Air Fare Refund?

You will need to look at the fine print on ticketing papers you agreed to with Expedia and start there. Most people here book directly with the airline but there be may be some who occasionally book with a non airline seller. I wish you the best with your surgery, recovery and future travel.

Oh, so sorry! Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Did you book a fare class that would at least give you a credit, if not a refund?

Do you have any insurance through your credit card? We buy our tickets through Chase Sapphire which gives us travel insurance.

Also, what class of ticket did you purchase? If you purchased regular Delta economy or above, you can get a credit.

Some fares allow a change up to a year from time of purchase. They might have a change fee but better than losing the entire amount. People seem to want to 'cancel' flights which is perhaps the wrong word to use with an agent ad that might infer you want a refund....which will be harder to get.
Did you buy with a credit card? If so, are there any insurance options linked to the card? Check.

Sorry to hear this.

Unfortunately you get to deal with Expedia to cancel your flight. This will require patience and be sure to document EVERYTHING they tell you about your credit, their fees etc.. Delta/Virgin will give you a credit good for a year. But you have to get this process via Expedia and book with Expedia on Delta/Virgin next time. Sadly I think you are very unlikely to get a refund. (Sometimes you can appeal to Delta's good side, but...this reservation is owned by Expedia)

Don't bother with a letter of proof, unless you are trying to have them waive rules for sympathy.

If you had booked above Basic Economy, Main Cabin and up, with Delta you could get a voucher and be done. But you are with Expedia so you will have to look over the terms of the purchase and go from there.

There is an excellent chance that you may have some insurance through the credit card that you purchased your tickets with. I would certainly explore that option. My guess is that Delta will probably issue a credit you can use.

My best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Expedia clearly states that they will follow the airline's policy regarding cancellations. Here is the Delta cancellation policy:

https://www.delta.com/us/en/change-cancel/cancel-flight

Assuming that you booked above Basic Economy, you have the option to cancel the ticket for credit, or re-book for a future flight. The credit or re-booking option is good for one year. Delta does not charge any cancellation fees for flights between US & Europe.

Since Expedia states that they don't charge any fees beyond those of the airline, you shouldn't see a cancellation fee. The online instructions are to log into your Expedia account - you should be able to cancel or rebook on your own. If you cancel, the credit will remain with Expedia, so you'll have to book the new flight there as well. But if you just booked these tickets at recent inflated prices, you should be able to purchase your new future tickets at much lower prices - maybe enough to pay for an upgrade.

Please report back on your experience - it would be helpful to learn that maybe the Expedia experience isn't so bad after all.

Best wishes for your surgery - I know several people that have had variations on heart surgery lately - all with positive outcomes and minimal recovery times.

My first attempt was to Expedia. Told tickets (economy) not refundable or eligible for credit. Then told I need to cancel my tickets (Economy) Then I could file with airline for medical refund at refund@AMEXTravel.com . Airline will consider a refund or reissue fee waiver on case by case basis.
The tickets need to be canceled prior. I suppose this give then time to sell them again. I plan to contact Visa next to see what they might do. I will try to inform you with what happens. I'm sure there are some who say :"you should of gotten insurance".. Yes, hind sight is 20/20. First time Ever having problem like this. Was trying to save money to afford the trip.

So here's another option that MIGHT work if your ticket is actually all ticketed on Delta AND it's not a Basic Economy ticket (If you can go on Delta.com and pick a seat it's not Basic Economy)

1. Call Delta
2. Ask them to "take over the ticket from Expeidia" This will be $50 If they say they can't do this... Hang up, call back. You may have to push to get this done. But it can be done.
3. Then you can cancel and have a year to use the credit..

If however it's a 'mixed ticket' part on Delta and Part on Virgin I don't know if this will work.

And an unfortunate example of why not to book airlines with third-party sellers. Good luck, and pls keep us posted!

Then I could file with airline for medical refund at refund@AMEXTravel.com . Airline will consider a refund or reissue fee waiver on case by case basis.
The tickets need to be canceled prior. I suppose this give then time to sell them again. I plan to contact Visa next to see what they might do.

Which card did you use to buy the tickets?

I do not understand your plan of action.

I would not 'cancel' the tickets until I knew what the outcome will be. Once you cancel, there is no going back.

Whatever you do, don’t file a chargeback because it complicates and stops a credit or refund. Expedia does handle the credit card portals. Were you booking through a credit card portal?

Here are some things I found out. The level of ticket you buy has an effect on refunds, seating and their willingness to help. Economy is at the low end of help. You cannot even choose your seat till the day of departure at ticketing gate.. Just tossing that out.

Expedia said to contact the individual airlines. The airlines say to contact Expedia, who issued the tickets. Visa says to contact whoever issued the card, not Visa itself. After much searching I finally got hold of a gal at Expedia who was very helpful. 1-800-319-4834. She said I should get letter from doctor saying that due to medical reasons I could not fly during the time of my scheduled flights. In order to do this she had to cancel my tickets and then would file my request and supporting document to Delta and Virgin Air. It was with great reluctance i consented to this, Takes away your bargaining power, But seemed to be the only avenue. So I agreed. Then got email from gal saying the flights were cancelled AND that Virgin has now wiped its hands of it. I am hoping this is the standard stance they take and that my medical document will still have an impact if/when they are submitted? SO, stay tuned. Probably won't hear anything for a week or more, At least it is a shot.

I wonder maybe instead of flight insurance get the next tier up of tickets. Get better seat size, can pick seats and from what I experienced better treatment than the Economy slugs! I will let you know the outcome.

So, unfortunately, in your case, it does sound like you booked basic economy. You don’t have many bargaining options. On Delta for example, that ticket is worthless if you don’t fly.

With economy you can book your seat when you buy your ticket. But basic economy, which is what you bought, you don’t get that privilege and that’s why you give up a lot of other features too.

I expect that doing the letter and appealing is your only hope and unfortunately you are appealing to corporations. I feel sorry for you, but I am not sure this is going to end the way you want it to.

From your comments it does appear you had "Basic Econ" (Delta) and "Economy light" ( Virgin)

From Delta--
"No changes allowed*
Cancelable for partial eCredit (cancellation charge applies)** Note the * and **
https://www.delta.com/us/en/onboard/onboard-experience/basic-economy
As I read it, flights originating in the US are in the 'No changes' category

From Virgin Atlantic --
Refunds - No
Changes - Yes, refer to fare rules
https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/us/en/compare-seats-and-cabins.html

As you ( bought and ) cancelled through expedia, I hold little hope either airline will do much in the way of recompense.

This may serve as a lesson that cheapest is not always the best deal.

Wishing you the best for a successful surgery and recovery.

Economy is at the low end of help.

It’s critical to understand fare classes. Basic Economy (goes by other names depending upon the airline, another is Economy Lite) is to be avoided unless you have insurance. You cannot get a refund normally. Also, at least on Delta, there are 3 fares of coach tickets:

Basic Economy: typically no refunds or changes, no advanced seat selection

Main Cabin: changes and vouchers allowed, free seat selection

Refundable Main Cabin: Full refund

It’s counter-intuitive but usually the best policy when you can’t make a basic economy flight it to do nothing and hope a cancellation or schedule change means a refund is allowed under federal regs. You are considered a sucker if you cancel these because usually you just get the airline agent to re-read the contract that says they owe you nothing. They then lick their lips and resell your seat. There are situations where refunds will be issued and you can sometimes get one.

Basic Economy should NEVER be used as a generic word for coach as often happens on this forum—it’s an entirely different thing.

Below is a link to a list of executive contacts that the Elliott.org put together. If you get denied, it might be worth appealing it which is where the contacts could be helpful. If you did purchase a basic economy ticket, the appeal would probably fall under a request for Delta to make an exception out of compassion.

https://www.elliott.org/company-contacts/#airline

Den, So sorry this happened to you. Wishing you a successful surgery and fast recovery.

I hope others will learn from your Expedia experience. The problem is people ask about booking through Expedia after they have problems. I always buy travel insurance mainly for the medical and evacuation but, from experience, not all companies are the same. The past two trips I bought refundable economy tickets directly from United, only using United and not partner airlines. I paid for preferred seats and priority boarding (cheaper than Premium Economy). With the possibility of health problems, it is worth the peace of mind. The phone customer service when I needed to fix flight changes and seat changes has been excellent. I don’t know if “refundable” made the difference or if I just got lucky.

Best of luck to you getting anything back from Expedia.

I made an entry about getting airline/travel refunds. It has been a while, after dealing with medical issues, I am reporting back.
Hotels I booked that said, we won’t charge if you advise over 48 hours in advance. They were true to their word!
Money taken from credit card by British rail refunded. Money to Hilton Bath hotel refunded. Money taken by Beatle tour refunded. You must give them proper time notice! This is explained during booking. Now for the biggie.
I had the slug slime economy tickets on Delta and Virgin Air. Based on this I had low hopes. I talked to Expedia. contact. 1 800-319-4834.
Cordial and good dealing with. After explaining my situation she guided me through an online form. The important thing was the letter from Surgeon which I attached. Click, away it went. About a week later got an email from Virgin. Since I had booked with 3rd party (Expedia) I had to deal with them. So, thinking here is where the run-around starts. I called the Exp 800 number.
Took a minute for them to reconnect with who I was, but they had previous contact info. I explained situation, after some long waits they came back on the phone. I was approved!! They issued me Credit for the total air cost, there was $200 charge for each ticket for their time and inconvenience. I accept!

Have ALL flight info available like E-ticket numbers. Everything! Don’t piss off your helper. Gee, I don’t have that info. Call ahead and get it!
Once in a while a miracle does happen. Thinking maybe The Holy Land around November!
p.s. I had NO travel ins. Probably will now, for Pond flights.

Thanks to all who entered suggestions!

Thank you for providing the update - glad to hear that you were able to cancel and receive refunds with minimal expense.

And perhaps a lesson for all the Expedia haters out there... how was his outcome different from using any other travel agent? It's the airline that made him jump through hoops, and in the end they [airline] provided authorization for a reasonable solution - he received a refund for a non-refundable ticket..

Best wishes for a positive outcome with your medical issues.

Den, thanks for the follow up. I'm glad you had a positive outcome. Safe travels and good health!

For accuracy's sake, I would just note he did NOT receive a refund (as someone said a couple of posts ago) — he received a CREDIT (minus $200 per ticket). He is happy with that, so I am glad for him.

Den, I hope your surgery went well, and you have a good recovery, and you are able to make use of those credits before long !

Den, I am glad everything worked out for you. Thanks for posting all the helpful info which I have filed away just in case we need it in the future. It also serves as timely reminder for me to arrange for cancellation/interruption insurance befor our September trip.