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Peter Answers Your Emails: Round 25 — July 2020

Peter is answering your latest emails with travel questions during the coronavirus pandemic. Do you have a travel question or problem? If you don’t see your email answered in one of the rounds, email Peter at: Peter@petergreenberg.com.


 

EMAIL: Margaret Woodward

Hi Peter:  I don’t understand how your travel newletter can overlook the current travel ban for Americans to visit overseas. Isn’t that news worth documenting in your newsletter?

Thanks.

Margaret Woodward

Peter Says: We have been reporting on it all the time. I don’t understand!


 

EMAIL: Ira Hotlzman

Peter

 

I really enjoy your newsletter and wonder if there is anything further you can do to help us get our deposit back on a cancelled cruise from Regent. We filed a dispute with the credit card company but they denied our claim. We booked the cruise through Luxury Only and the confirmation said we had until 3/13/20 to cancel without a penalty but apparently in the fine print because this was the Splendor’s maiden voyage the cancellation policy was moved up by 30 days so when we cancelled due to the virus we were subject to a 15% cancellation fee. Doesn’t seem right since the cruise was cancelled. I was not willing to let them hold in excess of $20,000 for the promise of a future cruise credit. See attached. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Ira Hotlzman

 

Peter Says: Thanks for writing. Please send me all the details. the cruise ship name, confirmation numbers, dates et al, and let me reach out to them.


EMAIL: June Kane

 

My cruise was cancelled in March 2020 and I was given a credit with an additional 50% of what I paid (total credit $22,000) by oceania cruise.  I have til the end of next year to use this credit and even travel in 2022.  What is expectation when cruising may be safe even though I would travel with extreme caution/protection?

June and Andrew Kane

 

Peter Says: June, as long as your credit extends to 2022, you should be fine. The cruise lines are working overtime now to adhere to new CDC requirements, ranging from food service to cabin design, public areas to boarding procedures and entertainment venues. Without these changes, no cruise ship will be allowed to sail. And the real hope isn’t just for a vaccine, but it’s for widespread fast-result reliable testing so that you can be quickly tested at every key arrival/departure point without disrupting your overall travel experience.


 

EMAIL: Judy Zerby

 

 

Hello Peter,

I am in a dilemma. Maybe you can help, please!

We booked Aer Lingus on a new flight from MSP to DUB. This was a very low fare and we didn’t want to miss out so we put down $526 as a deposit fare. We took your advice to wait until the airline cancelled our flight. It did. They sent us an email that they had cancelled it and would no longer be operating the MSP-DUB trip. They also said they would refund our deposit. Then, I got a message that they were refunding $50 into my credit card account. What? As you can see from the attached documentation, it was $526. I called Aer Lingus immediately. After waiting 40 minutes, I talked to an agent who assured me we were owed the full amount and that she was sending that information to their refund department. Yet another email that said “I have refunded the outstanding balance…” Credit card payment was $50.

 

What can we do now? Please help. We are on a fixed income and stuck in the middle of a pandemic.

Thank you for anything you can do.

Judy Zerby

Minneapolis, MN

 

Peter Says: Judy, please send me all the details of your original flight, credit card receipts and, if possible the full name and title of the person with whom you spoke at Aer Lingus.


 

EMAIL: Emily Velin

 

Hi Peter, we have round trip tickets to London and back for September..I can’t get a clear idea how Americans can transit through London to say, fly to Croatia. I have been on the Heathrow site but I can’t figure this out. Thx, Emily/Austin, TX

 

Peter Says: Which airline are you booked on? They will know the transit rules.


 

EMAIL: Jennifer Mascarella

 

 

Hi Peter,

 

On 01/23/2020 I booked a flight, via Expedia, to fly on KLM to Portugal.  I also purchased the Travel Guard Protection.  I was scheduled to go on tour of Portugal on 9/5/2020 through 9/18/2020.  As with most other tours, mine was cancelled.  I received a full refund, no questions asked, from the tour operator. Since my flight was scheduled to depart after 8/31/20 I have a few options which are shown below.  Seeing as I don’t have any plans to travel to Europe in the near future and given the EU’s ban of American citizens I believe I would be entitled to a refund from the Travel Guard Protection plan based on the following language from their Trip Cancellation section.

 

“The Company will pay a benefit to reimburse the Insured for covered expenses up to the Maximum Limit shown in the Schedule or Declarations Page, if an Insured cancels his/her Trip due to any of the following Unforeseen events:

(f) The Insured or Traveling Companion’s Primary Residence is made Uninhabitable, or the Destination is made Uninhabitable or Inaccessible, by Natural Disaster (other than a hurricane), fire, vandalism, or burglary;

 

What do you think the chances are that I’ll be successful in filing a claim with Travel Guard based on the fact that the destination is Inaccessible?

 

Thanks and I look forward to hearing back from you.

 

Peter Says: The problem here, and what I expect the insurance company to claim, is that the destination is inaccessible BECAUSE of the pandemic, and they don’t cover losses caused by the pandemic. You’ll notice they will cover for inaccessibility caused by a “natural disaster.” A pandemic apparently isn’t considered a natural disaster.


 

EMAIL: Martha Bachmann

 

Dear Mr. Greenberg,

 

Last March I had to travel to see my mother in Peru, South America, who was having emergency surgery.

On March 15th I called American Airlines to check on my flight. The customer service person told me that they have cancelled all flights out of Peru until further notice.

I asked them why didn’t they contact customers beforehand to let us know about it so that we would have had the opportunity to change flights in advance. He gave me no answer. So I had to call United airlines and pay 2600 dollars for a ticket. I contacted the flight insurance company provided by American Airlines to see if I could get reimbursed for the ticket but they informed me that because of Covid 19 I wouldn’t be reimbursed.

Do I have a case?

Please let me know if there is anything I can do.

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Martha Bachmann

 

 

Peter Says: Martha, you very much have a case, if American canceled your Peru flight first (which they did, and never told you). This isn’t an issue for insurance, which doesn’t cover pandemic. It’s a DOT issue. The airline canceled the flight. You’re entitled to a full refund back to your original form of payment.


 

EMAIL: Patrick Garvey

 

Traveling EVA airlines into Cebu , are there any documents health related in order to board flight and go to Cebu my wife is dual citizen as well as our child

 

Peter Says: The Philippines might ask for a health questionnaire or ask for a quarantine if you’re flying in from overseas, but flights within the Philippines would be exempt.


 

EMAIL: Nancy 

 

Hi there,

I don’t know if you can help me.

 

I was supposed to travel on Aer Lingus on March 23 from Hartford CT to Newcastle, returning on March 30.

 

Obviously, that didn’t happen!

 

I’ve contacted Aer Lingus several times, and I did receive an automated reply (back in April) with a claim number. But as of yet, no refund and no further update.

 

I know they have a huge backlog, and I heard you say on last week’s broadcast that it could take 5 – 6 months, but I’m wondering how I should take this further?

 

Any advice greatly appreciated!

 

Thank you!

Nancy

 

Peter Says: Nancy, thanks for writing. Is the claim number for a refund or a voucher? Please send more details.


 

EMAIL: Summer LeBlanc

 

Hello Peter,

 

Thank you for all of your good information and wisdom over the years.

 

I am a 70 yo woman in good health and I need to visit my son and niece in Boston

(for business, not just pleasure).

I live in San Francisco and they live in Boston.

I purchased a nonrefundable but changeable ticket on Alaska

for Sept 19 – 27, SFO-BOS.

 

I know that you don’t have a crystal ball, but do you think it would be prudent of me to fly

during that time? Of course, I’ll be wearing a mask, but I’m assuming others on the plane might be lax

(especially when it comes to the free snacks)! lol

 

Also, can you please clarify what the October 1st dark day is?

 

Thank you.

 

Summer LeBlanc

 

Peter Says: Summer, I’d hold on to that ticket and make a calculated risk that a month from now you’ll be ok to fly, as long as you wear a mask, gloves and use plenty of hand sanitizer — the usual precautions. The October dark day is when the provisions of the CARES act, which bailed out the airlines on the condition they kept their entire staff employed, run out. So that is the day that as many as 80,000 airline employees may be furloughed.


 

EMAIL: Eileen Osterfeld

 

Mr Greenberg

I have followed you for many years and appreciate the influence you have on the travel industry.

I recently, May 1, retired from American Airlines. I was a flight attendant for 16 years having gone through 2 mergers.  I previously retired after 28 years from Delta going through 1 merger.

With this retirement, in which the company was begging for people to take, we were offered a package. We are technically still attached to the company for 1 year and paying union dues. Less then 3 months later, since they still need to reduce the headcount or furlough in the Fall, they have offered another package with additional enhancements but refuse to grandfather us in. There are only 700 to 800 flight attendants that took the first offer in May.

I thought that you might find this interesting and hoped that in some way you may  be able to influence a better l outcome for those of us that stepped up to help our company and fellow employees out.

Sincerely,

Eileen Osterfeld

 

Peter Says: Eileen, thanks so much for writing me…I am monitoring this situation closely, since it is affecting all airline employees and different offers (at different times) from the airlines. Hang in there and hopefully there may be better rewards ahead, especially if the airlines accept more government financial assistance.


 

EMAIL: Craig Small

 

Dear Mr. Greenberg,

I hope this note finds you safe and healthy. Thank you for your terrific travel information over these many years. Your valuable travel information and tips have been wonderful for many thousands of Americans.

Here’s my situation and question. I and a number of my colleagues are planning to go to Neuquen in central western Argentina. This city will be our base to drive about 2 hours south to observe and study a total eclipse of the sun on December 14, 2020. Unlike any “normal” trip or vacation which can, and should, be canceled due to COVID-19, due to celestial mechanics, this event will happen on time no matter what. Now I understand that the country is effectively closed until September 1. No international or internal flights until then. That is OK since our event of interest isn’t until December. My problem is this: I tried calling– on two separate occasions– about a week apart both the Argentine consulate in NYC and the Argentine embassy in Washington, DC. No one answered the phones. I left messages, but no one returned calls. Perhaps they are closed down, and every Argentine official left the US due to the pandemic. I figured some people would stay to run basic critical operations– but I could be wrong. Anyway, what I need to know is whether the country is requiring US residents to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in the capitol city or not. Can you immediately fly on to Neuquen and perhaps quarantine there. Hopefully, if you stayed in Buenos Aires a few days , would you have to quarantine in both cities–that would be out of the question. Whether quarantining  is needed or not will obviously determine when I need to schedule a flight there. It could be as late as December 6 or as early as Thanksgiving Day if quarantining is required. It is getting late and I would appreciate some expert guidance on this issue. By the way, when I return to the US, I have no issue with quarantining again if needed. Thank you for your attention. I will pass on what you say to my astronomical colleagues.

 

Thank You,

Craig Small

 

Peter Says: Craig, the answer is that while September 1st is the official reopening date for the Argentinian airspace, the government hasn’t even told the airlines the information THEY need in order to resume service. I suspect we’ll find out something around August 25th — and that’s only if the September 1st date holds — not exactly the most intelligent or organized way to reopen a country. But I’ll stay on top of this and if I hear anything, I’ll surely let you know.


 

EMAIL: Willard D. Nester, Jr.

 

Aloha,

 

Please give me some advice on how to deal with Frontier Airlines to help resolve my issue.

 

The situation is;

 

1) I had (2) roundtrip seats for my wife and myself on Frontier from LAS to PHL. It was canceled during the COVID situation. Each ticket was for $373.80 — which included ticket, taxes, seat and luggage fees. They would not refund my money to my credit card. They allocated the funds to our login accounts.

 

2) I went to check on flights and I noticed my refund disappeared. I checked with them and was told I lost it, because I didn’t book a flight in 90 days. I said I could not go anywhere during those 90 days. They told me I was supposed to book any flight even if I didn’t want it and then I could cancel it to keep my credit open. What kind of business practice is that?

 

3) I have never flown Frontier before and this is probably why I might have luckily not tried them in the past.

 

4) I feel the golden screw. I asked to talk to someone above customer service level and the first time I was hung up on and the second time I was told that she was not able to advance my call.

 

5) Last but not least, $111.00 of each ticket was for luggage and seat fees and tax on them. Frontier did not handle any bags or provide us seats.

 

I humbly ask for your advice to guide us on what to do from here.

 

Willard D. Nester, Jr.

 

Peter Says: Willard, please send me more details — dates, flight numbers, confirmation numbers, all correspondence with frontier and I’ll try to help.