Airtransat flight booking illness

Mickeyb0y · 16 January 2016 at 11:33AM

In September I booked flights for myself and 3 members of my family with Airtransat. I paid £800 deposit to secure the seats.

On the 30th November I was admitted to Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge for emergency surgery on what was thought to be a perforated ulcer. During this surgery they removed 4 fifths of my stomach and subsequently I spent the next 2 weeks in hospital, feeding through a tube. After my discharge from hospital I was allowed to eat small meals again, but because of the previous surgery I had a lot of scar tissue in and around my small bowel which caused a blockage, and I was readmitted for 7 days to rectify the problem.

Whilst I was in hospital for the second time I got the test results back for the biopsy that they did on the stomach that they had removed. It was found that I actually had a rare form of cancer called a Gastro Intestinal Stromal Tumour. This was devastating news not only for myself but for the whole of my family. I am currently awaiting the test results for the mutational analysis to find out what course of chemo/treatment that I should have moving forward. I have currently been signed off work for a period of 3 months, and as such the situation with money is extremely tight at the moment, given our reduced income

Due to the continuing treatment, I am unable to fly.

I have contacted Airtransat and explained my situation, and they have flat out refused to refund any monies, stating that their terms and conditions state that any change or cancellation will be a loss of deposit. I hadn't yet bought travel insurance.

Now there is no way I could have forseen these circumstances, and Airtransat have plenty of time to resell the seats, it seems extremly unfair that a company will display no compassion and hide behind their terms and conditions, whilst they will make even more money on these seats now at my expense. If anyone could offer any advice I would be grateful.

richardw · 16 January 2016 at 11:49AM

Sorry to hear about your illness.

Check if you have travel insurance through a premium bank account or credit card, or any other insurance policy or work benefits.

Westin · 16 January 2016 at 11:57AM

I am so very sorry to hear about your terrible medical situation. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Whilst it may seem harsh, Air Transat are doing nothing wrong. They don't need to refund your deposit. As I think you know, you should have bought travel insurance at the time of making your travel plans and this would have provided the cover and refund of the deposit paid given your circumstances.

Have you any travel insurance cover through a household policy or a bank account that perhaps you had forgotten? If not, The only thing I can think of would be to ask Air Transat if you can amend to a later flight, perhaps a few months after your scheduled trip and hopefully when you feel better and up to travelling. The airline is under no obligation and may charge a fee.

You may also unfortunately find the cost of travel insurance is much greater now as you will need to disclose your medical history.

Hope you get better soon.

Westin · 16 January 2016 at 11:58AM

My longer ramblings meant richardw was quicker to suggest looking at unexpected cover via bank accounts. Well done for having quicker typing skills!

Caz3121 · 16 January 2016 at 12:43PM

Mickeyb0y wrote: »

Now there is no way I could have forseen these circumstances, and Airtransat have plenty of time to resell the seats, it seems extremly unfair that a company will display no compassion and hide behind their terms and conditions, whilst they will make even more money on these seats now at my expense.

Airlines will go with the view that you will purchase something suitable for your needs and travel insurance would cover anything additional. (or you bear the risk yourself)
Air Transat offer 3 different fare types in economy that you would have had a choice of that offer different restrictions
Eco Class - Changes - NO; Refunds - NO
Eco Extra - Changes - £100 per flight + fare difference; Refunds - Cancellation fee £200
Eco Max - Changes - Fare difference; Refunds - Cancellation fee £100

Eco Class requires full payment up front so it does sound like you have Eco Extra with a cancellation fee of £200 per passenger which would add up to the £800 already paid which would mean no further payment due (if you had Eco Max you would be able to get £400 back but the flights would have cost more initially)
Unfortunately you made the decision not to purchase insurance at the time you had made a financial commitment so you were self-insuring with any risk being yours

It is indeed unfortunate that you have suffered health issues and hopefully you may find some insurance cover that you hold elsewhere to help cover this loss (although some of the bank account ones cover Europe only unless you upgrade)

Wishing you a good recovery but the airline have done nothing wrong and you will find that majority of (if not all) airlines would take the same approach (with most requiring full payment up front so a bigger loss)

jpsartre · 16 January 2016 at 5:22PM

Mickeyb0y wrote: »

Now there is no way I could have forseen these circumstances, and Airtransat have plenty of time to resell the seats, it seems extremly unfair that a company will display no compassion and hide behind their terms and conditions, whilst they will make even more money on these seats now at my expense.

That's one way to look at it. Another is that it is unfair to expect the airline to provide you with free travel insurance that other people pay for.

mraardvark · 18 May 2017 at 9:48AM

My wife has just been diagnosed with cancer - we had three holidays booked prior to the devastating diagnosis - Beziers with Ryanair and AirBnB - got full refund from both. EasyJet and Booking .com to Sardinia - both say no refund - claim on your insurance. And New York at the end of August, with Virgin Atlantic, through Crystal Travel and accommodation through AirBnB. Got full refund from AirBnB but Crystal Travel and Virgin Atlantic say that as my wife is not currently in hospital they won't refund, even though we provided a written confirmation from the medical practitioner that she would be unable to travel, and we should claim on the insurance - no mention even of the refund of APD- totally callous or what!

Airtransat flight booking illness

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free