As time permits I will be selecting questions from the Ask Rick Blog Post (in the comments section) and providing some advice. Be sure on all questions to include departure, destination, airline, time frame (as they apply).
Kim asks:
I just discovered the Aloha flight I booked from Maui to Sacramento has a stop. We will be traveling with my daughter who will be 22 months at the time and I really need a non-stop. I contacted Alohas reservations and the would allow me to change the flight for a $125 fee plus any increase in the ticket cost. When I looked online the return flight available was actually about $5 less than what I originally paid, not the $86 increase they quoted me. Is there any way to get them to waive the $125 and get the lower priced airfare?
I wasn’t familiar with the non-stop from Maui (Kahului, Airport Code: OGG) to Sacramento (Airport Code: SMF), a quick check on Farecompare.com flight schedules shows the flight and the list of airfare prices on this route.
As background, airline change fees are governed by a rule on the airfare called — oddly enough — “Penalties” — and to some degree requirements in the Aloha contract of carriage and other applicable reservation fee policies (like charges for making a phone call to an airlines reservation agent).
Assuming you have purchased a non-refundable airfare (cheapest), the penalty rule on this particular Aloha airfare states:
PENALTIES
CANCELLATIONS - Ticket is non-refundable.
CHANGES - Per one way charge USD 125.00.
NOTE - All penalties apply per fare breakpoint.
NOTE - Itineraries may be rebooked provided a passengers cancels the ticketed flight reservation prior to ticketed departure time. If not then rebooking is not permitted and ticket has no value. All travel must be completed within one year from the original ticket issue date.
NOTE - When changing to a higher fare or different origin/destination collect change fee plus additional fare collection.
In general Domestic U.S. change fees are $100 roundtrip — in this case Aloha Airlines change penalty is very “severe” ($250 roundtrip) (more like an International itinerary change fee).
It is unlikely that an Aloha reservation agent will be empowered to waive the change fee, I suggest you ask for a supervisor and plead your case (don’t expect much though).
I would also send a politely worded email and/or letter explaining the situation and requesting a waiver to Aloha customer relations.
Take a screen capture (Ctl-Alt-PrtScrn, paste it in MSPaint and save as JPEG) of the $5 less flight leg you found on the web and attach it to the note (explaining the phone quote was $86 higher and not $5 as shown).
In your case if the airfare is cheaper you will get the $5 credit (making the transaction $120 for the change).
The only other recourse that I have seen work in the past is when you have purchased your airline ticket through a travel agent that does a “lot” of business with Aloha Airlines. In this case it would not be unusual for the agency to ask for a waiver and get a favorable result.
Refunds Drop In Price
I will speaking more about Drop in Airline Ticket Price Refunds in a follow-up soon, in all cases these refunds (if there are any on a particular airline) are limited to price drops on the same flight. In this case it wouldn’t apply because you are changing a connecting flight in Santa Ana (John Wayne Airport) to a non-stop.
My significant other purchased a ticket for me on American from LA to DC for $506. The very next day the price dropped on their website to $408. I immediately called American and was rudely told that I could change to the lower fare, but would have to pay the $100 change fee and since the price would be higher, I would owe them an additional $2. She then proceeded to tell me that no business gives refunds or vouchers for a drop in price, in which case I sited two examples that did. I faxed American’s Customer Relations with all the information, my conversation with their telephone ticket agent, and a copy of the paid receipt and the website price. I also pointed out that the person who payed for the ticket was an American Elite Platinum, with over 1.5 million miles, and he was not happy. I explained we did not want a refund, but a credit voucher. In our opinion, that would make for good customer relations and we’d be using it to fly on another American flight. I was denied. I then resent everything through the mail to the manager of Customer Relations and was denied again. Needless to say, we’ve been flying American a lot less these days.
Comment by Holly — September 6, 2007 @ 12:19 am
Holly,
Doesn’t AA have a 24-hr no-fee cancellation policy? If so, why not just cancel and re-book the ticket?
Comment by Palal — September 6, 2007 @ 1:05 am
Personally, I think it’s highway robbery (or would that be “runway robbery?”) to charge someone $100 to change a ticket well in advance of the departure date. For heaven sake, it’s usually done these days by the traveler him/herself online, with no airline interaction. The traveler has consumed no customer service manpower and the airline still has plenty of time to resell that seat… and with popular flights/times, there may be a queue of people waiting for that seat! Why are we charged this horrendous “restocking” fee?
Kudos to Southwest Airlines for their customer-friendly change policies. I now fly Southwest whenever possible. They seem to understand that situations change in their customer’s lives that require them to adjust travel plans. The other airlines should take note. I believe that’s one of the reasons Southwest is doing so well financially while many of the big traditional airlines are struggling to survive. It’s called, and I’ll say this for you slowly so you can understand, “c-u-s-t-o-m-er s-e-r-v-i-c-e.”
Comment by Laurie — December 6, 2007 @ 10:13 am
Greetings Rick,
We (2)are traveling SFO-JFK, ( airline undetermined) one night stay over. Then to JFK-Accra, Ghana (Delta) in March 2008.
We are unsure of our return date, could be 6-months or 10-months.
Question: What is the cheapest way?
1) buy a round trip ticket. and take the hit for the booking change fee.
2) Or is there still such a thing as a open ticket, and how does it work?
Farecompare.com is great..
Please Advise
Margo
Comment by Margo Preiss — December 24, 2007 @ 1:16 am
Dear Rick,
I have been endlessly searching for a hotel in Vegas on the strip for March 6, 2008 for four nights. I am taking my 2 daughters who are 19 and 22. They would like to stay at one of the more well-known hotels that has a workout room and also has a nice view of the strip. I know they would love The Venetian or Caesar’s Palace.
I do not want to spend a ton of money, but would like to stay in the heart of the strip. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you for your help,
Cathy
Comment by Cathy Nelson — February 14, 2008 @ 11:32 am
Yesterday I purchase a round trip ticket on american airlines. Today I found that they changed my return leg to a later flight which is cheaper. Am I entitled to the less expensive fare?
Comment by George Larsen — March 2, 2008 @ 11:44 pm
I bought a ticket for a United flight a LONG time ago for my daughter and she was unable to use it. At the time of purchase I had been assured by United that the ticket was good “indefinately” toward another flight with a change fee if she did not begin the travel. When she could not fly, they would not let ME use it, only her and again assured me that with a fee she could use it in the future. But once she could fly again, the ticket seller and the airline both refused to honor the completely unused ticket.
That said, I just unearthed the original documents again, and heard about you. So I figured I’d ask- if they sell you a ticket and say it can be used any time in the future how can that future then be ended 2 years? GRRRR. I called United and hit a wall (repeatedly). It’s been forever, but maybe they would do it if I said the magic words? I know they’d not do it for free, and need the originals of everything- I actually have them- with notes from my calls!
Comment by S MCardreon — April 9, 2008 @ 10:36 pm
I see I’m not alone here… I booked a flight for 6/25 to 7/2. Just wanted to change the return date to 7/4 to give us more time with my family. I noticed on United’s confirmation email there’s a $100 fee to make changes. Seemed a bit steep, but I decided to call for information. I spoke with a rep who told me the $100 fee applies to each passenger. I asked him to confirm the information about 3 times since there was a language barrier. Sure enough, $100 per person; with 3 passengers an extra $300 just to change the return flight two days later. That’s like adding an extra passenger! Today being 5/6, United has PLENTY of time to fill those seats. I would have been willing to pay the ridiculous $100 so I can spend more time with my family, but a $300 penalty is more accurately described as a “screw-you tax.” I’m torn between spending more time with my family and refusing their ‘fee’ just on principle. I wish I knew a trick to get out of this. I even tried the idea of cancelling the return flight to look for a return flight with another airline, but they would charge me $445 to cancel the return flight!! Totally unethical…
Comment by Von — May 6, 2008 @ 11:35 am