Can British Airways offer compensation for a connecting flight being cancelled?

Q Our flights to South Africa were cancelled due to bad weather at Istanbul airport. We were booked to travel in business class on Turkish Airlines, price £4,200. We had to fly that day due to PCR tests expiring. So we had to pay £4,600 for premium economy with BA on the same day.

We received notification of the cancellation less than two hours before leaving home and therefore had very little time to explore options. Can we claim any compensation? And why can’t airlines have fixed prices?

Jeannie D

A Sorry to hear you were caught up in the recent chaos, which was due to extreme wintry weather in normally lovely Istanbul.

As you should have been told when you were notified about the cancellation of your flight, Turkish Airlines is obliged to find an alternative to get you to your destination – which may well have invoked putting you on that very British Airways flight, in business class.

If you were not informed of your rights, or you were asked but were turned down, then you have some chance of putting in a claim for the extra expense: the £400 on top of the £4,200 original ticket price which, I hope, has already been refunded. But your case may be weakened because you acted so quickly.

It is possible that your PCR tests could have been recognised by South Africa in light of the disruption, and if you were not sure of that, at Heathrow there are fast testing services costing around £120 – a small figure compared with the air fares. The reason airlines don’t have fixed prices is because they would go out of business very quickly.

Aviation works by extracting the maximum amount of cash from each seat. At times of low demand, that may not be very much at all but it helps to pay some of the marginal costs of the airline. At times of high demand, carriers will charge whatever they think they can get away with to keep the show on the road. And very close to departure they will often price seats extremely highly, knowing that buyers are likely to be making “distress purchases” – and will basically pay whatever it takes.

open image in gallery

Q Any whispers or rumours as to when the ridiculous pre-departure and arrival tests for Canada might end? I’m fully vaccinated with a booster.

Elmac 40

A Your “ridiculous” testing requirements are, from the Canadian perspective, essential precautions for minimising the risk to the people of Canada from international travellers.

Having both pre-departure and arrival requirements is the “belt and braces” approach that the UK has repeatedly used – and, despite today’s changes, still does from unvaccinated travellers. Just to spin through the rules: all travellers aged five and above must have “a negative result taken within 72 hours of your scheduled flight or land entry”. The test must be “molecular”, meaning PCR or Lamp – both of which are expensive.

But previous infection, “at least 10 calendar days and no more than 180 calendar days before entering Canada”, is also acceptable for this requirement.

The post-arrival test is a uniquely Canadian affair. It is a random selection procedure (no doubt informed by relative infection rates) and adds a degree of jeopardy. Because even if you are not infected, you still have to self-isolate until your negative result comes through, which should be within hours or could be a couple of days.

Air travellers are encouraged to “register in advance for arrival testing” with the airport testing provider, which will speed things up if you are called.

Oh, and you must also ensure you are registered for the ArriveCAN app before you will be allowed to board a Canada-bound flight.

These rules will be tolerated by many UK travellers to Canada, because they are going to see family. But from a tourism perspective, they are unattractive. I believe that when Canada gets into step with “competitive reopening” things will get easier, but probably not this side of Easter.

open image in gallery

Q I want to fly to Australia around 17 March to 17 April this year to see family. My passport was issued on 11 October 2012 and is valid until 11 July 2023, ie 10 years and nine months. My travel agent says that the “extra months” do not count and has advised me to get a new one. But do you think I will be allowed to use it for Australia, as well as changing flights in the UAE?

Kas

A Without wishing to be impolite, you might want to consider getting another travel agent. The “extra months” issue has caused endless misery since the UK left the European Union – but it is only of relevance for Europe. Just as a reminder: for decades the UK passport authorities had the very decent practice of renewing travel documents for 10 years plus whatever time was remaining on the passport, up to a maximum of nine months. You hit the jackpot and got the full nine.

This could start causing you problems from 11 October 2022 for the European Union, but as far as I know no other countries have a problem with the British practice.

So you have acres of validity left for your trip, I am glad to say. Expiry contraventions would only start (initially with the UAE, if you wanted to stop over) from 11 January 2023. “Your passport should be valid for a minimum period of six months from the date of entry into the UAE,” says the Foreign Office.

But Australia makes no stipulation, and you could stay there up to 11 July 2023, subject to meeting all the visa rules. On which subject, don’t forget to apply for your free eVisitor visa. Avoid scam sites and book through the official portal.

open image in gallery

Q Do you think New York City will relax its rules on unvaccinated or single-vaccinated children entering venues any time soon?

Ryan B

A Yes. I expect things to change fairly quickly, because the current situation is unsustainable. New York City has some seriously family-unfriendly rules. They are marketed as “Key to NYC” – but amount to some of the most draconian restrictions on children of any location I know. For a wide range of activities, including visiting restaurants, cinemas, museums, aquariums and zoos, vaccination requirements start very young. Until late January the rule was that everyone 12 and over had to show proof of being fully jabbed to access almost all public indoor activities. Then things took a turn for the worse.

“Starting January 29, 2022, children ages five to 11 must also show proof of full vaccination,” the city authorities decreed. Before that the rule was just one jab. But given that the NHS policy is to vaccinate children only “from the day they turn 12,” the tightening of the restrictions makes no effective difference.

As with many other parts of the world, New York City has a carrot-and-stick approach to encouraging vaccination, and this is very much on the stick side (the carrot includes a $100 incentive). But it creates an awful state of affairs for visiting families. As things stand I warn anyone with children who do not qualify not to book anything in NYC at the moment.

As the perceived threat of Covid dwindles, I predict the rules will soften by Easter. But please don’t book anything yet. New York City is a metropolis with a huge tourism industry. One day it will wake up and realise the world has moved on – then desperately try to catch up, with all manner of deals to lure families back.

Email your questions to s@hols.tv or tweet @SimonCalder