Press releases

Dragonair Introduces Special Ticketing Arrangements For Hong Kong Outbound Travel Alerts

22 Dec 2011

(HONG KONG) Dragonair today introduced a set of special ticketing arrangements to help passengers change their travel plans when a Red or Black Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) is issued by Security Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government.

The Government’s OTA system, which covers 80 popular destinations worldwide, is to help Hong Kong residents better understand the risk or threat to personal safety when travelling to those destinations. 

The newly introduced Special Ticketing Arrangements offer Dragonair passengers flexibility and greater clarity in ticketing conditions and charges when an OTA alert is issued to their planned travel destination and when the airline’s flights are operating as normal.

Under the new arrangements, Dragonair will offer free rebooking or rerouting options for all ticket types, including more restrictive tickets that normally do not allow any changes. The airline will also waive the fee or apply a lower handling fee than normal for refundable tickets. The conditions and charges for ticket changes vary according to the types of tickets purchased by passengers.

All Dragonair tickets are divided into five categories including tickets purchased directly from the Dragonair ticketing office in Hong Kong, online at www.dragonair.com.hk, or through local travel agents for travel originating from Hong Kong. The ticketing options and arrangements for each category in the event of a Red or Black OTA are set out in detail at www.dragonair.com.hk.

The new ticketing arrangements are only valid to destinations for which an OTA alert is raised and do not apply for other operational disruptions caused by factors such as adverse weather or industrial action. In the latter cases a general handling policy already exists for free rebooking and a waiving or reduction of refund charges.

A ticket holder is eligible for the special ticketing arrangements when (1) the destination with a Red or Black OTA is either the final destination or is included as part of the ticketed itinerary, and (2) the ticket is issued in Hong Kong on or before the date the Red or Black OTA is issued and for travel on Dragonair flights within seven days of the Red or Black OTA being issued. The seven-day limit for the travel period may be extended subject to the severity and duration of the incident in the destination in question.

For group tickets, when a travel agent suspends a group tour to a destination with a Red or Black OTA, Dragonair will refund the air-ticket portion of the package through the travel agent (depending on the handling fee) or retain the paid amount to be used for a Dragonair flight in tours operated by the same travel agent and departing within six months. Please see the Appendix for more details.

Full details of Dragonair’s special ticketing guidelines can be found at www.dragonair.com.hk. All Dragonair e-tickets are printed with a fare type indicator for easy identification. Passengers are advised to consult their travel agents or contact Dragonair if they have any queries.   


Appendix

OTA SPECIAL TICKETING GUIDELINES

*Note:

1) The newly rebooked or rerouted sector must observe and conform to the conditions of the respective fare rule e.g. blackout dates, flight, weekend/weekday travel, stopover charges, and applicable seasonality by collecting additional/refunding difference (if any) as appropriate.

2) For T9 Group Ticket, this policy only applies if the travel agent operating the tour group suspends all tour groups to the destination under red/black travel alert.