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My daughter is doing a semester abroad in England the end of August. I'm not a worrier but am concerned that this whole swine flu panic might affect this. She is planning on buying her tix in 3-4 weeks. In the event that it seems like it's not a good time to do this or the school decides to cancel programs what might be the cancellation policy. Also, how close to the trip can we go and still get a good airfare price?

Get trip insurance - that's what the news radio station is telling people to do.

I was hoping trip insurance would cover this. But I'm not sure on what reasons are acceptable to cancel. If it seems that the problem is especially bad in college dorms, or if the school decides to not support the program but it is not officially canceled. I'm wondering if there are specific reasons that would gain you a refund? KWIM? Right now she's finding airfare in the 800. range and this is ok.

insuremytrip.com is a site that compares several trip insurance plans. They have some pages about swine flu information and how some insurance companies are handling it.

If the airline cancels flights due to Swine Flu
and
http://www.insuremytrip.com/blog/2009/0 ... e-flu.html

Unfortunately, the consensus so far among the travel insurance providers is that they will not provide trip cancellation coverage if the airline refuses to fly into a Swine Flu area.

What can save people here is if a person purchased their travel insurance policy with the Cancel For Any Reason benefit. Some plans have this included in the base plan, and some plans offer this as an optional add on. If you have a travel insurance plan with Cancel For Any Reason you do not need to worry. You can cancel your trip if you are concerned about Swine Flu.

Unfortunately, the consensus so far among the travel insurance providers is that they will not provide trip cancellation coverage if the airline refuses to fly into a Swine Flu area.

OK that sucks. I'll have to see how much the cancel for any reason policy is. Then i'll have to see which is cheaper, that or booking a little later.

OceanCityGirl wrote:I was hoping trip insurance would cover this. But I'm not sure on what reasons are acceptable to cancel. If it seems that the problem is especially bad in college dorms, or if the school decides to not support the program but it is not officially canceled. I'm wondering if there are specific reasons that would gain you a refund? KWIM? Right now she's finding airfare in the 800. range and this is ok.

call and ask.. and for the time frame..
a wise BNer once told me to watch the price (for a baseline)
and then around 72-60 days off the price will drop once..
for about 48 hours.. buy at that time..
in the 3+ years since I have been armed with that info.
it has NEVER been wrong..
for a recap.. that is
Newark x 2
Vegas x 2
Dallas x 2
Houston x 2
Austin x 1
Seattle x 1
FLL x 1
Denver x 1

Now "this year" I have been checking and have bought early for two trips
but I knew the baseline and the cost was down,so I bought

How far out would you consider the baseline? Mid-May for an August flight?

OceanCityGirl wrote:How far out would you consider the baseline? Mid-May for an August flight?

this year??
check every other day from today..
sales are crazy this year.. no historical timelines..
I don't know where you are checking from
but look around.. a longer drive to the airport
may save some serious $$$$$

ragtopW wrote:

OceanCityGirl wrote:How far out would you consider the baseline? Mid-May for an August flight?

this year??
check every other day from today..
sales are crazy this year.. no historical timelines..
I don't know where you are checking from
but look around.. a longer drive to the airport
may save some serious $$$$$

Will you book my next flight to DFW for me?

OceanCityGirl wrote:My daughter is doing a semester abroad in England the end of August. I'm not a worrier but am concerned that this whole swine flu panic might affect this. She is planning on buying her tix in 3-4 weeks. In the event that it seems like it's not a good time to do this or the school decides to cancel programs what might be the cancellation policy. Also, how close to the trip can we go and still get a good airfare price?

If she is planning on waiting for three or 4 weeks to buy, I would imagine by then either this will be over, or worse. In either case, it will make the decision to buy or not to buy easier. Most travel insurance is not covering this. Please be careful with the cancel for any reason policies as many of them cover hotel penalties, but not flights.

There are fares that you can purchase at a higher price that are fully refundable. The airlines are not being all that flexible at this point. Right now they are waiving change fees till about May 15th.

Hopefully just like the bird flu and SARS were rather short lived, this will be also. I would just watch the airlines policies over the next couple of weeks also to see who seems to be the most flexible and it may be worth it to stick with them.

BUY INSURANCE - what is not given back to you, you can recover

oh, and always buy airline tickets on a credit card!!!!!! I would call the CC company also and see what they say about this and will you be able to deny the charges if this gets worse.

double check with her school. if they cancel the course, and her tuition is paid, they should transfer it so she can take classes on campus.

we are working on a big system-wide study abroad policy. i'll double check with the person in charge of it and let you know what our universities do.

also - most of the airlines will refund your money if they cancel a flight. double check with them.

like everyone else, buy trip insurance!

Normally she'd fly from Philly but to save a decent amount we'd do Camden or Md. This is nuts. If I thought it would be better I'd tell her to wait until the spring semester. But if this goes underground and re emerges during flu season then that is when it will be worst.

OceanCityGirl wrote:Right now she's finding airfare in the 800. range and this is ok.

Sounds high. Should be able to do a lot better than that. I've seen Philthadelphia r/t $400-700. I've never paid more than $600 r/t to london. Be flexible, you have newark, jfk, phl and balt/dc airports to choose from. Flexibility in dates should help too. You have a couple of airports in london to choose from also.

Skibo wrote:

OceanCityGirl wrote:Right now she's finding airfare in the 800. range and this is ok.

Sounds high. Should be able to do a lot better than that. I've seen Philthadelphia r/t $400-700. I've never paid more than $600 r/t to london. Be flexible, you have newark, jfk, phl and balt/dc airports to choose from. Flexibility in dates should help too. You have a couple of airports in london to choose from also.

the way her program works I may not have a choice on date or what airport to fly in to. The school will be sending people out to pick up all of the exchange students. I would love to see her get rt w/fees $500.

Make sure when you purchase the ticket directly from the airline.
They are more willing to work with you on changes.

My study abroad connection is in a meeting. Ill ask her when she gets out

I would suggest working with a professional travel agent, who can tell you what's going on with the travel insurance options and what the various airlines will and won't do for you. But by August this swine flu thing will be over and done until September.

The Lost Manatee wrote:I would suggest working with a professional travel agent, who can tell you what's going on with the travel insurance options and what the various airlines will and won't do for you. But by August this swine flu thing will be over and done until September.

I am thinking August will be a kind of safe window. I imagine the problem will start up again with the new flu season. The schools will know this so I'm waiting for some info from the director. They are said to be preparing a statement.

ph4ever wrote:

ragtopW wrote:

OceanCityGirl wrote:How far out would you consider the baseline? Mid-May for an August flight?

this year??
check every other day from today..
sales are crazy this year.. no historical timelines..
I don't know where you are checking from
but look around.. a longer drive to the airport
may save some serious $$$$$

Will you book my next flight to DFW for me?

I saw one that routed you through ATL
for like $200 RT..