V-Flyer

Hi all,

My scenario is that I have annual leave from work booked at the beginning of November and I am on the verge of booking reward flights from LGW -> LAS and JFK -> LHR.

There is a slight spanner in the works in that my counterpart has a pregnant wife and for some reason, they cannot fix her due date. (How inconsiderate!) All being well, he should be back at work by the time I go on holiday, but if he isn't, then I will need to cancel my annual leave time.

So, can you cancel a reward flight and receive a full refund? (I'm a Gold FC member if it makes a difference).

I realise I could ring FC and ask, but I'm sure you guys will have the answer

Thanks.

Yes, if you cancel 24 hours you get a full miles refund, there is a £30 fee. Cancel within 24 hours there is no refund of miles.

Neil

Hi Neil,

Thanks for the answer.

I had a booking on hold - with taxes totalling £411 - which I either had to book or potentially lose.

When I rang FC, I was told I would receive miles back as you describe, but only a very small portion of the taxes.

It seems like you are suggesting otherwise though?

Yes, you can always claim back the taxes when you cancel any fare.

Neil wrote:Yes, you can always claim back the taxes when you cancel any fare.

Sorry to highjack this post but I'm interested in your comment Neil about taxes.

I have an UC reward flight into LAX and back from SFO booked for next March. We have an awful feeling that we might have to cancel our holiday because my travel partner's husband has dementia and his condition has suddenly deteriorated.

If we had to do this I believe the 100k air miles we used would be refunded to each of our FC accounts. The taxes etc amounted to around £525 on each fare. I thought we would loose this if we cancelled the flights? Claiming anything from the insurance policy is not an option because the man had an exsisting medical condition

Any advice on how to proceed would be welcome. Thanks Hev

If and when you cancel the flight, speak to VS and they will arrange the refund of the taxes. You are always entitled to claim the tax element back.

Neil wrote:If and when you cancel the flight, speak to VS and they will arrange the refund of the taxes. You are always entitled to claim the tax element back.

Thank you for replying Neil. I'll ring them later but do you know if they have to refund the Air Passenger Duty as well because that makes up such a big part of the charges? Hev

Hev60 wrote:

Neil wrote:If and when you cancel the flight, speak to VS and they will arrange the refund of the taxes. You are always entitled to claim the tax element back.

Thank you for replying Neil. I'll ring them later but do you know if they have to refund the Air Passenger Duty as well because that makes up such a big part of the charges? Hev

This is why it is important to use precise language and not the general catch all 'taxes'

Yes they will refund the APD which is a proper Government imposed tax.

The biggest part of the 'taxes' you paid is the VS imposed surcharge which is not a tax. And it is this you are really asking about.

And yes they will refund this as well (though there are different policies on cash paid tickets)

From the T&Cs 4.2.1 para 3

If for any reason a flight Reward is cancelled by a member 24 hours prior departure, no Miles will be refunded and a £30 per person administration fee will be charged to process the refund of any taxes, charges/sur-charges. Once travel has commenced Miles cannot be refunded. Except as expressly stated in these Flying Club Terms, Miles are not refundable and changes or revalidation are not permitted in case of no-show.

Thanks for the further info Tontybear.

The 'imposed carrier surcharges' makes up over £270 of the 'extras' for each fare and are are against a code YQ whatever that stands for.

To be fair to the poor staff at the FC, who must be under so much pressure dealing with enquiries today following the awful hurricane, I'll leave my query until Monday. Hev

YQ used to be for the 'fuel surcharge' until it got changed into things like 'internation surcharge' or 'carrier imposed surcharge'.

It is definitely not a tax as it is 100% imposed and retained by the airline.

Neil wrote:Yes, you can always claim back the taxes when you cancel any fare.

I know this to be correct from my own experience.

Agreed! - I've done it several times as well

Remember it's a tax on flying - and only if you fly do you have to pay tax
It's obviously collected 'up front', but no fly - no tax!

Peter