After the economic meltdown - which airlines are dropping out? - and what do you do if you're stranded?
A number of Airlines went bust in April
according to the Times - they list the demise of several carriers;
Oasis (HK) - Aloha Airlines (Hawaiian) - ATA Airlines, Skybus (US) - Eos (UK) - Nationwide (South Africa)
This was followed by a number of collapses - Zoom, Silverjet, XL (UK).
It looks like Alitalia (Italy) and LTE (Spain) have gone the same way recently.
In September the CEO of British Airways - Willie Walsh - suggested another 30 Airlines could file for bankruptcy before Christmas 2008 -
Independent Reports - obviously it is in his business interests to have flyers book their tickets with a dependable company such as BA rather than one of the newer upstarts - but could he be right?
In
Perils of Flying Lauralee experienced some of the fallout from the failure of airlines... has anyone else been left stranded?
What can we do if our flight ticket is suddenly worth less than the paper it's printed on?
Reply to this UMM! I dont know which airline we have booked our tickets to India on. The flight numbers start with TK and we have a layover in Istanbul. I hope they will be alright. I suppose I am not too freaked by the economic crisis or the airline crisis because it hasnt effected me yet. I hope ignoring it all is not too careless and maybe I will fall on my face one of these days. 😞 But maybe ignoring it is the best thing to do because there is always something happening in the world to panic about.
I generally book my airline tickets up to 11 months before the flight date. I dont know if this is becomming too risky to continute doing.
Reply to this ....and what do you do if you're stranded?
I suppose the only thing to do is to consider that buying another return flight might be something that will become necessary and make sure to budget for it when considering how much the trip will cost.
Reply to this ...there are a few things you can watch out for; I work for a travel agency - while everyone is telling us that online booking is the way forward, there are advantages in talking to a real live travel agent. Much of the time we have an idea of who will be bankrupt next (we stopped selling Alitalia months ago & had a feeling that Zoom were going under...).
although you pay a small fee to book through agencies, most include an insurance that covers you if the airline (or us, or a tour operator) goes under.
by the way, TK is Turkish Airlines, hence the layover in Istanbul...!
Reply to this Thanks for the info Tim. 😊
Do you know if Turkish Airlines are considered to be reliable? I would be horribly disappointed if I show up at the airport and find out I cant go to India because they have become bankrupt.
Reply to this - TK are looking okay as far as I'm aware! They are apparently a pretty good airline too, if you look here you'll see they are rated as 4 star which is quite impressive these days;
Reply to this Hi all, well it's a bit of a nightmare scenario, especially if it is sprung on you with no time to replan or re arrange. If you have travel insurance you may be covered.
If you book your own flights online, always do it with a credit card. That way you will get your money back if the airline goes bust. Unfortunately you will only get back what you paid for the flights and not the accomodation or anything else you'd booked. The cost of another flight to your destination will be much higher as you are now booking later and there is more demand for the replacement seats.
If you book through an ABTA travel agent you do get their cover which should get you your money back.
Whatever you choose, the cover you get will only be financial and is likely to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth rather than a happy holiday.
Reply to this If you book your own flights online, always do it with a credit card. That way you will get your money back if the airline goes bust.
Well, that is good news. I almost always book them online with a credit card. 😊 But, is there a time limit to claim the money back by. Suppose I book the flight 10 months before the airline goes bust, then can I still claim the money back or does it need to be done soon after the credit card payment is made?
Reply to this If you get stranded, contact your country's embassy I would suggest...they should offer advice and help
Reply to this If you get stranded, contact your country's embassy I would suggest...they should offer advice and help
I wouldnt rely on that. Many consulates have little tolerance for those who get stranded because of not having enough money.
Reply to this Mell, you are covered by the dispute funtion on your credit card for goods/services not delivered. this is part of the contract you have with your credit card and it your provider does not deliver (in this case the airline going bust) you get your money back. You need to claim as soon as possible after the event. You can still claim if your purchase is made along time before the trip as long as you still have the card. :-)
Reply to this The good looking one :-)
Now, dont make me choose. :D
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