Help please- wanting to cancel flights

chocciemonster

I booked some flights in May this year to go to Africa. In total there are 9 flights starting and finsihing in Edinburgh as I am going to both Zimbabwe and South Africa. I booked the flights through Expedia and essentially it's with 5 different airlines. The first flight is with Air France and as a result the tickets have been issued under the Air France policy. I was due to go down to East London (in South Africa) to spend Xmas with my parents. However, my Dad passed away in October and now my Mum has moved to Durban. As a result I want to cancel 2 flights- to and from Johannesburg. However, the airline is saying this is not possible due to the ticket restrictions. If I don't arrive on the first flight they will deem me a no show and cancell the rest of my tickets i.e. from East London to Johannesburg, Johannesburg to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Edinburgh. Does anyone have any advice on what to do in this situation? I'm so upset as the tickets have already cost double what they would normally as it's Xmas and this is the first time in 5 years I would be spending with my family. I don't want to spend it sorting out admin!

dzug1

I suspect your best bet is to take the flights as planned and book an extra flight (or bus?) to and from Durban from Johannesburg

It's just possible that your insurance company might consider a cancellation claim but somehow I really doubt it.

Or maybe the airline will let you change the flights rather than cancel them - if you've only mentioned cancelling to them they may not have considered this option

richardw

Call Expedia and say you just want to change the bit from Jo'burg to Durban and ask them how much it would cost.

chocciemonster

I have tried asking if I could change them and the response was even more negative than asking them to cancel the flights. I have spoken to Expedia and they aren't willing to help as the tickets are now issued against Air France and 'out of their hands'.

victor2

Bit of a pain, but if your insurance won't cover cancellation - and if they do, it will probably cost you more to rebook - then make additional plans to get to Durban and leave the original flights as they are.
Had a similar problem with Virgin once, where we needed to cancel a stopover, but otherwise get the same flights, just one leg earlier than booked. Not getting one flight in the sequence would result in the rest being cancelled.

richardw

Perhaps log in to https://www.airfrance.co.uk/cgi-bin/AF/GB/en/local/process/standard/rebooking/SearchPnrRbkAction.do? and view your reservation and see if you can change it to Durban.

chocciemonster

Thanks richardw. Just tried and it shows
Conditions

This reservation is not eligible for online modifications


So that's a no go.

@victor2- did your insurance cover you?

richardw

Perhaps search for an Air France number on http://www.saynoto0870.com/search.php and give them a call.

victor2

chocciemonster wrote: »

@victor2- did your insurance cover you?

Yes it did. The change was due to a death in the family we were visiting two weeks before we were due to go.
Insurance paid the money we lost due to cancellation in full and we re-booked without the stopover, with a different airline as it happened.
Virgin didn't want to know, insurance company paid up with no fuss.

chocciemonster

I think I will try the Air France route first and speak to them directly. If they are of no help I'll try my insurance company. I'll have a look at their T&C's first though. Thanks for all your help and fingers crossed

tomjonesrules

If you can, try to speak to someone at AF's US call centres. The chances of you getting help from their main office is around zero, but the US staff do tend to be more helpful (they got me home when Paris insisted I didn't even have a reservation!). Also post on the AF board on Flyertalk, they'll tell you if there is any way around this.