japanese government, already in the hands of a party which has expressed opposition to some US bases and is in favor of some base closures).

Many people are homeless, transportation and logistics are broken - even in the Kanto / Tokyo area, there are shortages and disruptions.

What will you do? Dare ga shitte iru / who knows. What would I do if I were scheduled to travel to the Tokyo / Kanto Plains area (or northward) this month? ? I'd stay away at this point, try to reschedule my travels / connections through Japan with alternatives (if AA is important, perhaps connecting in PVG or PEK to CX or KA,) such as CX, and would certainly postpone business or tourism and see what develops over the next week or two. The next few days will be quite telling.

(If I were heading to southern Honshu or farther south, particularly if I could reschedule my trip through Honolulu, etc. I'd have no worries.)

great post -- agree fully!^

When were you scheduled to travel? Is it outside the waiver period?

I called based on finding this on their website http://www.aa.com/i18n/agency/Travel...arthquake1.jsp (google: "site:aa.com japan refund") which says refund to the original form of payment is allowed. I specifically asked if I can get a refund to my credit card if we cancel and was told yes. I just got done processing our cancel and refund myself. :(

Terrific post, thanks for sharing this link.

I'm confused on 2 points:

1) Why does the Reissue Policy Information say "Not applicable to connections through HND and/or NRT"? Several of us have been told that we could postpone or cancel without paying penalties on itineraries that merely connect in NRT/HND, but that seems to go against the policy as written.
2) I don't see the instructions/explanation outlining the policy that travel between March 11-18, 2011 does NOT require original inventory.

From Facebook:

Interesting. Just confirms what a lot of us have been told by various agents.

Though I see that AA is touting this on FB And twitter, I don't see where this is explained on the link to AA.com

Yes, if you are transiting you won't even see an immigration person as HKG has true international to international connection abilities. If you want to go out of the airport to get a little sightseeing in, no Visa is required for US (and many other) passports. I did this just a few months ago on an 8 hour layover.

This is good news, however the ideal solution IMO would be to extend the rebooking time frame through the end of the year (as they're doing for Cairo). That way I can still keep my low fare and get to visit Japan (which I now want to do more than ever, though not so much at this difficult time).

On a side note, does anyone know what the loads have been for the AA Japan flights the past few days? I find it hard to believe that it's economical for them to continue daily service to both HND and NRT.

I've been monitoring seatmaps on the daily US-NRT flights on AA and I'd esimate they are about 50% full. I realize seatmaps are not entirely accurate, but that's some anecdotal evidence.

I don't think AA's waiver policy does anything substantial to help those of us who have plans to transit NRT. Requiring us to pay a fare difference is a non-starter given that flights within days of departure are almost sure to be much more expensive than flights previously purchased.

I know was kinda hard on you upthread, however for the reroute change you're contemplating AA will waive the advance purchase requirement. For instance if you decide to book away from a NRT connection 4 days from now, they are permitted to use your original advance notice. That is if the fare on your ticket is a 14 day advance, they should give a current 14 day advance fare on the new routing. Might help a little bit.

Correct, FlyMe. Experienced on 2 trips to HKG over the last 5 months.
U.S. and citizens of most Western countries do not need a visa. Visa-on-arrival per se does not exist for such folks.

If you read JDivers post he is quoting the rules correctly and I believe calling that "a visa on arrival" even though there is no actual visa. You absolutely do not need a visa for HKG on an American passport if you are in compliance with conditions in JDivers post.

Just rcvd update from a senior AA pilot (he flys Asia route routinely), his message:

" I would have no problem going to Japan just stay tuned into any further nuclear
mishaps"

Also, below is snapshot from Pilot's union (has more credibility with the pilots than
the media)

NUCLEAR CRISIS IN JAPAN: In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit Japan last week, we have established a crisis response team to evaluate the current conditions for our crews flying into and laying over in Japan. We have also coordinated with the Flight Department to place a representative in SOC who will provide your leadership with real-time information on the rapidly evolving situation.

We have received numerous inquiries from crews scheduled to fly Japan trips, and we are working to provide them with the most up-to-date information available.
>
> The Japanese government has established a localized no-fly zone around the damaged nuclear power plants. These zones do not impact our flight operations into and out of Narita and Haneda . Our layover hotels in Narita and Tokyo are fully functional, having sustained only minimal damage as a result of the earthquake and related aftershocks. Crews have reported no unusual transportation problems either traveling to or from the layover hotels. Continued aftershocks are still a possibility, so we are advising crews laying over in Japan to carefully review the hotel’s evacuation plan. Crews should also establish a communications plan to ensure that all crewmembers can be rapidly accounted for if events warrant.

From Narita
 

I am currently in the Admiral's Club in Narita having traveled here from Hong Kong this morning and awaiting a connection to ORD and on to STL.

The flight from Hong Kong was a Cathay 747-400. There were no more than 25 passengers on the flight...obviously very few want to travel to Japan. Flight attendant told me it was a turn around and they would be overbooked on the return.

Narita is running normally. As I walked past the immigration area it was 100% empty. Transit area had a few people but those upstairs wanting flights are a huge crowd. There is a strange feeling in the air. Everybody is very serene...just doing their jobs but the airport and the club are remarkably quiet. Nobody is talking. Just doing.

All flights seem to be on time and the only variation is a few gate changes. The Admiral's Club is normal except the business center is closed but it also has plenty of people in it but still is very quiet.

The sun is out in Tokoyo and if you didn't watch the news you wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The Japanese people have shown incredible dignity and class and even the Chinese (who don't normally like them) are in awe of these people. Let's just pray that whatever damage has been done here that the future is brighter beginning now.

Ok off to walk the concourse.

Japan has raised the accident level at a stricken nuclear plant to five from four on a seven-point international (INES) scale of gravity for atomic accidents.

The move places the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi site two levels below Ukraine's Chernobyl 1986 disaster.

BBC

Reuters reports that TEPCO has considered burying the reactors in concrete & sand like Chernobyl, but is still trying to restart the power cooling on two of the reactors.

The head of France's nuclear agency had stated on Mon. that he thought this situation should be rated a 5 or 6! (France utilizes nuclear power generation for close to 80% of their electricity needs).

Quoted from the BBC article Analysis, by Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News

Japan's upgrading of the Fukushima incident from severity four to five stems from concerns about the reactors in buildings 1, 2 and 3, rather than the cooling ponds storing spent fuel.

Level five is defined as an "accident with wider consequences". This was the level given to the 1957 reactor fire at Windscale in the UK and the partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island plant in the US in 1979.

Both met the level five definition of "limited release" of radioactive materials to the wider environment.

Windscale is believed to have caused about 200 cases of cancer, whereas reports into the Three Mile Island incident suggest there were no health impacts outside the site.

French and US officials had previously said the Fukushima situation was more serious than Japanese evaluations suggested.

Higher radiation levels than normal have been recorded in a few places 30km from the site, but in Tokyo, they were reported to be normal.

Though this is the actual state of affairs, the first aircraft with 100 American evacuees left Tokyo earlier today, and the US and some other countries have decided to offer employees in the Tokyo - Yokohama area (and some others as well) the chance to go home.

AA just updated their waiver policy for Japan on AA.com

They've posted a message about safety and have extended the date on which travel can be extended to July 10, 2011.

advice?
 

Hi all -
First: AA's supposed extension of the travel waiver for travel originally scheduled through May 10th isn't reflected on the website yet - is this accurate?

Second: my boyfriend and I were planning to travel to Japan from April 14 - May 1 for a conference that I was speaking at. My conference has now been canceled. Canceling and refunding my ticket should be taken care of without a problem by my employer's travel agency (I used miles to upgrade, but am guessing they'll just be credited back to my account). However, I'm concerned about his ticket. I booked it months ago using miles and am wondering what I can expect when I talk to AA. Will they credit the miles back to my account? Will they charge a substantial cancellation fee? Will they offer a voucher? Can anyone else share their experience with canceling an itinerary booked with miles (that *appears* to be booked outside of the dates currently covered by the travel waiver?...)

Anytime F & C award seats are available from LAX-NRT at short notice - tomorrow or any other day. These seats have always been VERY hard to score especially on no notice.

Ross0, thanks; I'll continue updating the OP from time to time as this occurs (and have just now).

But they do issue a visitor permit as a stamp entered into the visa pages, with an immigration entry - and later departure - stamp allowing one to remain up to 90 days.

AA has indeed updated its Japan travel policy, as seen here.

If I understand what you are saying (you purchased the trip with miles, used more miles to upgrade to the next class of service,) if I were you I would call and state you purchased your trip with miles, but are experiencing two things: a trip in vain, given the cancellation of the conference due to the seismic events and their sequels in Japan, and a need to take advantage of AA's policies regarding Japan travel during the time period they are granting waivers - and wish all of your miles redeposited to your account without paying the normal $150 fee.

If you do not receive a satisfactory solution, hang up and call yet again.

If I am confused and have this wrong, some clarification will help me understand, at least. ;)