Keyser

my brother, his wife & kids have a booking on cx from jfk-del via hkg towards the end of june....this is a redemption booking made many months ago using cx miles from my account....i have no status with cx but transferred points from my credit card to book 4 business class one way tickets for them....

as of now cx flights from hkg - india remain suspended due to covid restrictions till 30th april....the indian government has been extending the ban on regular international travel every month by a month & i'm pretty confident as this point that this ban will be extended again in may & then again in june & is unlikely to come to an end for the foreseeable future....

my question is, does anyone have any experience what cx would do if (when) the ban is extended to june????would they simply cancel the tickets or would they be willing to put the passengers on another one world flight that is operating to india, like ba or qr for example????

does anyone have any experience with flights cancelled due to covid restrictions & what cx has done????

brunos

As you know, the covid situation in India is becoming dramatic. June might not be the best time to return to India.

India does allow some flights to operate, and Air India, but not CX, has been operating some flights between HK and DEL. But Hong Kong is getting very worried about numerous imported cases from India and might ban all flights. Anyway CX is not likely to resume flights there.

Given the situation, I strongly doubt that CX would be willing to reroute your 4 awards on BA or QR.

Keyser

yes it is going from bad to worse but they don't have a choice regarding june....they would have been in usa for 6 months by that point so they have to return home....

the flights that are operating are flights under a bubble agreement india has signed with many countries....whether hong kong decides to ban all flights is irrelevant since cx is not operating right now so it makes no difference in my situation....even if cx agrees to resume flights to india, there is a good chance the indian government would make life difficult for them since they are doing their level best to help the poorly state run air india during this pandemic....this is coming at the cost of other airlines since air india is often on the bottom of most people's list of airlines to travel on....

this brings me back to my original question....if the flights have not resumed at that point then obviously my brother's flight will get cancelled....what would cx usually do in that situation????would they put them on another flight to get them to their final destination or would they simply cancel the tickets & do nothing....

i have been in situations where i had an award booked on lh & the flight was severely delayed so they put me on an ai flight to get me to my destination....a few months ago i was booked on a dl ticket from jfk-del via ams....the klm leg was cancelled due to covid restrictions so dl put me on a vs flight to get me to my final destination....

i have no experience with cx so i'm just looking for input on what they would do in case they need to cancel the flight....

percysmith

Cancel their tickets, refund their miles (you converted them recently, so probably they come back with no expiry dates), do nothing further and wait for you to try and pursue them thru small claims in the US.

Gives them an opportunity to send someone to attend court and brandish their Because Of Coronavirus chop.

sbs2716g

Why not start to look for award ticket yourself under BA/QR instead ? See whether CX have partner award in BA/QR?

CX will most likely cancel n refund you.

percysmith

I think he’s after Protection. Not a chance, their Because Of Coronavirus chops are cocked and loaded.

lixiaojuventus

Why is CX liable for anything but the miles?? I am not sure about CX's Contract of Carriage, but I am pretty sure UA states in their Contract of Carriage that in the event of flight cancellations, they are only legally required to refund the ticket. Anything else, including rebooking on other airline's flights, is a goodwill gesture.

Keyser

there is no award availability for 4 seats together on ba & qr around their travel dates....

Keyser

not looking for protection....just have no experience with cx so don't know what they would do in a situation where they have to cancel their flight....

as i said before, other airlines i have been on have put me on another carrier (both before & during covid times) when they have cancelled their flights....just wanted to check here in this forum if anyone had a similar experience with cx during these times....

worse case scenario they will buy 4 tickets on another carrier to get back home & i will get the miles refunded....this situation will suck but its not the end of the world....

littlevoices

As it seems we have missed answering the question: Keyser, the most likely situation is that CX will cancel the flights and auto-refund the miles to you. Following this you could ring up push hard and they may be willing to delay the tickets (i.e. let you fly in July say, which could keep changing for a while), but it sounds like that isn't viable for your family. As such, if very keen to travel around your dates the choices would be to take the QR flights and split up your family or choose to pay. If paying personally I would be choosing QR and booking now using cash, if miles aren't available:
1. QR's travel with confidence policy would let you cancel for free (if booked by the end of the month) if through some miracle CX did decide to fly so are a good backup
2. Their Qsuites are a great product, if you can afford business, if not they are just a nice airline
3. They continue to fly throughout the pandemic, so if they sell you a flight it will almost certainly happen (though probably +/- 2 hours based on my experience)

Good luck

percysmith

That is Protection. Impossible with CX during Covid unless you can somehow find redemption availability with their partners, they rather you sue them.

brunos

I was trying to answer your question but I was not clear enough.

1) CX currently operates from JFK twice weekly. It schedules once daily in June but that could be reduced. If your JFK flight operates, CX could reroute you on AI from HKG-DEL. That is why I mentioned AI. As I said. that AI flight could be suspended.

2) The probability that CX would reboook on another airline 4 award pax on JFK-DEL is near 0. They have no legal obligation under UD DOT. In normal times, it would be almost impossible to find 4 J award seats on other OW partners, and therefore very expensive for CX. In the current situation it is even worse. Awards are more widely available a few days before departure, when the airline is sure that the flight will operate and with low loads. But that is a risk you don't wish to take.

3) As mentioned above, I would suggest that you buy cash tickets on QR which is the most reliable airline in these covid times. If a miracle happens and CX flies or reroute you for free, you can always get a QR refund.

Another option is to apply for a visa extension because you are unable to fly home.

Keyser

lots of other airlines are offering free cancellations if booked by the end of the month so my plan is to book them on either the direct ua flight or a dl flight via ams/cdg as a backup....this way they hold on to the cx award tickets & have another flight as a backup in case cx does not fly....

i've flown the q-suites once & i agree its a great product but i don't usually fly any one world carrier so i would stick to either dl or ua as i know they are both willing to re-route on other airlines to get passengers to their final destination....something i'm being told here cx doesn't usually do....also business class fares on both dl & ua are cheaper than qr....

Keyser

i don't think hong kong will stop the ai flights as the air bubbles are politically motivated so they are likely to continue....the times for their cx jfk-hkg flight has already been changed twice since the ticket was booked & i wouldn't be surprised if there are further schedule changes from now till their travel date....if cx gets them to hkg & then puts them on an ai flight then that definitely works....however there is no guarantee they would do that so its a risk....

this would have been the ideal scenario but since cx doesn't do that then i guess that's that....a few years ago pakistan had closed of its airspace for a 4-5 month period because of which flights from europe - india were getting severely delayed....my family & i were booked on a del-ams-fra ticket on kl that was booked with dl miles but that flight was delayed by over 8 hours due to the airspace closure....dl/kl put all 4 of us on a lh direct del-fra flight....i was hoping cx would have had a similar policy but i guess they don't....

have recommended they buy 4 business class one way tickets on either ua or dl before the end of the month since they can cancel those tickets in the event cx flies....

unfortunately this is not an option....the visa extension won't work since airlines are still flying....but more importantly, they need to get home....

Keyser

very unfortunate....i know other airlines do this but if cx doesn't then i guess it sucks for their regular flyers....