ElainePDX
Level 2 Member
Question 1: Could my non-refundable tickets be partially refundable?
I know this is TL;DR but I do hope a few of you take a look, since I need some advice!
Back in April 2015, we booked 2 tickets JFK >> JNB for $607 r/t each. We booked through Expedia and the terms were clear:
Tickets are nonrefundable, nontransferable and name changes are not allowed.
Excited by the low fare and the idea of actually going to southern Africa, I did no due diligence on Jet Airways. I figured a partner of Etihad couldn't be that bad. Having flown from the west coast to Israel many, many times in coach, I figured we'd survive. And I feared that if I delayed too much to check it out, the fare would disappear.
Since Feb. was quite far away and I knew there could perhaps be a family-related reason we'd need to cancel, I bought trip cancellation insurance coverage. It refunds 75% for cancellations for any (or no) reason. For medical or work reasons, coverage is provided at 100%.
I soon began to hear "horror stories" about flying Jet Airways in coach. The drawbacks of the outgoing itinerary of JFK >> AUH >> JNB, with a 14 hour overnight layover in AUH, which I'd brushed off back in April, got more problematic. Was it worth clearing customs and getting a hotel, only to have to clear security a few hours later? Alternatively, how miserable would we be spending the night in the airport? Neither option seemed all that good. I began to consider looking for award tickets, but did nothing.
Today, when I saw that SAA was offering $643 nonstop r/t JFK >> JNB tickets, I decided to go for that. We were able to add 3 days to our trip and the prospect of a nonstop on SAA in both directions is significantly more appealing than what we have on Jet, even if it still is coach.
So now I need to cancel the Jet tickets. I will admit that I did consider concocting a free-lance job that I "must" take to be able to get the 100% refund, but that doesn't really sit well with me. So I looked at the Penalty and Cancellation Rules (via Expedia since I booked the original tickets there) which - no surprise - start out this way:
Please note that the most restrictive set of rules below applies to your entire itinerary.
From: New York, NY (JFK-John F. Kennedy Intl.)
To: Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB-All Airports)
Fare Basis Code: H2LACBA6
Not one to be deterred, I read on and under the Penalties Section, I found this buried in the terms:
CANCELLATIONS BEFORE DEPARTURE CHARGE USD 450.00 FOR CANCEL/REFUND.
Here's the context:
(16)PE.PENALTIES
CHANGES ANY TIME CHARGE USD 200.00. NOTE - ABOVE CHARGE APPLIES TO FLIGHT/DATE CHANGE. ---------- REROUTING - ONLY INVOLUNTARY REROUTING PERMITTED. ---------- INCASE OF COMBINATIONS BETWEEN MULTIPLE FARES THE MOST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS WILL BE APPLICABLE FOR THE ENTIRE PRICING UNIT. CHARGE USD 200.00 FOR NO-SHOW. NOTE - INCASE OF COMBINATIONS BETWEEN MULTIPLE FARES THE MOST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS WILL BE APPLICABLE FOR THE ENTIRE PRICING UNIT. CANCELLATIONS BEFORE DEPARTURE CHARGE USD 450.00 FOR CANCEL/REFUND. NOTE - INCASE OF COMBINATIONS BETWEEN MULTIPLE FARES THE MOST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS WILL BE APPLICABLE FOR THE ENTIRE PRICING UNIT. ----------TICKETS ISSUED 7 DAYS OR MORE PRIOR TO FLIGHTS SCHEDULED DEPARTURE CAN BE CANCELLED/REFUNDED WITHOUT PENALTY UP TO 24 HOURS AFTER A TICKET IS ISSUED. AFTER DEPARTURE TICKET IS NON-REFUNDABLE IN CASE OF CANCEL/REFUND. NOTE - FOR REFUND- ON SECTORS WHERE FIRST CLASS/PREMIERE SERVICE IS NOT OFFERED/AVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF TICKETING PASSENGERS MAY BE BOOKED IN THE NEXT LOWER CABIN. NO REFUND WILL BE PERMITTED FOR CLASS DIFFERENCE IN SUCH CASES. ---------- yada, yada, yada....
Now could that mean that these nonrefundable, nontransferable tickets are actually refundable after a penalty of $450 each ticket? Or is that just wishful thinking on my part? Or perhaps they give a credit on Jet of $607 - $450? I will call Jet but before I do, I'd love some guidance on exactly what if anything we should get upon cancelling.
Question 2: Best timing to cancel?
My thought is to find out what if anything we'd get upon cancellation, and then to wait until the last minute to do the cancellation.
While I certainly hope there is neither a work or illness reason that pops up in the next two months, forcing us to cancel, if that did happen, we'd get a better refund than just cancelling it right now.
Alternatively, with two months to go before departure, Jet could make a schedule change that we would find unacceptable, or even cancel the flight, or the weather could cause a cancellation.
So there seems no gain in doing anything right now. Would you agree?
Thanks for reading this far! If you have any advice/experience/ thoughts on the best way to handle this, I will be most appreciative! Thanks again!
I know this is TL;DR but I do hope a few of you take a look, since I need some advice!
Back in April 2015, we booked 2 tickets JFK >> JNB for $607 r/t each. We booked through Expedia and the terms were clear:
Tickets are nonrefundable, nontransferable and name changes are not allowed.
Excited by the low fare and the idea of actually going to southern Africa, I did no due diligence on Jet Airways. I figured a partner of Etihad couldn't be that bad. Having flown from the west coast to Israel many, many times in coach, I figured we'd survive. And I feared that if I delayed too much to check it out, the fare would disappear.
Since Feb. was quite far away and I knew there could perhaps be a family-related reason we'd need to cancel, I bought trip cancellation insurance coverage. It refunds 75% for cancellations for any (or no) reason. For medical or work reasons, coverage is provided at 100%.
I soon began to hear "horror stories" about flying Jet Airways in coach. The drawbacks of the outgoing itinerary of JFK >> AUH >> JNB, with a 14 hour overnight layover in AUH, which I'd brushed off back in April, got more problematic. Was it worth clearing customs and getting a hotel, only to have to clear security a few hours later? Alternatively, how miserable would we be spending the night in the airport? Neither option seemed all that good. I began to consider looking for award tickets, but did nothing.
Today, when I saw that SAA was offering $643 nonstop r/t JFK >> JNB tickets, I decided to go for that. We were able to add 3 days to our trip and the prospect of a nonstop on SAA in both directions is significantly more appealing than what we have on Jet, even if it still is coach.
So now I need to cancel the Jet tickets. I will admit that I did consider concocting a free-lance job that I "must" take to be able to get the 100% refund, but that doesn't really sit well with me. So I looked at the Penalty and Cancellation Rules (via Expedia since I booked the original tickets there) which - no surprise - start out this way:
Please note that the most restrictive set of rules below applies to your entire itinerary.
From: New York, NY (JFK-John F. Kennedy Intl.)
To: Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB-All Airports)
Fare Basis Code: H2LACBA6
Not one to be deterred, I read on and under the Penalties Section, I found this buried in the terms:
CANCELLATIONS BEFORE DEPARTURE CHARGE USD 450.00 FOR CANCEL/REFUND.
Here's the context:
(16)PE.PENALTIES
CHANGES ANY TIME CHARGE USD 200.00. NOTE - ABOVE CHARGE APPLIES TO FLIGHT/DATE CHANGE. ---------- REROUTING - ONLY INVOLUNTARY REROUTING PERMITTED. ---------- INCASE OF COMBINATIONS BETWEEN MULTIPLE FARES THE MOST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS WILL BE APPLICABLE FOR THE ENTIRE PRICING UNIT. CHARGE USD 200.00 FOR NO-SHOW. NOTE - INCASE OF COMBINATIONS BETWEEN MULTIPLE FARES THE MOST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS WILL BE APPLICABLE FOR THE ENTIRE PRICING UNIT. CANCELLATIONS BEFORE DEPARTURE CHARGE USD 450.00 FOR CANCEL/REFUND. NOTE - INCASE OF COMBINATIONS BETWEEN MULTIPLE FARES THE MOST RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS WILL BE APPLICABLE FOR THE ENTIRE PRICING UNIT. ----------TICKETS ISSUED 7 DAYS OR MORE PRIOR TO FLIGHTS SCHEDULED DEPARTURE CAN BE CANCELLED/REFUNDED WITHOUT PENALTY UP TO 24 HOURS AFTER A TICKET IS ISSUED. AFTER DEPARTURE TICKET IS NON-REFUNDABLE IN CASE OF CANCEL/REFUND. NOTE - FOR REFUND- ON SECTORS WHERE FIRST CLASS/PREMIERE SERVICE IS NOT OFFERED/AVAILABLE AT THE TIME OF TICKETING PASSENGERS MAY BE BOOKED IN THE NEXT LOWER CABIN. NO REFUND WILL BE PERMITTED FOR CLASS DIFFERENCE IN SUCH CASES. ---------- yada, yada, yada....
Now could that mean that these nonrefundable, nontransferable tickets are actually refundable after a penalty of $450 each ticket? Or is that just wishful thinking on my part? Or perhaps they give a credit on Jet of $607 - $450? I will call Jet but before I do, I'd love some guidance on exactly what if anything we should get upon cancelling.
Question 2: Best timing to cancel?
My thought is to find out what if anything we'd get upon cancellation, and then to wait until the last minute to do the cancellation.
While I certainly hope there is neither a work or illness reason that pops up in the next two months, forcing us to cancel, if that did happen, we'd get a better refund than just cancelling it right now.
Alternatively, with two months to go before departure, Jet could make a schedule change that we would find unacceptable, or even cancel the flight, or the weather could cause a cancellation.
So there seems no gain in doing anything right now. Would you agree?
Thanks for reading this far! If you have any advice/experience/ thoughts on the best way to handle this, I will be most appreciative! Thanks again!
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