Have you had to change/cancel travel due to COVID-19 (involuntarily or voluntarily)?

[robtemt]

I thought I would start a thread as a resource for AFFers who have changed or cancelled travel plans directly or indirectly due to 2019 n-CoV.

• Did the airline/cruise company cancelling or change your flight/cruise? Or, did you proactively or reactively cancel or change it on your own (and why?).
• Did they notify you directly, or did you discover it on your own?
• What was your original plan, and what was the revised plan?
• What was your experience like?
• Did you go through any travel insurance claim process, and how was that part of it?

For the record, part of my role at work is to monitor medical related issues, filter out mis/disinformation, and brief other staff using only verified facts from trusted sources, so I am not one to buy into sensationalism or hysteria. BUT, I am also an advocate of forward planning and monitoring situations that could affect travel plans.

Post automatically merged: Feb 10, 2020

To start it off…. We have begun voluntarily changing (or making back up plans for) our upcoming holiday SYD-(+/- SIN)-LAX-SJO-LAX-HNL-LNY-HNL-SYD

We are booked to the USA via SIN on SQ in a few weeks (F Saver Reward Booking). A few things caused us to start making contingency plans on getting to the USA including:

• Reading posts from Buttermilk Chicken regarding her RTW flight being disrupted between HKK and CEB
• Member Pushka raising a good point if Singapore will be next.
• Monitoring the World Health Organisations surveillance on n-CoV (as part of my responsibilities at work). Singapore confirmed infections were 28 on 5 Feb, 40 on 8 Feb, and 43 on 9 Feb. Several of these cases were human-to-human contact, with no recent travel to China.
• Bloomberg’s article this morning HERE, which discussed the spread of the virus from a conference attendee in Singapore, via a resort in France, to people in France, Spain, and the UK.

We contacted SQ, to discuss the options of alternative carriers, to which there were no available flights. The agent was very friendly, and said she understood the desire to rebook and avoid an Asia transit, but she said until official bans are in place, there were no options, but “we will offer options if Singapore becomes affected by travel bans”.

We began searching other options. We contacted VFF, who found one seat on DL SYD-LAX in W, and one seat on VA in J SYD-BNE-LAX. No other business or premium reward seats (except any seat) were available +/- 1 day of our desired travel (with pre-booked hotels, cars, and other flights to South America, and Hawaii). We will keep looking for another J seat on same day, and hopefully two on the same flight to free up closer to the date.

We have left our SQ bookings as is for now, and will cancel either that booking of the DL/VA booking closer to the date as thing develop.

Overall Experience:

• Wait times on the phone are obviously a bit longer, but I’ve not been on hold longer than 15 minutes with either VA or SQ.
• Staff at both SQ and VA call centres have been friendly, empathetic, and helpful in searching, but have no/limited availability and flexibility in voluntary changes so far.

 

[jakeseven7]

With lots of "restrictions" on air travel I do wonder if we will see this sort of outcome as people take to their vehicles to move over longer distances ....

More traffic deaths in wake of 9/11

The fear of terrorist attacks can alter our everyday behaviour and result in more fatal traffic accidents, according to new research.

www.sciencedaily.com

In Australia, no way.

 

[Oubline]

I think that taken all together it’s pretty unequivocal that they will cover coronavirus medical expenses - I think the ‘may’ is to cover themselves since some medical claims they wouldn’t cover for a whole lot of reasons, e.g. pre-existing conditions, non-essential treatments etc. At least that’s my reading of it.

Too many "may" be covered in there for comfort surely? Seems ambiguous too. ☹ Did you buy this > 07 March?

 

[Cappuccino99]

Well my decision has been taken out of my hands. My sick father's aged care home in the UK is refusing visitors from overseas. I'm not going all the way there to say my goodbyes to my dying father if they won't let me in!
The second part of my trip to Israel is also scuppered as they have a 2 week quarantine of foreign visitors which has the potential of being extended!
So upset :-(

 

[m_diggity]

I think that taken all together it’s pretty unequivocal that they will cover coronavirus medical expenses - I think the ‘may’ is to cover themselves since some medical claims they wouldn’t cover for a whole lot of reasons, e.g. pre-existing conditions, non-essential treatments etc. At least that’s my reading of it.

A brave interpretation!!
Whilst it does make sense, the fact that it is now a known event, any policy taken out after 30th Jan 2020 in my opinion will be rejected.
I personally won’t be taking out any extra TI now that it is clearly a known pandemic.

 

[Matt_01]

Well it is official, I just cancelled OW reward mileage bookings in F for a trip ADL-SYD-SIN-HND-LHR-JFK-HND-MEL-ADL planned for next month. It was voluntarily, but under the involuntarily rules. I remembered that the ticket was reissued late last month due to a minor time change and I called QF and stated I had not accepted the changes. No points cancellation were applied.

 

[p--and--t]

Well I've been off line to AFF for only four days and hundreds of messages about Covid-19 in several threads. Taking hours to catch up!

Anyway I will add my tale of woe.

Had three tours overseas (one incorporating a cruise) plus intervening hotel nights and flights organised booked and fully paid to commence early April.

While I was away got an email telling me the middle tour (which incorporated a cruise) has been cancelled and a full refund will be forthcoming in a couple weeks.

Dodged a bullet there because the ship I was booked on, is the one currently in isolation lock down that had 45 cases on board on the Nile - win

Then left with two tours with a gaping 2 week hole in the middle and non-refundable intervening hotel nights.

So in the meantime have organised to move the third tour up a couple weeks to "almost" fill the gap of the missing second tour. Got an agreement after escalating to a manager for no penalty change in dates - win .

Today, thought I'd try my luck with hotels . com and pleaded my case over the non-refundable hotel nights. After some toing and froing and them contacting the hotel while I waited, have managed a full refund - win .

Now trying to sort out four non-refundable non-changeable flights across 3 airlines on two different tickets. Two flights taking me to and from a country I will no longer visit and return flights after the tours that are 2 weeks later than the new itinerary calls for.

Wish me luck to sort the remainder without impost

 

[harvyk]

And that's that, my other conference in London has been cancelled. In the space of a week I went from 2 international trips in the next couple of months to none

 

[dajop]

Not sure if I'm being foolish or not, but on the theme "have you changed/cancel" travel (without the word "had to") this has opened up lots of cheap inventory around Easter. So now looking at 2 returns (SIN-MEL) instead of just one. First is later this month for my niece's 21st (which was always going to happen) and then again 1.5 weeks later at Easter for a few days. The sum of fares for both is only a little more than what I was originally looking at for just trip #1. The question is who to travel on. EK has best schedule outbound for me, but I don't want a 3:25am departure for the return, but conversely that 3:25am departure is more likely to be in "lie flat" economy with good social distancing between other passengers

 

[straitman]

We are now on Carnival Splendor sailing out of Sydney Heads and any thought people may have had about the Virus are all long gone!

People are partying and drinking as normal.

 

[get me outta here]

Just take the 0325 and don't bother going to bed before hand.

Not sure if I'm being foolish or not, but on the theme "have you changed/cancel" travel (without the word "had to") this has opened up lots of cheap inventory around Easter. So now looking at 2 returns (SIN-MEL) instead of just one. First is later this month for my niece's 21st (which was always going to happen) and then again 1.5 weeks later at Easter for a few days. The sum of fares for both is only a little more than what I was originally looking at for just trip #1. The question is who to travel on. EK has best schedule outbound for me, but I don't want a 3:25am departure for the return, but conversely that 3:25am departure is more likely to be in "lie flat" economy with good social distancing between other passengers

 

[LA10]

My QF95 booking in J for end of April has now changed to QF93 is now showing as A380, with I think what appears to be the refurbished layout (1-2-1).

 

[Denali]

We are now on Carnival Splendor sailing out of Sydney Heads and any thought people may have had about the Virus are all long gone!

People are partying and drinking as normal.

So where did you put your toilet paper at home? Asking for a friend

 

[get me outta here]

Have nothing to do with the crew and you should be safe.

We are now on Carnival Splendor sailing out of Sydney Heads and any thought people may have had about the Virus are all long gone!

People are partying and drinking as normal.

 

[ben4444]

I just cancelled a trip back home to Australia (QF: LHR-SIN-MEL, returning EK: MEL-DXB-LHR). It was an economy sale fare.
Qantas was able to offer me a credit voucher for the amount paid and warned me I would have to pay the original change fee (£200) when re-booking. Qantas Credit Vouchers | Qantas

I was content about this, as my flight was booked well before any booking amnesty and I doubt travel insurance would have given me anything.

Hopefully this helps someone who is in similar situation.

 

[dajop]

Just take the 0325 and don't bother going to bed before hand.

Yeh, but I've just remembered I only get 41kg on EK. I can get 60kg on SQ. Given that I'll carry personal effects in hand luggage SQ offers me 19kg more toilet paper I can bring back to sell on the black market

 

[get me outta here]

Empty spaces : Photos: When Everyone Stays Home—Empty Public Spaces During Coronavirus

 

[get me outta here]

Too late, the 'Ndrangheta have that market all tied up now.

Yeh, but I've just remembered I only get 41kg on EK. I can get 60kg on SQ. Given that I'll carry personal effects in hand luggage SQ offers me 19kg more toilet paper I can bring back to sell on the black market

 

[Pushka]

53 year old British woman has died in Bali from Covid. Such a sad outcome to a holiday plan.

Coronavirus: Eighth UK patient dies as WHO labels outbreak a 'pandemic' and laments 'global inaction'

A further two patients have died in the UK after testing positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total to eight.

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Flashback]

Lots of organisations in the UK are now restricting domestic UK travel also, rather than just international. Another hit for the airlines, train companies, etc.

Looks like I will need to cancel my next 6 weeks of booked travel, so given will be remote anyway thinking about which tropical destination I could work from...... Three allows me free data/voice roaming in 71 countries around the world.......

 

[PineappleSkip]

UK firms seem to have been very late into the risk fray. My client firm has only just put in restrictions after UK govt put out an advisory (with an interesting collection of countries, including in Indochina). This is a month after a lot of AUS companies did the same.

Strange that the travel restrictions haven't really kept up with the inbound contagion threat. Just taking a snapshot from the BNO case listing, there are now more active cases in Schengen Europe (17,041) than in China (16.145). And of course in Europe there has been exponential growth in cases (as with the Middle East) while there has been a steady decline in China.

This spread of the international contagion risk reflects the countries from which positive cases are arriving in Australia. The Federal Health Dept's running alert notes the source of imported cases, still the majority

• 15 early cases out of Wuhan
• 10 cases repatriated from Diamond Princess
• 18 cases from Iran
• 39 cases linked to travel from a host of countries including USA, UAE, Europe (UK, Italy, Iceland, Austria, France, Spain), as well as Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan), and left field (Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, Nepal, Egypt). Note that the mention is of travel to those countries, it doesn't say that people picked up the virus in all those countries.

Traveller from Cuba an interesting one. That is the country that sentenced a doctor to eight years jail for "spreading enemy propaganda" in 1997. His crime was reporting a large outbreak of Dengue.

Cheers skip