In fact, on days when I worked 14 hours, knowing Paris was in my future was about the only thing that kept me going.
I had already bought myself a keepsake box, with hopes of putting my souvenirs in it when I got home.
Did I mention the whole trip was prepaid? As I earned the money, I paid for things. Flights, hotels, tickets. This was a birthday trip for me and I was really looking forward to it.
Fast forward to November 13th, the horrific acts of terrorism which shook the world. Everyone was devastated by what we saw on TV. People changed their social media to reflect Paris in our thoughts. Stunned, but I knew I had decisions to make, I was to be on a plane, headed to Europe in less than 40 hours.
The airlines were shocked too, and just starting to mobilize for the onslaught of calls. When I talked to the Delta Airlines representative on the phone that night, she told me that only tickets for travel on November 14th and 15th could be changed without penalty. I thought I was in luck, I was leaving on the 15th. However, my itinerary had stops in Amsterdam and Helsinki before Paris. Therefore I was not eligible to make 'no cost' changes, according to Delta.
What if I re-route and just stay in Helsinki longer? "Yes. That's an option, at a change fee of about $1250 Canadian per ticket." added the Delta rep on the phone.
I spent hours on-line. I thought, I absolutely can not go to Paris right now. No one needs wide-eyed tourists scuttling about in times of crisis. And I certainly couldn't drag my child into such a situation. What if I head to Stockholm or Oslo instead? Possible, but at a cost of over $2000 per ticket.
What if I 'dead headed' my existing ticket and took the flights to Helsinki, but did not go on to Paris? I could buy a new ticket, a one-way ticket home but at a cost of $1000.
I seemed out of options, except to call and cancel. Seeing as though I had a discount ticket, there were significant penalties to cancelling. I actually had to PAY an administrative fee of $100 to cancel. That stung. But if I didn't do that on November 14th, by noon, I would have no chance of ANY refund. So I cancelled. And will (hope to) receive a refund of about $200 per ticket.
I still had hopes of collecting a full refund through travel insurance, or thought I did.
I called regarding my travel insurance first thing Monday morning when the office opened. But, in fact, when acts of terrorism are involved, there is ZERO coverage. Yikes. (At that point I was very relieved to be at home, and not anywhere in Europe.) I felt good about my decision to cancel. (And throw away money and my hopes.) The only recourse was if the Government of Canada added a No Travel Advisory. At this point it is "only" high risk.
The other thing not covered by travel cancellation insurance is last minute "panic" as my reason was classified.
Then, November 16th (Monday), both airlines involved (Delta and Air France) updated their security policies and extended NO COST changes or credit for ticket cancellation, thru to November 22nd. My ticket(s) would have absolutely been affected.
But guess what? Since I'd already cancelled. I was out of luck. Again.
I don't know that there's anything that I, my travel agent, or the airlines could have done differently. Everyone was acting on best information, at the time. I certainly see things from their perspective. This is a tragic situation and other than the financial loss, and profound sadness I feel, I know I am still wise for the forfeit. It could have been so much worse.
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