Changing flight due to medical reasons

I'm looking for a bit of assistance here please...

My father is abroad at the moment and needs to bring his return flight early by 2 days - an immediate family member is going to be hospitalised.

He is on a Z.

Having spoken to FC, they've told him that they will waive the change fee on production of a letter from the hospital. However, he will need to upgrade to the next fare class (D - apparently no R on this route) - this will cost approx 1700.

The rules on the ticket are worded slightly ambiguously. Although the FC agent he spoke to thought that the upgrade cost would be refunded on production of the hospital letter, the Fares department disagree and want to charge 1700.

Can anyone provide me with some advice on this - are the upgrade costs usually waived on production of a valid hospital letter.

He is waiting for a supervisor to call him back - hoping that they may be able to assist further due to his AU status.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Nottingham Nick]

Not had any experience of this personally, but from what I have read on this board and others, there does seem to be some discretion involved, which increases depending on the seriousness and nature of the situation. The problem with any advice offered here, will be based on previous situations that don't necessarily set a precedent.

Forgive me for being blunt but 'an immediate family member is going to be hospitalised.' whilst obviously traumatic for all involved, probably won't rank among the more harrowing of the situations the airline encounter.

The reason Z fares are so much cheaper is their lack of flexibility. Having said that, I hope that they will do their best to accommodate your Dad, and it all works out well for him and the family member.

Best of luck in this stressful time.

Nick

[HighFlyer]

There have been reports on V-Flyer of members who have had to change flights due to a death in the family, and the change/upgrade fees paid being refunded on production of the death certificate. As Nick says, there is probably some discretion revolving around each individial situation.

I hope that everything goes okay for your father and family.

Thanks,
Sarah

Thanks both for the responses and your wishes of luck.

I understand what you are saying that it's all at the discretion of the airline / particular person we speak to.

I would imagine that the majority of situations affecting a passenger on a personal level won't rank highly amongst the situations the airline enoc***ers (unless, of course, it happens on board one of their aircraft).

Without going into the specifics of the situation, it is serious enough for my father to cut short his trip and miss the meeting he actually flew out for. Whilst I understand the airline are running a business, I hope the person who calls him back is sympathetic to the situatuion.

I suppose the most frustrating thing is that he was initially told it was possible, and upon calling back today to make the change he has been told there's a significant (non-refundable) cost involved.

[Decker]

Again not wishing to be unsympathetic but isn't this what travel insurance is for? Guess someone mispelt bean counters? [;)]

The unfortunate typo in the above post was supposed to say 'encounters'

Looked into the travel insurance route, but it doesn't seem like they would cover this situation...

FC have come back to us and confirmed that we can make the change. Have to initially pay to upgrade to D, however have been assured that this will be refunded on receipt of a letter from the hospital.

Absolutely delighted at the outcome - one less thing to worry about at a stressful time. Only adds to the loyalty our family has to VS.

Needless to say, e-mails will be sent to formally thank the 2 Premier Team agents who have pent hours making enquiries to assist us.

Hello.

The date change fee is the only part of the ticket that can be waivered. The upgrade charge/difference in fare will need to be paid to be able to change the ticket. Your Father's travel insurance may be able to refund this, all depending on their policy terms.

Many Thanks

I now it's not the same situation, but to illustrate how helpful they can be....months before we had booked D class flights to Sydney and home from Singapore. Then my husband was diagnosed with two profoundly prolapsed discs needing extensive surgery. VA were superb, and refunded all monies on production of a hospital letter.

A thank you letter was sent of course.

Originally posted by HighFlyer
There have been reports on V-Flyer of members who have had to change flights due to a death in the family, and the change/upgrade fees paid being refunded on production of the death certificate. As Nick says, there is probably some discretion revolving around each individial situation.

I hope that everything goes okay for your father and family.

Thanks,
Sarah

I have gone through what Sarah mentions here very recently, and I must say I am still waiting for my refund, though my documents were submit a month ago. Please do follow-up with us and let us know how the refund goes. I'd be curious to see how long it takes them to handle it.

I hope everything goes ok for your family.

J