V-Flyer

We booked back in February for peak season flights to Barbados for Christmas - but have unexpectedly just discovered that I have skin cancer. Clearly travelling to Barbados is unwise. Expected Virgin to be a little sympathetic - particularly as they would be able to re-sell these tickets without a problem - but no. Tickets are non-refundable and we can change them for somewhere else before February 2015 or lose them.
I have always been a loyal Virgin customer before - and have always booked VS over other airlines both for work and leisure - but does this seem a little uncaring to anyone else?

Firstly I'm really sorry to hear about your news and I wish you all the best with any treatment you may be undertaking, with regards to cancelling flights and getting a refund I would not expect virgin to allow this even in light of your situation, fare rules are very much black and white and what you see is what you get.

This is certainly a case where you should be claiming from your travel insurance, I'm guessing your doctor has advised against travel in these circumstances which if put in writing would I'm sure suffice for a claim on your travel insurance.

All the best

Afraid I agree that it is unlikely they will refund you - that is always the danger of buying a discounted fare.
What VS do allow is for you to base the money value against another flight which should be booked within a year. That is actually quite generous as many airlines do not allow any changes at all.

If you have travel insurance, then consult this.

If you don't have insurance, then concentrate on your health rather than the loss of a flight.

Skin cancer is a big spectrum.

Are you saying you dont want to go to Barbados as you never want to go anywhere sunny again- or are you saying that you will be too ill to travel at Christmas? Has your consultant advised that you wont be fit for travel (seems a long way off to be saying that)

With a malignant melanoma the advice is not to sunbathe and to stay out of the sun. That is difficult to do in Barbados. Of course, I would love to go.

Firstly, I wish you well in your treatment and recovery.

I do agree with everyone else, this is one that needs to be handled through your Travel Insurance and should be pretty straight forward to do with them. Virgin, or any airline, won't refund under these circumstances.

Very sorry to hear your news, and all the best in making a full recovery soon.

I agree with the travel insurance comments - that will probably be an easier route to go down.

All the best.

Wouldn't have needed to go to Virgin if we had insurance - but did not anticipate an illness at this early stage and was planning to book new policy in the Autumn. Lesson learned.

Ford wrote:Wouldn't have needed to go to Virgin if we had insurance - but did not anticipate an illness at this early stage and was planning to book new policy in the Autumn. Lesson learned.

Ahh, that is the golden rule, always have insurance from when you book, not when you travel.

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis and I wish you well for your treatment.

I am wondering whether you have friends / family that would be willing to take these flights off your hands and then you just need to pay for a name change?

VS do not allow name changes on any ticket, unless it's just a miss spelling

Oh, that's that idea out then!

Actually, I was told that they do now - new rule apparently and I did not get the impression it was any sort of concession due to my illness. Person I spoke to said it was very new.
I fail to see the difference between me selling the tickets and Virgin doing so - given that the tickets will definitely be used up by someone as it is such a busy route/time of year (though I doubt anyone in my family will take them).
We'll probably go, spend the whole time in the shade and think slightly less of Virgin in future.

I think health comes first - at the end of the day, if you can't get a refund or get the name changed on the ticket (presumably for a fee), it's only money.

I don't think this is a reason to think less of VS, because the fare rules do apply notwithstanding the ticket holder's personal circumstances. Even if they gave you a full refund, it would be a nice gesture as opposed to an expectation from them. This is the exact sort of thing that travel insurance covers, and if you haven't got it, then it was a risk that you accepted on purchasing non-refundable tickets knowing the T&Cs.

You say in the 1st post that you can change them for somewhere else? Lots of great non sunny places to go in the USA.

It is really interesting if they are starting to allow name changes, this is an industry standard rule of not allowing them, so very surprising.

I appreciate it is frustrating, but the rules are clear and you agreed to them when buying your ticket. It isn't Virgin's fault you didn't cover yourself adequately with the appropriate insurance.

Ford wrote:We'll probably go, spend the whole time in the shade and think slightly less of Virgin in future.

I doubt any airline would refund a non-refundable ticket. Particularly as in this case there's nothing actually physically preventing you from flying - it would be your choice not to go, albeit with a very good reason.

That's the trade-off: pay more for a ticket that's flexible and refundable if your travel plans unexpectedly change. Or pay less for one that isn't. Same with many hotels, cruises, train tickets etc these days.

Much as we all hate paying good money for insurance we'll probably never use - be it for travel, car, home, pet or whatever - it's exactly circumstances like these that it exists for.

I hope everything works out health-wise.

And as an aside, consider an "annual" policy, so you are always covered.... can be cheaper than "individual trip" ones too!

Sorry to hear about the skin cancer, Ford.

Although extremely unlikely to materialize, the wording on most airline Terms and Conditions indicates that (very occasionally) exceptions might (just!) be considered on grounds of illness.

If you have the time, a well-worded letter (ultimately positive, rather than threatening - "I'm a loyal VS customer..." etc) explaining your circumstances might do the trick. The chances are very small, but you never know.

I've noticed this wording on AA about illness: "Exception requests [i.e. to the blanket no-refunds policy] should be submitted through American Airlines Customer Relations."

And on VS, with regard to illness: "You may be considered for a refund..." etc.

In each case they suggest writing (rather than phoning).

I wouldn't hold out much hope, but you never know who receives the letter. It might be someone that has personally been in a similar position, and wants their good deed for the day to be making an exception to the rules.

NYLON

Yes, I rang and wrote very nicely - pointing out my frequent flyer status and the considerable number of flights taken with VS over the past 15 years. Asked them to consider this exceptionally and offered supporting medical evidence - but no good. It is the fact that I know that these seats would sell very easily indeed, just before Christmas and just after New Year when most seats on that route are already sold out for the day, and those either side, which makes this hard.

Yes, I should have kept our annual insurance going when it ran out in July - but as we were not travelling anywhere for 6 months it seems a waste of half a new policy. I would rather not fly this Christmas and with everything else going on just now (confined to bed after an operation which took place two days after we got the news about the cancer) I don't particularly want to be rebooking.

Refund quote this morning stated refund of £270 - on tickets costing nearly £4000 (yes, I know, non-refundable, but I had no idea this discounted a verifiable, serious illness) so I certainly won't be applying for a refund just so that Virgin can sell those seats again (making a nice profit on the back of my cancer) for over £4000. I'd rather leave the seats empty!

Another thought: did you buy your tickets with a credit card?

Many credit cards have some kind of trip cancellation policy built into the general terms.

I also know that trip cancellation claims are the most frequently made against credit card purchases (something in the region of 75%).

Can you check your credit card's terms and conditions?

NYLON

Really sorry to hear about your skin cancer Ford.

I had a similar problem at the beginning of 2013 where I had an internal bleed and was told by the specialist that I wasn't allowed to fly for at least 12 months. I had two flights booked with Virgin in that period. One was with air miles and the other was on a non refundable ticket.

The first one on air miles I had to send proof of illness to Virgin and they refunded the air miles back to my account.

The non refundable ticket I again had to send proof of illness and they refunded the flight supplements and taxes and sent me a breakdown of the amount I was not able to claim which I sent to my travel insurance company who paid out the remainder.

They made it quite easy for me. Unlike Emirates which I also had a flight booked and they said they would hold the balance as a credit for 12 months!!!

Hope this helps and hope you have a speedy recovery.

Ford wrote:I certainly won't be applying for a refund just so that Virgin can sell those seats again (making a nice profit on the back of my cancer) for over £4000. I'd rather leave the seats empty!

If the flights are already sold out they'll have probably already sold them again as all airlines overbook busy flights on the assumption there'll be a certain number of no-shows.

I do wish you well in your recovery. This should serve as a reminder to those that think that the unthinkable won't happen......insurance is usually the only saving grace, but ultimately you can't put a price on your health. It may be an expensive reminder but hopefully you will find a let-out with a different destination. I think you may find VS are more accommodating that some of the others.

Do let us know how you get on. But don't leave your phone call/letter at that. It may be worth another to CG or SRB.