Please be advised that with immediate effect until well after the World Cup, tickets need to be issued immed, and all services must be paid in full , otherwise services can be cancelled automatically by airlines and suppliers.

PLEASE NOTE NO REFUNDS DURING THIS TIME.

Saw this on a   travel agents email and wanted to share it with you – it is spot on concise and to the point. Take heed it is real and it is happening. We are entering a very fickle time with WC2010 reservations and operators are stalwarts! Be aware as both travel agents and clients.

• Only Government and/or Airport taxes are refundable*.
*For partially used tickets not all the taxes may be refundable as some may be considered used e.g. if a UK departure has taken place before ticket is presented for refund, any tax relating to the UK departure will have been used.

(Info released by BA directly via email to the Travel Trade)

This means that if you purchase a non refundable ticket the Government taxes are refundable.The fuel taxes are not refunable! Why you have not flow n you have not used the aircraft and used zip fuel.

Now my question and comments are why are the fuel taxes/ surcharges not refundable? Well the only explanation that can be drawn is that airlines jumped on the band wagon when the going was rough and fuel was at an all time high by hiking the fuel surcharges and taxes. Now why I ask if the fuel has dropped price by half, why have the taxes not seen the same drop in levels? The reason for this is that the airlines need to stay in business and will charge where ever they can to make an extra buck. We will not even get started on ADM’s in this post.

Guys I am not saying give away everything for free and we all live in lala land, what I am saying is that lets cut to the core of it all, charge what you need to charge as the fare and charge what you need to as the taxes however lets be fair and transparent about it. It is a crock to charge exorbitant fuel surcharges when fuel is half the price a barrel it was a year ago. be fair and transparent.

What is a no show?

A no show is someone who does not arrive and checkin for a flight. This is for any flight to any destination. If you do not arrive for your flight you are a no show.

Why is that bad?

Well the airline (most airlines0 have it written into the rules of a ticket that there are no refunds on in the case of a NO show. This means that if you do not pitch for a flight then you will not get any refund on your ticket. There is only one exception in most case and that is Death.

The airlines hold that seat for you when you book a ticket and if you do not show up for a flight then you face the full might of the ticketing laws and will not see any refund. This goes for your departure date/ ticket or your return date/ ticket.

Do not do it ever!

Is there a way around it?

Yes there is call your agent or the airline directly and advise them to remove you off the flight so that you are not a no show. Be aware of when your ticket is booked for and pay special attention to the times of the flight. In some cases even if you advise the airline or agent you could be in possesion of a non refundable ticket, in this case you will not get a refund regardless so be sure you take traffic into account and the final good byes….

While we are on the point of no shows: When you are transiting be sure that you go ahead and check in for your next flight regardless of how long the que is. This will save you getting left behind in a transit point. Be aware when you travel, ignorance is NOT bliss in this case so be aware. Check in for your flights and if there are any problems communicate with the airline or your agent immediately what ever time it is day or night!