UK bookings & changes
Booking or amending travel | Refunds & cancellations | Other FAQs
Booking, amending or cancelling your travel
Q: I need to make a new travel booking. Can I still do this?
A: Yes, Key Travel are fully operational and able to assist with new bookings. As the travel industry is still in recovery and whilst we continue to recruit more booking consultants, you may experience longer than usual wait times. Therefore, we kindly ask that for simple point to point air or rail trips (including European Rail which is also now available online) you use our online booking tool ‘KT Online‘? It’s quick, easy and puts you in control! You can compare trip options and even search by the greenest flight!
You can also use this to search your trip options before requesting a quote so we can book more quickly, saving you money. Reach out to your procurement contact if you would like access to KT Online.
Please ensure that you are familiar with up-to-date travel guidance issued by your local government and airline and are booking in line with your organisation’s current travel policy.
Q. Is there another way I can contact Key Travel other than emailing and calling?
A: Yes, use our Travel Enquiry Form
The recent surge in travel has impacted our ability to respond as quickly as we would like. To help us book your trip more easily please complete the form, which gives us all the information we need to provide a quote for you to consider and can reduce email exchanges by up to 80%, increasing the speed of booking!
Refunds & cancellations
Q: How do I know if I’m entitled to a refund?
A: Please check the original booking terms and conditions as follows:
For those who booked online: Go to the ‘View My Trips’ folder (suitcase icon) in KT Online, open the relevant trip ID, click the green ‘Rules’ button underneath your itinerary and review the ‘Penalties’ paragraph. This is explained further in the ‘How to change and cancel a trip’ document, available by logging into KT Online, then going to: Training Academy > KT Online > Useful links.
For those who booked offline (i.e. by phone or email): The terms and conditions are in the PDF below your itinerary information.
Suppliers are regularly changing their cancellation and change conditions, which may override the original conditions of your booking. Please check the supplier’s website for the most up-to-date policies.
Q: How can I check that my booking is cancelled and that a refund is being processed?
A: For cancelled offline bookings, you will receive an email cancellation. For cancelled online bookings, there is a date and time stamp that shows the cancellation has been processed, visible in the ‘View My Trip’ folder of KT Online.
Q: If the supplier/airline has cancelled the flight, do I still need to cancel?
A: It is always advisable to confirm you wish to cancel the booking with KT, even if the airline has informed you directly of the cancellation.
Q: My organisation has implemented a travel ban and I need to cancel my booking but the supplier/airline is still operating. Will I receive a refund?
A: Supplier and airline rules are frequently changing and it depends on the type of ticket you purchased. Unless the travel supplier has indicated that their penalty conditions have been waived, you will be subject to the original conditions of your ticket which are typically as follows:
Where you have booked a:
- Fully flexible/cancellable ticket: A full refund may be underway, less any supplier/airline ticket cancellation costs that are applicable (waivers may apply).
- Non-refundable ticket: Unless the airline has issued a waiver, there will be no refunds.
- Non-refundable hotel: Unless the supplier has issued a waiver, there will be no refunds.
- Bill-back hotel: These will depend on the hotel’s waiver policy.
- Flexible rail ticket: You will receive a full refund provided you have not activated the mobile ticket or provided you retain the paper copies of unused tickets.
- Non-refundable (advance) rail ticket: You are now able to process refunds for applicable bookings based on Trainline’s waiver policy.
Q: Will I always receive a cash refund for cancelled bookings?
A: Not always, as many suppliers/airlines are now moving to vouchers and credits, so the format of the refund may change, even after you have cancelled the booking.
Q: I’ve cancelled my flight and the supplier/airline is only providing a credit voucher but I would like a refund. What can I do?
A: At this stage, we can only request reimbursement in the form that the supplier is offering. Although we will always request a cash refund where possible, this is not something that Key Travel is able to influence.
Q: What is the current timeline for receiving a refund?
A: Read the latest on refunds here: Refunds.
Q: We have received our monthly invoice statement but have now cancelled most of these bookings. Should we wait for the credit notes before paying?
A: Where you have received a statement of invoices or a consolidated invoice, it is imperative that this is paid as per the terms and conditions of our credit agreement.
Please continue to send remittance promptly and in full; credit notes will be issued once refunds have been received from suppliers and will appear on your subsequent statements.
Q: We booked a cancellable flight but have still been billed for it. Do we still need to pay it?
A. Yes. Our bookings are billed at the point of sale and need to be paid as per credit terms because suppliers have already been paid. Refunds will be returned once received from the supplier.
Q: I cancelled a flight but have only received a portion of the total amount as a refund. Where is the rest?
A. The eligibility for a full refund is based on the specific airline policy and ticket conditions. Where the full amount is not refunded this can occur in a number of instances such as, the airline charging a fee for processing the refund, part using a ticket e.g. traveling on the outbound leg of the journey, booking a non-refundable ticket type or not cancelling the trip pre the flight departing.
Q: Why have I been charged this cancellation fee? What are your cancellation fees?
A. We charge cancellation fees to cover the costs of processing refunds/cancellations, which, in the current climate, is a much more complicated and manual process than pre- COVID-19.
Q: Can I use a voucher in someone else’s name/can we get vouchers at organisational level?
A. Once we have processed a voucher, we are communicating the rules of the voucher on the email, i.e. when it needs to be used by, the value and whether it can be transferred. To our knowledge, most airlines are stating that the voucher is not transferable.
Q: How do I book using an airline voucher?
A. Take a look at our useful guide ‘5 steps to booking travel with airline vouchers’
Other FAQ’s
Q: In the past couple of weeks it’s been hard to get through to one of your reservation agents on the phone or to receive an email response. Why is that?
A. As travel resumes, the challenge for TMC’s in general has been impacted by a shift to phone bookings. Phone calls are taking longer to support as people have more questions. Our suppliers are struggling to support call volumes and at the time of writing, we lose over 80hours a week on hold to suppliers waiting to confirm travel. The amount of work required per reservation has also increased significantly.
However, we are taking steps to improve our response times:
- We are actively recruiting new agents to increase our staffing levels and have created new processes to train and on-board them quickly.
- To reduce offline wait times, we have worked and will continue to work with our customers to re-activate their online booking tool and for point-to-point journeys to be booked via this channel.
- We have continued to work with suppliers to improve their responsiveness and will continue to do so, which in turn will enable us to reply to our customers quicker.
- Ability to leave a voicemail with your contact details for a call back within 24 hours
Please rest assured that if you have an enquiry with us, it will be processed for you.
Q: I would like to add, remove, or make a change to a Key Travel user. How do I do this?
A. Please continue to email these requests to bookers@keytravel.com and also use the template to capture all the required information so we can action with all the required information. We will be actioning these changes within 48 hours. Where possible, please help us to help you by co-ordinating within your organisation to send across one list of changes per week, rather than individual requests
Q: When my organisation lifts all or part of our travel ban, do I need to inform you?
A: It is important that we stay connected during this period and so yes, please ensure that you keep us abreast of any changes regarding travel within your organisation.
Q: I have an account question that needs answering, who do I contact?
A. Contact our Account Management Team at accountmanager@keytravel.com
Q: How else, other than calling, can I find information on travel regulations?
A. Our COVID customer site has a wealth of information and should be your first port of call when looking for current travel information. The site provides resources on country entry information, top tips, interactive global maps and links to airline policies and much more.