Hi what happens if the flight is cancelled will we get our money back?

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Hi any updates from Thomas Cook yet??

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Flying to LA today, will this mean we have to contact the airline?

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We are all sat at home waiting for the airport to open up again. We aren’t flying until tonight, so fingers crossed.

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OMG we are supposed to be going to Tenerife today!! If our flight is cancelled what will happen???

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Darren to help out with questions here 2 links

Why plans can not fly though Ash?
Will I get a refund or what happens if I am trying to get home?

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Easyjet front webpage shows all domestic airports flights cancelled but online flight checker shows flights after 1.00pm out of Glasgow as operating? Any advice?

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We are due to fly from uk to Jersey today, but been cancelled until tomorrow, How long would it usually take to clear? Is it likely to be clear by tomorrow lunchtime?

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Latest from a colleague at Stansted is that the airport is now completely shut as in the terminal buildings. No flights at all today and ‘high likelihood’ that it’ll spread into tomorrow. She was due to fly Easyjet to Asturias today. After a LONG time in queue, they have changed her to tomorrow morning flight to Bilbao. So being very decent – change of date and even change of route.

Meanwhile, she thinks that Ryanair are issuing no refunds, no compensation and no help.

I think that all airlines could resort to fineprint and not help clients. Thankfully it seems that only Ryanair are choosing to alienate another slice of their customer base.

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I was due to fly to Malaga from Leeds at 5pm today. Airport totally closed to flights out.
As usual, Ryanair Customer Service have been appaling.

A notice on their website gives a link to amend flights to the next avaliable flight, free of charge. When I followed the link, I could not amend the flights as I had already booked in online (as I suspect 99% of todays customers have), nor could I amend the booking, as my return flight is, as yet, unaffected on Monday… no help.

So, to ring the reservation desk. All lines are not taking calls due to the high volume of calls ( really!!) and automatically disconnected after a message.

I telephoned Leeds Bradford airport, who advised me to drive there (hour and a half), queue and see what happens. Then… disconnected me.

At this point I was still calm.

I eventually called Head Office in Ireland (at great expense) tried various numbers and was eventually told to call Romania, as I could get through there. I did. Eventually, and am now rescheduled for tomorrow eve. then all flights sold out.

So, if you are desperate to get to Spain. Be prepared to pay up to £600 for a one way flight tomorrow. Expect little or no help from Ryanair.

No-one can foresee or avoid natural causes, let’s face it, it does not seem so bad being cancelled for a volcanic eruption, as for bad weather. But what can be avoided is Ryanair… at all costs. i have said it before, and I will say it again. Totally unhelpful and greedy, cheap airline. Ring head office in Ireland.

Hopefully, all should be back on tomorrow.

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Ryanair are issueing refunds or change of travel arrangments on their website, click on the cancelled flight and follow through to either change the date of the flight or claim a refund, no refunds at the customer service desk all must be done on line. Hope this helps
meanwhile any news on when it supposed to move away from ireland and UK.

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any news from thomas cook yet on refunds? I got text from them at midday and when i called they took my info and promised call back but nothing yet I was due to fly from lgw to turkey today

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are flights cancelled tomorrow too ??

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We are due to fly from Luton to Gran Canaria Monday afternoon with Ryanair.
Do you think all will be ok by then?

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Im meant to be Flying on Saturday with Thomas Cook, Any ideas what will happen with flight times if they reopen the airspace 2moro, Like flights to be delayed by the number of days etc before a backlog clears, i cant get through to them and it just says to phone them on the website? We are on a package holiday including flights transfers and an all inc hotel, Is it likely they will let us go on another date if we cant go on saturday???

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Any thoughts on flights on Monday?

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I wonder if flights will still be cancelled on saturday too?

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I am travelling on Saturday, have you heard any updates? The news seems to have gone quiet (probably because of all of the Eleection talk)

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Amsterdam Airport Schiphol was closed as off 7.00 pm last night. Actually I was glad. My daughter was scheduled to fly to China at 6.30 PM. Her flight was canceled last minute. She was able to rebook for a flight on Saturday at the same cheap rate.

At Dutch TV horrifying footage of a plane that survived from flying into a volcano ash cloud and loosing the use of all 4 engines, but able to restart them in Indonesia some time ago showed the plane completely sandblasted . No paint was left.
I believe canceling all flights was a very wise decision for the safety of all.

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well, no doubt everyone know by now, but Heathrow is out of action until at least 13:00 tomorrow!!! So if you were planning to get up really early and get a cab while still waking up, I suggest you have a lie in as will everyone leaving around and working at Heathrow as there will be no flights bummer, i hope I can at least get a refund for my ticket. Anyone dealt with Opodo before, are they decent?

thanks and good luck

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I haven’t seen my boyfriend in a long time and is supposed to be making his long awaited return on Monday from Egypt? Do you suppose all will be well by then?

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I am due to fly back to the UK from Krakow this evening (16/04/10). The flight is the only one on the easyjet website not showing as being cancelled yet however it is due to land 10 mins before the current air space restriction is lifted at 1900 this evening so i am guessing they must be waiting to to see if the restriction is lifted at this time and then the flight will be delayed so that it enters the affected airspace after 1900, but i see this as a long shot. The problem i see with that is that the plane we would be due to fly back on will not have flown out to Krakow from liverpool earlier in the day so im confused as to how this could be possible.

I just checked the availability of alternative travel at a later date and sunday 18/04/10 is currently the earliest available alternative and is showing to be a high price so i am guessing that flight must be close to full, therefore if you do get round to cancelling todays flight later today i imagine that those few spaces for sunday will dissapear fast meaning i am unlikly to fly till at least Monday. Is it likly that the airlines will be putting on extra services when the restrictions are lifted in order to clear the backlog of passengers?

With regards to the possibility of me being stuck in Krakow for at least 2 extra nights what is the routine for arranging hotel accomodation? In easyjets Carriers Regulations Chap 16.2 (If your flight is cancelled as a result of extraordinary circumstances) it says that if an overnight stay is required due to the expected departure being at last the next day then easyjet will provide hotel accomodation, how do i claim this, do i have to go to the airport to speak to the customer services desk or can it be done over the phone if the cancellation is done well before the departure time? This in itself is going to prove a problem as Krakow is very busy this weekend due to the funeral of the Polish president taking place on sunday so hotel rooms are going to be few and far between.

I have rang my insurance company (Virgin Money, Single trip, Silver cover) and they said all they will offer is £20 for the first 12 hours and then £10 for every 12 hours after that and that it is upto the airline to pay for accomodation etc.

Any advice would be gratly appreciated, its 0605 any my pregnant fiancee is still sleeping so i would like to have some answers for her before she wakes up to the news and breaks down in tears.

Regards

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My Easyjet flight from Edinburgh to Stansted at 11.15 isn’t showing at all on the Easyjet departures update page AT ALL. When i try to email them it directs me back through to the FAQs page and phoning is an expensive waste of time… anyone know anything?
Thx Tanya

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All Flights today (Friday) are now cancelled.

We are basicly waiting for the winds to change.

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Please note Scotland. Watch your flight. There are a few flights operating (very few) so do keep an eye on your airline/airport website. This may extend to other airports.

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Hi, I am due to go toGran canaria on Monday 19th April. Do you think ash cloud will clear up for then?

I know of course our safety is vital but it’s our honeymoon and will be gutted if we cannot go.

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My flight has now been cancelled and i have rebooked for free using the Easyjet online service, the earliest available was Tuesday 20/04/10 so i now need 4 nights accomodation and food out of Easyjet. I have tried contacting there customer service number but is not working from abroad so im not sure what i can do short of trapsing all the way to the airport to speak to the customer service desk. I dont really want to wast all day before booking accomodation as like i said Krakow is busy for the funeral. Do EasyJet have to book the accomodation for me or can i do it myself and claim it back? Also how much should i be entitled to for food per day and aggain do i just pay for this and claim it back later? I cannot find any information about this anywhere other then the ruels stating im entitled to it. Please help.

Regards

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hi anne we was meant to be on the same flight to turkey but we went to the airport and was issued with tickets to come back today but with the no flights today i don’t know im trying to getr through to them now

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My brother and father are stranded in Poland and Ryanair have said they will not provide food or accomodation while stranded. I believe regulations brought in in 2004 stipulate that this is a requirement. Ryanair are saying they will not provide anything as it is a natural disaster. What are their rights?

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My children and there father were on a flight from dubai to london but it got turned back as airspace is closed, they were put up overnight in hotel, but today they have been told they have to find there own accommodation, they are lucky in that they can now stay with a friends for tonight, but are the airline still responsible for getting them back to the UK at some point!! Cant get through to emirates at all and have tried to look at alternative ways to return but it is very expensive so not really an option, they have been gone now for 3 weeks and just want my boys home – any ideas anyone?

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We have a package booked with Thomas Cook and should have left Fri 16th am-the option they are offering is to take a holiday at a later date or to wait and go when they can get us away (may be 3 days?) They are not offering a cancellation or refund.

So as we are on a weeks holiday the return date will be the same so will lose 3-4 days of holiday if go. Technically we could end up going out on thur and returning on friday! Travel Insurance also does not look as if it will cover cancellation due to force majeure, natural disaster clauses. This is the situation with Thomas Cook Packages and different situation for those booking direct with Airlines.

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Nicki, this is an interesting one. The airline is responsible for getting your family back home. Probably not much point trying to get through to them until airspace is open again since nobody can say anything definite at this point.

In terms of airline responsibility/duty of care, as I understand it, once you are checked in you are their problem. They have to put you up until they can get you home.

If you haven’t yet checked in then they still have to get you home but don’t have to feed you, etc.

In this case they have effectively flown and then checked everyone off the plane again in Dubai so I’m not sure whether it would be considered that your family are checked in or pre-check in.

Personally I would consider them to be mid-journey and therefore it’s up to the airline to provide for them and then get them home.

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Hi, we were due to fly to venice today returning on Monday. When you go into the easyjet website we can only rearrange the going out flight but not the returning one even though it quite clearly says on the website that you can also amend the return flight if the outgoing one is disrupted and as long as you fly within 30 days. Has anyone been able to move a return flight?

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Just to update you re our Thomas Cook Package Holiday-and would like to update re travel insurance and the volcanic ash situation. Have just contacted my Insurance Company Columbus Direct and they have told me that they will pay out under cancellation and holdiday abandonment of we are unable to fly after 24 hours. So this looks the best option for us under the circumstances.

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How do i change my Easyjet return trip. I successfully changed the forward trip but no where to change return trip. I found on thier website that it should eb possible to do this for free, but i get charged when i tried.

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Thanks for the help

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Hi

Supposed to travel to sharm el shiekh with thomas cook at 9am yesterday. having huge difficulties dealing with them and they are now saying they cannot be held responsible and do not have to offer us a refund or rebbok us and we should speak to insurers (incidentally who wont pay out due to “act of god”). surely I am not going to be left out of pocket for all this and TC have to offer me a new holiday or something? any help greatly appreciated

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Hi. My partner and I have a holiday booked through low cost holidays, we are supposed to be flying sat 17th 1pm with Thomas cook but obvioulsy with cancellations and back log this is looking unlikely. Are Thomas cook refunding or changing holiday dates? Our situation is more complicated as tailor made holiday with low cost therefore will lose hotel booking and cannot reschedule that with Thomas cook but I can’t get through to low cost holidays. Do you advice us to still go to airport tommorow morning and have fingers crossed everything will be getting back on track?? Will we lose days of holiday or is it more likely they will extend return flight? P.s we r flying from gatwick to sharm el sheik. Many thanks for any feedback. Bonnie

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Hi Darren,
Thanks for the update.
Ours is a return flight to Venice we can change the outgoing flight to the date we need but the website is not letting us amend the return flight, so if we amend the outgoing we will have a flight going out on the 7 May and return flight on the 19 April, it doesn’t let us amend the 19 April, the booking is under one reference number. I got an email from customer service and all they are doing is telling us to phone the helpline that is 65p per min and after a min it cuts off. If we could be given the option to arrange the return flight as well we would be sorted! Can you feedback to your contact that they need to ensure each booking can amend both ways.

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Hi,

It shows both flights, next to the outgoing flight it has a ‘x’ saying that it has been disrupted and can be amended and next to the return flight which is listed underneath it has a tick to say that there are no disruptions. In the comments on the screen it quite clearly states that if you have a return flight you can amend both ways. Any ideas?

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Well I spoke to them, and got a refund with no issues. It may take a while to get the money in your account but I got a confirmation e-mail. I was supposed to fly with AA.

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Well flying back from shanghai on BA168 on Thursday 15th 11pm but no…….crew boarded … then left and that was that…. been shipped off to a hotel in pudong on i am flying biz so have a very nice suit …. but this morning woken up at 6am to leave for the airport…. again checked in …. crew boarded and yes again flight stoped and returned to the hotel….and so friday 16th evening sitting in bar…. no information who know how or when we will get back…

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Flying with ThomasCook tomorrow ealry morning. No info on website and number they suppply on there cuts off after saying ‘high number of calls’. Any ideas? They are hopeless.

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Hi Darren,
I am in same shoes as Lucy. I even went ahead to accept changes to the forward flight, hoping to get a pop up asking if i want to change the return leg; but no success. I even tried to log in afresh and selected to change the return leg, but i was directed to pay like i am making a fresh booking eventhough it states on their website that you can change your return leg for free.

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You’re doing a great job, Darren!
Here are a few links that may help from my own disrupted plans…

http://www.nats.co.uk – authoritative information about the closure of UK AIRSPACE. Regularly updated.

Lastminute.com – call them on 0871 222 5969 – at the moment they are waiving their cancellation charge of £20 as a gesture of goodwill.

VUELING AIRLINES – harder to get hold of but are also waiving their fee for changing flights (but at the moment only onto the next available flight – I was due to fly today but this has now been changed to Wednesday…)

Good luck everyone – but as Darren has said above – it really isn’t anyone’s fault, so be fair.

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Now in Ethiopia, Addis ababa. Flying with Ethiopian Airlines. the flight was cancelled before we checked in. They say they have no obligation to pay hotel or supply food. Where do i look to see what rights if any we have? it seems that non-European carriers are a different kettle of fishin terms of responsibilities. is that correct.

We booked using a visa card. how do we access that help?
We have insurance that covers delay only? any advice there?

Jane Brown

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Daren, you are a great man, any update on the Easyjet return leg problem?, i have the same issue as Lucy and Vini. I am abroad and can’t access the Easyjet customer service and it seems silly to go to the airport just to change/amend the flights. Thanks for your help

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On the easy jet website I can not get any further that seeing that the outward leg of my trip is cancelled, it says it can be transfered by clicking the amend button and choosing a new flight (on the instruction page) but there is no amend button to click????

I understand that they do not yet know about flights in the next few days but i’m looking to rebook for next month now!
Also do you know if the hotels part of my trip will be covered? It was all booked through easy jet.

Please help if you can – thank you!

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Hi Vini, you said: “I even tried to log in afresh and selected to change the return leg, but i was directed to pay like i am making a fresh booking”

How did you managed that? I don’t seem to be able to change the return leg, like Lucy i can only change the “disrupted” flight…am so desperate that i don’t mind paying to change the return leg, and will fight for a refund later as it is clear on the Easyjet website that you are allowed to “change the return leg free of charge”.

So Darren, Vini, Lucy please let me know what you find out. Cheers.

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Darren,

I am also among those who was unable to modify the return leg free of charge. They key point is free of charge. When you log into ‘My account’ you have the option of amending your flight like normal based on personal circumstances.

However when your flight is cancelled, you recieve a highlighted box indicating the option for refund or amendment which takes you into a screen similar to the normal amendment. I selected my new outbound journey, submitted expecting that I would then get the option to modify my return leg but there was no such option.

I had to modify my return flight as if the initial cancelled flight was not linked at all to the return leg and also had to pay around £35 for the change. I have been on the phone since 8am unable to get through to Easyjet and frankly I will just bring this issue up with them when things ‘die’ down. However my friends who have stated they have issue on the return leg “free of charge” are not doing anything wrong; there simply is no option to do that right now.

A google search on other sites have indicated other users with the same issue. My only query is that because my return leg was still after the new outbound date (by a few hours) maybe they didn’t feel the need to have the return leg modified. Either way my initial feel is that the “highlighted” box next to your flight for outbound which had the amendment button due to the cancellation should also have been available for the inbound also.

If you can provide any clarity on this I would be much obliged.

Kind Regards,

Aryan.

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Aryan thank you for the explanation but i don’t seem to be able to change the return leg, i am obviously also registered with Easyjet and can’t find the “my account” you are talking about?

By clicking on “manage booking” i get to “sign in” but then it’s back to square one with no option to change the return leg.
Could you be so kind to tell me how you arrive to “amending your flight like normal based on personal circumstances.”

I don’t get that? Thank you, I have been trying all day it is so frustrating. Freddy

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Hi everyone , i noticed that [EC]261/2004 regarding passanger rights if flight is cancelled or delayed has been mentioned a few times.

Compensation will not be offered if the cause of the cancellation is beyond the control of your airline, or for cancellations which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. This includes, the impact of weather conditions or air traffic management decisions, national disasters, technical faults with the aircraft that may affect its safety, industrial disputes, political instability and security risks.

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Freddy,

My apologies, I meant to say ‘Manage Booking’, once logged on you should see your home page illustrate your booking number and below your flights with buttons underneath for ‘Check flight status’ and ‘Check in online’.

If you notice to the right of that there is the option to ‘transfer to another flight’, when you click this and go in you get the confirmation of your flights again and you should see an orange button that says ‘flight change’, this is just above the big black bolded section ‘Hold Baggage’, when you hit flight change you should then get a tick box against your inbound and outbound flight, below that allowing you to choose another date and check availability. The rest should be self explanatory, just make sure when you have selected a date that you ‘confirm changes’ which will update your Iternary.

This last bit for confirming changes I am going on memory because I obviously don’t want to make any specific changes again as of yet to my own flight.

I hope this is useful to you, for the outbound flight I was not charged due to the cancellation but as my inbound flight isn’t canceled I had to pay and that is what I am going to argue against when I call in after this rufus has died down.

Aryan.

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Im going to Dominican rep with Thomas Cook on the 19th April – will everything be ok then?? Or will there be a back log of flights that we will need to wait for??

Thanks
Laurel

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The latest update from the CAA as a result of the continued effect of the volcanic eruption in Iceland has extended the closure of England and Wales airspace until 7am tomorrow, Saturday 17 April. They have also announced that Scottish airspace will reopen from 7pm tonight Friday 17 April.

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Thank you Aryan, i really appreciate your help.
It reassuring in these day and age of selfishness to know there is still some helpful people around.
I did as you explain and yes it works, only they want to charge me £64 when the new return flight only cost £34 ??? It’s insane.
I did managed to amend the outbound, so i will close my computer and go for a well deserved cold pint after 6hrs trying to sort this mess out. And will come back at it later tonight and try again.
Thanks again and best of luck in your life.
Kind regards
Freddy

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We have clients stranded on the way back into the UK and prevented from leaving for South America. I feel for all of them. I feel for anyone being caught up in this. I feel the most sympathy for anyone who is caught up in this mess and left reliant on Ryanair customer service to help them. Seriously.

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Hey, I’m supposed to fly to London from Rome today, and fly to Nice on Tuesday (from London) with easyjet. Right now I prefer to refund my tickets and just buy a new one directly from Rome to Nice on Monday. The thing is, easyjet web site directed me to log in with an username and password, however I couldn’t log in. When I thought I forgot my username, I ask for my username to be sent to my email. I’ve asked them 4 times but I still haven’t got anything. My questions are: is it possible for me to get the refund from easyjet? and if it is, Is there anyway for me to get the refund?

Thanks.

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Just seen that Ryanair are cancelling all flights until 1pm Monday afternoon – We are due to fly out of Luton at 1.55pm – Have no idea what to do – Any suggestions?

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Oh and another question, is there a time limit for me to manage this refund? I am thinking that since I believe right now easyjet customer services are pretty busy, I will try to ask for the refund next week (either online or at Nice airport). Is it possible, or I have to ask for the refund by today?

Thanks again.

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Thanks for all your help darren, in someways it’s just nice to know someone is trying to help. I hope everyone can get to where they need to as soon as possible and easyjet hopefully sort out there website soon.

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Can anyone help with this conundrum? I was arranged to fly to Poland on Thursday, then from Poland to Italy, then Italy to Sicily, then back to Stansted – all with RyanAir. My flights from UK to Poland , and Poland to Italy have been cancelled and I will get a refund, but my flights from Italy to Sicily (on Monday am) and Sicily to Stansted (Tuesday am) have not been cancelled, but I have no way of making those flights. I am quite happy to rearrange flights in the future, but can’t get hold of anyone at Ryanair to do this. I checked in to all the flights, so I cannot amend them. Insurance won’t cover it. Any suggestions?

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Im supposed to be flying from palma de mallorca to Bristol UK on monday at 22.15, i have just checked my flight and it says DELAY besides it but then underneath says cancelled due to volcanic activity, passengers re-accomodated on next available flight.
Im just confused as they still say flights are cancelled until monday lunch time but this is said against my flight!

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Does anyone know how to change the date of a Ryanair flight once you’ve checked in? My family are stranded in Spain. I’ve received the email from Ryanair telling me their flight is cancelled and instructing me to re-book on an alternate flight free of charge. When I log on to their website: (a) if I try “Change Flight” it tells me I’ve already checked in so can’t change my flight; and (b) if I try “View Flight Details” it tells me to ‘Please select the “Change Flights” link on the left to make the necessary adjustments to your flights at no cost’; but there is no such link on the page (I’ve tried it about, oh, three hundred times… and on different computers and with different web browsers).

So, help! The Ryanair website does say that I shouldn’t expect to be able to change flights to a different departure airport. But I don’t want to change the departure airport, only the day.

I tried their call centre repeatedly before it closed, but no-one ever answered.

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Hi, yes im flying with Ryanair, it says that flights are cancelled til midday but when i go on my actual flight it says DELAY but then underneath cancelled even though the flight isnt til 22.15

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Matt in same position I am returning back to Spain and got emal from ryanair to say flight cancelled and to rebook new flight. I cannot see any change flight link on left of page. Hope someone else reads this that has managed to find out how to change flight

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Hi
Has anyone booked their flights and/or accomodation with lastminute.com. We booked virgin flights and hotel accomodation through them. Although Virgin are offering refunds for cancelled flights, lastminute make no reference to cancelled flights on their website. When you telephone customer services, they tell you to deal with them online. We have e.mailed them and they have acknowledged receipt of this but no comment so far on the possibility of refunds for the flights and accomodation.

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Darren, why are you doing all this? I mean helping people?
I guess you stimulate something, for sure, i mean Aryan helped me a great deal, but what’s your motivation? just curious…it’s awsome as i said before but? why?
U never got back to me on the “screenshots”…Easyjet return journey.
Anywayz…
Thanks for bringing people together.
It works
Freddy

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Hi, i was due to fly to bodrum at 22:30 16/04/10, i know all flights have been cancelled, but i have been trying to get through to thomas cook allday today without any joy, i haven’t received any emails from them, will they automatically reschedule my flight once airspace is open?, or have i got to keep trying to speak to them? i know all this can’t be helped but nothing is clear, as long as i know they will reschedule as and when.

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Hi All, Due to fly gatwick to geneva ski hol with Mark Warner they say everything is as normal & have till now 5am sat not cancelled.
No one will want to pay out if at all poss, good by ££££££££

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so, easyjet have cancelled my flight home from italy today (saturday) and say the earliest flight i can switch to is on friday! I simply cannot wait that long (I cannot afford to). I guess i will have to switch to another airline (which will undoubtedly cost more), do I have any claim against easyjet or do i just get the refund and bite the bullet? Are they going to run more flights?

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Darren

Thank you for your efforts. And I wouldn’t dare suggest that Ryanair are lying. But for passengers who have checked in, it is simply untrue that we can change our booking. There is no “log-in” option as such on the Ryanair website. And not one of the options on “Manage My Booking” allows me to change my family’s flight, because I’ve checked in. It just says I have to phone the Call Centre. And the Call Centre is not accepting calls!

Only thing to do, I guess, is go to Stansted myself and hope that Ryanair let me change their flight for them (I did pay for it). I don’t want to put the family through a five-hour return trip to/from the airport just in the hope that once they get there they can change their flight for some time later this week.

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Thanks Darren, the airport is a good 80 minutes away by bus, so I was following advice not to bother going there. Is there a number I can call for easyjet do you know – or that just going to leave on hold forever? I can get a refund from easyjet easily enough, it’s having to pay a lot extra to get back sooner because easyjet have no availability that’s the problem – hence me wondering to what extent they are obliged to help finance my journey even if I have to use a different carrier – don’t they have an obligation to get me to my destination asap even if the mode of transport changes? Dunno, I’ll plug away a bit today and see what happens…

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I think i may have shot myself in the foot. I was due to fly home Friday from Krakow to Liverpool with Easyjet. I tried to contact Easyjet before the flight had even been cancelled using there online enquiry system to ask what to do about accomodation etc if the flight is cancelled. Later in the morning the flight was cancelled and i logged onto easyjet and rebooked the flight for Tuesday. I added an update to my originoal enquiry which had still not been answered asking what i need to do to arrange the accomodation i required. I did not hear anything back from easyjet and had a reletive in the UK trying to ring Easyjet all day without sucess so i had no option but to arrange my own accomodation, the accomodation i arraged was very reasonable at £40 per night for 2 people. Do you think i will be able to claim money back from easyjet when i eventually get through to them or do you think because i never went to the airport and kicked up a fuss for them to arrange the accomodation for me then i have lost out?

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I am quite worried now as I have a flight booked with EasyJet for Tuesday 20 April at 6.30am, and I’m not sure whether to change this flight before hand. I have secured the hotel I am staying at on my credit card however If I cancel on the day then they will not offer me a refund, is this something that Easyjet should pay for? I understand you do not know when flights will be back to normal but do you think it would be wise to change Tuedays flight at this point..?

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Thanks Darren. This whole situation is a nightmare. Unfortunatly and very stupidly I did not purchase travel insurance at the time of booking as normally for short trips I purchase it the night before, so I am relying on Easyjet and just hoping that by Monday flights will be resumed. I’m also basing this on the fact that Ryanair are hopefully resming flights on Monday so maybe in should be ok. Will just have to sit it out like you said.

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Matt
I managed to rebook my flight online. Go to main Ryanair page scroll down to red outlined box ‘My Flight’, then Review/Change Flight. Just follow the instructions after that. No charge to rebook new flight.

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Supposed to be flying at 3.00pm today with Thomas Cook, will they contact me or do I have to contact them? Thanks in advance.

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Hai.. Thanks for all of the info. I am French and currently in Italy to visit family. I was scheduled to fly with easyjet yesterday for a meeting in London but it got cancelled. And I didn’t purchase the insurance (since I thought it was only a short trip). I don’t want to rebook my ticket since it requires the same route (Rome-Gatwick) and that route will be useless for me (even for today or tomorrow). Do you think easyjet will refund my tickets even if I didn’t purchase the insurance?

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Val

Thanks from me too. I’d tried that way earlier but it didn’t work. Obviously they’ve done some reprogramming. I’ve given up on them, though. There are no seats on our route till Tuesday week (10 days time). I’m lucky enough that my family are now in Northern Spain and we live in Devon, so I’ve booked them on Thursday’s ferry from Santander to Plymouth. Now without Ryanair’s weight restrictions to worry about, I wonder if I can talk them into carrying a whole jamon back…

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Thank you, will update you how I get on.

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Hi,
You are a star for doing all this! But i still can’t get anywhere with changing either leg of my easyjey flights????
Is anyone else experiencing this????
I have emailed them & been on hold for 77 mins to the customer service line!
I have tried to log in with my email adress & with my username but both take me back to the flight disrupted page & give me no option to re select new flights.
Any Help is much apreciated

Also has anyone had any joy with changing hotel bookings made through easyjet holidays (all booked together) Would this be transfered free of charge to new dates too???
I really hope so as my trip was my my present to my boyfriend for his 30th so we are looking to re arrange & still go!

thanks

Jodie

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Thanks for all you efforts Darren, however the Easyjet website is not letting you amend the return flight, I have logged in as suggested, but it is still only allowing me to rebook the cancelled flight. Any further help would be great, Thanks

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all. i managed to get through to thomascook on: 01274 724 363, i got through quite quick to be fair, only to be told cos i booked online:flythomascook.com, i need to call: 08444125959, i called this finally got through, to be told yet again to call: 01274…etc…. i explained that i had already spoke to these, the lady then put me on hold, come back and and she had spoken to main number~: 08712302406….and they said i need to call them, as my booking reference begins HZ….. the lady transferred me to this 0871 number:……ooo good i thought???…..but when prompted to select option 3: it was engaged!!!!!!! i called back…pressed option 3: i finally got through to be told automated to look on website as they are to busy to answer calls!!!!!!………………..so………… i appreciate the situation…..but surely…better organisation is needed??????……my flight has been cancelled, i need to speak to thomas cook to get a refund, before i can rebook myself or ask them to do it………….. they say you can make ammendments online: except they have not updated the website to enable you to do this: cos a pop up window appears telling you to call: 087123024063………….WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW…..

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Hi, We are due to fly back from Dubai to Heathrow on Monday 19th but it’s unlikely! We booked through an ATOL travel agent but we are being told that we will have to pay for our accomodation any time past check out on 19th.
We ahve a terminally ill disabled daughter and we need to get back very soon and cannot afford to pay the hotel! Any thoughts?

John

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My parents and sister are stuck in Las Vegas. Virgin flight today cancelled. They booked through Expedia but I cannot get through to Expedia despiteholding for hours! Am now trying to speak to Virgin as it’s my understanding they have responsibility to provide another flight home for them whenever that may be. Am I right?
Thanks

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QANTAS has announced that passengers now can change etc. all flights departing upto and including the 22nd.. expect other long hual airlines to follow soon

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Just wondering if anyone watched BBC news earlier, in which one of the correspondents at Manchester airport said he has information from a private source in the industry that the cancellations of flights may last until Wednesday and maybe later? I really hope this isnt the case.

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Darren, thanks for the advice on sitting in the garden etc… didn’t mean to come across as thinking i was the only one in the world. anyway, i finally got through on the main number and they were really helpful, they have arranged my flight for next saturday now, plus refunded the difference, and if the situation hasn’t improved, the same will apply, cancel, refund , rebook. so if anyone else is with thomas cook, just keep trying and they will get you on the next available flight, or refund you so you can book elsewhere. but you have to call them to do this, they don’t refund you automatically once your flight has been cancelled… hope this helps, and sorry if i seemed selfish in previous comments….good luck all..

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Thanks Darren. Got through to Virgin and have managed to get them on flight leaving San Francisco next Sunday. Fingers crossed that will run. They are going to travel down slowly and try to make the most of their extra week.

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EasyJet “can’t get my return leg date change for free” answered.

Ok as you know and for some strange reason people can only change the date of their “disrupted” flight and will be charge when attempting to change their return leg. Here is the email from customer service, they replied to me within 24hrs, I had a good experience with easy jet they sent me a text and an email to tell me not to waste my time at the airport and as I said replied within 24hrs about changing my return leg.

Here it is : easyjet@maileu.custhelp.com

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Just trying to be positive………

My trip was to morocco for my boyfriends 30th present, we arranged quite last minute to also treck Jebel Toubkal the highest mountain in north africa (I should have been trecking it now!) But now after all of the stress & disruption I’m thinking lets turn a negative into a positive, I now have time to raise some sponsorship & do my Jebel Toubkal Mountain treck for charity! I hope to raise funds for brainwaive – the therapy centre that my neice Darcey attends!

I hope other good things come out of all this hassel for others too!

Jodie

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I would like to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU to Darren for all of your help over the past few days. You have helped me in email but your updates here and the comments have really helped me and my family re-arrange our holiday.

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just found this on the easyjet holiday site – not sure if it will be useful to others or not???
http://holidays.easyjet.com/Info.aspx?page=Terms#cancellation

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I didn’t phone Thomas Cook I e-mailed and got a reply within the hour and a promise of a refund. A+ to Thomas Cook, will book with them (all together this time) when the ash cloud has finally gone. Without contacting them I have also had e-mail from On the Beach (my husbands separate booking to our resort after getting the week off at the last minute) to ask me what I want to do and they put in the e-mail that it would be 7-10 days before getting back to us regarding the refund. Thanks Darren for all your advice.

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5 of us are due to fly to Rome next Sunday (25th) I know things will change before them but we are all slightly panicing as we are going to watch the tennis and have spent a small fortune on the tickets.

If we cannot get there will our insurance cover the the costs of the tickets for the tennis and other trips we have pre-booked?

We are booked on 2 seperate flights, Jet2 from Manchester and BA from Gatwick. Reading other peoples comments leads me to believe that we should get refunds as going on other dates will be of no use to us.

And a massive thanks to Darren, fantastic job.

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Darren, I don’t need any help or advise, well not at the moment anyway, I think I have sorted all my travels questions out from just reading all the others posts, all I wanted to say was WELL DONE for all the help and advise you are giving people and THANK YOU for all the time you are devoting to it, lets hope this is soon sorted and we all get back to normal asap

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Holiday cancelled BOO! ~ right, I’m thinking lets turn a negative into a positive, I now have time to raise some sponsorship & do my Jebel Toubkal Mountain treck for charity! I am now raising funds for brainwaive – the therapy centre that my neice Darcey attends.www.justgiving.com/jodie-franklin
Any sponsorship would be greatly appreciated.
thank you
Jodie

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Darren to reply to your question (17 April, 2010 at 2:38 pm) about the EasyJet return leg amendment.
I only changed the “disrupted” flight free of charge and, no i did not change my return leg as the price was around £65, twice as much as the return flight itself?
So i simply emailed easyjet@maileu.custhelp.com asking them how to change my return leg free of charge as stipulated on their website and they replied within 24hrs saying: “Please provide me with the date you would like to fly back and I will be more than happy to change your flight.”
I gave them my new date for the return, but still await a reply.
So I guess if you did book and got charged for your return leg like Aryan two days ago, you should write to them and hopefully get a refund….i guess!
Will keep you updated when they finally get back to me with.
Best
Freddy

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Hi,
I have enjoyed following this topic over the last two days – it is really interesting – FYI the following airlines have cancelled all of their outbound flights upto and including Monday 19th April – Monarch, Thomas Cook, Thomson, Jet2 and Flybe – and Bmibaby have cancelled most flight on the 19th as well.
Hope this helps.
Christine

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Hi Darren, so I think its really likely my flight for Tuesday will be cancelled as NATS just keep adding extra hours on the ban. The thing thats really annoying me though is how do I know whether to go to Liverpool or not (thats where I’m flying out from). My flights at 6.30am on Tuesday so I would have to go to Liverpool tomorrow, but I dont want to waste a trip if its likely the flight will be cancelled. NATS seem to extend the ban from 1am to 7am to 1pm to 7pm etc so I’m not too sure what to do now, any advice would be great!

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Hi, Just seen on the BBC news that Ryanair have now cancelled all flights until Wednesday lunchtime. They have not yet updated their website.
I was meant to be flying tomorrow night, does anyone know how I get a refund on my flight with Ryanair? I cant see any option on the website!
Thanks

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Update No 2 Sunday 18th – Thomas Cook just phoned me to say our full refund is being put through and should be credited to our account 3-4 days, they also offered me the option to book another holiday from their current brouchure.

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I have just received a reminder to pay the balance of my holiday costs. This has arrived after the volcano news. I wonder if i will be covered if the holiday is cancelled as I knew about the risk when paying the balance.

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Darren, thank you very much for everything.. I have another question. I tried to get a refund from easyjet, I have submitted my refund request through their website, but I haven’t got any confirmation about my request. Is it normal? Should I just wait or is there anything else I could do? I couldn’t even connect to the customer service. I live so far from the airport, and the earliest I could go to airport is on Wednesday. Need your advice for this..
Maybe the question is, is it ok to ask the refund on Wednesday?

thanks again.. really really appreciate your help..

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Darren, yes I received an email from easyjet saying that they received my ‘question’. Hopefully it’s enough.. But i will try again sending an email to the address you posted.
Thank you so much, you have no idea how useful you’ve been for the last 2 days..

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We are now looking at going to Rome via train. Will we be covered by Jet2 for the extra cost as it is more expensive to travel via rail than air as they will not be able to get us to our destination. Oops, sorry to say, does anyone have an email address for jet2 so I can ask them the question regarding them paying for the train tickets as they cannot get us to our destination

Many thanks for any help

Clare

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Tour Operators now making alternative arrangements to bring customers home. If they can assist they will contact you.

Arrangements included, using cruise ships. Also flying people to mainland spain and then coaching them.

Also 50% of European Airspace (southern) reopens today so there is hope.

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We booked a holiday to puerto rico with LOWCOSTHOLIDAYS.COM ,flight provider is THOMSON .Flight was cancelled on 18/04/2010 since then not been able to contact LOWCOSTHOLIDAYS .COM ( all lines busy and just a recorded message if you do manage to get through ! ).They seem not interested in the people who have paid for their
holiday and have offered nothing in the way a explaination/ alternative holiday/credit note or refund. THOMSON offered customers a full refund on cancelled flights but sureley LOWCOSTHOLIDAYS.COM are customers of THOMSON as they booked the flights on our behalf and being ABTA members must be classed as a travel agents ! .

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Hi, I’m having the same problem as Robert with low cost holidays. Thomas cook have already said our flight is officially cancelled and we are due our money back but have to go thro low cost and I just can’t reach anyone to talk to and the website is not helpful so il keep an eye on this thread in case any joy with more info. Many thanks Darren 4 ur help.

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Accomodation booked and paid for by people that have had flights cancelled could be used for the people stuck abroad that cannot get back, in this case it should be easy to transfer and may help people who are struggling

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Just in case this is helpful: Latest update from NATS

The situation regarding the volcanic eruption in Iceland remains dynamic and the latest information from the Met Office shows that the situation today will continue to be variable.

Based on the latest Met Office information, part of Scottish airspace including Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh airports will continue to be available from 1300-1900 today, and also south to Newcastle Airport. Restrictions will remain in place over the rest of UK airspace below 20,000ft.

Overnight the CAA, in line with new guidance from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) decided flights above the ash cloud will be permitted in the UK; between 1300-1900 this will enable aircraft movements above 20,000ft in UK airspace.

NATS will continue to monitor Met Office information and the situation is likely to change during the course of the day. NATS will make a further statement at approximately 1500.

NATS is maintaining close dialogue with the Met Office and with the UK’s safety regulator, the CAA, in respect of the international civil aviation policy we follow in applying restrictions to use of airspace.

NATS are working closely with Government, airports and airlines, and airframe and aero engine manufacturers to get a better understanding of the effects of the ash cloud and to seek solutions.

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Virgin seem to be more helpful. They are saying that IF there is a window of opportunity tomorrow then they will fly the services listed below.

In the meantime the following Virgin Atlantic flights remain cancelled:
. All flights in and out of the UK on Monday 19th April 2010
. All flights in and out of London Gatwick and Manchester and some flights in and out of London Heathrow on Tuesday 20th April 2010

If UK Airspace re-opens Virgin Atlantic hope to operate some flights from London Heathrow Tuesday 20th April 2010 as follows:

VS 17 to Newark departing at 20:25H
VS 601 to Johannesburg departing at 20:30H
VS 671 to Nairobi departing at 21:00H
VS 300 to Delhi departing at 22:00H
VS 400 to Dubai departing at 22:00H
VS 651 to Lagos departing at 22:20H
VS 200 to Hong Kong and Sydney at 22:30H

Passengers holding confirmed reservations for these flights are being urged to visit Virgin Atlantic’s website for updates after 10:00H on Tuesday 20th April 2010 for further information.

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@ bonnie @ robert

we too are having the same problem with LOWCOSTHOLIDAYS

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We have booked a package holiday in orlando on May 5th staying in a Disney hotel, If its cancelled due to the volcanic ash will we get a full refund?

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Hi Robert and John.
Low cost s website info is more helpful now if u take a look. They r at least saying some flights are refundable and 80 % refund from hotel and transfers, which is lucky coz most insurance companies like ours ‘insureforyou’ do not class volcano ash as adverse weather conditions!!! So no cover. Good luck everyone.

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Hi, i’m due to travel to egypt on may 2nd, i didn’t get my travel insurance before the volcanic situation and now i’m really worried that if the situation does not change then I will lose all my money because of this. I can’t speak to my travel company, onthebeach as my flights with kiss flights haven’t been cancelled as yet. Can anyone advise me if I will lose my money?

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My sisters holiday with Mercury Direct was cancelled. They appear to be saying that they are only willing to pay a percentage of the holiday cost & are advising her to contact her insurance company to claim against them. What legal rights does she have? And who does she actually make claim against Traval Co. or Insurer. If classified as “Act of God” are all claims void?

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@ Bill

As a tour operator, I can hopefully give you some insight on this one. The following from our legal team/liability insurers.

This assumes that the package starts ends UK i.e. that flights were included from here. If that is the case, read the 2nd paragraph and you’ll see that Mercury Direct appear to be in breach of regulations.

I would say that tour operators have been stung badly by this event because, certainly in our case, we have fully paid for all supplier services with no prospect of a refund from them. Despite this we are liable to refund or rebook clients. I don’t therefore blame MD for encouraging your sister to talk to the insurers as some insurance companies are paying out. However, if the insurance company turns down your sister’s claim, MD are liable for a refund or provision of an acceptable alternative.

START
Where passengers booked with you on a package are unable to travel due to flight cancellations, you are obliged to provide them with an alternative trip of comparable standard and cost or offer them a full refund. You are not obliged to offer them compensation.

With regards to passengers stranded abroad, you have a duty of care to any package customers who are stranded and cannot get home. Airlines may provide vouchers for accommodation until the flights can be rescheduled however the passengers will be responsible for their own sustenance during this period. In the event that an airline cancels a flight and does not reschedule it, you will be obliged to offer package customers a refund for the unused flight and claim this back from the airline and then assist the customer in booking alternative flights, which will have to be at their cost.

In the event an airline does not offer any assistance with hotel vouchers for those passengers stranded abroad, you will be obliged to assist such pax in finding temporary accommodation but again this would be at the passengers own cost.
END

Hope this helps.

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Thomas,

Thank you so much. This will be of great reiief to my sister. I assume that “The Act of God” cannot be used as a get out clause.

Thank you

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I’m having a bit of an issue with Low Cost Holidays, I completely understand that loads of people are trying to get their holidays/refunds sorted out thus lines are going to be busy – but it’s not even a case of the line being engaged now – every time I ring, I select an option to speak to an advisor, and am immediately disconnected! It’s getting so incredibly frustrating – their lines just don’t appear to be functioning, and I don’t know what to do. I was wondering if anyone has had the same problem, and if they can tell me (if they’ve been successful in getting through) where we stand in terms of flights. Do our flights automatically get swapped (so that we don’t have to pay anything extra) or will we have to pay for them again then claim the money back through the airline, Ryanair? I’d just like to know so I can sort out my finances. Additionally, I did email Low Cost Holidays AND try to post to their blog but the phone lines still aren’t working! Thanks!

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Natasha – My sister is having the same trouble with Mercury Direct. She was left on hold for thirty minutes then disconnected. Travel companies are playing silly buggers because if they have paid up front for services & holiday accommodation etc. they are going to be seriously out of pocket with no prospect of claiming any refunds. According to Thomas Power – 21 April – travel companies are liable to refund or to supply a alternative holiday to all clients whose holiday has be cancelled.
My sister has been asked by Mercury Direct to make a claim against her insurance company. This she is in the process of doing but again she requires documentary proof of holiday cancellation from MD to proceed further & cannot get through on the phone to get this documentation.
In my opinion insurers are NOT liable & this is just a delaying tactic by the travel company.
If Thomas Power is correct Low Cost Holidays are required to either refund all money or offer you an alternative holiday.
You must keep trying to get through. If you are ringing a designated claims number try ringing an alternative number as if you wish to book a holiday. After some delay my sister got through using the holiday booking number.
If its any consulation there are hundreds of people in the same boat. Do persevere they are making it difficult because they want you to give up.
Good luck.

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an interesting forum, never realised that so much protection was afforded to low cost airline travellers. the big problem is to get the airlines to publically acknowledge the fact and pay out when it all goes pear shaped. my problem was that i was booked on the easyjet flight departing innsbruck on 16 april 2010. the very last flight out of innsbruck at the end of the winter season, no chance of a rebooking until dec 2010. had to find my own way home on the train to bristol. since then e/jet site closed down , phones not answered, a claim has gone in but dont hope for any response, however ryanairs ackn` of ec 261 might shame e/jet into compensating. some hope ,,,county court probably the only option?

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We got back from Venice yesterday after being stranded since tuesday. We called our tour operator, Low Cost Holidays who said we needed to call our insurance or the airline. We called the insurance who said call the airline. We mailed Jet2.com as the 0870 number they had on their website was continually rejected. I told them we had no money for extra accomodation or food and could someone get back to us with the earliest flight home to manchester and what could we do. I received a reply which said they could not deal with flight enquiries and i should ring the 0870 number! It took 2 days and a frantic call to my mum to get more funds for accomodation and food. When we did get through to yet anotehr number for Jet2.com that my mum found we were on hold for 40 minutes and told that the earliest flight back was sunday. We transferred on that. I also asked about accomodation and food etc and was told basically tough, fend for yourselves or pay 400 euros each to get a coach back to leeds – we live in manchester. We then heard of a flight that was available on the friday, again through my mum, and we called and got on that. The flight had a total of 17 passengers on it.
Jet2 have said that they are not responsible for our accomodation and food expenses, as do the insurance company Atlas Direct and Low Cost Holidays. We were literally abandoned over there with no one to help us or give us any advice.
It has cost almost £600 extra in food, accomodation and phone calls to Jet2, insurance and low cost holidays, but none of them are willing to help us. Please can you advise us of what, if anything we can do to try and recoup some of our money back?
Thanks

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My holidays to Zurich were destroyed by volcanic ash. We flew back after three day we were suppose to return. Holidays were booked through expedia. I have read that expedia should refund the cost of the holidays. I cant get through to expedia? Any advice about that and what are the legal term so I can get the cost of my tour get refunded.

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[[http://www.auc.org.uk/default.aspx?catid=306&pagetype=90&pageid=6547]]

Above is a link to the Air Transport Users Council website. With EU Regulation 261/2004 when a flight is delayed or cancelled. Comprehensive FAQ section. Sorry if this has already been posted. Long thread,

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Has anyone had any joy obtaining assistance from Vueling Airlines during the recent volcanic Ash crisis? We were held up in Spain but received no assistance for hotels and food during our extended stay. We could not get any response from Vueling whilst in Spain and have sent off another communication to them referencing the EU regulations. So far they seem to be ignoring their obligations, Would like to know how others are faring with this airline.

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I was booked on a five star airline to return to the UK from South Africa on the 25th April.

When I turned up for my flight I was told the flight was full and they could not fly me before the 5th of May. That would have involved continued accommodation and loss of earnings from my work in the UK.

All the other airlines had capacity but this five star airline would not transfer me to another airline. In fact their staff were very rude which surprised me! I was forced to pay £572 for a one way ticket just so that I could get back.

I have raised a complaint with the five star airline and they have replied saying that they would consider it and reply in at least four weeks.

Because the original return trip was about £750 then even if they returned half of what I paid them then thats only £375 and I will have lost £200. They could easily have put me on another airline but their staff were very unhelpful and rude to me and thats a five star airline. All the other airlines I spoke to were very helpful and could accommodate me and they included BA. KLM, Virgin, Etihad, Kenya and SAA. I would like to say a special thank you to the SAA check in supervisor, Mpumelelo who was particularly helpful when I booked with them.

My question which I need answered to assist my argument with the five star airline is what price/discount do airlines pay when they crossbook passengers with other airlines?

Mar

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@Mar.

That’s a straight case of involuntary offloading (aka bumping). Because your destination is within Europe, they are bound by the EU passenger rights laws which state that they have to pay you a fixed sum (somewhere in the 600 euro area). There links to the regulations above in this list, check out how much it is and then see if you can also claim back for the one way ticket you bought.

In any case, it sounds to be open and shut case of offloading and they have to compensate you.

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Still stuck in Tenerife (sunny, but money running out). Booked flight (Monarch)+hotel+car package with Expedia. Originally due to return on 20th, flight got rebooked finally after three calls to Exedia to 30th.
In this case, can I claim for hotel/food when I’m back? If so, where best to claim – Monarch Airlines or Expedia? Thankful for any tips.

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I was due to return from Bangkok to London via Mumbai on 21 April. I checked in for the flights on the morning of departure using the airline’s website, so have boarding cards for both flights. On arrival at Bangkok airport in the evening I was informed that the Mumbai to London flight had been cancelled and was refused boarding on the Bangkok to Mumbai flight. In fact, the Mumbai to London flight had not been cancelled. It operated to schedule.

It has been suggested that by checking me in for these flights the airline was then under an obligation to carry me on those flights (that it probably wouldn’t have had if it had not checked me in), so I may have a claim against them for failure to do so (e.g. for hotels, meals, etc. for the 6 days I had to wait before they did get me home). Comments please.

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I dont know how far i will get but i have written to Jet2 outlining what happened to us in Venice, andi included all hotel receipts and food receipts. I sent it first class recorded and they now have it, so im waiting for their response now. I quoted the EU Regulation 261/2004, but whether i’ll get any of our money back is anyones guess. Gotta be worth a try though… i’ll keep you posted

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hi i was stuck in florida for 8 days insurance company says see your airline continental and airline says see your insurance company holiday extras both are saying act of god rubbish why do we have insurance when they wont cover anything its cost me over £2000 and no one wants to pay

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The response I got from my insurance company’s agents was unbelievable. The policy covers delays due to adverse weather conditions. Their response to me telling them I intended to claim – “AXA who underwrite your policy do not cover the Volcanic Ash sitation (sic) as this is not a weather condition but was a restriction in place by NATS who closed certain airspace. It is therefore not possible to claim in this regard.”

I have informed them that I will be submitting a claim regardless.

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Ian – My insurance was underwritten by AXA too and i got virtually the same response, hence me writing to the airline first. The policy we had also covered adverse weather conditions and catastrophe – none of which apparently covered the volcanic ash. Let us know how you get on.

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now that all the emotion has settled a bit i suggest you all settle down and review the situation in a logical sequence.we are all up against some very determined and obdurate organisations, they will not give you your money back without a fight. first of all with reference to insurance co`s claiming volcanic ash is not a meteoralogical condition, try telling that to those in the middle east,africa ,usa or australia who have to suffer sandstorms, aircraft are grounded for the same reason grit destroys aircraft. i think you should at least download a copy of eu directive 261/2004 only 7 A4 pages.. page 2 paras 12,13 also para 20. see also article 5 cancellation para 2 article l8 right to reimbursement or rerouting , article 9 right to care , article 14 obligation to inform passengers of their rights , article 15 exclusion of waiver ( effectively the airline cannot shut up shop and tell you that you are on your own now!!!) and finally article 15 infringements. if the airline does not comply with these rules then you can either report them to the uk caa, air transport users council(address on the net) or the authority in the country you were due to depart from hope this is of some use. i have already contacted the air transport users council, they told me the airline( easyjet have got to pay!!!)

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Update: re Thomas Cook holidays-see notes above-I have now been told by Thomas Cook they will refund the cost of the abandoned holiday due to volcanic ash and refunds will take 3-4 weeks.

Noric

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Hi All

I returned from dubai on 30/4 after being re-scheduled from my original flight on 18/4. It was a package holiday booked with expedia with flights from Qatar Airways. Having spent two hours and £200 on my initial call to expedia they said that they have a duty of care to ensure that I have accomodation and that it would be paid for, they also advised that if I called an alternative number call costs would remain at 10p as it was a call centre for calls outside the UK, this was also with the knowledge I could only use my mobile. I then had to make another 6 hours of calls to them to discuss and try and resolve matters as apon check out from my hotel they advised that they were not liable to pay any accomodation but they would put us in a hotel that night as a gesture of goodwill! The 6 calls I made to Expedia subsequently cost over £800 one of which was cut off. Hotel costs were approx £2k and this was staying in a similar standard hotel. I have tried Qatar who are not prepared to pay anything, Vodafone are now threatening to cut off my phone and Expedia still havent replied to me (apart from a £50 credit that has just been applied to my account as a gesture of goodwill if I book another holiday with them before the end of the month!) Are they having a laugh.

I also paid for all these costs through my credit card and cannot get through to Expedia to confirm that I had their standard insurance that they add to your booking ( Im 99% I have).

I would be so grateful for any advice as I have also lost the two weeks holiday entitlement and am not sure where to turn to.

Many thanks

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My son is due to fly back from palma 11.30 to leeds bradford. Is there any cancellations expected due to volcanic ash?

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@John Your contract is with Expedia and you should therefore only have to deal with them. Again, what you must do is dig out paperwork and ensure that you paid a lump sum to Expedia to cover flights and accommodation. That being the case then they are the ‘principal’ and are duty bound to refund ‘reasonable’ expenses.

Since much of your costs are actually related to calling Expedia themselves they’d find it hard to say that the charges weren’t reasonable.

The key legal point is to ensure that your contract with Expedia covers the various services as one package. If they don’t and Expedia have issued one invoice for the flights and another invoice for accommodation then it becomes more complex and you will have to go to the airline.

You should still be on track to get a refund of monies paid. I’d say you want to revert to letters from this point on as you may need to put in a small claims court case in which case copies of letters are far more useful than phone calls.

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Thanks Thomas

It is so good to have some feedback from someone I really am very grateful!

It was definately bought as a package from expedia so I will draft a letter to them, do you know of any standard template that I can use or any specific terms that I need to quote when writing to them?

My mobile has now been cut off so I cant make many calls now anyway lol.

Regards

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just an update for you all on our expenses claim with easyjet.i have had to send them a pay up or else letter today by recorded delivery. fortunately records on my e mail and close scrutiny of easyjet carriers regulations shows they are responsible and that by default also( not turning up at innsbruck or appointing an agent on their behalf) they will have to pay. easyjets responsibilities are further confirmed in the body of regulation 261/2004. the post office travel insurance( fortis insurance) dont want to know, surprise surprise, my advice is if you are travelling within the eu, that is if you can afford it, just use the eu health insurance card and get overseas car cover with one of the motoring organisations… travel insurance is a big con,…… but of course you all know that now!!!!!!!……. In the future especially with the volcano still erupting flying is going to be a bit of a gamble , my choice will be car in future.

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My flight to Malaga with Ryanair has been cancelled today therefore all being well i have moved it to Monday free of charge. My question is if i move the return flight to a later date i.e. the following Monday with there be a charge for this?

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Andy – when we were stuck in venice we were told we could not fly home until the following sunday. However there was a flight onthe website advertised for the friday, so i called Jet2 and they put us on that without extra charge. Now whether it was because we were still in resort trying to get home i dont know, but it would be worth asking?

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I got stuck in Faro Airport 08/05 Easyjet flight was due to fly back to Liverpool at 9.40, I received a text at 6.30am stating the flight had been cancelled. We arrived at the Airport to face huge queues however we choose to go online and select the free transfer option. The only flights available on that day were to Luton or Newcastle so we choose Newcastle leaving at 16.40 – this was then further delayed and did not depart Faro until 8.05pm with over 75% of the baggages unloaded to allow us to fly Around the ashcloud we arrived at Newcastle at 12.30am and fought with Easyjet handling staff to arrange a hotel. What compensation should we receive from Easyjet? We had 3 children and 1 infant with us – total of 10 + 1 group. It was such a long and exhusting day – if anyone has any advise I’d be grateful.

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Thanks Lisa.
Well after changing my Ryanair flight to Malaga from Saturday (somehow only Ryanair flights was cancelled this day) to Monday due to Volcanic ash guess what??? Yes Ryanair cancelled our flight again, this time 10 minutes before we due to fly.

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RYANAIR

stressed out … due to fly to tenerife today from prestwick– cancelled so changed free of charge for tomorrow (monday) now cancelled …. i never got email with link to change again free and when i went into manage booking still charging me…

so thought dont have boarding passes will need to check in and maybe that will auto change the status….. now it does not let me change outgoing flight…..

total crazy i can see no amendments on flights online that are flying but i checked in after cancellation…

out of interest i know if i cancel i will get full refund for both legs….

anyone know if ryanair change return journey free also as a reduced holiday is no use to anyone???

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still waiting to hear from JET 2 re our flights cancelled in April, they cancelled both legs of the journey despite being asked to only refund the outward leg, we then had to re-book both legs ourselves at extortionate prices ( their “helpline” was taking over an hour to answer – at 10p per min!!) so far we have had the full refund for our original booking but nothing – not a whisper of communication regarding our claim for having to re-book the flights ourselves (it was what their online help was telling us to do at the time).
We have copies of all the alerts and messages JET 2 put out on the web over that time, and our emails etc. All the information was send recorded delivery and it has been tracked as delivered. So now we have to start to try to speak to someone in Leeds ( or is it Mumbai?)

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Darren, some body, any body PLEASE help.

Flight was 16th April. Called everyday – gave them the law on the phone said oh ok we’ll refund your flights. However I booked a package deal with Jetline travel who are now claiming they are not sure about getting us our hotel money back because they are not a package provider, just a tailor made holiday provider – but we booked the whole thing as a package, as stated on Teletextholidays.co.uk – didnt make any changes our selves, so not tailor made!?

What am I supposed to do? They won’t give me my money! now very desperate!

Thank you in advance!!!

Becci

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@Becci

Assuming you booked a package from Jetline which included flights and accommodation then they are liable. There is no legal distinction between a package provider and a tailor made holiday provider, they are feeding you a line.

Write to them, explain that you believe that you are entitled to a refund and that you will take further action if they do not reply within 14 days. That further action will be to do a small claims court claim online. It’s simple and cheap (plus you get your money back if they are found in breach) and doesn’t involve expensive solicitors.

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Hey Thomas,

I did book both with them, and transfer! However I called ABTA yesterday and they confirmed if they say on the invoice – “we have acted as an agent for……. ” then it means they are just a travel agent, and I’m not entitled to all the money back – which is awful!?

Surely it was a packge – but if ABTA are confirming them then really not sure what I’m supposed to do? Is there a piece of legislation around that says otherwise? I’ve looked at everything, it’s mainly saying if you booked a package, OR you booked things seperately yourself, nothing on if you did book a package but not really a package and what to do if they say this?!

Who can I complain to Thomas? Just look up Small Claims Court online?
Can any one help? Can’t be the only one this has happened to?

thanks Becci

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@Becci

The key thing is who did they act as an agent for? Presumably if you book onto a (for instance) Kuoni holiday with X travel agent then your payment is taken by X travel agent but your paperwork clearly states that you are a client of Kuoni and it is to their terms and conditions that you sign up.

In your case, who was your actual tour operator – who is your contract with? They are the ones ultimately liable.

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Hi Thomas

We booked the holiday with Jetline Travel who was acting as an agent on behalf of JMC Holidays – which I found out belongs to Thomas Cook – (we had a T.C. flight) so essentially, it’s a package then!?
There isnt a website for JMC, so wondered whether I’ll go through Thomas Cook? Not that I can see them being much help……Jetline just completely brushing off the blame saying they aren’t responsible for accommodation refunds……says it’s actually up to the hotel what we can get back. But surely – if Jetline are just the agents, then wouldn’t it be JMC who are calling the hotels and negotiating?

thanks, Becci

Thanks

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@Becci

This might be simple, it might not be.

I think it might be simple. You bought a JMC holiday. You have a bit of paper saying JMC on it and listing the services you have paid for which presumably includes flights and accommodation.

This being the case, it’s simple. You call Thomas Cook to find out where you should address your claim.

If your flights were booked separately from your accommodation i.e. you have no confirmation invoice showing both services on the same bit of paper, then you have either ‘self packaged’ or ‘split packaged’. Essentially that means that refund regulations will apply to the flight element of your trip but not the accommodation.

As far as the accommodation provider is concerned, you failed to show up when you said you would so they didn’t fail in their delivery of the contract.

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Hi, I would really appreciate your advice on our situation.
We got stuck at Belfast airport on 16th May
we were flying with bmibaby
they had no staff at the desk and we were unable to contact them by phone as they only had an answering machine message
as we didn’t know what to do or how long the delays would last for we arranged a ferry crossing, we had to hire a car, get taxi’s and trains
could you please advise me as to wether we are likely to get any money back
thank you

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I have emailed easyjet and asked for a refund, they said no at first because i had chose the re-route option. So I sent them another email explaining that the website was defective at the time and i was unable to rebook as it was telling me that it could not confirm me on that flight. I also explained that no one was answering the phones so without much choice I had the rebook with british airways to get me back at the earlier possible stage.. and they said they would refund if i could prove I had taken a flight before the 22nd to get me back there earlier. I told them that I couldnt as the website wasnt working, it was telling me that it couldnt confirm the flight, no1 was answering phones so i booked wiv BA on the 23rd for the 24th. I snet evidence that i had emailed them along explaining the situation but they never responded other than an automated email apologising for their delayed response.Now saying that because i was booked on their flight and didnt use it they cant give me a refund, but if i send them my boarding pass they can give me a credit note.BUT i wont use them again! And I don’t know what to do next!!!

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Just an update

I wrote to Jet2 regarding our 3 day delay in Venice and sent them all receipts for accomodation and food and quoted EU Regulation [EC]261/2004. They sent me a form last week to fill in and it stated that they WILL refund any monies spent due to delay. I am now waiting to hear if they will actually refund due to the volcanic ash, ill let you know.

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Hi

Just wondering if anyone has recieved any letters or correspondance from expedia or qatar airways.

I have had no replies to letters sent to expedia and qatar plainly refused….

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