What does the "Kiwi.com Guarantee" cover?

Question

Kiwi.com sells different kinds of connecting flights:

1. "Connection protected by the carrier"

   • These are the same as on any online travel agency: they include the usual support of the airline as defined in the contract of carriage.

2. "Connection protected by the Kiwi.com Guarantee"

   • Unique connections combining multiple separate (budget) airline tickets. These are not protected by the airline so they cover them with the "Kiwi.com Guarantee."

There are some enticingly cheap tickets using the later. I can live without in person service, worrying about bags, transit visas and check-in twice. I want to understand any additional risk of these tickets to decide if the savings is worth it, and to help choose between flights.

The explanation of this guarantee isn't highly detailed.

• For changes more than 48h before departure: I see they may opt to give me a refund instead of doing a (more expensive) rebooking.

• How much does this guarantee cover when delays or cancellations occur less the 48h of departure? The terms focus on "reasonable" reaccomodations at "disproportionate" prices. What are these in practice?

  In case We are unable to find a reasonable alternative Flight(s) or other means of transportation due to a disproportionate price difference between the potential alternative transportation and the original price for the unused Flights, we may agree with You on Our proportional contribution to the costs associated with the mutually agreed alternative transportation.

• How will Force Majeure situations differ vs. a standard ticket?

Answer 1

Although this is anecdotal, I needed the Kiwi.com guarantee once, and I was successfully covered. It was unpleasant, but it got me to my destination without spending any extra money. I conclude that it is worthwhile if you are willing to go through a hassle in order to save money.

My original flights had a 4.5 hour connection protected by Kiwi. Due to some aircraft problem, my first flight was 4 hours late and I couldn't make the connection.

I followed all Kiwi's rules and I kept written evidence of doing so: I first contacted them online as soon as I knew my first flight was delayed, even though the airline was saying the delay would be only 1.5 hours. Kiwi replied to contact them immediately upon my first flight landing. I got off my first flight about 4:30pm, contacted Kiwi online, and they told me they'd get back to me within 2 hours with a new plan. I kept contacting them every 2 hours and they kept apologizing for the delay and assuring me I will be covered as long as I continue to follow their rules. About 12:30am, they emailed me a new plan and asked me to reply to confirm. I replied to confirm immediately, and they sent my new confirmation just before 1am. Their new plan provided a paid hotel room, €70 refund to cover taxis and meals, and a new flight to my destination the next day.

It looks like their main catches are:

• If you don't contact them as soon as you know there may be a problem, the guarantee isn't valid (I think this is because they're trying to recover funds if they can cancel the second ticket before it takes off)
• If they make you an email offer and you don't reply right away, their offer may become unavailable and you may have to wait even longer for them to make another offer
• If you pay for your own hotel or replacement flight, they won't reimburse you. You may be tempted to do so if you get frustrated waiting for them
• They may deny you if they think you should have made it to the next flight (in my case it was obvious I couldn't)
• If all replacement flight options are very expensive (more than twice the original cost), they may offer a refund or partial refund instead

Answer 2

I highly recommend not to book this type of connection and read some online review on Kiwi from people who have tried using this guarantee. Typical complaints include

• You need to call KIWI directly when you miss the connection, which can be quite difficult and expensive if you are in a foreign country. Wait times on the phone can be quite long
• If you incur any cost BEFORE you talked to KIWI on the phone, they won't refund it.
• The guarantee is capped at twice the actual cost of the flight that you missed. If you had booked a $30 Ryan air ticket, missed it, and needed to rebook on a $300 Lufthansa ticket, you are still out $240
• Kiwi doesn't pay if they think it is "your fault", i.e. they won't pay if both flights are on time. If you miss it because of long lines at immigration or customs, late bags, or just an overly aggressive short connection you are out of luck.
• Not related to the guarantee but still a concern: many passengers complain about exorbitant baggage charges (much higher than the airline charges) and not honoring the 24-hour cancellation rule.

Keep in mind that even if KIWI is legally required to pay something, they still may drag their feet and make this incredibly hard and cumbersome for you.

Answer 3

Kiwi is a scam... my wife just missed her connection in London where they gave her 2 hours scheduled to collect her bags, get thru customs and check back in with another airline. That airline stated check in closed 1 hour prior to departure. She was not made aware of it until she got to the counter missed it by 4 minutes. Kiwi customer service line stated that she had 1:56 to make the connection from arrival and that their policy gave her 1:45 min or more to make it. Nothing they can do. No rebooking or help in any way. Called customer support as soon as counter told her it was too late to check in.

Answer 4

Low cost airlines sometimes fly through airports with rather limited connection options. Let's see an example.

Let's say you are in the UK and want to soak up a little sun so you are flying from Edinburgh to Thessaloniki. You get a route with two Ryanair flights via Bratislava. On paper this looks great: the flights are super cheap, you are saving hundreds of pounds and it's not like there are direct flights to be had for any money so why not? However, you miss your connection and now you are in Bratislava. The next flight to Thessaloniki is in four days. If you don't want to wait, you need fly back to some major Ryanair airport -- London, Brussels, Dublin -- and hope this time you make your connection. Or you can take ground transport to Vienna or Budapest and a flight from either... this is going to cost a lot of money, take a long time and it's really a huge hassle. Also, if Kiwi doesn't help you out, are you even going to know what to do when straddled in Bratislava?

Really, unprotected connections should only be booked by people who have a lot more experience in flying and solving these situations. I feel this is the biggest caveat with what kiwi offers -- they would need an iron tight concierge style service even more than monetary guarantees to make sure you don't get stranded.

Answer 5

The Kiwi.com guarantee seems to work better now than when the other reviews were posted. When our first flight was delayed, we called Kiwi and got connected immediately to an agent who confined we were covered, then gave us a choice of replacement flights and couched is for a hotel as the next flight was the next day. No hassle.