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

robtemt

Active Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2016
Posts
586
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.
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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.
 
With the self isolation, it’s going to be difficult if not impossible with fifo workers who commute overseas. My husband and I are residential in PNG but have many friends who do fly in, fly out. If they continue to work they will have to isolate for their whole break. Another friend commutes back and forth to Canada via Aus, so he’s best to stay put in Canada as he just flew there on Saturday morning. I wonder what the fifos who travel around Aus will end up doing as well?
 
Well I'm at the gate in SYD on TG, an AQIS guy is wandering through distributing brochures, and the doors are still shut. We are all packed in standing downstairs, which defeats the purpose of isolation. Everyone saying this is seriously dumb.
 
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I was scheduled for a LHR-OSL-LHR-EWR-ORD-MSP-ORD-DTW-DCA-BOS-DCA-CVG......and more, as yet unbooked starting next weekend.

I am now pretty much trapped in Blighty.

Please be careful in the UK they are not doing as much in terms of containment / flattening the curve / prevention.
 
Off the plane now, not many people, but loooooong queue for immigration. No smart gates, all manual processing.
 
Off the plane now, not many people, but loooooong queue for immigration. No smart gates, all manual processing.
That sounds sensible if they are serious about checking for any travellers from most affected places (eg returning from Italy). But someone should be spreading out the lines....
 
Decided to start winding back our May Sth Africa trip, as Sth Africa declared "State of Disaster" overnight. Was going to wait a couple of weeks/after the rush but noticed one lodge has a 15mth postponement offer on their webpage so thats where Im starting. This is the first trip Ive not purchased cancellation Insurance so big lesson there but in my head, Ive already lost money so its time to just let it go.

Flights are SQ reward seats so hopefully easy to cancel and then find similar flights next year.
 
I thought Qatar had a generous policy, was your flight booked too early for that to apply?
Yep. Months ago.
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Well I'm at the gate in SYD on TG, an AQIS guy is wandering through distributing brochures, and the doors are still shut. We are all packed in standing downstairs, which defeats the purpose of isolation. Everyone saying this is seriously dumb.
Less than 500 people.
 
That sounds sensible if they are serious about checking for any travellers from most affected places (eg returning from Italy). But someone should be spreading out the lines....
No they are serious about the self quarantine warnings. Anyone wants to change to an earlier flight, QF domestic transfer desk is accommodating them. Fancying lounge time I asked for later flight. Nope. Makes sense to get people home ASAP
 
Less than 500 people.
If it was 100 people compulsorily corralled together it is still dumb. But turned out to be brief, so low risk.

It was all to warn us we had to sign an acknowledgement of self quarantine. By the time we got to desk, that idea had been abandoned.
 
There are rumours that BA and IB will be suspending operations from Tuesday, with an announcement to markets on Monday morning UK time.

Not sure I believe them totally, but a suspension of long-haul international operations I could certainly believe along with heavy reductions in European and domestic.

I relish challenges in my professional life, but boy I am glad I am not in charge of an airline.
 
A friend, wife and 2 children, had a holiday booked from NZ to Europe going to Italy, France and Germany. This was two weeks ago just at the point of when airlines started getting nice about refunds. Car lease and hotels also booked. One day he was faced with the possibility of losing all fees, then the airline, Air NZ, offered refund or credit voucher. He too the refund. All in he lost $800 and was well pleased.
 
Glad I waited to pull the pin on my QF BNE-LAX-BNE, one Saver, one Sale Economy fare, dep 23/3.

I purchased in Oct 2019, so if I understand correctly, I can cancel, accept a voucher for full value paid, then use the voucher to make a new booking 'change-fee free' up to Oct 2020, plus pay any fare difference.

But my question is - am I able to book flights with this voucher in, say Sept, that depart in, say July 2021? Anyone with knowledge of credit voucher rules know the answer?
 
I'm up to 4 cancelled trips now, expecting a 4th scheduled for June to get canned as well. Going with the flow.....
 
I now have a $4000 travel credit with Qantas - hopefully they will be around in 6 to 8 months for me to redeem it!:rolleyes:
I have to say I feel incredibly sorry for the crews on these diminishing services, as well as their call center staff, no matter where they are.
Just another positive for using a TA (QFlyer) to do the leg work.
 

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