Booking via lastminute.com

psarinuk

Hi,

I've made a booking from lastminute.com to travel to India in Feb'12 via Kingfisher Airlines. I paid with a debit card to avoid credit card charges

I've now come to know about some issues with this airlines, there is a possibility that it might go bust.

I've also found that my annual travel insurance excludes me for cancellations.

So I phoned Lastminute.com to find out if they were ATOL protected and they said "yes". I contacted them via email as well so to get a written reply and got the answer that I've not been charged for ATOL and the airlines with "re-protect" me in case of amendments or cancellation to my flight..

I am confused now as to what will happen if the airline itself goes bust?

Would lastminute.com cover me if airlines goes bust?

Can I buy ATOL after making the booking OR pay by credit card (article 75 protection) now? Would they be able to refund my debit card?

Please suggest me the options available.

Thanks..

Alan_Bowen

You are only protected by the ATOL scheme if you have paid a £2.50 APC fee which would appear on your invoice. It appears in this case lastminute issued the ticket immediately after booking and there is no ATOL protection. You cannot buy ATOL protection after the event, it is the agent that decides the method of sale. What you need is 'scheduled airline failure protection' but I have a horrible feeling that you won't get it now as the state of KIngfishers finances have been well known for some time and insurers tend not to want to cover a known risk. I am not sure other airlines will jump in and look after you, none of the Indian airlines appear to be particualrly healthy and non Indian carriers will asssume the reason you chose Kingfisher was because it was cheaper than them, so you can understand their reluctance to help. You should check a website called Protect my Holiday which is run by IPP you must name the airline and that will tell you if there is protection. If not, you may regret not using a credit card but booking through an agent rather than direct may not have given you protection anyway. If you used a Visa debit card, plead with them if necessary

bagand96

You should check a website called Protect my Holiday which is run by IPP you must name the airline and that will tell you if there is protection.

My first thougt for the OP was Protectmyholiday.com; however I've just looked and when you select Kingfisher Airlines, it says they are not able to offer cover for that carrier.

The other option is perhaps a travel insurance policy that includes Airline Failure Insurance. I know Direct-Travel and Swiftcover include this, there are others though.

One problem, is that Direct-Travel (and Swiftcover I think) both use IPP as the underwriter for the Airline Failure aspect of their policy. And if IPP won't cover Kingfisher through their own website, I doubt they'll cover them through a 3rd party. However, the flipside of this is that Direct-Travel/Swiftcover do not ask for the name of the airline, and do not mention specific exclusions, other than airlines in bankruptcy protection/Chapter 9, which I dont think Kingfisher are.

But insurance companies are insurance companies and if you did want to claim they would try everything to wriggle out of it. For example, Direct Travel state they won't pay out:

2. Any claim relating to an incident which you were aware of at the time you purchased this insurance and which

could reasonably be expected to lead to a claim.

They could in theory claim that Kingfisher's financial situation was known about and therefore there is no claim.

Its a tough one; and I don't know the answer I'm afraid.

luci

All may not be lost. If it was a Visa debit card you paid with you can invoke "Visa chargeback" which is similar to Section 75 protection although not the same.

See HERE and HERE

bagand96

luci wrote: »

All may not be lost. If it was a Visa debit card you paid with you can invoke "Visa chargeback" which is similar to Section 75 protection although not the same.

See HERE and HERE

Will Visa chargeback work in this case because the OP booked through lastminute.com? Lastminute will still be a going concern; and they will not be the party at fault so would Visa do a chargeback and unfairly penalise the agent?

luci

Good point and I don't know the answer without digging into it which the OP can do if they are looking for a solution. It may come under "service not provided".

Bob_the_Saver

Latest Kingfisher News

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/hong-kongs-sc-lowy-may-put-280-mn-in-kingfisher-airlines/articleshow/11545723.cms

http://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/473332-kingfisher-airlines-safety-issue-dgca.html

psarinuk

Hi, Maybe there is silver lining in Bob's post. I am hopeful that Kingfisher would survive as there is nothing I can do at the moment. I asked lastminute to cancel the booking for which there is £150 charge, so that's ruled out. They won't change my booking and take money from my credit card now (and refund to my debit card)..

Also people buying airline tickets in India mainly pay cash, so they would be in the same safety net as me I think! I've heard the owner is much bigger than the airlines itself, so will see how things unfold..

I just had another question. More than 50% of the ticket price was tax that goes to the government. In case of airline going bust, does the tax get refunded (presuming that the tax goes directly to government)?

Cornflakes

I'm having a few problems with Lastminute.com. I tried to book a flight to Singapore and after I had put my credit card details in, a message came up that said the booking had failed.

I called the number, got redirected to India and the call operator said that a flight confirmation email would arrive in a couple of hours.

I started getting suspicious then...

The next day, no email, called them and they said there was no flight booked for me.

I checked my credit card and the money has been taken.

I am now starting procedures to get a refund.

So, I'm stuck with no flight and not enough credit on my card to book another flight.

The amount is apparently 'pending' but having done a bit more research on the Internet (which I wish I had done earlier), it seems that other people have had the same problem and it has taken ages and loads of phone calls to get the money back.

So, I am feeling quite stupid at being taken in like this.

I can only wish the OP good luck with her flight.