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Disaster - missed flight. Any suggestions?
I was meant to be flying from CPH-SYD via DOH last night. Biz class flight (R class so restricted). Despite allowing 6+ hours for the connection from London (and figuring in that if I missed 1 flight I could get 2 others and still get there) I hadn’t figured on a squeaky nose wheel which meant we got out to the taxi way then returned to stand. They got the engineers in, lubricated the wheel and we tried again. Unfortunately it was still sqeaky so the pilot said we weren’t flying. This however took a lot of time (5 hours) which meant we had missed the check in time at CPH so decided not to bother getting on to the new flight when it eventually left (5 1/2 hours late). So i tried to persuade Qatar in London to let me buy a single to DOH to pick up the rest of the flight but as expected they cancelled the flight as I was a no show ( well there were 3 of us). So now I have a non refundable non changeable ticket. I thought that this would be covered by my travel insurance which is meant to cover missing an international departure in this scenario but also as expected on contacting the insurance company they have declined it ( I will appeal). Any suggestions? Do I just absorb the loss? I don’t need to be told I should have gone the day before- I already accept that but have flown via CPH more than 5 times now and never had this issue. I know I’ll get the tax back but I think that’s all. |
Could you not pay the no show fee and whatever the cost is to upgrade to a flexble ticket and travel anyway on a later date? They've done that for me before.
Otherwise if you don't want to travel now I think you've lost your money. |
Originally Posted by Weez
(Post 30918361)
So now I have a non refundable non changeable ticket. I thought that this would be covered by my travel insurance which is meant to cover missing an international departure in this scenario but also as expected on contacting the insurance company they have declined it ( I will appeal). I have travel insurance and in a circumstance like that described (although I would have headed to CPH on the delayed flight) I would think I would be covered and I would expect my claim to be accepted not declined. Did you have any basis for thinking you would be covered ie what does your policy actually say in case of missed connections due to travel delay? |
Originally Posted by 3544quebec
(Post 30919175)
I don't quite understand the travel insurance angle - if you thought it would be covered why did you expect it to be declined by the insurance company?
I have travel insurance and in a circumstance like that described (although I would have headed to CPH on the delayed flight) I would think I would be covered and I would expect my claim to be accepted not declined. Did you have any basis for thinking you would be covered ie what does your policy actually say in case of missed connections due to travel delay? |
The insurance policy says even if the missed connection is a different booking it should be covered. The insurance company says that since we didn’t get stranded in Copenhagen it’s not covered, but the underwriters will consider it. I expected it to be declined because that’s just my experience with travel insurers - they always say no initially! |
Originally Posted by Johnnieboy
(Post 30919069)
Could you not pay the no show fee and whatever the cost is to upgrade to a flexble ticket and travel anyway on a later date? They've done that for me before.
Otherwise if you don't want to travel now I think you've lost your money. |
I feel very sorry for you and wish you best of luck with any possible claims. I wonder why an insurance that supposedly covers missed connections wouldn't apply in this case, since connections on the same ticket are covered by the airline anyway. You should get some compensation from BA, but that will only cover a fraction of your losses. Some years ago this would have been covered by oneworld's connecting flight guarantee. A real shame that they cancelled that benefit. |
Originally Posted by Weez
(Post 30919613)
The insurance policy says even if the missed connection is a different booking it should be covered. The insurance company says that since we didn’t get stranded in Copenhagen it’s not covered, but the underwriters will consider it. I expected it to be declined because that’s just my experience with travel insurers - they always say no initially! If I understand the situation correctly, that means you are still in LON? All travel insurance companies & policies have different variations when it comes to T&C and compensation. In this case, since the ins. co. said that you didn't get stranded in CPH, I assume that there will be no payout from that but most definitely do try to appeal. However, you were stranded in LON so you should be able to claim that from them + perhaps BA? It won't amount to the £2,000 that you spent on the tickets unless you have a very comprehensive policy with high payouts (and high premiums - I don't) I'm not an expert in travel ins. but from my own experiences : I've not had any major claims for missed long haul flights but I did claim for medical treatment, one missed short flight from BKK & missed luggage several times. Fortunately, I have not had any issues with the claims after I submitted all the documentation that they asked for. My ins. company has been good to me. Perhaps then it is time to review your travel ins. co. for future travels if they are unwilling to help or make compensation in this instance. Good luck and I hope your find a solution very soon. p/s I have a similar trip to USA next month which requires me to position to CMB & I have put in a 5-6 hour transit in CMB just to be safe - this is a sobering lesson for all travelers who position to other cities to partake in the QR promo fares (I am not looking fwd to spending that much time in CMB though :cool:) |
Originally Posted by Johnnieboy
(Post 30919069)
Could you not pay the no show fee and whatever the cost is to upgrade to a flexble ticket and travel anyway on a later date? They've done that for me before.
Otherwise if you don't want to travel now I think you've lost your money. This sounds like the best option! Or try rerouting the original flight from London ? |
Thanks all. I have a very comprehensive insurance policy that has a limit for £5000 for missed international connections. The initial decline has been reconsidered but they say their limit will be £1000 which would be better than nothing. Regarding paying no show and then rescheduling flights either from CPH or LHR that is possible with QR but they want £1000 for no show fee then £7000 to rebook flights for this weekend. All other biz class tickets are about the same from London and although I could get slightly cheaper from Europe not sure I can cope with that this weekend! i’ve managed to get award travel with Avios for WTP tomorrow which is better than nothing and missing all of my trip instead of just 3 days. |
Purely out of interest, may we know where to find an insurance company that will even consider covering this? I have been looking for one and thus far been unsuccessful |
Originally Posted by nancypants
(Post 30920056)
Purely out of interest, may we know where to find an insurance company that will even consider covering this? I have been looking for one and thus far been unsuccessful Missed international departure (outbound or return journey) We will pay up to the policy limits shown in your policy schedule to cover reasonable expenses for additional accommodation and travel if you fail to arrive at your point of international departure (or departure point of any pre-booked connecting public transport abroad),in time to board your pre-booked aircraft, ship or train as a result of: y failure or delays to scheduled public transport (excluding taxis) in which you are travelling, including a connecting scheduled flight running late where it does not form part of a through booking y an accident or breakdown of the vehicle in which you were travelling y an accident or breakdown happening ahead of you on a motorway or dual carriageway which causes an unexpected delay y strike, industrial action or adverse weather conditions |
Originally Posted by nancypants
(Post 30920056)
Purely out of interest, may we know where to find an insurance company that will even consider covering this? I have been looking for one and thus far been unsuccessful |
If you've done it 5 times, presumably you've saved over having just bought LHR-SYD in the first place. This is simply the cost of doing it with two bookings. I am surprised your travel insurance does not cover it though.
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Originally Posted by Weez
(Post 30919618)
yes in theory - no show fee is £1000 and the rebook fee was £7500 so that wasn’t really do able. The initial ticket was £2000! QR does not restrict the fares one can change to (unlike many other airlines) so you can just end up paying USD 1K for changing this ticket to something useful (rerouting is permitted). This change must be done within ticket validity (which is normally one year from the purchase date in this case regardless of the max stay restriction). Very sad and teaching story! |
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