Travel insurance for missed connection flight

[meow]

Hello..to start..I am not even sure if this kind of insurance existed..so please bare with me..

I have booked return flights via Tigerairways from Adelaide to Melbourne. On the trip from Ade to Melbourne, I should be arriving Melbourne at 6: 30pm and I would catch a flight 6 hours later from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur via Airasia.

I heard that a recent flight from Adelaide to Melbourne was delayed by 12 hours and the only reimbursement that was give was a Cibo $8 voucher! I certainly do not want to miss my flight from Melbourne to KL and have to pay for another flight again!

Is there a travel insurance that actually covers my loss of missing a connecting flight..and reimburse the extra cost I need to pay re-booking a new flight from melb to KL?

If not, what can I do about this??? I'm feeling so insecure..:-|


I've sent email to travel insurance found in Tigeraiway website regarding this and the followings are the replies:

- Connecting a Domestic to an International flight is usually insured under your over all International insurance policy not an embedded Domestic policy.



- The email sent previously was not a recommendation to take out the “The Tiger Purrtection International” policy as you are correct it would not suit your trip it was to indicate that the “The Tiger Purrtection Domestic” policy would not meet you stated needs either, however if you had a International insurance policy it may cover you for your stated situation.



So it seems that both domestic and international insurance policy that they provided are pretty useless for me???!!

please help~



Thanks in advance for the patience.

 

[serfty]

Not many travel insurance companies provide cover for missed connection when flights are on separate itineraries.

 

[meow]

Not many travel insurance companies provide cover for missed connection when flights are on separate itineraries.

yes indeed. i thought 6 hours gap between 2 flights should be enough..but I'm still a little worried.

 

[Sprucegoose]

yes indeed. i thought 6 hours gap between 2 flights should be enough..but I'm still a little worried.

How flexible is your AirAsia ticket?
Have you linked the bookings in the AA system? Or at least noted where you will be coming from?

Is there another Tiger flight after the one you are booked on?

If you are worried what is the cost to upgrade to a decent airline such as QF?

Tiger you get what you pay for.

SPRUCE

 

[meow]

How flexible is your AirAsia ticket?
Have you linked the bookings in the AA system? Or at least noted where you will be coming from?

Is there another Tiger flight after the one you are booked on?

If you are worried what is the cost to upgrade to a decent airline such as QF?

Tiger you get what you pay for.

SPRUCE

Hi Spruce,

Thanks for the reply.
I do not understand what you mean by "how flexible" is my Airasia ticket. I do not think I could change my flight with no extra charge if I missed the flight (if this is what you're saying). I do not realize that you can actually Link the booking in AA system..since they are different airlines..I didn't see any buttons or links in AA's website that allows me to do so. If you do know, please give me a guidance?

Again, I've already paid for my Tigerairways tickets for $104 including tax baggage and everything..If I've known that tigerairways might be that scary..I would have book a flight from Qantas.

There's 2 virgin Blue and 3 qantas flights after the one I booked. But there's none from Tiger. My flight is at 5.05pm from Adelaide. Please see below.


5:05 pm
Tiger $28
5:30 pm
Qantas $215
5:35 pm
VirginBlue $55
6:05 pm
Qantas $195
6:50 pm
Qantas $271
7:05 pm
VirginBlue $55
7:40 pm
Qantas $125

and my AA flight is at midnight 12 30am.

God! what should I do!! Am I being paranoic?

 

[munitalP]

I think you are being slightly paranoid (and so would I flying Tiger airlines), but I would take the approach of "wait and see".

If the flight looks delayed a couple of hours before time of departure, consider just wandering up to the Qantas or Virgin desks and buying another over the counter. You will have to do this anyway even with insurance if you want to catch the Air Asia flight (assuming Tiger is extremely late or not flying!).

My PA frequently buys me flights 2 or 3 hours out from flying time and seldom do we get hit with full Y class fares.

Good luck, relax and worry about it on the day of travel!

munitalP

 

[MelUser]

(1) You need to calm down.

(2) Everything will work - 6 hours is fine for a connection.

(3) When you arrive into Melbourne, collect your bags and walk from the Tiger Terminal (Low Cost Carrier building) to the international terminal and recheck for your next flight.

(4) As everything is ticketed there isn't much you can do - worrying about it won't help.

(5) In future, doesn't Malaysian airlines have direct flights between Adelaide and KL. Whilst this may cost more, a direct flight is quicker and if it makes you less panicy and paranoid then choose this option. BUT, do not worry about this trip.

(6) Please report back to us after your trip as to how it all went.

 

[serfty]

As others have posted, you are worrying a little too much.

Perhaps, if you want to have a back up, then "Self Insure" by booking one of the later Virgin Blue flights as well.

If the Tiger flight is on time, simply throw away your Virgin Blue tickets. (Indeed, this is termed in the travel industry "Throw Away Ticketing").

 

[JetLagged]

I have booked return flights via Tigerairways from Adelaide to Melbourne.

Where all your worries and concerns stem from!

But I agree with others, best insurance is to relax. If your Tiger flight is on time or only an hour or so late, you have plenty of timer. If it is going to be much later, another cheap ticket on another airline will get you to Melbourne in time for your AirAsia flight.

Relax, and look forward to your trip!

 

[k_sheep]

Not many travel insurance companies provide cover for missed connection when flights are on separate itineraries.

Zurich, through westpac altitude gold does. I flew DJ to Syd for a JQ international connection, missed it, and they paid for my change fee with JQ, hotel in syd, food in syd, non refundable hotels at my international destination which I didn't make it to.

 

[KateMayo]

Zurich, through westpac altitude gold does. I flew DJ to Syd for a JQ international connection, missed it, and they paid for my change fee with JQ, hotel in syd, food in syd, non refundable hotels at my international destination which I didn't make it to.

I rang Zurich last year to check whether a missed connection would be covered by their travel insurance policy (provided courtesy of my Westpac Earth Platinum). I was told it would be covered under the “special event” section.

This is their definition under the terms and conditions:

“special event” means a wedding, funeral, pre-paid conference, pre-paid sporting event or pre-paid concert, or other event which does not ordinarily occur on a regular basis which before you left Australia you had planned to attend. We reserve the right to determine if any other event other than those listed above qualifies as a special event.

Fortunately, I have not had to test this out yet, though!

 

[dajop]

I rang Zurich last year to check whether a missed connection would be covered by their travel insurance policy (provided courtesy of my Westpac Earth Platinum). I was told it would be covered under the “special event” section.

Yes all very good and well, but many policies have exclusions if the delay was the fault of the carrier, so aircraft going unservicable, rescheduling, crewing shortages, flight cancellation etc may not be covered, whereas weather related delays almost certainly are.

But I'm with others, 6 hours seems a reasonable connection time, if I was conservative/worried a back up plan of buying one of those $55 virgin fares maybe a good alternative.

 

[meow]

Thank you everyone~~ I knew I might be a little paranoiac~~

I'll take everyone's advice and just relax and hope for the best ..enjoy my trip~~ thanks everyone~ much appreciated~

 

[Saab34]

You will be fine. With Adelaide Curfew's etc in mind, Tiger will get you to Melbourne before 11pm. If the 1705 flight is cancelled, a ADL based A320 will be used at around 9pm to go to Melbourne.

 

[Sprucegoose]

hi spruce,

thanks for the reply.
I do not understand what you mean by "how flexible" is my airasia ticket. I do not think i could change my flight with no extra charge if i missed the flight (if this is what you're saying). yes it is, that is the main risk. But you get a cheaper ticket

i do not realize that you can actually link the booking in aa system..since they are different airlines..i didn't see any buttons or links in aa's website that allows me to do so. If you do know, please give me a guidance?

i used to put a message in bookings where i was coming off another airline, ie connecting from tg128 - in case they are wondering where you are - does work occassionally.

again, i've already paid for my tigerairways tickets for $104 including tax baggage and everything..if i've known that tigerairways might be that scary..i would have book a flight from qantas.

there is no other tiger flights that day - You are boxed in. Virgin would have been the best bet.

there's 2 virgin blue and 3 qantas flights after the one i booked. But there's none from tiger. My flight is at 5.05pm from adelaide. Please see below.


5:05 pm
tiger $28
5:30 pm
qantas $215
5:35 pm
virginblue $55
6:05 pm
qantas $195
6:50 pm
qantas $271
7:05 pm
virginblue $55
7:40 pm
qantas $125

and my aa flight is at midnight 12 30am. You could almost drive!!!!!!

God! What should i do!! Am i being paranoic?

your tiger is non-refundable i take it. Your call, how important is the onward connection to you?

I am sure you'll right, any stuff up go to virgin to see what they want for a ticket

hope it all works out.

Cheers

spruce

 

[mikegl404]

Unfortunately it didn't work for me.
I had identical situation. I have booked flight from Melbourne to KL by AirAsia, and I need to buy a flight from Adelaide to get to Melbourne before this flight.
I decided, instead of Tigers, to buy, as I thought, "more reliable" airline Virgin Blue, and I had 5 hours between the flights in melbourne. Also just in case i bought comprehancive insurance from Travel Insurance Direct (TID).
And virgin Blue have canceled their flight (air craft technical problem), and i missed my connecting flight from MEL to KL. TID refused to compensate alternative tickets, [FONT=&quot]there is an exclusion written somewhere that they don’t compensate if it happens due to an airplane technical problem. I've paid for a new tickets for my family myself.
I will find a better insurance next time.
[/FONT]

 

[NM]

Unfortunately it didn't work for me.

mikegl404,

Welcome to AFF. Sorry to read about your plight. Unfortunately its all too common, trying to do the right thing with travel insurance and then finding out you are not covered for one of the main risks you wanted covered.

When it comes to missed connections, travel insurance is normally very particular as to what circumstances will constitute a covered event and what costs will be covered. Its quite common for travel insurance not to cover when the event is caused by an airline mechanical fault since they expect the airline to be responsible for covering the costs incurred by the delay. This is the big risk when purchasing separate tickets as the airlines are absolved of any responsibility for the missed connection and travel insurance often will not cover as they say its the airline's fault. So as you found out, you are left on your own, which is most annoying since you took out the insurance policy thinking you would be covered.

Those who frequent forums like AFF, those who read the PDS in its absolute details, and those who have been caught out before know such circumstances are not covered by most travel insurance policies. But that does not help the large number of people who take out the policy in good faith expecting they will be covered when things go pear-shaped. I am sorry you learned about this the hard way . But I hope it does not put you off travelling and enjoying the experiences that come with visiting new and exciting places.

 

[RB]

mikegl404,

Welcome to AFF. Sorry to read about your plight. Unfortunately its all too common, trying to do the right thing with travel insurance and then finding out you are not covered for one of the main risks you wanted covered.

When it comes to missed connections, travel insurance is normally very particular as to what circumstances will constitute a covered event and what costs will be covered. Its quite common for travel insurance not to cover when the event is caused by an airline mechanical fault since they expect the airline to be responsible for covering the costs incurred by the delay. This is the big risk when purchasing separate tickets as the airlines are absolved of any responsibility for the missed connection and travel insurance often will not cover as they say its the airline's fault. So as you found out, you are left on your own, which is most annoying since you took out the insurance policy thinking you would be covered.

Those who frequent forums like AFF, those who read the PDS in its absolute details, and those who have been caught out before know such circumstances are not covered by most travel insurance policies. But that does not help the large number of people who take out the policy in good faith expecting they will be covered when things go pear-shaped. I am sorry you learned about this the hard way . But I hope it does not put you off travelling and enjoying the experiences that come with visiting new and exciting places.

Congrats on this post NM. I would rank it as the most sensible comment I have read in my time here. I appreciate your time & experience on the forum.

 

[dfcatch]

I rang Zurich last year to check whether a missed connection would be covered by their travel insurance policy (provided courtesy of my Westpac Earth Platinum). I was told it would be covered under the “special event” section.

This is their definition under the terms and conditions:

Fortunately, I have not had to test this out yet, though!

This is the key point:

- IF they cover you, then they will only cover the connection costs if it is for a Specified Special Event. (Which is quite limited in it's definition).

- They probably won't cover you at all for airline operational issues.

- If covered, but not a Special Event, then they will only cover food/accommodation and NOT actual connection costs. (in other words they will cover the incidentals of the delay).

 

[straitman]

This is the key point:

- IF they cover you, then they will only cover the connection costs if it is for a Specified Special Event. (Which is quite limited in it's definition).

- They probably won't cover you at all for airline operational issues.

- If covered, but not a Special Event, then they will only cover food/accommodation and NOT actual connection costs. (in other words they will cover the incidentals of the delay).

The T & C of the Amex Platinum Charge Card insurance state:

Delayed flight departure, flight cancellation, or denied aircraft boarding.
If departure of your Scheduled Flight is delayed for four (4) hours or more, cancelled, or you are denied boarding of the aircraft due to over-booking, and no alternative transportation is made available to you within four (4) hours of the scheduled departure time of such flight, we will reimburse you for hotel accommodation and restaurant meals or refreshments up to AUD700.

Missed flight connection.
If your onward connecting scheduled flight is missed at the transfer point due to the late arrival of your incoming connecting scheduled flight, and no alternative transportation is made available to you within four (4) hours of the actual arrival time of the incoming flight, we will reimburse you for hotel accommodation and restaurant meals or refreshments up to AUD700.