Virgin Atlantic non-refundable ticket

mjb0871

Hi,
I bought my daughter and her boyfriend a trip to New York for her 21st. I purchased non-refundable tickets. The flight is due to go on 27th April.
I contacted Virgin about a refund and they have said as they are non-refundable they are unable to arrange for a full refund as the flight is still scheduled.
They say we could look to change the date (and even the route) of the ticket, subject to a change fee of £150 per person and there may be additional fare if the new ticket is more expensive. This means that the ticket can still be used later.
If I were to cancel, it would be a partial tax refund and currently their estimate would be £117.84 per person.

What happens if Virgin cancel the flight?

Thanks
Mark

Westin

I would simply wait.
Every chance Virgin Atlantic will start to cancel flights post 16th April (the initial travel restriction date) very shortly.  If they cancel you are then due a refund - although might be offered a credit note.

Caz3121

mjb0871 said:

What happens if Virgin cancel the flight?

https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/news/coronavirus/cancelled-flight.html

Aylesbury_Duck

If they cancel, you'll be entitled to a refund.  You'll probably be offered a voucher which may later be convertible into a refund, so I'd sit tight rather than cancel or change yourself and lose money on the original deal.

mjb0871

Cheers for the replies.

darrend2812

Get in touch with the airline via social media; Twitter was really good. The Virgin staff are extremely helpful. Calling their reservations number will only have you on hold for a lengthy time. From what I believe, they have put policies into place to either offer an extension to your booking/or a refund. 

rebeccabalo1984

Hi. Did you ever get this resolved with Virgin Atlantic? This has just happened to us. We were due to go to New York last weekend but due to the lockdown we were unable to go (not that I would want to in the current climate). I booked the tickets through lastminute.com and so far they have advised that the tickets were non refundable so I am awaiting a further update. Surely if I was not allowed to fly due to a government law, I cannot be penalised for not flying? Thanks

rebeccabalo1984

Just to add... I booked the holiday in January, so before the current pandemic hit. Thanks

jon81uk

rebeccabalo1984 said:

Hi. Did you ever get this resolved with Virgin Atlantic? This has just happened to us. We were due to go to New York last weekend but due to the lockdown we were unable to go (not that I would want to in the current climate). I booked the tickets through lastminute.com and so far they have advised that the tickets were non refundable so I am awaiting a further update. Surely if I was not allowed to fly due to a government law, I cannot be penalised for not flying? Thanks

If the flight went ahead but you couldn't travel then claim on your travel insurance. Assuming your insurance pays out if the FCO says do not travel.

Butts

rebeccabalo1984 said:

Just to add... I booked the holiday in January, so before the current pandemic hit. Thanks

When you say "booked the holiday" was it a package with a Hotel as well as Flights with LastMinute.com to NY ?

Caz3121

rebeccabalo1984 said:

 I booked the tickets through lastminute.com and so far they have advised that the tickets were non refundable so I am awaiting a further update. 

they are correct to a point, If the flight operated you have no right to a refund unless you had purchased a refundable fare type.
Virgin are allowing rebooking or credit for situations where the passenger chooses not to travel. There is information on their website but you will need to deal with Lastminute as they will need to coordinate with the Virgin.
If you want cash back then your insurance policy would be the place to check (you would lose the excess and the policy may not pay out if vouchers are offered)