It's all gone 'tit's up' now what do i do ?!!

[Mr magoo]

After waiting for two years to return to Pattaya, I was excited to learn of the one night 'test&go' quarantine policy and booked my flight in early November for a late February departure.

Now with the suspension of that t&g policy, I'm back to square one....

I'm not prepared to undertake the seven night hotel quarantine upon arrival, and have no wish to take up the Phuket sandbox programme.

There's also been an added complication in that I tested positive for Covid19 two days before Christmas. I've now fully recovered and feel fine again (in truth, I had very mild symptons) but my concern is that I've read one shouldn't take a PCR test within ninety days of a positive test, as presumably you may still likely register a positive result.

I booked my flight directly with Qatar airways on the basis that I would only need to spend one night in quarantine, as per the t&g policy, but this option is now unavailable. Therefore I'm just wondering on my best course of action going forward ?

If I were to cancel my flight, I'd much prefer a full refund, rather than a voucher or a change of date, but am just unsure of what Qatar would offer me.

Before I contact the airline I thought I'd sound off on here in the hope of being armed with more knowledge from you guys.

Any advice and suggestions are most welcome, thanks all in advance.

Mr magoo.

[Blue Boy]

51 minutes ago, Mr magoo said:

After waiting for two years to return to Pattaya, I was excited to learn of the one night 'test&go' quarantine policy and booked my flight in early November for a late February departure.

Now with the suspension of that t&g policy, I'm back to square one....

I'm not prepared to undertake the seven night hotel quarantine upon arrival, and have no wish to take up the Phuket sandbox programme.

There's also been an added complication in that I tested positive for Covid19 two days before Christmas. I've now fully recovered and feel fine again (in truth, I had very mild symptons) but my concern is that I've read one shouldn't take a PCR test within ninety days of a positive test, as presumably you may still likely register a positive result.

I booked my flight directly with Qatar airways on the basis that I would only need to spend one night in quarantine, as per the t&g policy, but this option is now unavailable. Therefore I'm just wondering on my best course of action going forward ?

If I were to cancel my flight, I'd much prefer a full refund, rather than a voucher or a change of date, but am just unsure of what Qatar would offer me.

Before I contact the airline I thought I'd sound off on here in the hope of being armed with more knowledge from you guys.

Any advice and suggestions are most welcome, thanks all in advance.

Mr magoo.

Well I've just returned from a month in Pattaya and you are really missing nothing. Keep your powder dry and I suspect things will improve this year significantly. Hindsight being a wonderful thing but knowing what I know now I wouldn't of gone all to much testing hassle by far. Anyone of those tests can ruin your trip. I went because I'd been in the UK for nearly 2 years but is definitely not Pattaya and not even a shadow of its former self. 

[Pinoydave]

I’m intending to wait until at most a fortnight before the date before I give an airline any money….. if I can’t sort out theThailand paperwork in a week, I’m going somewhere else.

Last year I went to the Dominican Republic, I’ve just had a fabulous time in The Gambia…… got three weeks off work in March, haven’t decided between Kenya, Medellin or back to DR

[Jake.houston]

The PCR data you reference is not solid so I wouldn’t let that alone stop you. If you’ve recently recovered and have verification, Thailand, unlike here in the US value that information and it may be of benefit if you go through with your trip.

I was in LOS in October for 3 weeks under the sandbox program. It was a great trip. I did my time in Phuket and then did the rest in Patts. 

I was set to return end of this month for another month, but at this point I cancelled. Not due to the testing hassles, but more due to the fact that the government has yet to pick a lane on how and what they want their go forward to be on dealing with the highly transmissible, low lethality strain of omicron.

I will wait it out. It was 2 years waiting last time. I hope for the best now and maybe it will only be 90 to 180 days between my trips.

Best of luck on your decision.

[BigLicks]

2 hours ago, Mr magoo said:

I booked my flight directly with Qatar airways on the basis that I would only need to spend one night in quarantine, as per the t&g policy, but this option is now unavailable. Therefore I'm just wondering on my best course of action going forward ?

If I were to cancel my flight, I'd much prefer a full refund, rather than a voucher or a change of date, but am just unsure of what Qatar would offer me.

Today I have cancelled my flight with Qatar for the 4th time... from my own experience I have had no problems being issued with a refund, or them returning my Qmiles, you should have the option under "manage my booking" for a refund or voucher......I am now planning my 1st to Cambodia next month, not flying with Qatar, they are too expensive for that particular flight.

[Greg_B]

I dealt with Qatar about 2 years ago. If you booked directly with them, getting a refund or a change is easy.

If you used a travel agent it is a circular debate and it will take 2 or 3 months to see the results.

[Kale]

3 hours ago, Blue Boy said:

Well I've just returned from a month in Pattaya and you are really missing nothing. Keep your powder dry and I suspect things will improve this year significantly. Hindsight being a wonderful thing but knowing what I know now I wouldn't of gone all to much testing hassle by far. Anyone of those tests can ruin your trip. I went because I'd been in the UK for nearly 2 years but is definitely not Pattaya and not even a shadow of its former self. 

Was it the testing hoops or was there anything else that made it underwhelming for you?  I get most of my girls online or from the massage places and don't really drink, so I don't care if the bars/gogos are closed.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Kale

[ronthebrummie]

I cancelled my Emirate’s flight yesterday until it’s back to how it’s used to be I’m not going back

[petehoax]

Qatar airways gives you free refund or free flight changes or free date changes. or you can exchange it for a voucher and get 10% on top of that. that's why it's currently my favourite airline to book with (and they have great connections and tons of flights and so far don't cancel anything). 

your post is not 100% clear: i assume you don't have your test & go thai pass yet? otherwise, there's still a slim chance that it will be still valid in february... so at least wait until friday when most likely they will publish new rules. 

x-mas covid positive shouldn't be a problem for late february. it's extremely unlikely that you'll test positive due to your old infection by then. not impossible, but extremely unlikely. 

assuming t&go will be canceled (or not re-instated) and you don't want to do quarantine and you don't want to do sandbox. then it's a very easy decision, because you only have two options: 
1) cancel your flight and get the money back (or a voucher if you prefer that)
2) don't cancel your flight and simply don't go on your flight and lose all the money. 

so yeah, personally, i'd pick option 1 

personally, i'd just wait 4 weeks, unless you need to decide now. a lot can (and certainly will) change between now and late february. you can cancel your flight in 5 weeks (or even later), and unless you have other reasons that make you decide now, just postpone the decision and wait a few weeks. 

fwiw: i enjoyed Phuket a lot and plan to return in february for Phuket sandbox (assuming the situation on the ground isn't too bad then). flying with Qatar again. 

Edited January 5, 2022 by petehoax

[Greg_B]

4 hours ago, ronthebrummie said:

I cancelled my Emirate’s flight yesterday until it’s back to how it’s used to be I’m not going back

I can understand your frustration and I can't see myself flying into Thailand at this time either. I've said it a few times, that I really don't expect the bars to be opened before 01 May 2022. I'm sticking with this in mind and planning a trip accordingly.

[petermik]

I put a topic on here late November "Avoid the next 3 months" and outlined the pitfalls...I am now saying wait until June to see if there is any improvement in the ongoing saga of Covid in Thailand.

[threeclicks]

I was recently in Fiji over Christmas with a friend who tested positive a month earlier. The airline we were flying with out of Australia enforced the Fijian requirements of a PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure...  however for those that had recently tested positive, they could accompany a PCR test (which may show up as positive) with a 'Fit to Fly' certificate from a doctor that noted they had recovered from COVID-19 and were medically fit to fly (and, more importantly, not infectious).

Looking quickly across the web, it appears Thailand also have a similar system for those that have recovered from COVID for the Phuket Sandbox (https://www.thaiembassy.com/weekly-updates/updated-thailand-entry-requirements-quarantine-program-phuket-sandbox-program).

That being said, if you would prefer to cancel the trip altogether, I think its unlikely an airline would provide a refund (unless they are the ones to cancel the route). Looking at the Qatar Airlines website (https://www.qatarairways.com/en-au/travel-with-confidence.html) it appears they may actually provide a refund! Alternatively, they're providing vouchers worth 110% of your ticket. 

[Mr magoo]

Just wanted to give an update on my decision regarding my flight to LOS at the end of February.

I decided to wait until after the CCSA meeting held on the 4^th January.

Following the information that came out of that meeting, I felt that my only course of action was to cancel my planned February trip.

Today I went on the Qatar website, accessed the 'manage my booking' and a couple of clicks later, cancelled my flight and will receive a full refund within 28 working days.

I would like to thank all bm's who offered advice & suggestions on my OP, they proved very helpful.

Have I learnt anything from this experience ?

Damn right I have !!

For the foreseeable future, only book my flight perhaps two weeks before departure 555

Mr magoo.

[bazkashmir]

40 minutes ago, Mr magoo said:

Just wanted to give an update on my decision regarding my flight to LOS at the end of February.

I decided to wait until after the CCSA meeting held on the 4^th January.

Following the information that came out of that meeting, I felt that my only course of action was to cancel my planned February trip.

Today I went on the Qatar website, accessed the 'manage my booking' and a couple of clicks later, cancelled my flight and will receive a full refund within 28 working days.

I would like to thank all bm's who offered advice & suggestions on my OP, they proved very helpful.

Have I learnt anything from this experience ?

Damn right I have !!

For the foreseeable future, only book my flight perhaps two weeks before departure 555

Mr magoo.

I think you made the right decision considering everything is uncertain at present. Last thing you need is to be tested positive when you arrive or while there after few days.