Tiger Airways still grounded in Australia

It was just announced today that Tiger Airways in Australia was grounded until at least 1 August 2011. That will bring the total time to 1 month since they would have flown unless they are grounded further or deregistered.

What does this mean for people who have bought tickets through Tiger?

• If you are flying Internationally you won't be affected unless you need to make domestic connections.
• Tiger is refunding your domestic tickets if they have been canceled. But only up to when they are officially grounded. People have reported that it can take 6 weeks to get a refund but the airline is quoting 2 weeks.
• Tiger won't cover the cancellation or rebooking fees associated with the rest of your holiday.
• Travel Insurance won't cover these costs if you take out insurance after Tiger was grounded.
• If you already have Travel Insurance before the grounding announcement and will incur costs due to cancellation or rebooking, contact your Travel Insurer for advice. They will tell you what kind of documentation you need to submit for a claim.

Travel Insurance and Civil Unrest in Egypt

The recent troubles in Egypt highlight the need for taking out travel insurance. Thankfully it was rare for tourists to actually be injured and require medical attention as the protests were largely non-violent. However, it was still a potentially unsafe area and not a place you would want to go for holidays. Luckily there were several benefits of travel insurance that would help.

Cancellation - If you were yet to go to Egypt your Travel Insurance provider was more than likely happy to pay your cancellation costs so you weren't out of pocket. Alternately they could pay for the costs associated with moving your travel plans to another date. It is cheaper for them to do this than potentially have to spend a lot more if you get hurt over there or the situation gets even worse. If you were already in Egypt and wanted to fly out you could be reimbursed for cancellation charges of accommodation, flights, tours etc that you hadn't used.

Additional Costs - If you were in Egypt and wanted to get out then your travel insurance should pay for any additional costs that arise from this such as flights, accommodation, and transport.

Medical Costs - And of course if you are injured during an event like this you will be covered for your medical and hospital costs.

Always check with your travel insurance company if you are heading into an area that is potentially dangerous like the Egyptian crisis or it may involve volcano's, cyclones, or other natural disasters. You can also review your travel insurance policy to check what you will be covered for.