upcoming trips... join the 'will we make it ?' or 'I hate volcanos' club!

Count us in at May 1-4 in Venice! Fingers crossed!

Leaving April 28th, I hope, for 2 weeks in Switzerland. Flying into Geneva and out of Zurich.

Wonder if any fodorites are stuck in Europe now - has anyone heard?

MoneyB.

booked on flight to Spain via Amsterdam on April 24th.
Doubt it!

I still can't believe we made it.
I am going to buy trip insurance from now on!

Into Amsterdam May 11; out of Paris May 23. I'm hopeful.

Just read that 50% of flights are scheduled to resume on Monday.

The trip insurance I purchased doesn't cover this scenario.

We are scheduled to depart for Paris April 20th. I'm working on Plan B.

Sounds as though Fodorite Seamus is enjoying his extended stay in London.

Leaving May 1 for Istanbul.....looks like our flight is not currently in trouble.

Boston - Berlin via Madrid on June 1.

I'm nervous too.

KLM had two commercial flights from Amsterdam today, one to Sharjah in the UAE and one to Bangkok, both cargo, though the Bangkok one was a combi with extra crew on board.

Their test flights yesterday and today showed no ash at all in the filters or motors. Same with Lufthansa and Air France.

There is a chance airspace will reopen partially tomorrow following a new meeting tomorrow am. Eastern Europe may remain closed, as there is clearly ash in the air there.

We're supposed to go to Florence/Venice in early May. It's too complicated to go into, but we're most likely going to have to cancel regardless. It's too bad because most of the trip was paid for with frequent flyer miles and hotel point. Keeping my fingers crossed for the rest of you!

Boston-Heathrow-Edinburgh. April 22nd.

Trying to remain optimistic in the face of increasingly negative reality!

Just hate to give up on it!

VOLCANOS - What good are they?

Hopefully will make it to AMS May 29th. If not I think the Mayans got it wrong by 2 years!

I think it's a refreshing change from terrorism.

I believe al qaeda is taking credit in an upcoming youtube release, or was that al gore?

Actually, I heard on the radio yesterday that an Iranian imam explained that the volcanic eruption and the recent earthquakes were caused by two things: 1) sexual relations between unmarried people and 2) women who are improperly dressed.

So if you want things to get back to normal, you know what you have to do now.

My daughter and I are due to leave Toronto for Heathrow on April 20. Keeping our fingers crossed. I booked a hotel in London through hotwire, and am regretting that I didn't check the little box for insurance. Oh well, next time...

PHL to Rome, April 21. Fingers crossed, but it is a little nerve wracking.

I'm sure that there are much greater tales of woe than mine; just like most people going on vacation, I'm really looking forward to it. My only extra bit of woe is that because of health problems it is hard for me to go in the first place, and changing plans at short notice puts me through the ringer.

Colduphere's son is with a school group visiting France, Paris I believe, and of course they haven't been able to get home to Canada.

And seetheworld's sister-in-law is stuck in Portugal as are her son(s) and they can't get home to the US which is terrible as seetheworld's FIL died yesterday (SIL is the daughter of the FIL), heartbreaking that.

well imminent travelers, here's hoping for more good news!

=> test flights successful with no damage
=> smaller airports opened
=> hope to open 50% of airspace today


bad news is that Britain, France, Netherlands, and Germany still have airspace closed.

I have 2 holidays booked for this year - one leaving 3 weeks tomorrow to Greece (Santorini/Naxos) and the second in July to ICELAND! I've realised I've managed to book to go to 2 areas with active volcanic forces and in economic crisis! The Iceland trip is (of course) to the southern part of the island - i.e. the area most affected. I can almost accept my Iceland trip may get cancelled or perhaps changed but if my Greek trip is affected too - I'm going to cry!

Any chance Fred Phelps might be asked to lead a small demonstration anywhere near the volcano?

Volcanos, my friend. Katla is the more dangerous one and is about to erupt soon.

KLM just flew from AMS to CDG without passengers. No problems, no ash found.
The Dutch want to start flying again, but if their neighbours keep their airspace closed their is nothing they can do

Hopefully this video conference of EU top cats will produce some results.
Spain and Southern Italy are open again it seems.

France is laying on extra trains, at a lower price than normal, from what I have read.

NS sold out of all it's international train tickets for the next week on Saturday.

Add Mr. Fan & I to the list.

Due to fly on Apr 30 to MUC via AMS. It's a quick trip, mainly to visit family, but I really didn't want to cancel. I finally managed to amass enough miles to get the overnight flight to AMS in Business Class and it's a suprise for Mr. Fan's 50th Birthday!

Also, he's not particularly excited about going, even if the deem it 'safe'. Is anyone else feeling that way?

Good luck to everyone!
H

Due to go to Sicily Wednesday (from Dublin) for a wee break, long overdue doesn't look good.

Due to leave LAX for Paris on April 22.

Phieaglefan, I am not feeling so excited about the trip anymore right now.

What I get there and the ash gets worse and I am delayed coming home? I am not sure it is the most responsible decision to go.

Hetismij, I was listening to BBC radio 4 and they reported that although BA, KLM etc. had found no problems on their test flights 4 NATO fighter jet planes had found damage to their engines on test flights through the ash.

Much as I would like this situation to change I think I would trust NATO more than a commercial airline. I complain constantly that Health & Safety in this country has gone mad but in this instance I would rather be safe than sorry.

I am also in the travel soon group. May 11 to Berlin. I am concerned the ash now will die down and erupt again just in time for my trip.
This is a new worry I have never had before. Mother Nature, what can you do?!

Krakow 27th May. And I have my son stranded in London....

rbnwdlr(rbnwdln) and DH to Paris on June 11

DS and DD to Greece (via Paris) on May 28th

Best friend's last minute "I beat cancer" trip to Paris - April 28th

I am going to Paris if I have to swim. %^$&*^ volcano!

Knock on wood, I'm leaving April 27 from Austin to Milan, and will be flying home from Zurich on May 7.

Where is Tom Hanks (Joe) to go sacrifice himself to the volcano gods when we need him??!!

Baladeuse - we're stuck in London and unfortunately I don't know about price line, but our hotel is quite full right now w/all of us "volcano refugees" and seemed to feel we were lucky to be able to extend our stay. The imbalance of extenders being great, new arrivals being very slim. By now you've perhaps contacted your hotel and I'm betting they worked with you??
Looks like heathrow reopens tomorrow (fingers crossed). We didn't wait for travel agent to be cleared by VA to rebook and feel lucky to have VA 1pm Friday - if not we'll be joining the swarm to Madrid. This morning we went to "SameDayDoc" since DH brought only enough meds for expected trip dates (silly man!). They said they've seen lots of Americans for prescription refills.
So now that it looks like we're set for Friday we can relax and wander more! Tomorrow Hampton court!
Cheers and good luck to us all whether going or coming!

I don´t think I will have so much problems as other travellers here. For once, airports in northern Spain are opened again and flights look to be on time. On other side, I am simply visiting the family and going out with friends, so if I cannot go, I won´t mind and I will go there a couple of weeks afterwards.

We had a couple of engineers stranded in Canada and China, but on the other side we had customers visiting from Pakistan this week ... and they have arrived on schedule Quite a surprise !

What I am wondering is how the T4 is going to "survive" all those people rescheduled to go through Madrid ...

Bye, Cova

Came to London from Perth Australia for a week - supposed to be out of Heathrow today....was advised yesterday that reschedule for 7th May (you gotta be kidding - i came here for a week, not a month!)

Book flight from Rome for Friday and tomorrow start the journey from London - Paris - Rome on the trains....

The hotel I'm here at in London (very nice too) is bleeding...less than half full....they've been fantastic too!

Add us to the list of volcano watchers with a flight soon. We are leaving from Atlanta to Rome next Sunday April 25th. Watching and hoping the volcano quiets down enough to allow this one little flight to arrive on time. I will worry about the flight back when the time arrives. Rome looks pretty good so far but no telling what will happen with one volcano spewing ash and another predicted to go off soon. Wishing all of you stranded souls good luck in your travels. J

Flights are due to resume tomorrow from many countries. I would panic too much, have a look at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8630632.stm.

KLM are flying tonight to the US, Shanghai and somewhere else, repatriating passengers who have been stuck in the transit zone at Schiphol.
The new Eurocontrol agreed zones start at 8 am European time tomorrow.

Air France is hoping to operate 25% of its flights from Paris tomorrow. Meanwhile, it was very happy to be able to operate its A380 out of Toulouse today -- home of Airbus and therefore equipped for such planes.

To where did that A380 fly?

Cambe, NATO have refused to say when or where or at what height their jets were flying when they were damaged. For all we know they flew them straight though the ash over Iceland. Until they tell us the details I'll believe the airlines and their test flights.

Luckily,on Friday evening we arrived home safely from Rome (Rome - Toronto) after spending 10 glorious days.

Hoping other fodorites are able to travel as planned.

Originally scheduled to fly to Frankfurt on 4/16 - cancelled.

Rescheduled for 4/19 - cancelled.

Rescheduled now for 4/23.

If it's rescheduled after the 23rd, we're cancelling.

Pavot, it went to Johannesburg. (A380 service to South Africa all through the World Cup period.)

Due in to London (and on to Toulouse, FRA 3 days later) on April 28th.

Sadly, DD and (brand new)SIL were forced to cancel their European honeymoon (3 weeks, Switzerland, France and Spain)after 48 hours in airports looking hopeful and are making their own romance in San Francisco instead.

I'm scheduled to fly to Barcelona on Apr 21. I waltzed happily through last week because Spain was not appearing on the no fly lists. Then suddenly American Airlines added BCN within the last day or so. I had a couple of hours of panic this morning, but am feeling better now that it appears all Spain airports have reopened. My situation is infinitely less stressful than what some of you are going through. Being stuck or having your flight cancelled is a nightmare.

My trip is just May 12-May 20th... I'm hopeful things will be back to normal by then for a while, unless there is another eruption.

Who would have thought, huh? A volcano ... My little cousin, 7, is also coming along on the trip and he finds the news of this volcano quite intriguing. He won't find it so funny if the volcano prevents him from going to Euro Disney and Parc Asterix!!

Due to leave for London on the 23rd. If we get out, I can begin to worry about getting back.

Scheduled to fly to London on May 1 - no insurance! oh well, nothing can be done except to wait and watch.

NYC to LHR May 20th. Hopefully, it'll all be clear by then. Fingers crossed!

I am to leave Wednesday for flights on Air France Seattle-Paris-Madrid-Seville(Iberia Air) to pick up a cruise. At this point Air France has not yet canceled the flight at the same time out of Seattle on Tuesday so evidently there is still hope. In the meantime my travel agent has a ticket on hold from Seattle to Chicago to Madrid - the cost is $2,600 one way and arriving a day later than the original flight and on a different airline. This is fine as I can catch up easily. Fortunately, I have trip insurance and I just talked to an agent and they will cover the cost of the new ticket as long as I purchase it before the original departure date.

Originally scheduled to leave 4/16 on a direct flight YYZ - CDG for 10 days. Now rescheduled to leave 4/20, connecting through Vienna, same return date. Apparently there are no problems Vienna to CDG, but I'm still worried about being stranded in Vienna.

Decisions, decisions - leave tomorrow, or reschedule for July...

We are sched. Apr 23 Atl to FCO! Keeping everything crossed!

oh yeah - I'm in the I hate volcanoes club!!

www.bustohome.info is offering to help anyone stranded and in need to contact one another for mutual help in combining efforts to get away. Apparently it's a non-profit website designed to form an e-mailing group of those people that have same starting location and destination. You can register and offer to help as well. Now there's a nice idea

wow. lots of us going neat places. or not going neat places.

ricardo, thanks for the link - that is interesting!

Not feeling very optimistic at the moment..scheduled to fly into Rome on the 22nd..so I'm joining the "I hate volcano's club".
If the flight is canceled I will be rescheduling to September - but the other couple traveling with us as never been to Europe...the heartbreak. Oh well, postponing a vacation is nothing compared to some of the stories coming out of this situation. Sigh...sip on my wine...sigh...sip some more......

sip... slurp... chug.

here is a great site I saw on another thread - it is interactive with airports.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/15/world/europe/airport-closings-graphic.html?ref=europe

Don't break it out just yet - another cloud may be on the way.

Australian airline Qantas is flying passengers stranded on their way to Europe in Asian hubs back to Australia free of charge as accommodation prices soar.

In the meantime. a 5.0 magnitude earthquake has hit the Western Australian goldfields city of Kalgoorlie, and Qantas, which regularly operates in volcanic zones, is keeping watch on a new volcanic eruption on Vanuatu.

2012? Maybe the Mayans were bad at math...

Anyway, we are scheduled to depart on Wednesday evening for Rome. I hope we get to go.

Tuscan, I have been holding such good thoughts for you two that you are able to take your Italy trip! It sounds like it will work out from what I have read, dear one. And wishes from me to you for a Happy Birthday in beautiful Italy.

May 9th to Paris and Provence---fingers crossed.

Although Hotwire and Priceline bid bookings are generally non-refundable, both companies usually make exceptions when extraordinary circumstances like snowstorms, 9-11, earthquakes, and volcanoes occur. Based on reports at BetterBidding.com, everyone who is contacting Priceline customer service is getting their affected bids refunded.

Tuscan, I just sent you an email ... you know that if they drop you in Madrid, you will always have a place

Love, Cova

Still wishing you´ll get to Italy

My docs have ordered us not to fly due to new respiratory infection which can be worsened by the volcanic ash. <sigh> Now the excitement of dealing with contacting all the affected parties and trying to get refunds. UGGGG! Oh well, health comes 1st & my lung docs were emphatic & unanimous. We are all asthmatics also. No idea when we'll finally be able to consider going to Europe. D has taken it in stride but S sounded somewhat disappointed.

Fly from LAX to Switzerland in June? Or not?! I have half our hotels booked but haven't booked the airlines yet. Don't know whether to go ahead, or postpone. Sigh... Good luck to all those stranded anywhere!

our flight Edinburgh to Milton Keynes cancelled so hired a car and drove. Then London to Paris cancelled so bought Eurostar ticket- 360 pounds for 2 one way! Now in paris and Looks like flight to Rome will be cancelled so trying to find train. Just hoping that London to Australia not cancelled!

HiMom, no one outside of Iceland has reported an increase in respiratory problems due to the ash. There has been no increase in Asthma attacks, nor of problems for those with COPA . The ash is very high up, not at ground level.
I think your doctor is ill informed and being overly cautious.

KLm is flying to nearly all it's intercontinental destinations today. Stranded passengers have priority over booked for now, but they are putting the biggest planes they have on the flights, and diverting planes from European destinations too to clear the back log.

If any of you are booked on a European carrier you are entitles to refunds on flights cancelled, and out of pocket expenses. Put in your claims to get your money back.

HImom, I agree with hetismij. Your doctor is overplaying the situation.

Missed a weekend in Munich (16-19 April) thanks to the evil volcano - took DH out to dinner instead but it was little consolation for his cancelled birthday present. I was especially proud of myself because I managed to get tickets for a Bayern Munich game on the Saturday night - they won 7-0 and I forfeited nearly €200

We are leaving for Italy May 4th via Frankfort.... Returning May 15th.

We don't have trip insurance and our original flight was with miles.

Wondering if we should book a backup flight direct to Italy $1,800 total....

HImom - have a look at the Irish asthma society website www.asthmasociety.ie (don't know where you are planning to go, but unless it is further north than ireland this could be a good guide). They aren't concerned.

I was in Gare du Nord earlier this afternoon and noticed that the Eurostar is sold out through Saturday 24th...

HiMom - The ash cloud is falling to the ground, at least in Scotland and northern England, as reported by the BBC & Daily Mail.

I'm a severe asthmatic, and I'm supposed to go to Ireland on Monday for my niece's wedding, but we are going to cancel unless the volcano stops by Wed night. I am concerned about the existing ash falling, plus if the Katla volcano goes off (which seems to be a possibility), the ash/gas cloud is expected to be denser.

My suggestion - if you are going to Eastern or Southern Europe, talk to your doctors again as the risk there is probably quite small. But if you are going to Ireland or the UK, I agree you should definitely cancel.

Wait, what?

Stranded passengers have priority over booked passengers on KLM?

I think this is the first time I've heard this one. As a booked passenger on KLM (Delta codeshare), I'm not too crazy about this policy.... Although my flight is three weeks away, and I'm hopeful I won't be affected, I'm curious about what plans KLM has for the ticketed passengers they are bumping.

Better head over to KLM.com.

I assume that by stranded passengers they are referring to those who were booked during the cancelled flights time period but were delayed because of the situation. So they are still 'booked' passengers and should rightly be the first to be accommodated.

Pavot and others, let us know what you find out about the priority of who can fly. I had read on CNN that current ticketed passengers whose flights had not been cancelled had priority, and I can't find anything else that says otherwise.

But now y'all have me worried... my only personal consolation of this whole mess was that I had my seat still six days out. If I'm not mistaken, this is how the airlines handled it during the 9/11 airspace closures, too.

I'm scheduled to leave May 13th for Bilbao via Paris on Air France and return on May 30th from Paris. At this point I'm keeping my fingers crossed my flights won't be affected. I'm thinking positive thoughts!

So glad that my newlywed daughter and her husband chose Rome for their honeymoon this week! They arrived there safely this morning, and I hope they are having a wonderful time!

Wind direction changing at the weekend which might blow some ash away, but then it might end up over norther eastern Canada and the north Atlantic...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8631889.stm

PS re asthma...hasn't affected me or anyone else I know....

annalyn, when I spoke with USAir to ask that exact question, I was told that if you are on a flight in 3 days and that flight goes, you would not be bumped for someone whose flight was cancelled previously.

If you have a ticket on a plane, you are higher priority than someone who has been bumped or had a flight cancelled.

Thanks, surfmom! So each airline may handle things differently. Guess I had better call American - I had been trying not to, since I figured the wait time would be astronomical and others needed them more urgently than I right now.

I do feel bad for those who have already been bumped - hope I don't appear too callous.

Alihutch.. so I now I might also need to start worrying about the ash blocking my connections in and out of New York?? Great....

"If you have a ticket on a plane, you are higher priority than someone who has been bumped or had a flight cancelled."

Not this time.

They are giving priority to those in desperate situations. Which is just about everyone that has been blocked for the last 5 days.

Kiss my ash, I'm going to Paris on April 30! (hopefully)

Well, we'll see. Not sure if it's worth changing the flight(from DFW) to Madrid or Barcelona (if AA will let us) and fighting the crowds for taxis, trains, etc. to get there. Doesn't sound like a recipe for a good vacation to me.

Hate to cancel all the plans I've been putting together for the past year, though.

"Well, we'll see. Not sure if it's worth changing the flight(from DFW) to Madrid or Barcelona (if AA will let us) and fighting the crowds for taxis, trains, etc. to get there. Doesn't sound like a recipe for a good vacation to me."

No it doesn't. Not that I minded being in France for 5 or 6 months but then you have this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8631343.stm

Naturally, this was the ONE trip were I WASN'T the guide, translator, and resto critic.

Berk!

Can't believe that any airline would expand the number of people who are inconvenienced by the volcanic eruptions by giving priority to stranded passengers on currently operating flights over those who have confirmed seats on them. Logically, it expands the manpower that needs to be used to rectify the whole week of non-travel. Rather than dealing with that smaller group, the airline would expand it in a ripple fashion. Only way I can see it working is for the airlines to send out a mass e-mail to anyone scheduled to fly within the week to affected European airports and offer some form of comp for passengers who are willing/able to reschedule at a later date (maybe more than a month out.) This would free up more empty seats to take care of the stranded.

MissI-- that is not quite right regarding priority of booked passengers vs those whose flights have been cancelled.

The policy depends on the airline. Some airlines, including the one I am booked on still give priority to the booked passenger. Should my flight be cancelled as well, then I am in the space available pool.

Check with your carrier

"MissI-- that is not quite right regarding priority of booked passengers vs those whose flights have been cancelled"

In regards to French airlines...

Priorité pour les passagers «dans une situation désespérante»

La liste des vols circulant a été publiée sur les sites internet des principales compagnies aériennes desservant la France. La priorité est donnée aux passagers «dans une situation désespérante», a rappelé lundi Jean-Louis Borloo. «Je demande instamment à tous ceux qui en ont la capacité de ne pas prendre l'avion dans un sens ou dans l'autre, à tous ceux qui peuvent différer leur retour d'accepter de le différer», a-t-il déclaré. 12.000 personnes sont notamment bloquées aux États-Unis, et 13.500 autres dans les DOM.

Anyway.... it doesn't matter.

"Flight hopes dashed as ash cloud again shuts airspace"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/20/volcanic-ash-government-seeks-flying-routes

I missed this:

"British Airways is preparing to divert about 16 incoming long-haul flights it launched from the far east, Mauritius, Mexico and the US west coast earlier today in the hope they could land at Heathrow later this evening or in the very early morning. It made contingency plans for them to land at other European airports. It cancelled another dozen planned incoming flights because of restrictions on flight crew hours"

Ugh!

Hmm. I don't really know what KLM means by this, posted on the KLM website:

"Flight deployment is designed to bring passengers to their desired destinations as quickly as possible. <<This will take account of passengers with existing reservations on scheduled flights and passengers stranded owing to the cancellation of flights.>> However, passengers will only be placed on flights if connections to their final destination are confirmed." It seems to me that's open to interpretation.

KLM is allowing plenty of scope for travelers to change plans through May 7. We leave the 11th.

I'm still hopeful.

Wow Pavot.

Open to interpretation? That paragraph has more holes than a block of well aged swiss.

KLM will only allow you to fly if your connection at Schiphol is confirmed as going ahead. So they will not allow you to fly if you are then flying on to a country which is still closed. They do not want any more transfer passengers stuck at Schiphol.

It was chaos at Schiphol today as people tried to get flights, but since many airlines are not yet flying, they were disappointed. Check your airlines website before going to the airport for a flight involving Europe.

Our trip is in August, and I hope it will happen. That prior big volcano eruption 100 years ago had lasted for over a year, they said it on TV.

Even having insurance doesn't make me feel better. It was a dream trip like "once in a lifetime" and who knows if we'll go the year after if it gets cancelled

Our travel was scheduled to be London, Paris, Germany & Austria. Our docs were adamant that we NOT FLY (I'm also nursing a stubborn respiratory infection that always makes all my docs very nervous due to other health issues). We're very disappointed, but must defer to our docs. There will always be other opportunities.

Melissa5- I don't think anyone knows for sure. Barring further volcanic activity, I would think June 5 is far enough away that you should be able to make your trip. I am flying NY to Italy (Rome) in mid June and I am very hopeful that will go through.

missI, USAirways current policy is that booked passengers have priority over cancellations. While I admit that I've only heard it over the phone, I've heard it from 5 different cs agents, with none agreeing with you.

Presently, if you are cancelled from PHL-LHR, you are being re-booked on April 29th (1 seat) or afterwards.

"If the flight is canceled I will be rescheduling to September "

We're scheduled for SF-Amsterdam-Bologna in Sept. and that damn volcano could still be spouting off -- or the other one could have taken over the job and made it worse. We'll be on pins and needles until then!

We thought it was so smart to get the flight thru Ams. into Bologna (our first stop) instead of JFK-Milan and then train. Hah! Ams is more likely to be socked in than Milan.

KLM have cleared the transit passengers that were stuck behind passport control at Schiphol, and are clearing the backlog of other passengers as fast as they can.
You need to check what they say about your flight before leaving for the airport. If they allow you to check in online you will be fine.
Delta are not yet flying to Amsterdam, so only KLM operated flights are up and running.
According to one Dutch newspaper this afternoon's flight to New York was half empty. People either chose not to fly or didn't rebook their tickets.

According to at least one Dutch expert it was all for nothing anyway - the heavy particles which would cause the damage had dissipated by Friday and the rest was too fine to cause a problem as far away as the Netherlands. He reckons planes are more at risk from sand storms, including the occasional ones we get blowing in from the Sahara, than from this particular volcano.
He also says that those doing the testing were not measuring the size of the ash, merely looking to see where it was.

"According to at least one Dutch expert it was all for nothing anyway - the heavy particles which would cause the damage had dissipated by Friday and the rest was too fine to cause a problem as far away as the Netherlands."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/20/volcanic-ash-cloud-pilots-warning

"He reckons planes are more at risk from sand storms, including the occasional ones we get blowing in from the Sahara, than from this particular volcano."

I wonder where he received his education? Sand it NOT volcanic dust. Sand (silicon dioxide) melts at a much higher temperature than volcanic particles. Furthermore, the corrosion capacity of volcanic dust is much higher.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/04/16/340727/pictures-finnish-f-18-engine-check-reveals-effects-of-volcanic.html

Just read on another travel blog someone's query about the chances of Vesuvius now erupting and spoiling their trip to Italy this September. Anyone taking odds on this yet? Safe travels to everyone ~

According to the London Times, UK airspace is to open beginning 22:00 London time, tonight. A "long stream" of long haul flights are expected to land at London airports in the morning.

Let us hope that sticks and the flights land safely.

I wish everyone good luck! Safe travels. I leave for Paris on May 25th so hope that all is well by then.

We have tickets to fly to BCN thru LHR on April 26/27. We should probably just cancel, and give the backlog a chance to get caught up ... but I'm thinking that will void our travel insurance, if the company doesn't go bankrupt, paying off all the claims. (The cynic in me imagines they'll just call it an act of god anyway ... ) Still, at least it's my choice.

Sorry baladeuse, it seems to me that you are still in Canada, but as Heathrow has just opened then hopefully you will make it soon

just27 - I had several conversations with the company that is insuring our trip - TruTravel -_and we are covered if our trip is cancelled and will not leave for 24 hours or the airline cannot get us on a flight to our destination within that time period. If we have to stay overnight, a hotel is covered and if the airline takes us to a different destination, e.g., Edinburgh rather than London, they will pay for transportation to London via the least expensive means available. Weather related conditions are part of our policy and is how the company defines the present situation. All of this of course is up to our pre-chosen limit of the policy. However, if we choose to cancel on our own outside of the policy conditions, the policy is void.

Check directly with your insurer.

basingstroke, that is exactly the terms I got from our travel insurance... "our trip is cancelled and will not leave for 24 hours or the airline cannot get us on a flight to our destination within that time period".

We do have a cap of $2,500, but at least our cc has something!

My airline is not going to make any friends, because it announced that all tickets between April 16th and April 22nd are officially cancelled and fully refundable. Passengers who held tickets for those dates and who still want to travel are invited to buy new tickets at the applicable fares. It will not resume flights from Paris until Friday. That's all!

just27, as you have booked tickets for next week your airline will probably give you priority over anyone trying to re-book a missed flight from the past 7 days. The worst of the backlog should be gone by the weekend; by all means check with your airline, but unless there are any further disruptions, you should be ok.

I'm definitely feeling like things are looking up !

We are a week out... now we need to re-focus on the packing.

This crisis just reconfirms the 'pack light, carry it on' mantra.

We fully expect to leave for Granada tomorrow, connecting through Madrid. I cannot even fathom the chaos that will reign there when we arrive and possibly even a week later when we are scheduled to return.

It would be best to ensure that your doctor's reason(s) are actually covered - as most travel insurance coverage is limited to an illness that "prevents or substantially interferes with your ability to travel". Just because your doctor advises you not to fly does not mean that the adjusters will agree that it is a "covered reason". I'm just saying you may want to verify coverage before cancelling just to be sure.

Note also that the reason cannot be changed/modified once your claim is submitted.

Basingstoke, thank you for posting this! We insured our upcoming trip with them, it's comforting to know they actually offer help!

Got an e-mail this morning from Orbitz that they got airline to agree to recredit us & cancel due to doctor's orders, set forth in detail in the letter signed by the doc which was submitted in support of the cancellation. I agree that cancellations can't be lightly made, but it is something to consider when the doc does order the trip cancelled for serious health issues, as ours did.

Our tickets are for next Thursday, April 29th into Rome. If we were flying back out of Rome, I would certainly take the risk. However, our return is out of Pisa to London on May 10th, then out of London back to US three days later on May 14th. No one has the answer for me, but I have obsessed endlessly and need to vent to other travelers whose eyes I cannot see glazing over.

These are frequent flyer seats. If the agent understood my questions, and if I understood her answers, we can re-bank the miles without paying any fee. (However, I am sure we would pay booking fees again when we re-book, but that is minimal compared to what most people caught in this mess are dealing with, of course.) All hotels except one in Italy have accepted cancellations. Probably jumped the gun on that one, but I am confident I can find a place to stay since it is still relatively low season.

What to do? What to do? This will be our 9th trip to Europe, and this trip is mostly to re-visit some favorite locations. Yesterday, I was convinced we should cancel. Today I read the headlines, look at my stack of books, the clothes set aside for our trip, and have started thinking we should go.

We have planned our last 7 trips through Fodors. Guess I felt compelled to spill my questions here. PJK

Hello PJK, I can sure understand your confusion but here is my thoughts.

If you do get stuck in Italy or London for a matter of days will your budget allow you to book hotel rooms for additional nights and cover food cost and any additional expenses that you would have without feeling panicky about the additional money your are spending?

If you take any medications can you get additional amounts so that you are not having a medical problem?

If you are retired there is no worry about a job but if you have pets or children and have set up the care for them would the people who will tend to your pets and that will be watching your children be agreeable to continue to do so while your are stuck in Europe.

If a job is involved will that create a problem with the boss?

No need to answer here on Fodor's but I think if you can mentally answer the questions I believe it would help you make the proper decision.

I sure hope the trip works out for you if you feel comfortable and relaxed about taking it and if you don't I hope that you can reschedule when the time is right. Best regards.

PJK, we are in a similar situation. The flights thing depends upon the airline.

We are also on ff flights - departing PHL the 28th for LHR. We are scheduled to return from CDG - PHL on May 9th.

Yesterday, I was extremely concerned. Our airline has a travel advisory through April 25th. I offered to move to a flight to CDG on the 28th and free up seats on the 28th to LHR (they are right now rebooking people for May 1st, so they need the seats).

I was told (by more than one agent):

1) If your flights are within the travel advisory, you can move to any other open coach seat to an 'alternate' nearby city (ie. CDG). They are not worrying about the class of service or ff level of miles. They are just worrying about getting you on another coach seat. (note: most agents looked at class of service first, but when I inquired that I had heard they weren't worrying about that, they backed off that statement and all said any coach seat is fine).

2) If your flights are not within the travel advisory, you can't do anything without paying the $250/seat change fee. If we wanted to change to CDG, we would have to pay the $250/seat + higher miles because the class of service exclusion doesn't apply. (We did find the same ff level seats to CDG if we connected through Frankfurt... I don't think so).

3) To totally cancel our flights, since we are outside the travel advisory, we would still have to pay the $250 ff redeposit fee.

Not sure if this helps or not, but means that our options are limited. I'm worried less about getting home the 9th than I am about getting there - they are still working through the backlog now and it will be sorted out by May 9th.

hth!

Thanks for responding LoveItaly. Good questions for all of us in this situation. We are in the fortunate position of being able to manage the issues you raised without dire consequences if our return is delayed. What I can't determine is whether or not my nature will allow me to relax and enjoy the trip. PJK

Come on people if the planes are flying, let's not change plans or panic. Let's show some spirit and not change our
lives. The time for action is now.
If we panic and let this situation disrupt and change our
true wishes, then the Volacano won.

Volcanoes always win.

We were scheduled to be in Ireland 4/21-5/2. Our Continental flight bought with FF miles was canceled. The good news is that Continental waived all penalties and fees which means our miles are being re-credited and the overage amount we paid will be refunded. We prepaid for only one thing, a medieval banquet, and they agreed to refund our money. So other than the disappointment of not being able to go, we did all right.

Plus, I sensed the trip was a no go and, as a result, I hurriedly put together an alternate trip to the Utah national parks for the same period of time. Never planned a 12 nite trip in 6 different cities in 36 hours. So unlike me not to trip plan to the nth degree, but oh well. I'm writing from Moab where we visited Arches yesterday and Canyonlands today. Wow!! Beautiful, beautiful.

PJK- you are right. Can anyone show me a volcano that lost! All hail the Ash God. Ruler of the skies.

tC

PJK & Surfmom, we're in the same boat. Our scheduled departure is on Apr 30 through AMS to MUC. One minute I am sure everything will be running like clockwork by then. The next, I worry about the backlog or a re-occurance of the ash cloud.

Frankly, I would probably eat the re-deposit fee and re-schedule later in the year, but the main purpose of the trip is to see family, namely my 81 year old Aunt who is not doing well. I don't mean this to sound pompous, but they really look forward to our visits, and I would hate for them to be disappointed.

What we have decided is this...if it stays cleared and there are no interim closings before next Friday, then we'll go. If they start canceling flights again, then clear them again, I think we will just postpone our trip.

LoveItaly, yes those are the issues to contemplate. We are okay on everything but Mr. Fan's job. He's the boss, so it's not 'days off' that are the concern, but he really can't afford to be away for an extended period of time.

But, I'm feeling more optimistic today

Good luck to all of you!
H

We are still obsessing! Talked to AA this a.m. and they will re-deposit miles and refund taxes and fees for tickets departing through May 3 and within certain areas. So no penalty for us financially except for Fonte Bertussi. They are charging us for one night. I canceled last Sunday, and we were not due there until May 3. I'm a little surprised at that, but I know their livelihood is dependent on keeping their apartments full. Not sure I will ever book again with such a tight cancellation policy. Also canceled Rome hotel as they charge if not canceled 7 days ahead. And we canceled London because Priceline was willing to refund at that point, and we were not sure they would continue to do that.

For those of you still scanning this thread, what is your opinion of being able to find places to stay if we go ahead and leave a week from today? Surely this time of year will have places, maybe not first choices, but I can't imagine there will be no rooms. Opinions? PJK

As I mentioned we are scheduled to leave May 9th for Paris. I spoke with a friend in Paris this morning who is in the travel industry and he said when I told him that I am worried about the volcano keeping us from coming:
Volcano? Oh, that's ancient history now.

I have listened to the "world's greatest" (!) volcanologists on PRI and NPR and with all of their scientific knowledge they still can't predict eruptions, etc. The President of Iceland said that we can expect the volcano to be problematic for many years to come.

If all is clear on May 9th I'm going. If there are issues when it comes time to leave, almost a month later, I'll deal with it. The joys of travel nowadays are endless!!!!!! It's always something anymore is how I see it.

We leave May 3 for Istanbul. My FIL has already decided not to go but my MIL is still coming. It's her birthday prezzie so I feel sorry for her that he's not joining us but it's better that he decided he was uncomfortable with the uncertainty now rather when we were in Istanbul. OY.

Safe travels to all.

PJK you could just keep checking availability...

PJK, I would just go for it. I think by then things will be back to 'normal' ... it is so hard to get ff tickets to Europed that even though they may redeposit them, you may not be able to use them.

I like the idea of checking availability - maybe go to Plan B and get refundable reservations ?

Just did the on-line check in and leave in 8 hours for the airport. Heathrow, here we come - if the volcano spirit continues to cooperate.

We decided last night to go ahead with out trip. I have already canceled most hotels, but I can find places to stay, I am sure. If there are no significant flight disruptions between now and next Thursday, the "what if's" are going to be put aside, and we are headed for Italy and then the UK. After days of being somewhat morose and totally undecided, now making a deliberate decision to not worry and be thrilled that I get to go on this trip.

I intended to thank all of the folks on this thread for being positive and considerate and letting some of us obsess about upcoming trips. I have also been encouraged by all the threads NOT about this issue. Clearly Fodorites are still planning great trips as always. PJK

For those who hate Volcans, I can only say "live long and prosper".

Congratulations PJK, have a wonderful time.

tC

Woo-hoo! After 2 cancellations and 8 days late, we've got the green light for today's flight to Frankfurt!

I have my fingers crossed for all of you. For those whose trips were cancelled, I know how you feel, I've had three much anticipated trips cancelled in a three year period.

I was lucky...left for Vienna on Tues 4/13, just before the problem started and got home yesterday, one day later than scheduled.

Our Prague to Frankfurt flight was cancelled, so decided to hire a driver to take us to Frankfurt so we wouldn't miss our 5PM flight to NYC (which was not cancelled). We had a little over 5 hours to get there with 2 hrs for check in. A perfect plan we thought, except the driver got lost...he was heading towards Munich. It was almost 5 hours before we even saw a sign for Frankfurt. Arrived to see our plane take off. Luckily we got a flight out the next morning.

Oringinally we planed to leave for Bucharest (via Frankfurt) on April 17th for 2 weeks. Since that was cancelled the next avaliable flight was for the 27th. Which we took. We are going to have to cut out a couple days from our trip, which is a bummer, but it could be worse! I will say it was with a bit of trepidation that I re-booked my flight

Our flights on Emirates to Vienna were booked months ago and early last week I was re-reading our travel insurance fine print very closely! But all seems calm at present so we are now set take off on Monday night (yeh!!!) and last minute packing is now the priority of the day.
I refuse to think of another eruption leaving us stranded while over there.
Many positive thoughts and karma to all travellers - just enjoy!

We left for stateside the morning of the eruption and were, thankfully, able to return home via Franfurt this morning. A smooth landing never felt so good!

We had an interesting chat in Key West w/3 Floridian sisters who got "ashed-out" of their Paris vacation and so opted for the Keys instead. They weren't going to let a little volcano get in the way of vacation together. (the weather was balmy, with slight breeze, sunsets were gorgeous and the margaritas great!)

We're supposed to be leaving in 2 weeks for Venice. No sense worrying yet about something I can't control, I guess.

klondike, Do you mind telling us what the extra time was like? Did you have to go to the airport again and again? Were you able to re-schedule by phone and then go back to vacationing?

We leave Thursday for Rome, and I will admit to being uptight about this trip. It is our 9th to Europe, so I am not a total novice to international travel, but I am more anxiety-ridden than I want to admit.

Our connection home is through London. We have not found any way to change the return flight to get us out of any airport in the southern part of Europe. Still planning to go, but curious about how your week in limbo was spent. PJK

PJK, I think Klondike came to the States and was in the States for the volcano, if I'm reading it correctly.

We also fly out this week and I'm much calmer than I was on Monday. We also plan to know backup flights to close locations and are only carrying on bags (actually, we are checking one bag, but it is non-essentials).

breathe, just breathe.

surfmom, I see that now. I was having trouble figuring out where the Key West people came into play.

I am much calmer than earlier in the week too, but still obviously unfocused considering my response to klondike.

Getting ready to re-book a couple of places.

Safe travels. PJK

Ok, we made it home today.

should have been:
departure from CDG: 11:40am
arrival in PHL: 2:04pm

actual departure: 11:40ish push away from gate... sit in plane until wings up at 2:04pm
arrival in PHL: 5:15pm

We diverted north and over Scotland, Iceland, and Greenland.

We actually pushed away from the gate pretty close to departure time. The captain was given a slot of 2:30pm, but he wanted to tell the control tower the doors were closed and he was ready, so we pushed away knowing that we would be sitting on the plane for a while before taking off. He was hoping for an earlier slot since we were ready.

All in all, we were on the plane for 12 hours. bleck. The kids (ages 6, 8,10) did awesome! I was so proud of how well they handled it!

good luck to all upcoming travelers. There was a brief window of calm and things are happening again.

Welcome home, surfmom, and thanks for checking in.

With luck, and favorable prevailing winds, I'll be headed to Europe on Tuesday.

And I'm still hopeful.

Took 3 flights: May 7 Dublin-Oporto; May 11 Oporto-Girona; May 15 Girona-Dublin. Ash cancelled some flights at those airports on day before or day after all our flights but ours were ok. Phew.