Travel News > January 2010 > Japan Airlines plight highlights need for flight insurance

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Japan Airlines plight highlights need for flight insurance

14/01/2010

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Passengers with seats booked on Japan Airlines should cross their fingers that the airline doesn't go bust within the next few days, leaving them holding worthless tickets.

If it does, those who bought Scheduled Airline Failure insurance as an add-on to their travel insurance will be able to claim their money back for the flights.

Those who bought discounted tickets via an ATOL-registered travel agent or a flight as part of a package holiday, and passengers who paid for their tickets with credit cards or Visa debit cards may also be able to claim refunds.

But everyone else, including those who booked a flight-only direct with the airline, risks losing their money.

In the past few months thousands of British holidaymakers have lost money due to the collapse of XL Airways, Zoom, Silverjet, SkuEurope and, most recently, FlyGlobespan.

Unlike package holidays, flights are not protected by the Civil Aviation Authority, which means thousands of passengers could miss out on their trip or, worse, be left stranded abroad when an airline goes bust.

Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance, which can be bolted onto standard travel insurance, provides holidaymakers with protection against such a predicament. It costs just a few pounds extra.

Japan Airlines ( www.uk.jal.com/en/) is hoping the Japanese government will come to its aid after its shares fell 45 per cent earlier this week.

It already has offers of investment from two US carriers, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines of several hundred million pounds, but both deals come with strings attached. So far, there has been no decision about its future.

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