mamamia2

So we already purchased 2 separate, non-refundable tickets, one with Czech Airline flying Prague to Frankfurt, the other is KLM flying FRA to Nice (via Amsterdam). The layover time is almost 2.5 hours. Both flights land or take off at same terminal 2.

Before checking into purchasing travel insurance, my question is, what happens if our 1st flight land too late for us to make the connection? Since these are 2 separate tickets and 2 separate airlines, how would KLM treat us? Do we totally lose our ticket? Does KLM have any obligation to put us on the next flight? What's the routine? What is your experience in a situation like this?

Thanks.....

Jeff_Costa_Rica

It's a problem if you don't make the connection. KLM will regard you as a no-show and cancel your reservation and ticket. The only way you'll get on the next flight is to buy another ticket at the price of a last-minute fare. Czech Airlines has no obligation to you either, other than to get you to FRA.

Hopefully 2.5 hours will be okay. If your first flight is delayed too much, though, this is what you'll be up against.

Jeff_Costa_Rica

If this were all on one ticket, it would be a different story. KLM would be obligated to get you on the next available flight.

mamamia2

So I guess buying travel insurance is my best chance....

rkkwan

KLM may accommodate you and try to put you on a later flight, but they have no obligation to do so.

lcuy

I'd definitely get the travel insurance if this concerns you. 2.5 hours would seem like plenty of time, but......

WillTravel

My travel insurance requires that you have 4 hours scheduled between separate tickets. I doubt any travel insurance will take care of this case, where 2.5 hours was purposefully chosen.

alanRow

I'd doubt if travel insurance would cover you as you made the choice to fly on separate tickets and neither airline is going to help except to sell you new tickets.

Your best option at this point is to sacrifice a goat to your personal god to ensure that the first flight lands on time.

BTW travel insurance covers you for a lot more than a missed flight so you really should have it

mamamia2

Thanks, guys!

I got a 24-page document from Global Travel Shield (Amex's travel insurer), a sample of their Certificate of Insurance. The description of benefits for Trip Cancellation & Interruption and Trip Delays does not specify any minimum layover time between flights.... I called them and the agent went over the text, and could not find any mention of that min. time either, but of course, could not assure me that I would be covered no matter what, saying it's up to the claim agent to decide, based on the documentation..... Of course, in a case of a delayed flight, I would have to get something in WRITING from the airline (after returning home, I guess....) confirming the delay....

mztery

Having just gone through this I have some info to share.Some may be relevant and some not so bear with me.

We were delayed due to MECHANICAL problems on a United Flight, with a separate ticket connecting flight on BMI. We had purchased flight insurance and We did have a DAY in betwwen flights which might have helped. we too did not see any wording about minimum times.

We were lucky enough hat BMI just booked us on a later flight, possibly because they are a United star alliance partner, which they did NOT have to do. If they had NOT, and we'd had to rebook a flight, travel insurance would have paid for that new flight. HOWEVER - the other risk we took as we later found out, is if you don't make the original flight, the airline CAN cancel the whole thing.

In the OP_'s case, this would mean isf she misses the FRA to Nice flight, the airline MIGHT cancel the whole thing and you'd have to buy a new ticket which could be quite expensive. The BMI rep at LHR told us that is not too common on these short flights but it COULD happen..

That said, if you miss your flight and have to buy new tickets that is what travel insurance is for. Travel insurance only pays the extra costs you wouldn't have had to pay if your flight was on time.

Bottom line, I have never seen wording about a short connection, so it's good that you double checked. If your original flight is delayed and you miss the FRA to Nice flight travel ins SHOULD be able to reimburse you for the extra costs.But if this happens you should TRY to get a paper form the airline BEFORE oyu leave - we had a form form United that was very helpful both in trying to rebook and in getting reimbursed for our meals etc during the delay.

mamamia2

mztery, thanks for the info.

To set things straight, the original flight is a Czech Airline flight landing FRA from Prague. The connecting flight is a KLM flight FRA to Nice. So our ORIGINAL flight is the RT FRA-Prague. What you're saying is -- if we miss the first, PRG-FRA flight, and obviously fail to board the connecting flight, FRA-NCE -- we're not covered?....

BTW, since both Czech Airline and KLM are partners in SkyTeam, I can guess this would help....

clevelandbrown

I think the only good answer here is don't do it again!

If all connections are made, fine. If the first flight is delayed, the connecting airline may take mercy on you, but they don't have to and their decision may hinge on whether they have unsold space on a subsequent flight.

Travel insurance, like any insurance, may not provide what you think you are getting. First, my experience is that they don't show you the contract until after you have paid, making it impossible to compare competing products. When they do show you the contract, it will be a long and convoluted document, written by lawyers whose objective is to comply with laws and regulations, and to protect the company. Note that helping you understand what you have bought is not one of their objectives. There are likely to be words of art in the contract that mean something other than what you think they mean. Their attitude is that you should have had your own lawyer look over the contract to insure that you are getting what you wanted.

But the real problem is that very few people take the time to actually read and understand the document; it is a boring, lengthy, and often confusing process, so most of us just skip it. So I always wonder when someone says they have never seen such a limitation in a policy, whether they mean it has never come up, or they didn't see it in the ad or brochure, or whether they actually have read some of these contracts.

I'm no longer a lawyer, so I have no axe to grind, nor financial interest, in this matter. But I have seen very many people sign contracts of great financial consequence, and have seen few of them take the time to read the contract.

mamamia2

Maybe Amex is different in that respect.... Actually, Amex IS different in some respects, I've already noticed, they are better than their rivals... In this case, I was able to obtain a sample policy from them, no problem, and (because of my "special" situation) I actually took the time to read it thru, and the language was quite reader-friendly.....

mztery

1) Almost all travel insurance policies give you 24 hours to cancel so if you don't like the policy you can cancel.

I may have misunderstood your situation, I thought you had also have a return from Nice to FRA. What I was saying, is that if you miss the flight FRA to Nice, the airline may cancel the Nice to FRA return. If you're getting back to FRA some other way it 's not an issue .

In any roundtrip situation, if you don't make the original flight the airline will usually cancel the return.

mamamia2

We're traveling to Nice for 8 days, so obviously we will have KLM fly us there somehow, it's just a matter of whether they'll be nice enough to put us on an alternative flight (actually 2 flights, we're getting to Nice via AMS) or we have to pay them extra to do so, in which case our travel insurance should help..............

Jeff_Costa_Rica

You know, most flights do take off and arrive on time, so odds are that everything will work out.

As someone said above, though, I wouldn't do this again, not without a lot more time in between flights.