Airline cancelation/Rebooking fee

[jeff968]

What an eye-opener.

We may have a change of plans for our December trip which may require us to cancel flights. Boy, the airlines don't make things easy for you with this. I called and found out:

1) You can only reuse your credit 12 months from when you booked the flight, not when you canceled. I puchased my flights in April.
2) I purchased 5 tickets. When you cancel your canceled flight refund goes into individual refund pools, one for each ticket, not one big credit pool.
3) and the big one, the rebooking fee is $150 per ticket My tickets were only $171 each so that means I'll be able to get $21 off on my new ticket.

With these rules and fees it is amazing that the airlines continue to struggle to make monley. This is Delta BTW.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Pretty much standard except for SW.

It's the price we pay for airfare that's probably less then the cost of flying us. Figure if you are paying under $200 the airline is not really making money off you, they MIGHT be covering costs, but there's no profit there.

So the "fees" are where the profit is coming from. Cancel fees, baggage fees etc...

 

[jlewisinsyr]

What an eye-opener.

We may have a change of plans for our December trip which may require us to cancel flights. Boy, the airlines don't make things easy for you with this. I called and found out:

1) You can only reuse your credit 12 months from when you booked the flight, not when you canceled. I puchased my flights in April.
2) I purchased 5 tickets. When you cancel your canceled flight refund goes into individual refund pools, one for each ticket, not one big credit pool.
3) and the big one, the rebooking fee is $150 per ticket My tickets were only $171 each so that means I'll be able to get $21 off on my new ticket.

With these rules and fees it is amazing that the airlines continue to struggle to make monley. This is Delta BTW.

This is what you agreed to when you booked your ticket. However, it sounds like you didn't read the contract you agreed to, and as a result, you should be more disappointed in yourself.

If you wanted a fully refundable fare you could have choosen to book one, but instead you focused on the flight price instead of the included fees/services.

 

[Missytara]

As the PP stated, you should have read the fine print.

This is how the airlines have been operating for quite some time; you just didn't do enough research and reading the fine print, before you booked the tickets.

 

[jeff968]

Good points. When I purchased the tickets for any of my flights I never consider not going, this is the first time this has happened (wedding may not happen, out of my control). I was just confirming that this is SOP and I guess it is. Thanks for the input.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

I'm afraid it is SOP for the fares you purchased. It has to be frustrating for you to make the time and financial commitment to be there for the bride or groom only to have to cancel. If it's a fun destination, you may wish to take your family anyway and enjoy a vacation rather than waste $750.

Good points. When I purchased the tickets for any of my flights I never consider not going, this is the first time this has happened (wedding may not happen, out of my control). I was just confirming that this is SOP and I guess it is. Thanks for the input.

 

[jeff968]

I'm afraid it is SOP for the fares you purchased. It has to be frustrating for you to make the time and financial commitment to be there for the bride or groom only to have to cancel. If it's a fun destination, you may wish to take your family anyway and enjoy a vacation rather than waste $750.

Thanks, and that is just what I may do. It was a Disney wedding that we were suppose to attend so it would have been something but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. The funny thing is that I "stole" these tickets at $171 each for 12/26 - 1/1. You can't even find anything at that price now. So, that is what I get for planning early (and getting the flights) That said, we may go up to Savannah for the week since we'll be back in Orlando in February.