kyleay

Hi All,
Curious what you all think about this. We have a resort stay scheduled in Punta Cana 6/9 - 6/16. I was surprised that Southwest canceled our flights already (no points credited yet). AA and Delta still have availability, and I have points with both (but would have to pay the $120 taxes x2). Should we book with one of those two? Which one is more likely to actually fly?

And if their flights are canceled, I assume we'd get the points and taxes back? But what if the resort is closed then? Would the airlines still refund the points and taxes then?

Side note - rescheduling the resort stay isn't really an option (at least not yet) as we have a month-long trip to Africa starting June 23rd. Although I'm not sure that's very likely to happen either... But I can't reschedule then unless that trip actually gets canceled. Thanks,
--Kyle

arollins

No one knows which routes are carriers going to be flying on June. This is still a very fluid situations and things are changing day by day. My suggestion is for you to look at which carrier has more options to get you to your destination, in case your preferred routing is canceled, there is a B or C option as well. Currently, AA has the best change/cancelation options.

NoStressHere

Hard to say, but I am thinking INTL travel will still be tight then. I can not imagine heading to Africa in June right now. Who knows for sure?

As to resort being closed and airline flights - the airline could care less about the resort being closed. If all travel is closed, that is different.

kyleay

Yeah, I'm certainly worried about getting to make it to Africa. Haven't given up hope though - that's still a long ways away...

I agree that the airline may not care about the resort closing, BUT it's hard to imagine a scenario where the resort would be closed and flights are still flying (I think if people can get there, the resort would stay open?)... Thanks,
--Kyle

aaronp84

To be honest, Africa is behind the rest of the world in having the virus catch on, and is likely to happen soon. When it does happen, it will be a full-blown disaster. I would not expect things to be settled there by the end of June.

kyleay

Yeah, that's my worry too. I guess I just have to wait and see. If flights get canceled, hopefully I'll get a refund. Definitely won't be able to use credits! I have an Airlink flight and Air Namibia flight (both with cash), along with the main flight through United Airlines using 160k miles (using Ethiopian Airlines for the flights to Africa and Egyptair for the flights back to the US)...
--Kyle

NextTrip

Maybe it would be a good idea to contact your travel insurance company and weigh options.

Raymoland

I don't think there will be much travel this summer so my guess is neither of your trips will happen. We are in a similar boat. My parents live in Ireland, we usually spend all of July there. Flights were booked a long time ago and not cancelled yet but it's just a matter of time. We are not spending any additional money on travel bookings until things stabilize. My guess is quarantine restrictions for travelers will still be in place in most cases for the next year or two which will make international travel difficult or impossible.

What does the DR resort say? Are they willing to let you out of the booking? If so, take the refund. If not, wait and see. If flights are going they will not be busy. I am a commercial pilot, right now most flights have between 0 and 5 passengers. They exist mainly to move other crewmembers around. I don't think things will change much by June.

kyleay

Ugh, that's a pretty bleak outlook! Right now I think Dominican is more likely than Africa (even though it's later) for us. While most of the US is locked down now, I wouldn't be surprised if domestic flights start opening up somewhat around mid-May (assuming we've "flattened the curve" as it appears), and flights within the Americas in June. But I don't see those odds as any better than 50/50. Cheers,
--Kyle

NextTrip

Even if there are flights in June, that doesn't mean it would be particularly prudent to travel. There are coast-to-coast flights right now.

I say this with a summer Scandinavian trip booked and paid for nearly a year in advance that I plan to cancel. There are tons of us out here in the same boat.