Following the announcement of the confinement, Friday, October 30, 2020, questions arise concerning the reimbursement terms for travel by plane or train. Overview of the steps to follow.
The national reconfinement, decreed for the moment from Friday October 30 until December 1, 2020, results in a stop of the trips. As a reminder, Emmanuel Macron announced, in his last speech, that travel between regions would not be possible, and that borders outside the European Union would be closed from November 1.
The weekend of All Saints' Day, a period when the authorities were more lax in order to let families return from vacation, is over. Travel is now strictly supervised throughout the territory. Only a non-conforming travel certificate according to specific cases can allow travel during this season 2 of confinement. But what if a train or plane ticket has already been booked?
Getting reimbursed for train tickets
"All TGV INOUI, OUIGO, Intercités and TER connecting tickets are exchangeable and refundable free of charge until January 4", says SNCF in a press release. Travelers using TER and Intercity trains can be reimbursed free of charge before the train's departure time on the Oui SNCF site or application. "If your request is made after your train has left or if you are unable to cancel your ticket, you can request a refund from Customer Service only, within 60 days via the SNCF complaint form." With Ouigo, the cancellation or the exchange free of charge is made until 1h30 before departure via their dedicated page. And this refund can be effective in a few days on the bank account used for payment.
Getting reimbursed for plane tickets
On the airline side, adaptations had to be made. Air France, for example, recalled on October 28 that its flexible free cancellation and exchange offer remains valid for all trips until March 31, 2021. "Whether your flight is maintained or not, we have put in place commercial measures to guarantee you the greatest flexibility. Regardless of the chosen fare, you can postpone your trip without any change fees, or cancel your trip and get a credit. or a refund ", explains Air France. Likewise, the terms of insurance in partnership with Allianz Travel have been relaxed. Voyageur.se.s can benefit from medical assistance and reimbursement of medical costs related to confinement.
Transavia announced on October 29, 2020 on its website that "you can request the postponement of your trip until October 30, 2021 inclusive without modification costs. You can make this modification up to 2 hours before your flight. A price difference may however apply if the price of the new flight is higher."
For other "low cost" companies like Easy Jet, the exchange and refund conditions are the same, but they are less flexible. When a flight is postponed, its limit is up to 14 days before the trip without advance charge. Simply contact customer service or go directly to the Easy Jet site or application, if the destination country is subject to quarantine. When a flight has been canceled, transfer to another flight is possible at least until May 2021. You can also benefit from a credit note, sent by email, in order to book another flight by summer 2021 .