guy

I hope nobody has experience with this, but if you do, we need advice fast. We've booked a Christmas trip to Spain with another couple, call them Adam and Eve Doe (not their real names, obviously). A large part is paid as a gift by Adam's mother. But now Eve's mother has had a terrible health setback and is not supposed to survive. Since the whole trip is booked as a group, can we all get refunds under the death in the family clause? (Airline is Iberia.)

cmt

Are you referring to a clause in the insurance contract? What does it say, precisely? Also, how soon after amking the initial payment for the trip did you purchase the insurance, and what is the exact content of the contract's pre-existing condition clause?

BeachBoi

guy........please say that you DID buy the insurance.Lets say you did, well the "covered reasons" by which you are allowed to cancel will be spelled out very clearly.And every travel insurance policy is different.Hopefully you will discover that you will be fine.

subcon

i would think the worst case scenario is that you cancel and might have to pay a premium to rebook at a later date.

really your best bet is to call iberia right away not wasting time waiting for a reply from this forum.

subcon

and don't forget to cancel your hotel reservations. a no show is normally charged for one night (and it sticks with the credit card company).

Betsy

Didn't you say that Eve Doe is your <i>sister</i>?

Christina

I agree, why aren't you calling and asking them? IN any case, if you didn't buy insurance and are talking about refunds on the tickets themselves, that varies also by type of ticket purchased. There's no standard rule. A lot of the really discounted deals nowadays are completely nonrefundable; diff. rules would apply to a full fare ticket.

Anyway, if you are asking can you get a ticket refund because the mother of your friend is ill and you wanted to travel with them so now don't want to go, I'd say the odds are slim to none. What are you trying to decide at this point anyway -- whether to go or not depending on whether you can get a refund? It seems you could at least change dates with a change fee, as subcon said, why don't you just do that if you don't want to go now.

RufusTFirefly

I've never heard of insurance that would cover you if the mother of a friend gets sick or dies--even if you are supposed to travel with the friend. Call the airline or the travel agent who booked the trip.

Just about anyone could get out of traveling anytime if insurance covered such situations--there's always someone around who's very sick and/or dieing.

zbelleveau

1. No insurance.
2. We've called Iberia repeatedly and keep getting different answers.
3. It's not simply that we want to travel with them; a large part of the trip is being funded by Adam's mother.
4. I agree, it doesn't sound good. We'll try to get a straight answer from Iberia. Thanks for your help.

Mara

z - I check the Travelocity website a lot for cheap fares. I have issues also with a close relative's health. Usually when you click on the airline's rules when Travelocity lists available flights, it says nonrefundable except for death or illness of a person traveling or very close relative. That is what it said when I checked earlier under NYC to Madrid with Iberia as the carrier. You need a doctor/death certificate as proof. That is why I have always felt if worse came to worse I could cancel a flight if my Mum became very ill. Hope this helps,
Mara

KT

Sorry, but I doubt that any airline is going to care who's paying for your trip. The cancellation provision for death of a family member is based on the principle that the traveller is unable to travel because he or she needs to be with family due to emegency circumstances. It's a bit of a stretch to get from there to saying that you can't go because the mother of a person whose spouse's mother is dying is paying for your trip. There are lots of economic reasons why people may want to cancel, and they're not covered.

Myer

guy,

Far be it from me to suggest anything that is not strictly above board but let me tell you a little story.

If someone had plans to go on a trip and didn't have any travel insurance, that is not an issue.

What do you think would happen if you were to get up in the morning and pull your back so very badly that you could barely walk. If I were you I would go to the doctor and while getting checked out explain the situation. I couldn't see myself getting onto a plane for such a long trip in that condition.

A letter from a doctor is honored by all airlines. No questions, no charges, no nothing.

Your credit card is credited the full amount.

And as someone wrote, don't forget to cancel the hotel reservations too.

angel_UK

I think I would take out insurance now just to be on the safe side, and get my bad back the day before I was due to fly

RufusTFirefly

Ah, lies and fraud. The American Way!

amyb

I've had this experience, only it was my own father who was ill and my mother and I couldn't travel. And we never get travel insurance. The airline in question allowed us to rebook, and we paid only the difference in airfare from last year to this year. We had a doctor's letter confirming my father was hospitalized for several months including the week we were supposed to be flying.

rex

Based on my one real experience getting some people home without airfare surcharges - - under bereavement provisions - - I would say that the single most important thing you can do is get a LETTER from SOMEONE in a position to write it, ideally on letterhead with telephone number, address, etc, which can be easily verified.

In our case, it was the funeral home, and they seemed to know just what to write, as if they do this kind of letter everyday (they probably do). they provided it by fax within minutes after it was requested. It was very, very useful in seeing that our returning travelers were treated well.

As a physician, I bet that most doctors are not so prepared to provide a letter like this - - but someone in Adam's family might ask. Even better might be the pastoral care department or something like that in the hospital caring for her (assuming that she is hospitalized). Even if she is receiving hospice care at home, the providers will probably know who can quickly prepare such a letter for you.

Best wishes,

Rex

Wendy

Unfortunately the same thing happened to me last year the day we were to take off for Spain. My mom was hospitalized and passed away 7 days later. My fiance called BA and explained the circumstances and they are letting us use our airline tickets anytime within 12 months. I also emailed each of the hotels and all of them didn't charge us cancellation fees based on the situation.

I would call Iberia and speak to a supervisor asap.

Wendy

Seamus

If you haven't already taken care of this...
Not sure about Iberia but I recently went through a similar situation with Continental. After I purchased a discount, nonrefundable ticket my companion was advised by his physician to not travel on any flight over two hours. The doc wrote that on letterhead (actually, a prescription blank) and I sent the original and a letter requesting a refund to the airline. I expected to have to wait months, but they credited the full ticket price to my credit card within a couple weeks.
As several others have noted, airlines will require written documentation from an &quot;authority&quot;, so I'd advise you to get that at once and attach it to a letter requesting the refund. (Be sure to make copies before you mail!) Call Iberia to obtain the address to which you should send the request. In the letter note that the travel had to be cancelled due to the unexpected and severe health problem of a family member and that this is the reason why you are requesting refund. It will aslo help if in your letter you include a recap of the confirmation number(s), names of all travelers, date and flight numbers.
The airline will likely make a refund only in the same form of payment used for the purchase - i.e., a credit to the credit card used to purchase the ticket.