DawnCt

We are planning our trip to Hawaii next summer using our skysaver miles. (I am half way there). My concern is renting from VBRO and having Delta not fly. I called Trip Insured, who I have used in the passed for cruises and I was told that they are not covering flight cancellation for airlines in Chapter 11. That includes a United, Delta, Northwest, USAir and whoever else joins the party. This really could impact those who purchase cruise trip insurance as well. We usually do our own air. Are there any insurers that cover Chapter 11 airlines?

lanie120

You can use your Delta miles on Continental. Call Delta reservations and see if they can book you on Continental. You can also use Delta miles on Air France and all Sky Team members. Warning...it is hard to get FF miles to Hawaii. As soon as you have enough, you need to try and book it.

BjorkChop

Insurers will not cover bankruptcy after the fact.

crazy4Hawaii

I'm in the same position you are. I don't believe they will start canceling flights. - I really don't. I'm making my plans and not worrying about it!

DawnCt

Lanie, I had no flexibility or time to search for seats on Continental. One minute the seats are there and then they are not. I still need to get home from LAX but at least we are ticketed to HNL and back to the mainland. The rest is yet to come. I missed out on a flight from OGG by 1 coach seat and couldn't risk being waitlisted.
Crazy4Hawaii, I too am going to make my plans but I was almost considering condos with a more flexible cancellation policy, Outrigger, etc.

crazy4Hawaii

That's not a bad idea. I always stay in resorts, and they'll let you cancel without penalty. It's nice to have the room condos. offer, though.

Intrepid1

The LAST thing an airline in Chapter 11 reorganization is going to do is scuttle their FF program since they can hardly afford to give up the so-called "good will" enmeshed in all those miles and their most loyal customers.

I would make my flight arrangements as soon as possible but I think you shoudl realize that the Summer can be the time when air fares to Hawaii are at their lowest. And don't forget to figure in the amount of money you have spent to earn every one of those so-called "free" miles.

JohnD

I recall on Kaua`i that some realtors would let you book private condo's on credit card and refund most of the amount in the event of cancelation.

Have seen other island destinations on VRBO with owner accepting PayPal for credit card payment with ~85% refund if cancel up to 15 days before travel.

DawnCt

There are a few condos that accept Amex so I will focus on them. Intrepid, the lowest coach fare currently is over $700. I get double miles for my purchases that I would have to make anyway, so I am happy with the ff miles if I can book the trip completely.

Rusty

"Insurers will not cover bankruptcy after the fact."

No one is asking an insurance company to insure against bankruptcy. The question is whether or not insurers will provide flight cancellation for flights operated by an airline that is in bankruptcy protection. And the answer appears to be no.

Patty

Are you looking to insure your award tickets or the deposit you have to pay for your condo? I don't think any travel insurance policy provides coverage for replacement of award tickets as you didn't pay for these.

Rusty

Right !

girlonthego

I have frequent flyer tickets on Delta to Hawaii for spring and I am hoping nothing goes wrong! I am betting that there won't be a disruption in service. I would look for a place with a cancellation policy for a week or two before. You should be covered then.

DawnCt

My concern isnt't the award tickets. If need be, I could always redeposit them particularly if there is an interuption in service not due to any fault of our own. My concern are the condos that need to be paid in full. Of course, one could always attempt to negotiate that with the owners.

lia_b

Dawn,

I would check the reservation online on a periodic basis. I have award tickets on Delta for an Alaska cruise for next summer and I happened to check my account and found my original booked flights had been cancelled and changed. Worse, the new connecting flight they had booked me on left before the arriving flight, which made no sense. So I called and they actually put me on a better flight connection that I could not get originally using Sky Saver. AS you do, I wonder what would happen if they go under altogether, I would be afraid that Continental might not be able to acommodate everyone during the time you want to travel. As you would be with a VRBO, I am tied down to a cruise date. I'm getting the insurance. BTW, I went to Hawaii last year in August and I had to pay $892 (from the East Coast) for a ticket and I didn't see the prices fall. The flight I was on from LAX to HNL was fully booked.

Fairhope

Don't believe they won't cancel flights! All my flights to/from Phoenix in Oct were changed the day of chapt 11 and done so badly I was going before I arrived. Had to change from Mobile to Pensacola . We now check itinerary weekly.

Patty

Dawn,
In that case, I think your only option would be to look for condos with the most lenient cancellation policy possible.

DawnCt

I found the answer on www.insuremytrip.com
under FAQ's, no travel insurance company insures against financial default if that airline is in bankruptsy at the time of booking. If they default or go into bankruptsy following a waiting period of 14 to 21 days, the financial loss of the hotel, cruise, etc will be covered providing that, with some companies, that airline was on the 'approved' list and with an other company not on the 'disapproved' list. It sounds like one would have to have excellent timing to take advantage of flight/cancellation default.