Refund

Hi,

My wife and I have two return tickets to Sydney to be used up until September 06. However of late my wifes mums health has suddenly began to worsen and we are now debating if we should go away. Does anyone know what the policy surrounding this is? and if we would be entitled to a full refund? your help would be greatly received.

Many Thanks

Matt

[preiffer]

Hi Matt, and welcome [y]

The one piece of information that's absolutely essential to providing you with an answer is the ticket class.

This will be a letter, after the "cabin" type - ie: Premium Economy (K) or Economy (L) etc.

If you could provide that, we may be able to give a better steer.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the swift response!
The tickets are Economy

[preiffer]

Hi Matt,

OK - we need just a little bit more info than that , unfortunately, to help out further.


Is there a single letter on the ticket (or email?) after the "economy" part? If you have a paper ticket, it'll be under the heading "Class", next to the flight number.

That tells us exactly what rules are applicable to it.

Originally posted by mbankscrompton
Hi Paul,

Thanks for the swift response!
The tickets are Economy

Matt,

What is needed is the Economy 'bucket' letter for the fare class. For Economy this could be Y,B,L,M,Q,N or X ( I think that's the lot )

Can I ask did you book online with Virgin or someone else?

Do you have paper tickets or e-tickets yet? These will both indicate the fare code, let us know which you have and can advise from there.

Thanks,

David.

Just to give some pre info should you fin you are in of the latter quoted buckets above, that irrespective of whether or not your flights are refundable, your TAX is. This maybe a small consolation, but hardly anyone excercises their rights to claim back the amounts paid as TAX to the airlines should they not travel on their non-refundable tickets.

But lets hope you have one of the refundable type tickets and then this isn't an issue.

Paul

If you find out that your ticket is the non-refundable kind, there is of course also the option of your travel insurance. I've had to cancel a non-refundable ticket and was able to claim this back on my travel insurance because the reason for the cancellation was outside of my control. Not all travel insurance will cover this (I use egg which definitely does), but it could be worth checking your policy. There was a £50 excess, so I didn't get the full amount back, but better to lose £50 than the £400 the tickets cost.

Jan

The tickets were booked as part of the Freddie promo over the phone. The letter is N nect to the class on the ticket.
Thanks so far for all your input, this is what a forum should be about!!

Mark,

I believe thats make them non-refundable from VS. As Jan says you may wish to check you Travel Insurance, but this is usually pretty restrictive unless there has a close relative has passed away.

Don't forget to get your tax back, and a call to VS is always worth while just incase something comes out of the blue to your advantage

Paul

[preiffer]

Alas, it is true I'm afraid. No refund, no nothing...

You may have something that's a bit of a hybrid though - you mentioned "must be taken by end of September, which suggests some flexibility, but in terms of cancellations, it won't be possible to get a refund.

Here are the regular N rules for Sydney:


FARE BASIS CODE
NJMEG

BK CODE
N -

PENALTY
CANCELLATIONS ANY TIME TICKET IS NON-REFUNDABLE IN CASE OF CANCEL/NO-SHOW/ REFUND. WAIVED FOR UPGRADE TO HIGHER FARE/ILLNESS OR DEATH OF PASSENGER OR FAMILY MEMBER. NOTE - WAIVER FOR ILLNESS OF PASSENGER OR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER ONLY APPLIES IN THE EVENT OF CERTIFABLE HOSPITALISATION. --- WAIVER FOR DEATH OF PASSENGER OR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER APPLIES AS EVIDENCED BY A DEATH CERTIFICATE. --- MAY BE USED AS CREDIT TOWARDS THE PURCHASE OF A HIGHER VS FARE TYPE WITH A PENALTY OF GBP100.00 AND COLLECTION OF FARE DIFFERENCE HOWEVER IN THE EVENT OF SUBSEQUENT CANCELLATION THE ORIGINAL NON- REFUNDABLE AMOUNT WILL REMAIN NON-REFUNDABLE. --- MAY UPGRADE THE ENTIRE JOURNEY TO A HIGHER CABIN AT NO CHARGE BUT ANY DIFFERENCE IN FARE MUST BE COLLECTED. --- IN THE EVENT OF CANCELLATION OR FAILURE TO USE CONFIRMED SPACE A MPD WILL NOT BE ISSUED FOR FURTHER TRANSPORTATION. CHANGES ANY TIME CHANGES NOT PERMITTED IN CASE OF REISSUE/REVALIDATION. WAIVED FOR UPGRADE TO HIGHER FARE/ILLNESS OR DEATH OF PASSENGER OR FAMILY MEMBER. NOTE - WAIVER FOR ILLNESS OF PASSENGER OR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER ONLY APPLIES IN THE EVENT OF CERTIFABLE HOSPITALISATION. --- WAIVER FOR DEATH OF PASSENGER OR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER APPLIES AS EVIDENCED BY A DEATH CERTIFICATE. --- MAY UPGRADE THE ENTIRE JOURNEY TO A HIGHER CABIN AT NO CHARGE BUT ANY DIFFERENCE IN FARE MUST BE COLLECTED. --- MAY BE USED AS CREDIT TOWARDS THE PURCHASE OF A HIGHER VS FARE TYPE WITH A PENALTY OF GBP100.00 MAY UPGRADE THE ENTIRE JOURNEY TO A HIGHER CABIN AND COLLECTION OF FARE DIFFERENCE HOWEVER IN THE EVENT OF SUBSEQUENT CANCELLATION THE ORIGINAL NON- REFUNDABLE AMOUNT WILL REMAIN NON-REFUNDABLE. --- THE FARE MUST BE RECALCULATED FROM THE POINT OF ORIGIN AND ANY DIFFERENCE COLLECTED. MIN/MAX STAY REQUIREMENTS AND ADVANCE PERIOD MUST BE ADHERED TO

RES/TKTG
TKT MUST BE PURCHASED WITHIN 3 DAYS AFTER RES IS MADE. SGMTS USING THIS RULE MUST BE CONFIRMED.

MAX STAY
RETURN TRVL MUST COMMENCE NO LATER THAN 1 MONTH. MEASURED FROM DPTR FROM ORIGIN TO DPTR FROM LAST STOPOVER POINT.

SEASONS
15FEB-21MAR06 OR 15AUG-5DEC06. SEASON IS BASED ON DATE OF ORIGIN AND IS DETERMINED BY DATE OF DEPARTURE OF FIRST INTERNATIONAL SECTOR.

BLACKOUTS
NO BLACKOUT RESTRICTIONS APPLY.

EFF/EXP


FLT APPL
APPLIES TO ANY VS FLIGHT.

STOPOVERS
A FREE STOPOVER IS PERMITTED AT HKG, IF IN ROUTING APPLICABLE TO FARE. APPLIES TO HALF ROUNDTRIP ITINERARIES. A STOPOVER OCCURS WHEN THE PASSENGER DOES NOT DEPART AN INTERMEDIATE POINT WITHIN 24 HOURS.

TICKET RESTRICTIONS
TICKETS MUST NOT BE ISSUED: BY PTA TICKET RESTRICTION MAY APPLY. CONTACT THE CARRIER FOR PROVISIONS. NOTE: IN THE EVENT OF DEATH OF A PSGR EN ROUTE TICKET VALIDITY OF PERSONS ACCOMPANYING THE PSGR MAY BE EXTENDED FOR UP TO 45 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF DEATH AS EVIDENCED BY A DEATH CERTIFICATE. ------------------------- IN THE EVENT OF DEATH IN THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY OF A PSGR WHO HAS COMMENCED TRAVEL THE VALIDITY OF THE PSGRS TICKET AND THOSE ACCOMPANYING THEM MAY BE EXTENDED FOR UP TO 45 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF DEATH AS EVIDENCED BY A DEATH CERTIFICATE.

DISCOUNTS
75 PCT OF THE ADT FARE IS CHARGED FOR A CNN PSGR 2 THRU 11 YRS OF AGE. CNN PSGR MUST BE ACCOMPANIED ON ALL SGMTS BY AN ADT PSGR TRAVELING IN THE SAME COMPARTMENT. - - - - 100 PCT OF THE ADT FARE IS CHARGED FOR A UNN PSGR 5 THRU 11 YRS OF AGE. PSGR MAY BE UNACCOMPANIED. - - - - 75 PCT OF THE ADT FARE IS CHARGED FOR AN INS PSGR UNDER 2 YRS OF AGE. INS PSGR MUST BE ACCOMPANIED ON ALL SGMTS BY AN ADT PSGR TRAVELING IN THE SAME COMPARTMENT. - - - - 10 PCT OF THE ADT FARE IS CHARGED FOR AN INF PSGR UNDER 2 YRS OF AGE NOT OCCUPYING A SEAT. ONLY 1 PSGR IS PERMITTED AT THIS DISCOUNT PER ADT PSGR. INF PSGR MUST BE ACCOMPANIED ON ALL SGMTS BY AN ADT PSGR TRAVELING IN THE SAME COMPARTMENT. *** NOTE - CARRIER WILL ACCEPT FOR ONLINE TRAVEL ONLY - PROVIDED THAT THE CHILD HAS A CONFIRMED RESERVATION AND IS BROUGHT TO THE AIRPORT OF DEPARTURE BY A PARENT OR RESPONSIBLE ADULT WHO MUST FURNISH IN WRITING -- DUPLICATE OF WHICH MUST BE IN CHILD POSSESSION -- EVIDENCE THAT THE CHILD WILL BE MET BY ANOTHER PARENT OR RESPONSIBLE ADULT UPON DEPLANING AT THE GATEWAY. IF REQUESTED A CHILD OF 12 TO 16 YEARS PAYING THE APPLICABLE ADULT FARE MAY ALSO BE TREATED AS UNACCOMPANIED. TOUR CONDUCTOR/ SALES AGENT DISCOUNT DOES NOT APPLY. NOTE - RULE 1030--SENIOR CITIZEN DISCOUNT IS NOT APPLICABLE.

REROUTE
SEE PENALTY.

TRANSFERS
UNLIMITED TRANSFERS AS PERMITTED ON THE ROUTING/MPM.

COMBINATIONS
CARRIER / RULE / FARE CIRCLE OPEN ROUND BASIS TRIP JAW TRIP SAME / SAME / SAME C C C SAME / SAME / DIFF C C C SAME / DIFF / SAME C C C SAME / DIFF / DIFF C C C DIFF / SAME / SAME C C C DIFF / SAME / DIFF C C C DIFF / DIFF / SAME C C C DIFF / DIFF / DIFF C C C Y / PERMITTED N / NOT PERMITTED - / DOES NOT APPLY C / SEE TEXT FOR CONDITIONS CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO ROUND TRIP/CIRCLE TRIP/SINGLE OR DOUBLE OPEN JAW - -MAY BE COMBINED WITH ANY ONE WAY/ROUND TRIP FARE GOVERNED BY ANY RULE IN ANY TARIFF VIA VS. -MOST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS APPLY. ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS APPLY ROUND TRIP - -PERMITTED. CIRCLE TRIP - -PERMITTED. OPEN JAW - -SINGLE OPEN JAW PERMITTED AT EITHER ORIGIN OR DESTINATION. DOUBLE OPEN JAW PERMITTED. END-ON-END - -PERMITTED WITH ALL FARES. -COMBINATIONS WITH THIS FARE MUST BE SHOWN SEPARATELY ON THE TICKET. -CONDITIONS APPLY TO ALL FARE COMPONENTS OF THE JOURNEY. -TRAVEL NEED NOT BE VIA THE FARE COMBINATION POINT.

OPEN RTN
NOT ALLOWED.

REFUNDS
SEE PENALTY.

CO-TERMINALS
NOT APPLICABLE.

INTL CONST
MAY BE COMBINED WITH APPLICABLE ARBITRARIES.

MISC
WAITLISTING NOT PERMITTED.

Hello Matt

Welcome to V-Flyer. Sorry to hear about your mum-in-law, and that a cancellation doesn't look possible. Not wishing to pile on the bad news, but if you did decide to travel without telling your travel insurer's about the state of your wife's mum's health, they may well not cover the costs of getting you home early if you needed to cut your holiday short. There is an expectation that they are informed of all risks that apply, even if this happened since you took out the policy.

Regards

Pat