Non refundable flight cancelled by customer

a5972s

Yes indeed they have and I'm very grateful for them refunding the cancellation fees.

Taking insurance out at the time of booking is something I'm going to do going forward - lesson learned in that respect

What i was told by customer services is that when you buy a non-refundable ticket it gets committed to an account immediately whereas a refundable ticket is held onto before being committed to the same account anywhere between 24-48 hours before departure giving you plenty of time to get your money back by way of a refund.

So based on that scenario, when the money is put into the airline account there's no way to get it out again which seems a little odd to me. Maybe is just airline procedure.

We bought non-refundable tickets as we had every intention of flying on the dates we booked but we never expected to have news like this

stevie11

a5972s wrote: »

We bought non-refundable tickets as we had every intention of flying on the dates we booked but we never expected to have news like this

I feel for you and understand your situation but that is the way the travel industry works I am afraid. Nobody expects these things to happen. As an example I flew out to Dubai last year for a weeks holiday. On the morning the day after we arrived we had some sad family news and had to get back to the UK urgently. We were back home less than 24 hours later but lost out on the remainder of our hotel bookings due to being non refundable. That was the risk we accepted when booking but took the loss as we had other things to worry about. We were grateful for the airline getting us a compassionate ticket at so such notice, they were very good. In this case the flight was also non refundable and they didn't charge us extra.

So you still have an option to use your flights. I would forget the fight with the airline and take up the generous offer and try to look forward to your trip.

a5972s

Appreciate the comments folks, some definite take home points here. Thanks for taking the time to respond

jackomdj

We are in a similar situation with my dad. He was going to come on holiday with us, we bought non-refundable tickets. My Mum is now seriously ill and he is unable to travel. BA could set aside his flight so he uses the money to travel elsewhere, within 6 weeks (this won't happen as he is unable to leave my mum). He does have insurance, however he had to cancel last years holiday with my sister as he got cellulitis a week before travelling and was having the nurse come to give him iv antibiotics, he is worried if he claims two years in a row his insurance will be too high when he is able to travel again. So we are just taking the hit for it. !!!55357;!!!56862;

jpsartre

jackomdj wrote: »

he is worried if he claims two years in a row his insurance will be too high when he is able to travel again.

I don't recall ever being asked if I've made a claim before when purchasing travel insurance so I doubt that makes a difference.

koalakoala

Why can't you still go but stay in a hotel?

Gloomendoom

jpsartre wrote: »

I don't recall ever being asked if I've made a claim before when purchasing travel insurance so I doubt that makes a difference.

I did a dummy online quote for LV after reading a thread on here a couple of days ago and I'm sure they asked if I had claimed more than once I the last two years.

jpsartre

Maybe different providers ask different questions then. I just took out an annual travel insurance policy for the family last month with Insurefor.com and no questions were asked about any previous claims.

a5972s

koalakoala wrote: »

Why can't you still go but stay in a hotel?

The cost of a hotel/motel for the duration was half as much again.

Heliflyguy

Hi OP have you or are you able to check the printed rules of your ticket because the lowest fares on AC to Canada from the UK all state :
Cancellations
Any Time
Ticket is non-refundable
Waived for death of passenger or Family member.
Note -
The following rules apply per pricing unit.
...........
Waivers must be evidenced by death certificate.

No mention of holding the money for another flight.
Also although its from 2015.

https://www.aircanada.com/content/dam/aircanada/portal/documents/PDF/agents/en/ca/reference/refund_guidelines.pdf