Disruptions are never welcome, especially when it comes to travel plans, but sometimes nature has a mind of its own. Hong Kong is now in typhoon season, so it’s a good time to learn how things play out during a typhoon and what you can do if your flight is affected. Even if typhoons aren’t on your radar, many of the same options and travel readiness tips apply to other disruptive events, from snowstorms , and volcanoes to industrial action, so it pays to know your options while you hunker down.
Having open lines of communication is key, stresses Josh Rogers, Head of Airport Customer Service. “Help us to help you,” he says. “Make sure your email address and other contact details are up to date and that you have push notifications turned on in the Cathay Pacific app.”
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Staying informed before you travel
If you book through an agent, it’s always worth ensuring that your contact details are included in the booking, so you receive any emails and push notifications as they’re sent out. “Many customers don’t realise that we only have their travel agent’s contact details. A quick visit to Manage Booking on the Cathay Pacific website or adding them during online check-in is all it takes,” says Rogers. Another good tip in the days leading up to your flight is to check the Cathay Pacific website, which lists travel “advisories” of events that may affect flight schedules in Hong Kong and across the Cathay Pacific network.
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Why typhoons cause major disruption in Hong Kong
Disruption will always be greatest for Cathay Pacific when an event affects Hong Kong, our home hub where all our flights start or finish. The most likely disruption in Hong Kong is a typhoon – massive rotating tropical storms that emerge out of the Pacific Ocean during the summer months (known as hurricanes in the Atlantic, and cyclones in the Indian Ocean).
Last year, Super Typhoon Ragasa led to a planned 36-hour closure of Hong Kong International Airport, cancelling more than 570 flights and obstructing the travel plans of 85,000 people. Our teams prepared carefully before shutting down and then restarting operations. But even shorter closures can impact operations, leaving aircraft and crews in the wrong places. That’s why we offer customers the reassurance that they can change plans before or after such events.
Travel alerts and flexible ticketing options
“If we’re monitoring a potentially disruptive weather event or other situation, we’ll issue a travel alert on the website,” says Rogers. “Once we know something is likely to affect our customers’ travel plans, we’ll issue special ticketing guidelines that will provide the flexibility to change a booking without the usual change fees. At this point, other ticket conditions still apply – such as seat availability under the ticket type you’ve purchased – so getting in early is the key to securing the best options.
While every typhoon is tracked in the Integrated Operations Centre, meteorologists can only provide educated projections as to when, where and how powerfully it will make landfall. Even in the last 24 hours before its arrival, it can still change course or intensity. That uncertainty can cause concern and frayed nerves, but as Rogers explains: “We know your travel plans are important, so our goal is to give you as much flexibility as we can to move your travel plans forward or back.”
Rebooking and refund options explained
At this point, you can rebook and reroute your flight according to the options you’ll see when you sign in to your booking. If disruption becomes more certain, an option to cancel and be refunded will also become available. “If your journey hasn’t started and you haven’t booked through us, please go back to your travel agent so they can take advantage of the special ticketing guidelines on your behalf,” says Rogers.
In the aftermath of Super Typhoon Ragasa, over 107,000 passengers were “reprotected” (resolved) in just under 20 hours, both by Rogers’ team and customers who rebooked themselves. Over the past year, further enhancements have been made to the system to speed up the process and provide more options to those who want to take charge of their own travel plans.
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What to do if your flight is cancelled
If your flight is cancelled, you’ll have two options. The first is to wait: Rogers’ team will work through the reprotection process, as fast as possible - rebook you onto a new flight and send you the details. Once you receive these, there’s nothing more you need to do other than check in online.
As taking care of 80,000+ customers’ journeys can take some time, “the second, now more widely available option,” says Rogers, “is that when you receive the cancellation email from us, simply click on the link to Manage Booking where you can choose a new flight from the available options. At this point, we remove most ticket restrictions, so if a flight has a seat available in your booked cabin, you’ll be able to secure it. If you booked directly with us, you’re also able to cancel your journey and request a refund in just a few clicks. Gone are the days of needing to call our Customer Care team to arrange new flights or request a refund – simply use the Cathay app or Manage Booking on the Cathay website at your convenience.
“We’ve invested a lot into our systems in the last 12 months to put more control back in our customers’ hands,” says Rogers. “From this year, the vast majority of customers will have access to these self-rebooking options, and it will often be the fastest way to get the peace of mind we know they need”. So, whether you’re wanting to rearrange your plans faster, or if the new flights we’ve provided don’t meet your needs, you’re in full control with our expanded self-service options.
And here’s a pro tip: if none of the options immediately appeal, check again later. As customers rebook or cancel their travel plans, it’s likely that other options will open up in the coming hours and days. The seat availability will keep moving until everything is settled.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that if a typhoon hits during a busy period such as the school holidays, availability will be tighter. “Most of the time we can get around 90 per cent of disrupted customers on their way within 24 hours, but even amid serious disruption at a busy time, it’s rare for people not to be airborne more than three to four days after their original flight was due to depart,” says Rogers. In these periods we’ll often rebook customers to our trusted airline partners to get them where they need to be.
Everyone is hoping we don’t get a repeat of Ragasa this year, but if we do, the unique blend of Cathay hospitality from our customer service teams and the digital self-service options now at your fingertips will have you on your way faster than ever. Helping you to help us to help you. Just another step along our journey to become a service brand you love.