I’m having some run of bad luck when it comes to flight cancellations. Literally everything I book is being cancelled and that’s not an exaggeration. I mean literally in the proper sense of the word!
To maintain my travel dates, I’m booking flights with airlines I am not even a frequent flyer with. It really shouldn’t be this way, but this is how it is.
More Flight Cancellations
Heading off to Nice, I booked British Airways from Dublin to Nice via London Heathrow for a princely €109.41. As I know I like to go straight home, I elected to fly Aer Lingus from Nice to Dublin for €141.98. Selected my seats and I was good to go.
Aer Lingus decided to pull their flights first, and I have requested a refund. Next up, British Airways decided to stop flying to Dublin for August, so I cancelled those too. BA have refunded me already, Aer Lingus… well, one day!
- Play nice you two, I’ve had enough!
A few days later, my British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Gothenburg in October was cancelled. They must have cancelled a bunch of things at once, because a 45 minute and 35 minute wait on the phone didn’t get me through to them today.
This comes after three other sets of bookings were also cancelled (one Finnair and two with BA), but they, of course, were mid-pandemic. I am using a pre-paid credit card I received as a work bonus at Christmas, so I think the card may be cursed!
Who Am I Flying Instead?
For the outbound, my friends are flying from Amsterdam to Nice with easyJet. Since I have flown easyJet a grand total of once, I decided I would join them, so it’s Aer Lingus to Amsterdam, overnight, then the big orange the next morning.
- I’m dying to get on board the coolest aircraft on the planet, the artist formerly known as the Bombardier CSeries!
On the return, I decided that I’d finally try Swiss. They are operating a normal on board service in business class so I am flying Nice to Munich to Dublin. Besides business class, I’m also going to fly on the Airbus A220 for the first time, which I’ve been dying to do, so here we are.
Overall Thoughts
Usually I wouldn’t experience flight cancellations at all. It is no real bother to me, apart from when refunds take ages. Luckily, BA are exceptional at returning air fares, with the refunds coming back in a few days. It is a shame though. Airlines are begging for business, and I am literally giving them my money.
They are cancelling the flights and having to give it back. While I understand demand is all over the place, it doesn’t exactly make someone confident in booking when the services constantly get pulled. I realise it’s all about saving as much money as possible, but it is still mildly frustrating from a consumer point of view.
Have you experienced more flight cancellations than you can poke a stick at like I have? Who is good and who is bad at refunding you? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by L.Filipe C.Sousa via Unsplash.
British Airways and Aer Lingus by Ad Meskens via Wikimedia Commons.
Swiss Bombardier CSeries 300 (Airbus A220-300) by Markus Eigenheer via Wikimedia Commons.
Maybe your flights getting cancelled is a sign that you shouldn’t fly during a pandemic.
Certainly crossed my mind as well, that’s for sure! Thanks for the comment.
Tbh I’m not sure you’re even trying.
LGW-CAG LHR-MSY JFK-LGW LHR-ORD LHR-TFS LGW-UVF LGW-JFK JFK-LGW – All BA & canx
ORD-MSY MSY-MIA MIA-JFK – All AA & canx.
Also waiting on LGW-CAN to be canx ( hotel not operating but BAH need to confirm themselves to be able to canx the booking.
We are aiming for LHR-DBV OB 4th Sept RTN 11th but won’t bother booking until 31st August to leave it as late as possible while still making use of the double avios promotion currently running
Yes, its a moving target right now trying to get a flight booked in certain cases. I think your strategy probably has the best chance of success, as you’re booking close in and they will tend to try to cancel flights more than 14 days out to avoid EU261 compensation. I like booking in advance, so I need to change my usual methods, I think. Thanks for the comment!