Booking backup flights to Europe

[Daveller]

Sorry for asking a dumb question… Is it possible to ask EK to book back up flights for us?

 

[MELso]

Sorry for asking a dumb question… Is it possible to ask EK to book back up flights for us?

Negatory, squire. EK is only refunding bookings up to 31 March (EDIT - now 15 April). After that, everything's going to be peachy, apparently... Booking flights on other airlines is not something EK is in the habit of doing.

FWIW, I've caved and booked MEL-SIN on QF and CDG-HKG-MEL on AF and CX for mid-May and mid-June as classic rewards for 3 people as well as a (pricy, fee-free) fully refundable SIN-LHR-BCN cash fare on BA. Not a great use of points by traditional metrics but they do ensure that my planned May trip to Spain and France goes ahead. Hopefully, I won't need these flights though, and in these circumstances 6000 points per person as a cancellation fee is reasonable to give me peace of mind...

 

[clifford]

I'm looking at the reverse, backup flights FROM Europe.

I have a trip booked to AMS in May on TK, so outbound should be OK. Unfortunately, the return is via DXB, so this probably won't happen.

So I'm looking for alternatives from Europe in J or PE. The China Eastern flights via Xian are looking quite interesting at the moment.

But it's a matter of waiting and seeing. The only sensible option may be canceling for refund. Let's see.