Hello everyone,

Back in April 2022, we bought roundtrip tickets for from Vancouver (YVR) to Maldives via our travel agent for around $3000 CAD. The flights were Economy Saver and the details were:

• Depart Dec 21:
  • Fly from YVR to LAX (with a WestJet code share flight)
  • Then LAX to DXB. Lastly, DXB to MLE
• Same thing on our way back:
  • Depart Dec 30
    • MLE -> DXB -> LAX
    • LAX to YVR (WJ code share flight again).

Fast forward to last week:

Our travel agent advised that the West jet connection from LAX to YVR on our way back is no longer available (looks like West Jet updated their winter schedule and it is in fact no longer offered). I go on the Emirates Manage my Booking tab and see that it is showing LAX to YYC (Calgary) and then YYC to YVR now (which are also WJ code share flights). The status shows as "confirmed" in the app. I show it to my travel agent and say to go ahead and issue the tickets with the updated legs. However, when my travel agent tried to issue the updated ticket to us, Emirates kept giving them an 'error' which would not let them issue us our updated tickets. They ask them about the issue and Emirates basically said that due to their "stopover" policy, they cant issue us the tickets and put us on that new LAX-YYC-YVR leg. They advice us of that either we can get a full refund or we need to figure out a return ticket from LAX on our own. I don't understand this because if you wanted to do that, why would you show the LAX-YYC-YVR leg as "confirmed" on the app? I even tried to download the tickets directly via the app and asked an Emirates agent to try the same on the phone, but the downloaded ticket would still show the old itinerary with the WJ flight that no longer exists??

Also,

• There is no mention of any such "stopover" policy anywhere that doesn't allow us to be put on those flights? Our travel agent even contact Emirates (and I did as well) and they wouldnt even reply or share the details of the policy?
• Why would I get a refund for a ticket I paid $3000 CAD for back in April when the ticket prices are now starting at $5600 CAD for their Economy flights for the dates we are travelling??
• When I check their website for return flights to YVR, they are offering code share flights with Air Canada (AC555) for Dec 31

I had to bite the bullet today and paid another $550 CAD to book myself AC555 from LA to YVR because there were only 50 seats left and that was the only good flight left at this point to get me home in time. I am not getting any partial refund or any other favour from Emirates for this inconvenience and at this point I am too scared to "bother" them because i don't want to get my tickets cancelled and lose the money I paid to the resort in Maldives.

However, can anyone share if this is ok or if they have experienced something like this?? Does emirates really have some "stopover" policy that would not let them issue us the updated ticket?
Your insight and time is much appreciated!

This is the part you need to keep in mind

The first part is correct , you can get a full refund if the contract cant be fullfilled , however the second part is not , as you paid a return trip from YVR to MLE , and not end your journey at LAX

Unless consumer laws are different in canada , your travel agent is responsible for such matter , not emirates or westjet , before your journey starts . Afterwards its another story , as the duty switched to the airline(s) .

You should have discussed this case with your travel agent and ask to do the job you paid for , you are not responsible for airlines schedules and codeshares issues

You do not know if that has to do with the terms and conditions under which your ticket was booked , but for me it looks more like a question about prices , they either dont want rebook you on that new LAX-YYC-YVR due to extra costs or these flights on same date are not available anymore

Same story , its all about the money , rebooking a pax on a codeshare flights costs money , money they will have to pay to the other airline , so unless this happen during your journey , usually airlines will try their best to avoid it

You booked in april and now we are in october , less than 2 months from your journey , so a rerouting like this will cost way more , and airline is not happy to get a loss due to external factors

It is just an app ,which get data from an IT systems , so its irrelevant in this case if the airline says its not operated/available anymore . Such issue of communication between two airlines doing codeshares and not being real-tme connected can be the reason why the app shows you incorrect / outdated information


Yes they do have policies regarding stopovers , however unless it impacts the dubai layover i dont see how it can be related (maybe EK experts can answer

"Yes they do have policies regarding stopovers , however unless it impacts the dubai layover i dont see how it can be related (maybe EK experts can answer"

From memory usually if there is a stop over there is usually additional tax to pay so I guess question is do you have the same duration in Dubai? There is also limits on sime tickets for number of stop overs but again unless we know the specifics of the what is supposed to have been breached, its hard to say

EK is obligated to book you on a flight from MLE to YVR if it's their ticket and a flight was cancelled. That can be on their own metal or through one of their partners, like WestJet or United. You are not obligated to pay for a new ticket or accept a refund for a previously-confirmed ticket. This should not be your job to do - it's the reason why you have a travel agent. Your travel agent should know these rules and needs to contact Emirates to rebook you through YVR.