Hi everyone,

For my round-trip flights between Milan and Tashkent, I have several airline options, with Turkish Airlines being the most familiar and offering plenty of combinations. But I’m also being offered an outbound flight with a layover in Baku via Azerbaijan Airlines and a direct return (7.5 hours without stretching my long legs 😱) with Uzbekistan Airways. I’m not a fan of flying at all (I feel uneasy when I’m not on solid ground, but it’s a necessary evil when you’re short on time). However, I’m tempted by the idea of trying these two airlines and getting a glimpse of Baku Airport.

Do you have any advice that could tip the scales toward curiosity or fear?

Catherine

Not very reassuring...

https://www.flywest.fr/compagnies/des-passagers-signalent-la-presence-de-punaises-de-lit-a-bord-des-vols-de-turkish-airlines Any feedback from travelers who’ve flown with them recently?

Emirates just put out a statement, and for those of us struggling, it’s total nonsense. No concrete dates because they’re clueless, all dependent on military strikes. Don’t get your hopes up.

Good news for passengers stranded in the Gulf, though. Emirates expects its network to return to normal in the coming days. However, the resumption of commercial flights is still subject to airspace availability and meeting all operational conditions, Emirates said in a statement. The airline added that it transported around 30,000 passengers from Dubai on Thursday. By March 7, Emirates will operate 106 daily return flights to 83 destinations, covering nearly 60% of its network. The Dubai-based national airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights following Iran’s retaliatory strikes, which led the UAE to close its airspace and caused minor structural damage to its Dubai hub.

Hi,

Icelandic airline Fly Play has ceased all operations with immediate effect. 400 employees were laid off this morning, all flights have of course been canceled, and thousands of passengers are left without solutions. It operated flights to several European countries and the USA, including France from Paris Charles de Gaulle :(

Hi everyone! It feels really strange to be back on Voyage Forum after such a long time.

A quick question for the pricing experts out here 😉

I’ve been running some simulations for a Singapore Airlines flight, and I found THE perfect one for me! But here’s the thing: the simulation for 1 passenger is 978 €, and for 2 passengers, it jumps to 2,208 €. Where do those extra 252 € come from?

Yeah, I know I could book two separate reservations...

Thanks for your insights...

Hello, some (potentially) good news for Brazil lovers—GOL airline is launching a route to Europe from Rio, starting in September for Lisbon, then Paris at a later date that hasn’t been announced yet. They’ll be using their new A330-900 neo. No prices have been announced so far, but hopefully we’ll find direct flights from GIG at a more interesting fare than AF or Latam…

Hi,

Right now, with the war raging in Iran and affecting all the neighboring countries of the Persian Gulf, many airports are completely closed to all traffic.

Several airlines like Qatar Airways, Emirates, and others have almost completely halted their operations.

Whether in the Middle East or Africa, many travelers are stranded—maybe for a long time... A heartfelt thought for them and the struggles this will cause.

Four months ago, I was in Kenya with a flight booked through Qatar Airways... I can’t even imagine how I’d react if I were stuck there now. ??

Wishing all these travelers courage, patience, and success in making it back home.

...

Doha Airport on October 21, 2025:



...

Hi there, I booked 4 flight tickets with China Eastern. Unfortunately, I swapped the first and last name for one of them. Do you know if I can contact them to get it corrected? Thanks!

Hi, On October 30, 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its ruling in case C-558/24 Corendon.

When an airline issues a ticket (or booking confirmation) and later issues a new ticket delaying the arrival time at the final destination, the delay of "3 hours or more"—which entitles passengers to compensation of 250, 400, or 600 euros (depending on the distance) per paying passenger—must be calculated based on the arrival time stated in the initial booking.

In the case examined, the airline had issued a new booking confirmation that delayed the flight. The passenger arrived less than 3 hours late compared to the arrival time in the new confirmation but was more than 3 hours late compared to the original booking confirmation.

This puts an end to interpretations that the previous texts allowed.

The ruling states:

"Article 5(1)(c) and Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 [...] must be interpreted as meaning that: in the event of a change to the departure and arrival times of a flight, announced in advance by an air carrier and accompanied by the issuance of a new booking confirmation to the passengers concerned, the duration of the delay suffered by those passengers upon arrival must be determined by taking into consideration the initially scheduled arrival time."

Full ruling here:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:62024CJ0558

Best regards

I’m booking a flight operated by Luxair for my wife and me. 30 hours before the scheduled departure time and as requested by them, I complete the online check-in. I’m then offered the option to choose our seats. Looking at the cabin layout, I see that two seats have already been assigned to us—one in the middle of the cabin on the left side, the other at the back of the cabin on the right side. I notice that both have an adjacent seat available, along with dozens of other seats.

I move one of the seats so we can sit together on the plane... and I’m charged 19 €! When I complain, Luxair (or rather, the platform) responds that there was no way to get adjacent seats.

This tactic to push passengers into pre-reserving seats for a fee is really bordering on a scam! And now I’m getting messages encouraging me to upgrade my seats!

Basically, airlines keep prices low but do everything to pressure us into paying for extras.

Hi, I know this topic has already been discussed, but in a rush, I booked a flight ticket with my married name (on my passport it’s noted as "married name X"). I’m flying with Oman Air, but since I booked through Expedia, they refuse to change it to my maiden name. Can I still travel? I’m really panicking!

Hi Voyage Forum members,

My wife and I took American Airlines flight no. 63 on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, at 9:30 AM, with a scheduled arrival in Miami at 1:30 PM local time.

After about half an hour of flight, a young passenger had a medical emergency. They were given care, and a flight attendant went to get an oxygen bottle. Then, an announcement over the loudspeakers informed passengers that the plane was diverting to London.

Once at London Heathrow (LHR), we were waiting to depart again. But a new announcement asked us to disembark because the plane wouldn’t be able to take off until the next day. (American responded to my follow-up, saying they’re required to limit their staff’s working hours to a certain number per day.)

A crowd of travelers gathered at the American Airlines counter, where they were told to follow instructions to get to a hotel. Meanwhile, I called the airline’s customer service to find a replacement flight that same day, since I couldn’t afford to leave the next day. If I had, I would’ve lost my hotel and car rental reservations due to late cancellation, which would’ve cost me a significant amount.

After discussing in English with customer service and the counter staff (who I handed my phone to), we managed to get two seats on British Airways flight BA 0209, which was leaving about 2 hours later.

That’s how, after a stressful wait unsure if we’d get our luggage back, and once we did, we hurried—heavily loaded—to reach the far-off terminal for our new boarding on foot and by train shuttle.

We finally took off for Miami and landed around 7:30 PM, which was 6 hours later than the originally scheduled arrival time of American Airlines flight 63.

On top of the stress, there were the costs of meals in the meantime, and I had to notify the hotel and car rental company about our delay.

As a result, I requested compensation for a flight delay of at least 3 hours (and I’ve involved my insurance’s legal protection to pursue this claim). American Airlines argued that exceptional circumstances prevented them from compensating me.

What do you think? Is my request unreasonable?

Hi there, I booked these upper deck seats and I’m worried about the recline because of the wall behind.

But it’s either that or an unknown neighbor...

Has anyone taken these seats before and could give me some feedback? Thanks

Supposedly modification insurance = big scam, let me explain:Hello,

I’ve been an Edreams customer for decades, spending tens of thousands of euros with them. For this latest trip, we knew our departure date but weren’t sure about the exact return date. So, we booked tickets supposedly "Modifiable sans frais" (fee-free modifiable).

We left on September 3rd, and a week before the initially booked return date, we finalized our schedule. I went to my booking to make the change. And then... I found out that if you’ve already taken your outbound flight, you can no longer modify the return flight!!!!!!!

Like most people, I didn’t read the long, complicated, and tedious fine print in the terms and conditions—which I later took the time to go through. Here’s an excerpt: "Flexible Name Guarantee Our Superflex fare includes a Flexible Name Guarantee that allows customers to change the full name of one of the passengers on their flight tickets. This contractual guarantee takes effect at the time of booking and expires 24 hours before the start of the trip, determined by the date and time of departure of the first flight included in the booking."

In short, I paid an extra 500 € for this insurance (for 4 tickets) that’s absolutely useless.

In my opinion, when I book a modifiable ticket, it’s PRECISELY BECAUSE I KNEW I’D NEED TO CHANGE MY DATE ONCE I ARRIVED AT MY DESTINATION.

But I learned that this insurance stops 24 hours before departure.

So, if you’re thinking of changing your return dates after you’ve already taken your outbound flight, well, this insurance won’t work—and they make sure not to clearly explain that to you.

So, dear EDREAMS, thank you for being my booking portal for 15 years. I’ve traveled all over the world (74 countries visited—who can top that?), spent a fortune on your site, and I’m saying "Adios". On top of that, I’ll take care of your online reputation since it’s my job (digital marketing).

Hasta la vista

Hello,

I’m really surprised because in TUI’s new tour packages, the airlines they’re using are of low quality. Before, they used to prioritize major airlines, but now it’s small airlines from small countries—companies with terrible ratings and borderline safety concerns. I even just noticed this note for a Tanzania trip: "We inform you that the domestic flight segment in Tanzania included in your trip is operated by an airline listed on the European Union’s list of air carriers subject to an operating ban within the European Union. This ban only applies to European Union airspace, meaning this airline is not permitted to take off, land, or fly over European airspace. However, this airline is authorized to operate in Tanzania."

This means they’re using airlines on the blacklist!! It’s pretty worrying for safety. What do you all think?

Hi there. I’m planning a trip to Chile, and the fares from the Colombian airline Avianca are really appealing. Way cheaper than Air France, for example. That said, the reviews I’ve seen online aren’t great. What do you think of this airline? Have any of you taken long-haul flights with Avianca? Thanks in advance for your replies. Eric

Hi! Sri Lanka has announced it could run out of fuel in the coming weeks if the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked. The government has implemented a mandatory four-day workweek to save oil, and there are long lines at gas stations due to fears of an early shortage. In Vietnam, the government has warned all airlines that flights will need to be reduced due to a lack of kerosene. The country imports two-thirds of its jet fuel from China and Thailand, but both countries have now banned exports out of fear of domestic shortages. The state is asking airlines to plan ahead and park aircraft to drastically reduce operations, starting with domestic flights and then international ones. International carriers will also need to cut back on their rotations. This will begin in the coming days. 🙁

Hi there, we're flying with Air Caraïbes and bringing our dog—he'll be traveling in the cabin with us. The airline recommends a carrier size of 43×35×20 cm, but despite calling them several times, we can’t figure out if the 20 cm is the height or width, or if the carrier can be slightly larger. Thanks to anyone who replies and has flown with Air Caraïbes before!

Hello, We’re planning to fly from Paris to Bangkok at the end of June with my wife, our daughter, and the baby who’ll be 4 months old by then. The baby won’t be born for another 2 months, and I was wondering if it’s possible to book the 3 flight tickets now and add the baby after the birth? I read that a ticket isn’t necessary for babies. Can you confirm this for me? Is there a risk that in 2 months they’ll tell me the flight is full and we can’t add our baby? Finally, is it possible to reserve a seat in the first row (where there’s the most space) right now? Thanks so much for your help

Hi everyone,

Does anyone have an idea about how flight ticket prices drop for a given destination? (Excluding Ryanair, of course.)

We need to leave for Seville on December 27th. Generally, airlines launch trips on a specific date with a high price to start filling the plane. As the departure date gets closer, the airline tries to fill the plane and lowers its prices, so the ticket price becomes reasonable again.

Example: Right now, for a trip in about 10 days, the average round-trip ticket price is usually around 200 €. Currently, the round-trip ticket price for December 27th is 450 €.

If any of you have more precise info on this topic (for example, if the price drops 15 days before departure), thanks in advance for your input. Jean Paul

Hi there, I just booked a round-trip flight from Brussels to Da Nang on eDreams, with a layover in Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. Does anyone know the check-in procedure for these flights? 1) For flight CX294 BXL-HKG, I’ll need to check in on the Cathay Pacific website, 2) For the next flight CX5552 HKG-DAD, what should I do? I only have a 2h25 layover. Will I need to collect my luggage, go through immigration, and then recheck in at the airport counter, etc.? I’m pretty worried about this layover—I thought check-in could be done on the airline’s website and that my luggage would be transferred automatically during the layover, like with most other airlines... Thanks so much for any help from those who’ve been in this situation!

Hi everyone,

Since it’s a hot topic, yet rarely shown, and since there’s quite a bit of criticism and prejudice around it—and since I’ve had three in ten days—I’m going to talk about layovers at Istanbul Airport, especially with Turkish Airlines. This is a common scenario for forum members planning trips to Central Asia, the Caucasus, but also Japan, China, Australia, Africa, and more.

It all starts on a plane beginning its descent, knowing that the approach to Istanbul Airport is always quite long—about thirty minutes. Through the windows, if you’re lucky, you get a view of the city. You need to know a little to get your bearings, but here we’re on the side of Sabiha Gökçen Airport, south of Istanbul on the Asian side. You can spot the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn, and Fenerbahçe’s football stadium.



Landing over highways with three times four lanes, and then the airport tarmac for the taxi phase. This can take a while—sometimes nearly half an hour—but this morning, luck was on my side: barely more than 10 minutes. It’s rare now for Turkish Airlines planes to unload via pax buses, so we got a jet bridge. Avgeeks will immediately notice they’re not in Europe anymore but in another world: Pobeda, Belavia, and plenty of more exotic airlines. As the captain seriously put it in his final announcement after thanking the kids, it’s the “crossroads of the world.”

We suddenly step into a massive corridor, an endless, bright hall, usually deserted, and turn left or right—I think it’s always left for the flights I take, heading toward “transfers.” The walk is supposed to take a good ten minutes at worst. Watch out for airport vehicles—they come fast and don’t honk.



Here’s where it gets interesting: Istanbul has always had a bypass for short layovers, something you never hear about on forums. In the past, you had to bolt out of the jet bridge like a rocket and vaguely show your boarding pass to an attendant before sprinting. But now it’s institutionalized, and there’s signage that spares you from running all the way to the main security check. Until recently—at least the last time I did this—it even let you skip all formalities, dropping you like a wild dog into the departures area, which is spacious enough to stretch your legs!



A heads-up for the young and the not-so-young: even without the bypass, if you’re under 5 (accompanied), over 65 (alone), you get fast track. That saves you a few hundred meters and possibly some waiting time, though I’m less sure about that. The entrance honestly looks like an amusement park, though.



So, not young enough, not old enough, I keep going. I pass by dozens of passport control booths (in blue) and reach the transfer security checkpoint (in red). There’s a fast track for Business and Gold passengers—in my case, I’m both—but since it’s at the wrong end for my direction, it wouldn’t even be worth it. It’d just be a frivolous sprint. None of this is crowded at all; the wait lasted about a minute. You have to take out your laptop at this checkpoint—not all of them—but you haven’t had to take out liquids for a while in Istanbul. A hallway, an escalator, and then—bam—you’re in the Dubai-esque hall. One look says it all. Everything sparkles, everything’s expensive. *Very* expensive. Just for show, I spot a sandwich for around 12 €, and some simits for about 4 € (it’s in TL, but that’s roughly the conversion).



So, I head to the lounge—or one of the lounges—at Turkish Airlines, upstairs. Here too, there’s a priority entrance for families and people with reduced mobility, and an extra hundred meters for everyone else. A few of us seem to have had the same idea, and the twin lounges are under renovation for three months. One is for Business Class passengers, the other for Miles & Smiles and Gold members. They’re nearly identical. Needless to say, it’s packed—just as crowded in one as the other. There are *tons* of Business Class passengers on Turkish Airlines. I assume some other airlines’ passengers are mixed in, but not enough to explain the crowd. It’s as busy as Gare Montparnasse on a holiday departure day, and the 5 or 6 food counters, along with the salad and dessert buffets, are struggling to keep up. I didn’t dare ask to access the shower area, but I’ll admit the Wi-Fi works without the torturous maneuvers it required just a few months ago. Later, I’ll have to watch for the gate for my destination—Warsaw. With my usual luck, it’ll be in the F double-digits, the farthest ones, listed as 15 to 19 minutes away. That said, once you reach the end of that dead end, there’s plenty of quiet space with power outlets. Because here, there’s high demand for kilowatts.

My reporter’s conscience doesn’t go so far as to guide me here—I’ve covered the free access up to the iGA lounge, which has a good reputation but costs nearly 100 € for three hours. Maybe another time, on a promo day—I’ll keep an eye on their site. The piano starts playing “Bésame Mucho,” so I’ll pause my story here.



Michel

Hi everyone, I’ve got a problem… I don’t even know if it’s a small one or a big one. Back in May, I booked our flight tickets to go to New Zealand, and I just realized I misspelled my husband’s first name: Giiles instead of Gilles… I booked through Lufthansa, and on the outbound trip, there’s a Shanghai-Auckland flight operated by Air New Zealand, and on the return, an Auckland-Hong Kong flight operated by Cathay Pacific. The rest is with Lufthansa. We’re leaving from Nantes in February-March 2026. Have any of you run into this kind of issue, and if so, how did it go? It’s really freaking me out. Lufthansa added a note in our file about the ‘i’ instead of ‘l’ mistake, and they told us it’s not a problem for them, but what about Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific…??? Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific say they can’t do anything because the ticket was booked through Lufthansa. And Lufthansa added a note to our file, but will that be enough, or are we going to get turned away in Shanghai, Hong Kong, or Auckland?? After another call to Lufthansa, they’re implying that a correction isn’t possible and the solution is to buy a new flight ticket for 2800 €. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I’m lost and don’t know what to do.

Hi, I’m traveling to New Zealand in January 2026 with Lufthansa. To check the allowed baggage dimensions, I went to my "booking" account on the Lufthansa website. And that’s when I discovered that my last layover, the Zurich-Bordeaux flight operated by Swiffairlines, was canceled. I never received an email, and even worse, it’s not even noted on my booking. So I contacted Lufthansa. They told me that for now, there are no other flights but that there will be by the time I leave. They advised me to call them every week to get a flight. What do you think of their response? Has this ever happened to you? Emilie

Hi,

I received an email from the airline saying my return flight was canceled and rescheduled to another flight.

Nothing about the connection in France...

I checked my passenger file, everything is the same as when I first booked.

I asked for an explanation by email.

They replied that my original flight was canceled and that I should sort it out with Air France since I bought the ticket through their site.

I called Air France. Finally got through to someone. The agent checked my file and told me there were no changes and therefore couldn’t reschedule my flight.

I checked my file again: the flight is the same as on the day I bought it.

They suggested I change it by paying!!!

I forwarded Air Mauritius’s emails to Air France. Waiting to see what happens next...

Have you ever had this kind of problem? What’s going on with Air Mauritius? Have they become a third-rate airline that’s absolutely not recommendable?

Thanks for your thoughts and any attempts at explaining this...

(The Air Mauritius flight is no longer for sale on Google Flights. The replacement flight isn’t either... Yet it still appears on the Air Mauritius site as the replacement flight.)

Hi there,

We're planning to visit Yellowstone between mid and late September (yes, I'm leaving it to the last minute for bookings...). I was initially planning to arrive and depart from Salt Lake City, which I’d also like to explore. It turns out that flights to SLC are 300 € more expensive than flights to Jackson Hole, even though the connection goes through... SLC! I’ve checked on several comparison sites from different locations, and these prices remain pretty consistent.

Does anyone know what it would cost if I skip the connection to Jackson Hole from SLC to take advantage of the cheaper fare and then fly back from JH instead?

Thanks in advance!

Sylvain.

Hi,

A pretty serious issue has come up in the past few weeks for traveling to Tanzania.

What’s the deal with airlines in Tanzania? https://www.capital.fr/economie-politique/ce-pays-est-tres-touristique-mais-ses-compagnies-aeriennes-sont-placees-sur-liste-noire-par-l-europe-1515325 https://www.charentelibre.fr/tourisme/la-tanzanie-sur-liste-noire-de-l-europe-des-vols-interieurs-a-haut-risque-pour-100-000-touristes-francais-25002566.php

Basically, all airlines have been blacklisted because they don’t meet European safety standards. They’re banned from flying in Europe but continue operating in Tanzania. The main issue is that travel agencies’ civil liability no longer applies to blacklisted airlines. So we can’t allow clients to fly with these carriers. Of course, there’s huge pressure from European agencies, which are forced to disrupt their plans or even cancel trips because of this. Personally, I’ve got a trip planned for February 2026 to the southern parks in Tanzania, so I’ll be keeping an eye on how this develops. Do any of you have updates? Thanks!

Loïc

Hi, I need your help because I’m stuck. I booked 6 flight tickets to Palermo on August 6th through the Lastminute site. The flight is operated by Air France, and I just realized my name is wrong. I immediately contacted Air France, who told me it’s up to Lastminute to make the change, but they say it’s Air France’s responsibility. I’m really anxious because I’m traveling with my two kids. Can you help me? Thanks

Hello, Hi there,

I have a flight scheduled for next week with a layover in Muscat (Oman Air). Given the current situation in the region, can I request a refund for my ticket based on the risks involved?

Thanks for your helpful comments! :)