Natural Catastrophes and Ticket Refunds
In the event of a natural disaster such as cyclones and hurricanes, flights are normally cancelled. This alone could ruin your perfectly planned vacation. However, the most frustrating part is not the cancelled vacation but the inconvenience you will be subjected to when you try to refund your money.
In the first place, airlines hide behind the Act of God Clause, where it says that they are not responsible for flight cancellations due to natural disasters. A few exceptions to this rule are only made when the media is involved. If there are TV cameras facing their way, you can bet these airlines to be sympathetic and change their policies on the spot.
In order to protect yourself from the airlines invoking this particular clause in the ticket purchase agreement, here are some helpful tips regarding airplane ticket refunds.
- Get Insured – make sure that the insurance policy you will allow you to enjoy immediate refund during these circumstances. You can ask your travel agent about which insurance policy to get.
- Be Pro-Active – even if you have protected yourself by getting an insurance policy against these natural disasters you should still make extra effort to call the airline and follow up on the refund. It will also be wise to study your contract in order to be aware of your rights.
- Go for Plan B – if a refund is out of the question, you can always ask the airline to give you a replacement instead. Just make sure that you will be asking them politely and calmly.
If worse comes to worst, you can always use the “victim card”. Keep in mind that you are speaking with another human being at the end of the telephone line and they can be quite compassionate especially if you are in a really bad situation.
