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I booked via kiwi.com a one-way ticket from Nanning to London. When I bought the ticket, I also bought travel insurance from the agency as well.The flights were:

Nanning -> Shanghai (Spring airlines)

Shanghai -> Hong Kong (Hong Kong Airlines)

Hong Kong -> London (Cathay Pacific)

After flying the first leg, I was told that the flight from Shanghai to HK wasn't available at the airport. In the end I bought a new ticket at the airport to London. This was around 2 weeks ago and I've since contacted the travel agency and insurance company (AXA).

The travel agency has an automated refunds system which says it will contact each carrier separately to obtain refunds and will take up to 3 months. It also mentions I could end up with nothing refunded and I will not be entitled to any further refunds once I apply. I contacted the UK branch of AXA (the travel agency links to the Czech branch of AXA) and filed a claim with them. I'm wondering if I should just issue a chargeback from my credit card company for the booking or should I wait for the my claim to be processed? If the claim fails then what would I be entitled to, if anything?

Thanks

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    Kiwi is known to sell flights booked separately as a single Kiwi booking with the "Kiwi guarantee" in case something goes wrong. Was it the case here, or were the three tickets actually on a single booking? If the former, then it's up to Kiwi to ensure the terms of their guarantee are met. If the latter, then it's the airline which sold the ticket (one of the three carriers, usually) to do so. In both cases, I wouldn't hold my breath for a refund (especially in the current conditions), and a chargeback is probably good option if your card issuer allows it in this case.
    – jcaron
    Commented Jun 27, 2020 at 22:12
  • I booked it via kiwi.com under a single booking (three separate flights). There was a "Kiwi guarantee" but I couldn't get on the phone with them whilst I was in Shanghai. I ended up buying a ticket at Shanghai airport to London at an exorbitant price. As per below, is it possible to request a chargeback after lodging a claim via the insurer? I did buy the insurance along with the booking so I'm essentially requesting a chargeback on the insurance purchase as well.
    – Jaml1602
    Commented Jun 27, 2020 at 22:19
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    You arent going to get anything from Cathay, thats for sure - presumably their flight left on time, so you simply were a no-show. The fact that you didnt adhere to the Kiwi Guarantee may cause any chargeback to fail - those were the terms you agreed to when you made the purchase, and you didnt give them the opportunity to work things out for you. The insurer is another thing entirely here, who knows which way they go in this, but I dont think you will succeed there either.
    – user29788
    Commented Jun 27, 2020 at 22:57
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    The other issue with the chargeback is that you actually used one of the flights, which complicates matters - few card issuers will do a partial chargeback, and Kiwi will fight tooth and nail on a full chargeback.
    – user29788
    Commented Jun 27, 2020 at 23:04

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If I were you I would do the credit card chargeback just to be on the safe side. The reason is Hong Kong Airlines is not a European airline and it was not destined to come to the UK and thus they are not obliged under EU law to give compensation. They actually know this but they wouldn't say it.

Same thing happened to me with Turkish airlines from Istanbul to Nairobi but when I called their offices in Manchester, they booked me a hotel overnight in Istanbul and scheduled a flight the following day.

I would trust your instincts on this because I'm not sure how much the travel insurance would pay.

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  • Would it be possible to issue a charge back after lodging a claim with the insurance company? I'm wondering whether that affects my claim as I bought the insurance along with the flight
    – Jaml1602
    Commented Jun 27, 2020 at 22:15
  • It all depends on the conditions of your travel insurance. If it covers you incase you need to cancel your flight due to illness, redundancy etc, you can make a claim. Just read the conditions and see if flight cancellations are covered and act appropriately.
    – Stinger
    Commented Jun 27, 2020 at 22:23
  • I've had a look at my insurance coverage and it seems like there's conflicting information. On the information against my booking there's "Flight cancellation and subsequent services coverage — total limit*" where it's "Up to the amount paid for flights and subsequent services, but not exceeding 2,000 €". image On the kiwi.com site it mentions any coronavirus related issues are not covered: kiwi.com/en/help/search/article/9
    – Jaml1602
    Commented Jun 27, 2020 at 22:42
  • Compensation here will depend on the reason given by Hong Kong Airlines for cancellation. If the reason was due to Covid-19, it's highly unlikely they would issue compensation as it's clearly sated on the cover. On the first page, you may be entitled to a full cost of your ticket if it's less than $ 2000, or up to $ 2000 if the ticket cost more. On the other hand, they issued an advisory which cautioned people which may be subject to rebuttal nevertheless. "_Coronavirus was declared a pandemic on March 11th, 2020. If you add AXA Assistance after this date, it won't cover ...."
    – Stinger
    Commented Jun 27, 2020 at 23:17

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