USA travel

Sharplesm25

Any advice in relation to my rights for a refund?

My flight is from Dublin to the USA next week - I am not able to travel to Dublin (from Northern Ireland- live in Belfast) both governments wont allow we to travel to Dublin.

USA won't let me in. I can't even get through to departures at Dublin airpoirt - USA customs are based there which means we don't have to go through them on arrival.

Airline is useless - booked with Iberia but is an American Airlines flight. Can't get any response from Iberia. AA say they would refund me but not booked with them.

Can I claim under section 75 as it was booked on my credit card?

Flight is going ahead but only for US citizens and residents.

At my wits end!!

Ta

epm-84

Sharplesm25 said:

Can I claim under section 75 as it was booked on my credit card?

Flight is going ahead but only for US citizens and residents.

No. Section 75 is for where the supplier doesn't fulfill their part of the contract.  If the flight operates but the US government says you can't travel on it then it's not the fault of the supplier so a S75 or chargeback claim would fail.

Only exception would be if the flight you originally booked was cancelled and they 'rescheduled' the flight (i.e. so it has a new flight number) and you didn't agree to the 'reschedule.'

Based on what the Iberia website says it looks like you can change the date of your flight or get a voucher for the value of your booking to use against a future flight.

Westin

Would agree with above.

S75 claims are not a cover all free insurance.

See what waivers the airline is offering. Alternative route is a travel insurance claim if you are unable to travel and your policy terms cover this.

Caz3121

you should be able to get a date change or voucher for future use 
https://www.iberia.com/gb/en/covid-19/flight-flexibility/
This is assuming you booked directly with Iberia and not via a third party booking site

Sharplesm25

epm-84
No. Section 75 is for where the supplier doesn't fulfill their part of the contract.  If the flight operates but the US government says you can't travel on it then it's not the fault of the supplier so a S75 or chargeback claim would fail.

Only exception would be if the flight you originally booked was cancelled and they 'rescheduled' the flight (i.e. so it has a new flight number) and you didn't agree to the 'reschedule.'

Based on what the Iberia website says it looks like you can change the date of your flight or get a voucher for the value of your booking to use against a future flight.

My original booking has changed - one leg of the journey had a flight cancelled and i was put onto a later flight (4.5 hours later). It has a a new flight number. Would that change my entitlement?

Thank you so much for your help. Invaluable.

Melissa

epm-84

Sharplesm25 said:

epm-84
No. Section 75 is for where the supplier doesn't fulfill their part of the contract.  If the flight operates but the US government says you can't travel on it then it's not the fault of the supplier so a S75 or chargeback claim would fail.

Only exception would be if the flight you originally booked was cancelled and they 'rescheduled' the flight (i.e. so it has a new flight number) and you didn't agree to the 'reschedule.'

Based on what the Iberia website says it looks like you can change the date of your flight or get a voucher for the value of your booking to use against a future flight.

My original booking has changed - one leg of the journey had a flight cancelled and i was put onto a later flight (4.5 hours later). It has a a new flight number. Would that change my entitlement?

The question is what did you do in response to being told the booking had changed.  Did you attempt to contact them and tell them the new flight is unsuitable or did you accept the alternative flight?

If you accepted an alternative flight or told them you want to cancel because of a government restriction on travel then it's likely a chargeback or S75 would fail.

If you claimed the alternative flight was never suitable and make that the reason for wanting to pursue a chargeback or S75 then it might be successful.  Although, note even if you have a valid claim the airline might still try to appeal it which could result in the dispute lasting months.

epm-84

Westin said:

Alternative route is a travel insurance claim if you are unable to travel and your policy terms cover this.

It would likely need to be a policy taken out pre-COVID pandemic or which has enhanced COVID protection to cover that.

Although, travel insurance does often cover failure of public transport to get you to the airport, so if public transport is suspended between Belfast and Dublin then that clause may be relevant.