Virgin advice

[molly48]

Hi
We are due to fly with Virgin Atlantic on 17th sept. I have been advised by my doctor not to go. I have got a lung problem that makes catching covid very dangerous so i am shielding at present. I have had this problem for over 20 years and haven’t had a flare up for 15 years. Can’t claim off insurance as i haven’t told them about it I had genuinely forgotten all about it. That’s why I was shocked to be told to shield.Any way would I be better getting a credit voucher from virgin if my dates are in it. Or wait a bit longer see if they cancel flights. I’ve paid for 6 flights and bubble seats on way home which we wouldn’t get anyway with them changing planes.
Thanks for any advice x

[disney332]

You mention we and 6 flights... how many people travelling?

Each should have travel insurance, and could claim i think. Others will confirm and apology if i am wrong.

Disney332

[Mickie]

I think in your situation I’d be holding out for a refund at least initially. Also I wouldn’t write off the insurance just yet. Do you still have access to the medical declaration you completed? Although some questions start “have you ever...” about things like cancer and heart conditions (and that may well include lung conditions) many of the other questions about medical conditions specifically ask about treatment/hospitalisation in a time limited way, mine for instance starts off with anything requiring a treatment consultation or medicine in the last five years, so if you have not had any treatment for 15 years they may still cover you. That being said they would expect you to try to get a refund from the airline first.

I guess the situation is you cannot travel as it’s now against medical advice. I suspect (but no one knows) that in your specific case that advice is not going to change for sometime. If so do you think a voucher is likely to be of any use to you? I think most airlines are only offering a voucher for travel up til the end of July at the moment anyway and they are time limited.

If you agree that you aren’t likely to be able to use a voucher i don’t see the harm in throwing yourself on Virgin’s goodwill and seeing if they will give you a refund. I don’t think it will harm your case later. If they say no you can always hold out and hope they have to cancel the flight.

If they won’t move I wouldn’t accept a voucher until you are absolutely certain your insurance won’t pay out, as if you do they definitely won’t. If it’s not obvious from the medical questions you had to answer then you may have to make a claim to find out, but again I can’t see that this would be to your detriment later in any way.

Obviously if Virgin won’t refund on goodwill and you are certain the insurance won’t payout and Virgin aren’t cancelling the flight then if a voucher is still on offer at that stage then you may as well take it In case you can use it later.

[Nixx]

So much depends on your circumstances, the refund policies in place, whether you can rearrange for later dates, whether you booked direct with VS and are eligible for the open ticket (and if you're confident that VS won't go under) etc.

But, based on your countdown I'm assuming some of the flights are for for your granddaughters, so it was probably booked as one booking and therefore probably one insurance policy. I would be surprised if any insurance company covered the policy holder having to cancel due to one of the party having an undisclosed pre-existing medical condition.

WRT the refund/credit situation, I'm personally of the belief that barring a second wave - which the official figures do not currently indicate afaik - that flights and hotels will be up and running by your dates. Of course that doesn't mean everyone will or should maintain their original plans, but I do think it means it will be incredibly difficult to get any refund or maybe even credit back on non-refundable bookings.

So based on my assumptions, that you wouldn't have any cover under insurance for you cancelling the flights, I personally would wait a few weeks to see the impact of countries reopening and then if still no sign of second wave/increased cases, perhaps look at getting a credit note/switching to open tickets with VS. Obviously a second wave happening means we could all be locked down again and then your flights are much more likely to be cancelled by VS and you'd be entitled to a refund from them.

[Thorpy]

For us it's all about 2 questions. When you think flights will start to operate for the public, and when will things be normal enough for you to be willing to get on the plane. Of course nobody knows the first date yet, and that affects cancellations. The second date is defined for all of us by our personal attitude towards the risk. A gap between those 2 dates is the window when there is a problem, assuming you're going to be quite cautious, that's possibly a big window for you. We worry about it and we've no underlying factors.

In weighing up the options I'd want to know if taking an open ticket moves potential travel dates back enough that I can reasonably expect to be willing and able (workwise) to travel, and what happens if it does not work out. Might the ticket type change and can I pay a reasonable fee to move it back beyond the free period, rather than the crazy money to move a "no amendments" ticket in normal times. That might be worth a look. If you can't use it or Virgin collapses, an open ticket may just be delaying losing your money, or a route to an insurance claim.

Write out all your options in a decision tree and what happens in each case, then you can see them all at once, and aim for the best outcome or group of outcomes.

[molly48]

Originally Posted by disney332

You mention we and 6 flights... how many people travelling?

Each should have travel insurance, and could claim i think. Others will confirm and apology if i am wrong.

Disney332

See more...

It’s 4 adults and a 5 year old and a 3 year old. We have all got are own insurance with different people.

[Thorpy]

Originally Posted by molly48

It’s 4 adults and a 5 year old and a 3 year old. We have all got are own insurance with different people.

See more...

If anything this complicates matters. Different insurances are exactly that ...different. You may need to factor this into the decision making process as they may not all agree on whether or not to pay out in any given set of circumstances. It would be horrible if some of the party got refunds and other didn't.

The parks are back on a path to opening now, by September I think the borders will be open and you will be allowed to go, the question then is whether you will be willing to travel. If you think not, then rearrange now, whilst you can without penalties.

Also given there's 4 adults, maybe engage them into the process, so you all agree on what to do, (rearrange or stay on track for September). You don't want them having no input then later blaming you if the other decision turns out to have been the better one.