[Billy]

Hello

Sorry if it's been covered.

We need to get our flights booked ASAP, before there's nothing left (travelling end November); but our house sale legalities are yet to be finalised (missives concluded).

Is there any insurance that will cover us if we do book, then have to cancel because the house sale fell through?

Thanks
Billy

[bob_the_engineer]

I don’t know of any insurance, but having asked them what happens if I booked a flight then needed to change the flight date I was told that it was free if the flight price on the new date was the same or less than the date I’d booked.

i.e. if I wanted to fly at peak season and hadn’t paid for it, I would have to pay a top up fee to cover the difference in the cost of a ticket to fly at that time of the year.

Hmm I didn’t ask how much notice they needed to change a flight date :no .

Hope that helped a little Bob

[Billy]

Thanks.

I'm really stuck as to what to do; leave it till the deal is done and risk not getting any/being able to afford any flights, or take the plunge and splash out the best part of £2k.

Ah well, no-one said it was easy.........

[Michelle and Richard]

Hi Billy

If you get a cheap deal on a ticket the rules around date changes particuarly to the first leg of the journey can be inflexible. To get a ticket that can be changed you often have to pay quite a bit more, your travel agent should be able to advise you on any costs incurred if you change the dates.

Find a decent travel agent and they should be able to explain the rules to you, I find the likes of ebookers, trailfinders, austravel pretty good.

Michelle

[Diny]

Billy

We were faced with the same problem when we came over. We booked our flights with Singapore Air on-line.

We made sure that we chose a flight that stated in the terms and conditions that we could change the date of flight if need be.

In the end we did have to change it due to the house sale dragging. There was no admin fee but it was just our luck that our new departure dates had moved into a 'higher season' - we ended up paying just over £630 more.

It would be my advice to book the tickets but makes sure you have the 'date change' option, that way you're covered for all eventualities.

It's also worth mentioning that some flights (especially the cheaper deals) don't offer a date change option.

Hope this helps.

Diny

[kiwidebs]

Hi Billy

We're in a similar boat - waiting for the house to go through! We've decided not to book tickets until we exchange and we've asked for three to four weeks between exchange and completion. So we'll be praying for tickets to be there for us at the time. I really hope we exchange soon cos we'll heading into the Xmas airfares from the first week in December (end of first week I think!!). As someone who normally books all flights at least six months in advance this is definately going to lead to stomach ulcers!!

Debs

[Billy]

Thanks for all replies.

I will be booking through Trailfinders; I've used them before and their prices are comparable to any other option. I spoke with them the other day, and I was reassured that I still had some time to spare, and that the next price step upwards was not too much more.

I thought we had been through the most stressful moments, with the points threshold at 180, the ITA, the telephone interview, etc. but this final 'so near and yet so far' wait seems the most stressful. All relative of course but anyway.....

[Kim39]

Billy

I provisionaly booked our tickets with Singapore airlines, that then gives you two weeks in which to confirm and pay, only thing is, you have to do this over the phone and they are a nightmare to get through to but here is the number anyway 0870 608 8886, and you should have a better idea about the house in that time.

Elaine (Kim's OH)

[Billy]

Thanks Elaine, I'll look into that.

Cheers
Billy