chuck1

TP already made a change where I had a forced overnight with a ticket I bought back in January for a round-trip ORD-NAP / MRS-ORD.
They have now cancelled service to NAP period. My travel is in September. I'm still hoping to go but who knows.

Will they put me on another airline?
I suspect cancelling this far in advance only obligates them to refund my money?
Is that correct?

I paid $861.45 for these round-trip tickets and the fares on other carriers are at least $400 more per person.
As a US citizen I'm not too familiar with my rights flying on an EU carrier. Again, I recall reading somewhere that a carrier can change this far out and only offer a refund. Is that correct?

Thanks for any assistance.

36902BRF

I would seek a cash refund because they have cancelled your flight. They'll likely push a voucher on you but I'd push for cash and if that fails to a credit card chargeback. Under EU/US law you are entitled to a cash refund. Read the refund thread here for more details on dealing with TAP.

Often1

1. You may ask for a reroute on other carriers, but should understand that the likelihood of that happening is slim to none. Nonetheless, if you choose to do this, you should do the research in advance and have proposals ready for the agent when you call.
2. Presuming that #1 is a no, you are entitled to a refund to your original form of payment under both US and EU law. A voucher will be pushed hard and you may be refused a refund multiple times. Just be insistent. If you cannot obtain a commitment for one, send a note, wait 7 days (the time period required under both legal schemes) and then initiate a chargeback with your credit card issuer (bank). You should be prepared to make this easy for the card issuer by supplying a copy of your e-ticket receipt, the cancellation notice, your request for a refund and either the denial of a refund or a note from you that no response has been received.
3. You may then purchase what you want. I realize that it will be more expensive and hope that your travel insurance is of the type which will cover this. If not, it is a loss you eat.

Finally, do understand that this may all happen again. Your travel is not until September and in this environment, you may not want to purchase until August when September schedules are more fixed.

36902BRF

This is a good point there were news reports earlier this week that Spain was considering not opening up to travel until Q4 2020 and Italy until Q2 2021 and those of us in the US may be more limited in where we can go for longer given how hard we have been hit. I am making speculative bookings for Q4 and beyond internationally but only on points and then only those with low taxes/surcharges so I can easily cancel and I am not putting much money at risk if/when one or more carriers fail. I honestly expect to have to cancel some/most.

Often1

While US-based credit cards provide absolute protection if the merchant vendor, e.g. carrier is insolvent and not operating, if one does book, make certain that you look at rebooking policies.

If a carrier cancels, you are due a refund.

But, if it does not cancel, we have come to expect flexibility under special Covid-19 waiver policies. However, those may well change over time as Covid-19 is hardly a surprise.

chuck1

Thanks to all for this great advice.