Am I mad to be booking today?

[antietam]

I will be booking using BA to go next summer.
I will book using the deposit option so will hire a car as well.
I have used this years voucher to book a city break in Prague next May/June half Term.
As we want to do Florida and Washington DC we will book hotels on fully refundable.

This year we were supposed to go to Florida/Washington DC and NY.
I booked with Gatwick Parking, Premier inn North Terminal, British Airways, seat bookings, Holiday Inn, American Airlines, Tampa Bay Rays ,DVC, Hilton, Hyatt, Amtrak Railways and Top Of The Rock Atrractionin NYC.
I took a bit of work but i was refunded every penny of these bookings although BA/AA were flight credit but that was ok as we travel to the USA a lot.

Would certainly book early and it is something to look forward to but also it is a worry at the same time waiting for it to be ok to go as time drags on.

Be smart and check all the refund policy's and there should not be much to worry about

[antietam]

Why do you think the flights prices will increase?
Travel experts have said that is unlikely as airlines need to encourage people to go on planes and travel again.
Hiking prices is likely to have a negative effect on capacity which is not what they want

[Bal]

Originally Posted by antietam

Why do you think the flights prices will increase?
Travel experts have said that is unlikely as airlines need to encourage people to go on planes and travel again.
Hiking prices is likely to have a negative effect on capacity which is not what they want

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Flight prices have already increased on many routes. BA flights to LA next year are nearly 100% more on all dates that I've reviewed from prices available earlier this year.

Supply and demand is your answer. Simple as that. Capacity is massively reduced on virtually all routes, down to basic connectivity minimums, with many direct routes now not available at all. Virtually all airlines are making unsustainable losses currently on nearly all routes. Yes, there will be some stimulation of demand using pricing short terms, but as demand return back, demand will likely to outstrip supply (airlines can't reintroduce, staff, get landing spots etcs., at anything like the rate they can offload them) and value of seats will significantly increase as airlines try to return to profit (or at least a sustainable situation). I personally can't see any scenario where if current trends continue we won't have pretty substantial flight price increases toward the end of next year.

[kevbrydon]

Originally Posted by Bal

Staysure are no different to other providers except it does appear some of their telephone operators are confusing people. I’m fully expecting lots of posts about invalid claims on here in a few months

There website is better. It clearly states you are not covered for cancellation if you book after FCO advice is put into place if it remains in place when you are due to travel. You are at the mercy of provider policy for rebooking etc.

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We are with Staysure and have an email stating we are insured ... no confusion here... it’s an annual policy renewed in feb this year and includes World Pandemics... also we booked holiday in January this year and been emailed twice to confirm we are covered for Covid -19

[Bal]

Originally Posted by kevbrydon

We are with Staysure and have an email stating we are insured ... no confusion here... it’s an annual policy renewed in feb this year and includes World Pandemics... also we booked holiday in January this year and been emailed twice to confirm we are covered for Covid -19

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That’s a different situation.

You booked before the FCO advice, so yes you are insured for cancellation for your current booking.

If you made a NEW booking right now for USA, you are not insured for cancellation for that booking until the FCO advice lifts.

[kirstielou]

Originally Posted by staceyb

After a very good quote from charter travel for next sep I've got them calling me this morning to book, am I mad? Other half thinks I'm crazy to be booking atm wih everything that's going on but i just feel like we all need something to look forward to, try and keep things as normal as possible...

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This is the discussion in our house. We last went in 2016 and 2009 before that. Things are very different now we have gone through 2 redundancies each and added twins into the mix. Its taken us years to save to go in Oct 2021 and Ive really been enjoying the saving & planning. Hubby wants to push it back till Oct 2022 . I really want to get this booked. I'm checking flight prices every week but I wont be booking till scheduled flights are released end of Nov time.

[jas72]

Originally Posted by staceyb

After a very good quote from charter travel for next sep I've got them calling me this morning to book, am I mad? Other half thinks I'm crazy to be booking atm wih everything that's going on but i just feel like we all need something to look forward to, try and keep things as normal as possible...

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Just stay away from Virgin at all costs. No surprise they are being taken to court for failing to reimburse their clients.

You don't become a billionaire without taking and not giving.

[hawk299]

Originally Posted by Bal

That’s a different situation.

You booked before the FCO advice, so yes you are insured for cancellation for your current booking.

If you made a NEW booking right now for USA, you are not insured for cancellation for that booking until the FCO advice lifts.

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Yeah, you won't be insured for cancellations but you are covered for Covid medical/repatriation costs etc..

I wouldn't be too bothered about cancellations for most parts of booking. fly/drive only deposit paid, covered by ATOL, if the FCO advice is still in place it's likely they'll cancel, that's on them plus credit card cover

[Blue nose]

Originally Posted by hawk299

Yeah, you won't be insured for cancellations but you are covered for Covid medical/repatriation costs etc..

I wouldn't be too bothered about cancellations for most parts of booking. fly/drive only deposit paid, covered by ATOL, if the FCO advice is still in place it's likely they'll cancel, that's on them plus credit card cover

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But what about cancellation due to bereavement or other illnesses? There's many reasons you need cancellation cover, not just Covid.

[buzzbuzz]

Originally Posted by staceyb

After a very good quote from charter travel for next sep I've got them calling me this morning to book, am I mad? Other half thinks I'm crazy to be booking atm wih everything that's going on but i just feel like we all need something to look forward to, try and keep things as normal as possible...

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ive just booked for easter! if you are mad then i must be insane! As a previous comment on here, if this is not sorted in some way by then, the industry will not be around for anyone to go anyway! fingers crossed it all works out in the end, which I am sure it will.