hi everyone, what's the cheapest flight ticket to fly from Paris to Madagascar in July or August? thanks for your help

Booking for October 28th to Varadero, on October 22nd I was notified that it was canceled. I called and changed it to November 7th, departure at 7 AM. On November 6th, an email informed me that it was delayed until 12:30 PM. My return from Varadero on April 14th, 2025—on November 17th, another email notified me that my return flight on April 14th would no longer be direct but would make a stopover in Toronto. So, a heads-up to those thinking of booking with Air Canada...

Hi there,

Have you ever traveled with this airline? It seems like they have a real monopoly on some destinations and are also much cheaper.

Thank youuuu.

Hi, I have a question about Flying Blue Gold and Platinum status. From what I understand, once you reach Platinum status, if you don’t earn another 300 XP within a year, the XP counter resets to 0, and you stay at Gold the following year. But after that, you drop to the lower level if you don’t reach 180 XP. So, wouldn’t it make more sense to stay Gold, with, say, 290 XP, where the counter drops to 110 XP, meaning you’d only need 70 XP to maintain Gold?

Hi,

I just checked the flight ticket prices for returning to France in the coming days from Southeast Asia, without going through the Gulf. I can see why some prefer to wait it out where they are, at least for now. One-way economy class prices.

Hi there,

We’re heading to Chile in September 2025, and we booked a Paris–Santiago flight (AF) that was supposed to arrive in Santiago at 7:45 AM, with a same-day connection to Calama on LATAM at 2 PM. Air France just changed the arrival time to 8:45 AM in Santiago. Do you think we’ll still have enough time for the connection to Calama, or should we change our 2 PM flight to one the next morning? The other same-day options are too late. How long should we budget for customs, health checks, and baggage claim—since we’ll need to recheck our bags for Calama?

Is moving between the international terminal and the domestic terminal time-consuming?

Thanks so much for your help! :)

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…

Hello, We're heading to Peru at the end of July 2026 for 18 days. We're a couple with two teenagers aged 14 and 16. I'm considering booking our Paris - Lima - Paris flight with AVIANCA because the fare is very competitive compared to other airlines. The return trip would include a 15h30 stopover in Bogota, with the idea of spending the night in a hotel near the airport to catch the 1:30 PM flight the next day. The arrival and departure times in Bogota work well. Have any of you already flown with AVIANCA on a Paris - Lima route? What was your experience with this airline? Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts. I'm hesitant to book with them, but the price difference with the cheapest alternative (Air France) is 1500 €, which is significant... thanks for your help! !

Hi there

I completely forgot the transit procedure at Doha Airport and I’m a bit worried because I only have 1h30 to change planes, since my first flight was rescheduled. My flights: Barcelona/Doha: arrival at 6:15 AM Doha/Bangkok: departure at 7:50 AM

We only have carry-on luggage. Will they be checked again? Do we have to go through security again? Are the connections smooth and well signposted? Finally, is it common in this situation to ask a flight attendant for help?

Thanks! 🙂

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 flying from Marseille to Bali this year and have a 1h30 layover in Frankfurt, from Terminal 1 to Terminal 1. Do you think that’s enough time, considering I don’t know the airport or the language? Thanks. »

Hi there,

This afternoon I had a flight at 5:10 PM to Amsterdam from Nice (final destination: Berlin). I arrived at the airport a little before 3:00 PM and saw that the flight was now leaving at 6:30 PM. I went to the counter to point out that I wouldn’t have time to make my connection, and they told me I’d be spending the night in Amsterdam.

When the agent checked her computer, she saw that I’d been put on a flight with another airline and asked if I hadn’t received an email.

In the end, I had to change terminals and leave at 7:05 PM with Swiss Airlines, then Air Baltic.

Just to clarify, I checked in less than 24 hours ago for both KLM flights (Nice-Amsterdam and Amsterdam-Berlin) where I had seats assigned. I checked my emails carefully, and I was never notified!

Luckily, the Swiss Airlines flight left later—otherwise, at 3:00 PM, I wouldn’t have had time to check in (I have a checked bag), and I don’t know how I would’ve proven I never got an email. Also, thankfully, I went to the counter much earlier than planned for the 6:30 PM departure.

In the end, I was lucky because with KLM, I would’ve lost a whole day. And it’s a good thing I always travel for at least two full weeks because I’ve often lost a day due to delays—I wouldn’t do that for a week or a weekend getaway...

This is the first time this has happened to me, but there’s a first time for everything!

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

CUSCO-LA PAZ FLIGHT Hi, I’d like to fly from Cusco to LA PAZ (to save time… so I don’t want to deal with a canceled flight). Any feedback on Avianca? (It’s the only direct flight I’ve found.) Thanks

Hi there! I’m planning to spend a few days in Hong Kong in April/May to visit my son, who’ll be doing an exchange program there. We’d also like to take the opportunity to spend a few days in Japan. Do you have any tips on airlines in the region? I’ve seen deals on Skyscanner for HK Express, which seems like the local Ryanair. But I have no idea what it’s like. Thanks in advance!

The couple involved refused to pay the extra fee demanded by the flight coordination company. Things quickly escalated. It got so bad that the man ended up physically fighting with an airport agent, even rolling on the ground.

https://www.nicematin.com/faits-divers/il-refuse-de-payer-un-supplement-bagages-le-litige-se-termine-en-bagarre-a-l-aeroport-de-nice-999711

If you can’t afford to pay for your luggage, don’t travel 😡. What’s next? Are they gonna hit the tour guide in Mykonos because the price of the tour went up without warning 🤪?

A heads-up to all EasyJet travelers: baggage checks are more strict than ever!

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

We bought round-trip tickets from Mulhouse/Basel to Maun (Botswana) in January 2023 through Option Way.

Turkish Airlines issued the entire round-trip tickets. The flight plan was:

31 August 2023: TK 926 from Basel/Mulhouse to Istanbul and TK38 from Istanbul to Johannesburg 1 September 2023: Airlink (4Z)300 from Johannesburg to Maun. 11 September 2023: Airlink (4Z)301 from Maun to Johannesburg and TK43 from Johannesburg to Istanbul 12 September 2023: TK1923 from Istanbul to Basel/Mulhouse.

On 1 September, on the outbound trip, Turkish Airlines flight TK38 from Istanbul to Johannesburg arrived 1 hour and 30 minutes late due to airport congestion. As a result, we missed our connection with Airlink flight (4Z) 300 from Johannesburg to Botswana (even though the initial layover time was sufficient for the connection). Upon arrival at Johannesburg Airport, a Turkish Airlines agent greeted us, booked us a room near the airport, and rebooked us on the same flight for the following day, 2 September. On 2 September, after numerous difficulties checking in at the Airlink counter in Johannesburg, we finally reached our final destination with a 24-hour delay. We lost our first day of vacation in Botswana, including the activities that were planned for that day. On 11 September, during our return trip and almost certainly due to the rescheduling of the outbound flight, the Airlink check-in counter in Maun did not recognize our tickets issued by Turkish Airlines. After many searches and phone calls, we had to buy new tickets for the Maun/Johannesburg flight 4Z301. This cost us 9,306 Botswana pula (643 €). Upon arrival in Johannesburg, the Turkish Airlines check-in counter again had trouble identifying us for flight TK43 from Johannesburg to Istanbul. It’s clear that the root of our check-in problems stemmed from the renumbering of our tickets when the Turkish Airlines representative rebooked us on the Airlink (4Z)300 flight for 2 September. During this process, all subsequent flight tickets must have been canceled. Since our return, I’ve requested the following from Turkish Airlines: · Compensation under the European Regulation EC 261/2004 of 11 February 2004 for flight delays, amounting to 600 € per passenger. We meet all the conditions: departure from a Franco/Swiss airport, arrival at the final destination more than 4 hours late, and a distance greater than 3,500 kilometers. Turkish Airlines has not provided evidence that they did everything possible to avoid this delay. · Reimbursement for the Airlink Maun/Johannesburg tickets on 11 September, which we had to pay again to Airlink even though we had already paid for them through our agent, Option Way. Turkish Airlines refuses compensation on the grounds that they complied with all regulations. Turkish Airlines and Airlink are passing the buck when it comes to reimbursing the tickets we paid for twice. For Turkish Airlines, claims can only be made through their website, and each time a different agent responds. I’ve contacted our insurance, legal protection, the travel ombudsman... without success. Currently, the case is with a lawyer working for "Air Indemnité," but I have little hope. Obviously, I won’t be flying with Turkish Airlines again—they seem to have a habit of not respecting schedules or customer satisfaction. A good lesson for planning very long layovers.

So, even before starting my explanation, I’d like to introduce myself since this is my first post on the forum :) I’m Jérôme, a huge Asia enthusiast, and I’m currently in the process of moving to Japan with my family in 2028.

Now, onto the topic :)

We’re a family of four traveling together to Seoul, with two separate bookings.

Our original itinerary was: Madrid → Doha → Seoul (March 23–24)

The issue is that our entire outbound flight was canceled, and the airline simply rescheduled the Madrid → Doha leg. Now we’re left with an incomplete journey, with no solution to reach our final destination (Seoul).

Since then:

- Can’t modify flights online (technical error every time) - Can’t get help via chat or WhatsApp - Phone support is unreachable, and the usual French number isn’t working right now

We don’t want a refund. We just want to be rerouted to Seoul, as our original ticket promised.

We’re flexible:

- On dates (we can leave on March 21 or 22 instead of the 23rd) - On the itinerary (different layovers if needed)

Have any of you dealt with this before? Do you know how to unlock a booking in this case or get a rerouting? We’re considering going straight to the airport to resolve it at the Qatar Airways counter....

Thanks so much for your help! 😊

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, I booked flight tickets with Turkish Airlines 15 days ago for a round-trip for 4 people to Thailand in August 2026. On my reservation, I only included my married name, but on my passport, my maiden name appears along with my married name. I only noted one first name—I didn’t include my second or third first name. For my husband and children, I only included their first first name. I called Turkish Airlines a few days ago as a precaution, and they were very helpful, guiding me through the process of adding a comment to request the modification with scanned passports. They confirmed it would be free of charge. Today, I received a response from TK saying I need to buy new tickets with the required changes and then provide them with the new reservation details to be reimbursed for the initially purchased tickets. I called Turkish Airlines again, and they advised me to file a complaint using the initial comment I made. I did that tonight, explaining that I made these requests as a precaution—I fly every year and have never included my maiden name or other first names on my reservations, and it’s never been an issue. Plus, I can’t afford to pay for new tickets since prices have skyrocketed (+1000 € for 4 people). I’m really worried and anxious about this situation. We’ve been saving for a while to afford this trip, and I hope it gets resolved favorably. Have any of you experienced similar issues or situations like this? If so, how did it go at the airport? Thanks in advance for your help

Hi, I’m planning a trip to Australia—Paris to Melbourne. I’m flying with Etihad and have a 1-hour connection in Abu Dhabi. Does that seem doable to you? Thanks for your feedback and experiences!

Hi there, I’m facing a rather unusual issue with SAUDI AIRLINES. I booked a flight to Jakarta with a layover in Jeddah for July directly on their website on February 25th, paying for our three tickets via PAYPAL. I quickly received confirmation that my flight was booked and our e-tickets were issued. However, after several days, I noticed we were never charged for the tickets, and I saw on our PayPal account that the payment authorization was still pending.

At first, I chalked it up to cross-border or banking delays… but since I use PayPal often and the debit from my bank account is usually almost immediate, I called PayPal. They told me that neither they nor I had anything more to do: when a transaction is paid using their solution, the payment is systematically validated by the seller before the transaction (an automated process, I imagine). However, PayPal confirmed that SAUDI hadn’t done this and that they had a month to do so, otherwise the transaction would be canceled by PAYPAL and SAUDI wouldn’t receive the funds. There must have been a technical glitch because normally, I shouldn’t have received the tickets until they had received the payment.

Given the reviews I’ve read about their customer service, I’m worried they might cancel our tickets without notice once they realize their mistake—or that they’ll ask us to pay the amount at that point (since the closer we get to the date, the higher the price goes).

So, I’ve been trying to contact them nonstop via their app (I’ve submitted about 10 tickets), I’ve called them, messaged them on Messenger and Instagram, and so far, I haven’t gotten any response. Either they don’t read my message to the end and just reply that the flight is confirmed + resend the tickets, or more recently, they tell me the issue is being handled by another department. We tried calling them again on Saturday, but no luck—the French-speaking agents were always busy. On Messenger, they keep asking for the secret code sent by SMS at the start of the conversation, but of course, I never receive anything even though my number is correctly registered in my SAUDI account.

I don’t know what else to do, and I’m not sure if I’m right to worry they might cancel our tickets.

I’m afraid this could jeopardize our dream trip, for which I’ve already booked hotels and activities… and we were really looking forward to it.

I hope you can shed some light on this?

Thanks for taking the time to read this

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,

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, 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

Hi Community,

I'm having trouble booking a domestic flight from Jakarta to Tual for September on Lion Air's website. The site keeps glitching. When I use a comparison site, the flight shows up just fine. I'd prefer to book directly on their site rather than through a comparator. Is anyone else running into this issue right now?

Thanks!!!!

we have flights with Swiss and Lufthansa for January; our flights are still in our booking file. But after reading that the Cambodian ambassador in Paris advised against transiting through Bangkok (which is our case), I reached out to the airlines to potentially change our ticket via Singapore. However, both companies have canceled all flights to Cambodia, regardless of the day or airport. We’ll have our contact on the ground call us on Monday to figure out what to do, especially since no insurance covers war, conflict, etc. If anyone else is in the same situation with an upcoming departure, we can exchange tips

My request: We would like to modify our return flight booking scheduled for December 3 under reference: O__T. We’d like a flight that gets us to France no later than January 27, 2025, under the same conditions as our current ticket. Please let us know the options and any additional fees. (We paid 2,256 € for the round-trip Bordeaux/Tamatave tickets for 2 people.)

Air Austral’s response: We’ve managed to free up seats for January 22. (Same class.) The penalty and adjustment fee is 895 € per person. (That’s 1,790 € for 2.)

My response: Given the outrageous prices Air Austral is charging for a date change, we’re confirming our flight on December 3, 2024, for Tamatave/Bordeaux. Also, you can count on me to share this experience with Air Austral on various online forums. It’s absolutely shameful to offer a flight change for 1,790 € when buying new tickets would cost us 1,564 €. I think Air Austral’s pricing policy is going to interest a lot of people online, and I can assure you that you’ve just lost two customers who will give you some great publicity.

Despite a complaint, no reaction from Air Austral—they’re clearly in big trouble...

Booked an Air Mauritius ticket via a flight operated by Air France, but my middle name was shortened to just an initial with "Ms" attached instead of being written as Lalina Alexandra Fernandez. On the ticket, it shows as Lalina Ams Fernandez, even though I booked with the correct name. Apparently, no one can modify the ticket. Do you think this will cause problems?