Any other Independence Air ticketholders...

[agnes!]

getting nervous? We have tickets the end of January, travelling from Washington Dulles to MCO, direct flight. I am starting to wonder if we should try to go ahead and get seats on another(hopefully more stable, lol, airline)from any of the Washington airports(Marshall/BWI, Reagan National, Washington Dulles) to MCO. We have a long weekend trip planned for our family when our DD has some days off because of teacher workdays (the last Friday & Monday this month).

Any advice for us folks who have already bought tickets & don't want to get stuck scrambling to get a decent flight down a week or two before we want to travel?...

thanks,
agnes!

 

[jcodespoti]

You might want to 1) call your credit card Co. and discuss it with them 2)Go to this web site www.smartertravel.com. It may give you some suggestions.

Joe in CT

 

[n2mm]

Good luck. We flew FLYI 4 round trips in 2005 and loved this airlines, but decided we would not take a chance and flew United/Ted in December and holding tickets with United/Ted for early February also. You should know more in a few days. Doesn't look good.

 

[agnes!]

...they've now ceased operations as of this Thursday.
If you're travelling out of Washington/Dulles to Orlando that weekend make alternate arrangements NOW. Other carriers are filling up *fast* & seats are getting expensive.
The carrier we talked to said that they should be getting some word on how they will be handling Independence Air ticketholders, if it will be our cost + $50 per leg change fee or if they will honor the IA tickets.
I'll let The DIS know as soon as I do.

agnes!

 

[VA_mouseman]

what a nightmare ...

We booked new tickets yesterday for our trip later this month. Now I'm crossing my fingers that Flyi and/or AMEX will get me my $$ back. I'll be on the phone to AMEX shortly.

 

[agotta]

We have tickets on the 5th and 11th of this month. Two nights ago we bought a second set of return tickets on another carrier just in case and I am glad we did. Now I don't know about getting our money back from the 11th but we will have to see.

ETA- We bought tickets on Airtran for only $59 each. Much better than waiting to see if or when we can fly or having to go standby. Now we have a definite return flight for the 11th.

 

[debden]

The way I read it Independence Air got permission from the courts to issue refunds to all customers who have purchased tickets.
It look like their making every effort to get refunds to all customers who have tickets.
That's good.
I have never flown with them but have heard good things about this airline.
Too bad....another competitor bites the dust out of Albany Airport,NY.
Watch ticket prices go up everywhere Independence flew....
Debbie

 

[travel with kids]

We just booked on Airtran. (and saved $$ ) We called Amex and they said we will most likely get a refund from IA. I hope they are correct. My DH just e-mailed me while talking with them. He is (or was) on hold with Amex, be connected to the department that handles this type of situation.

Wish everyone luck....

 

[VA_mouseman]

The way I read it Independence Air got permission from the courts to issue refunds to all customers who have purchased tickets.
It look like their making every effort to get refunds to all customers who have tickets.

Are you sure? The way I read their press announcement, they are going to seek permission to refund ticketed customers:

"We are seeking bankruptcy court approval to automatically provide refunds to customers like you who are holding reservations for flights after the cessation of operations on January 5th. Assuming that such approval is received, we will automatically refund the amount paid for your itinerary to the credit card used to make the purchase. No refunds will be provided for free tickets or vouchers."

 

[agnes!]

VA-Mouseman -

That's the way I read it too. *NOTHING* is guaranteed in these now-murky Independence Air waters.

And no definitive word yet from the other carrier if they will just do a straight exchange of our IA tickets for new flights or if we will have to pay the $50 per leg Federally mandated fee (on top of our paid-for Indpendence $160).
I don't know if there are restrictions on the newly-issued/changed tickets...I mean, I wonder if you can pick and choose which flights you can take or if the new airline can restrict you to certain flights(less-desirable flights, perhaps leaving at pre-dawn hours, stops/layovers instead of non-stop/direct, etc.)

agnes!

 

[bicker]

Yes, they're seeking permission to issue refunds. Generally, the bankruptcy court will turn such requests down, because ticket holders are unsecured creditors, so the get paid-back only after the secured creditors are paid-back. The court will review the airline's assets, and if there are enough to cover all creditors, then they'll allow the refunds, otherwise, they won't.

Beyond that issue....

I'll post this link around on the other relevant threads too, as it will be generally useful to the folks affected by Independence Air ceasing operations:

http://www.hasbrouck.org/articles/bankruptcy.html

 

[VA_mouseman]

Agnes -

Yeah, murky waters indeed. I bit the bullet and bought tickets yesterday (direct) on USAirways for our trip later this month. Just got off the phone with AMEX, and opened up a billing dispute case with them. In the meantime, my account has been credited back the $$ I paid for the tickets in November. Resolution of the dispute can take 6-8 weeks.

 

[bicker]

Yes, but you're lucky. You called in within the 60 day window after your original purchase. Most credit card companies will fully protect you.

 

[debden]

Quote from Independence Airline Website:
"Additionally, we are seeking bankruptcy court approval to automatically provide refunds to customers holding reservations on flights occurring after our shutdown of operations on January 5th. No refunds will be offered for free tickets or vouchers."

Guess I misread the info.
Sorry,
Debbie

 

[CarolA]

VA-Mouseman -

That's the way I read it too. *NOTHING* is guaranteed in these now-murky Independence Air waters.

And no definitive word yet from the other carrier if they will just do a straight exchange of our IA tickets for new flights or if we will have to pay the $50 per leg Federally mandated fee (on top of our paid-for Indpendence $160).
I don't know if there are restrictions on the newly-issued/changed tickets...I mean, I wonder if you can pick and choose which flights you can take or if the new airline can restrict you to certain flights(less-desirable flights, perhaps leaving at pre-dawn hours, stops/layovers instead of non-stop/direct, etc.)

agnes!

I don't know what the other carriers will do, but all they are REQUIRED to do is allow you to fly standby. So no, you may not get to pick and choose your flights or your seats. IF you get on you will probably be scattered all over the plane. Even if they do "confirm you" figure you are on the less desirble flights.

Good luck! If you don't fly soon I would try contesting with your CC. Some CCs will work with you outside of the 60 day limit.

 

[agotta]

See but there are those of us who purchased their tickets more than 60 days ago. My bank will not help us out with this, so if Flyi doesn't refund our tickets, we are out that $175 for that leg of the trip.

 

[bicker]

FLYi registered secured debts of $489 million. Does anyone know what their assets were registered as last year?

----

Found it: The had assets of $379 million a few months ago. It unfortunately doesn't look good for ticket holders.

 

[siobhan1997]

When Transmeridian pulled the plug on all their passengers without any notice this year oops last year, we received a refund from them within 45 days as they were a charter airline and the money was being held in escrow. We also rebooked on Jetblue for $50.00 each leg.

I hope everything works out for everyone as it did for us when this airline shut down.

 

[bicker]

Yes, that's the one advantage of charters -- most credit card companies now hold payments to charters in escrow until date of service. That's unfortunately not the case for scheduled airlines like Independence Air.

 

[DebbieB]

Saw this on USAirways.com:

US Airways To Assist Customers Affected By Suspension Of Independence Air Service

Procedures for Re-Accommodation
US Airways offering displaced customers opportunity to purchase confirmed seating at reduced fare in addition to standby option
US Airways has rolled out a special policy for customers affected by Independence Air's announced suspension of service. Beginning Thursday, January 5 - the effective date of service discontinuation - for a one-way, nonrefundable fee of $50, local customers in the Washington, D.C. area ticketed for travel on Independence Air to/from Washington Dulles may travel standby on US Airways flights between the same destination/origin or co-terminal, using Washington Reagan - where US Airways operates nearly 200 departures per day to approximately 50 destinations - Washington Dulles or Baltimore/Washington Marshall Airport. In addition, connecting customers may travel to/from the same destination/origination or co-terminal as ticketed with Independence Air using any valid US Airways connecting points. Bookings and the $50 fee will be processed at airport ticket counters.

Since standby travel is subject to availability, customers may want to secure confirmed reservations by purchasing confirmed tickets on US Airways. With this in mind, US Airways is offering customers affected by the shutdown the opportunity to purchase a confirmed ticket for only $100 each way*. Tickets may be purchased at airport ticket counters or by calling US Airways reservations at 800-428-4322. Ticket-counter and reservations call-center booking fees do not apply for this special fare.

Tickets will be available for this special fare beginning Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006 and travel under the special confirmed-space offer must be completed by Jan. 31, 2006. Travel under the standby provisions will be offered through March 6, 2006.

Customers must show proof of purchase on Independence Air to take advantage of the confirmed-space offer or the standby fee of $50. Proof may include an e-ticket confirmation letter, an e-ticket receipt, an e-ticket itinerary card or paper tickets printed by Independence Air. US Airways agents will not be able to accept photocopies. With high demand and many displaced passengers, US Airways encourages customers to take advantage of this opportunity to confirm their travel plans.

*Travel must be completed by Jan. 31, 2006. Tickets are nonrefundable and permissible changes incur a $100 change fee and any applicable fare difference. Sample price does not include federal excise taxes of $3.30 per segment, Passenger Facility Charges of $4.50 to $18.00 per passenger, and the September 11th Security Fee of $2.50 per segment (up to $10 per itinerary). Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights. A segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing. Tickets may be purchased beginning Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006. Travel must be for same dates as original Independence Air ticket. This offer valid for domestic travel only. Independence Air customers traveling standby on US Airways flights will not earn Dividend Miles.