jmail1

I can confirm I am only transiting as well and had no issues with JAL, they simply needed to get a response from their rate desk on what the refund would be.

dvs7310

I attempted today to get them to cancel a partial itinerary, leaving other portions in tact. They wouldn't do it, so not as flexible as the waivers by the US carriers who are allowing changing to other cities. Still waiting on a call back from Expedia Japan to try again, they are on a 4 hour call back time now and are completely senseless, called me back from yesterday at 4am and didn't attempt again during business hours. LOL

JALPak

Why are you wasting people's time? The waiver clearly states you can only either refund or change the departure dates. Please be considerate as there are actually eligible people trying to reach JAL or even expedia to request the refund/change.

dvs7310

When I was a UA 1K, I had them bend over backwards quite a few times and made changes well outside the fare rules to a reservation due to exceptional circumstances. Including once allowing a change to my departure entirely from HKG to NRT due to a typhoon. I hardly think asking JL for an exception and cancel GMP-HND on an itinerary is so far fetched as to not even try. When I booked there was no virus scare outside of China and it wasn't even that big in Wuhan at the time. A month later and we're in a very different environment and other airlines certainly are allowing customers to change their city... so again, one can only ask.

CPH-Flyer

So, you have a GMP-HND-XXX ticket that you want them to change to a HND-XXX ticket? I can see why they would not just do that, as the fare structures from Japan are significantly higher than they are from Korea. I am sure they will be happy to reprice the ticket to HND-XXX alone. Though there will probably be no refund due, but rather an uplift to be paid.

dvs7310

Agree, generally I wouldn't expect it either, and of course am well aware that ex-TYO is much more expensive than ex-SEL. I was hoping that the CONVID19 waiver was enough to get them to do it anyway, and if it had been AA, DL, or UA issuing the ticket, it wouldn't have been an issue, their waivers are a lot more flexible it seems. In a somewhat similar circumstance I had UA agree to change HKG-EWR-DEN to NRT-DEN during a typhoon in HKG and similarly HKG-DEN was many hundreds of dollars cheaper than NRT-DEN, usually once UA issues a travel waiver, all rules go out the window. I've not been over on AA/OneWorld long enough yet to have experienced much.

CPH-Flyer

For JAL ex Korea often cuts about 1/3 of the ticket price. Try convincing BA to cut the first leg of an ex EU fare and start in London rather than at the original starting point. Both JAL from Korea and BA ex EU fares are options that a lot of people use to circumvent the pricing structures, and fly cheaper. I guess UA sees a lot less of that from Hong Kong as an alternative to from Tokyo, and therefore would be far more lenient.

JALPak

Further flight cuts just announced. This time the focus is on Taiwan and Korea networks.

https://press.jal.co.jp/en/release/202003/005521.html

JALPak

JAL announces domestic flight reduction

https://press.jal.co.jp/en/release/202003/005522.html

dvs7310

You're right, the ticket I'm on was about $600 less from Seoul than Tokyo, so a very good use of 15k DL miles (for business class on KE shockingly) to hop the 2 hours over. However that was all before COVID19 was a thing. Funnily enough, this morning at Haneda I went to JAL to try to get checked in for the GMP-HND flight so I could just use international transit at GMP (online check in is currently blocked for flights from Korea), they were perfectly happy just to cancel the segment for me if I wanted. Unfortunately at that point I was tied to the KE ticket since I just had it reissued yesterday (due to KE cancellation of my original flight) and couldn't use the cancellation waiver on it anymore.

This airport (GMP) and the KE lounge that JL uses is a ghost town and there are loads of planes from all the Korean carriers being stored on the tarmac. I didn't even know JinAir had widebody planes until today and I've certainly never been the only passenger in a lounge before. lol. Sadly KE has down-gauged all of their Tokyo flights to a 737-900 and the business class royally sucks. It's the same regional recliner seats from 15 years ago when I used to fly KE intra-Asia a lot. Same lack of IFE, in-seat power, and wifi too. Don't really recommend using the JL codeshares on these flights until they resume 777 service.

CPH-Flyer

Some of the airport agents have incredible leeway. But it is difficult to plan based on meeting the right person at the counter.

I would imagine that GMP would be very very quiet. Isn't the KE lounge landside? Or have they finally built one on the other side?

bakaneko85

Just Pm’ed you as I am in similar situation

dvs7310

Airside now, not sure before. Was my first time at GMP, I've always used ICN befofe. Both OZ and KE lounges at gate 43 area if I remember correctly and JL departed from 47 or 48 which is less than a 5 min walk. They actually boarded early and were completely done at the posted boarding time, told me I was the last on board. Flight maybe 10-15% full, pretty shocking. I haven't seen planes like that since SARS when I was regularly flying to HKG.

Ballantines 17 in the lounge which is pretty darn good for a business lounge. Was actually quite impressed with the KE side aside from the ghetto biz plane they subbed in due to reduced demand.

CPH-Flyer

​​​​​That sounds like a massive upgrade of what used to be a rather dreadful lounge from KE.

jmail1

The million dollar question for me is how countries who are starting to restrict Japan as a destination are treating transit. Most Chinese restrictions (and some Korean) include transit passengers on the list. My destination is Indonesia but will be transiting Narita in both directions for a few hours.