Middle East Air Tickets - Credit Card cancellation

WonkyDonkey99

Hi, I couldn't find an answer to this specifically in the (very helpful) ME War FAQ.

Firstly, I appreciate there's a horrific war on and nobody knows when it will end and all of this is small beans next to what's happening.

That said… My first world holiday problem is probably shared by many- due to fly in 4 weeks via the UAE (Abu Dhabi). My airline (Etihad) will only give flight information for the next 2 days and will only refund those who bought directly, not via a travel agent. The travel agent will not refund until the airline cancels the flights.

This puts people like me in the position of losing all the £ for bookings made in our destination if it transpires we can't get there - unless we can find new direct flights in April, with two days to go.

Since the UK Gov has issue advice against travelling to UAE and my insurance for the holiday is therefore invalid, is this a good enough reason to cancel the ticket via my Credit Card using section 75 protection? Or will my CC provider say the same as the travel agent - the provider has not yet withheld the service you paid for, so hard cheese?

As many people are finding, the information on how things are looking at Middle East Airports is obscure and often contradictory.

Thank you all!

eskbanker

S75 won't apply if you booked flights via an agent anyway, unless the agent breaches your contract with them, e.g. by failing to buy the ticket - if the airline breaches the contract by not flying (and failing to refund) then that isn't covered by s75 as the involvement of the agent breaks the debtor-creditor-supplier chain needed to qualify.

user1977

I think the difficulty is the government advice is not that the position will be the same in 4 weeks - realistically, everything could be back to normal (at least as far as air travel via the UAE is concerned).

silvercar

I’d be looking at alternative flights now.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924841#Comment_81924841

No harm in looking, but actually buying would be an entirely different story, unless OP has a fully flexible refundable ticket….

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924861#Comment_81924861

If the OP understandably doesn’t want to fly via the Middle East, even if things calm down, then booking alternative flights now will be cheaper now than in 2 days beforehand. The other option is to wait and find the alternative flights are unaffordable, so the hotel costs are lost.

I’m assuming that this isn’t an ABTA bonded holiday, if it was there should be more protection.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924872#Comment_81924872

Perhaps OP is a gambler with deep pockets, but at this stage there's no guarantee that they're getting a refund for the existing flights, which may still operate?

user1977

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924861#Comment_81924861

I suppose it's possible a flexible ticket will be cheaper now than any available ticket 2 days before flying.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6659901/middle-east-air-tickets-credit-card-cancellation

The insurance isnt invalid, it's a basis to make a claim however you can only do so if the advice is still the same when you are due to travel.

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924921#Comment_81924921

this:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924973#Comment_81924973

combined with the calculation on whether it is worth paying X for the cost of a new flight now vs not having a holiday and losing the non refundable elements of the holiday like hotels etc.

WonkyDonkey99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81924776#Comment_81924776

I understand this. But IF the credit card supplier will refund based on government advice not to travel, then it shouldn't make a difference. Presumably it will refund money paid to the travel agent just as it would money paid to the airline