change ticket

[jlynn]

Has anyone ever had to change their air ticket? We have to change our dates because of work schedules. Our tickets have been ticketed and my travel agent informed me that it will cost us well over $130/ticket to change with CR. This amounts to over $500 for us. Delta told me their change fee is $25/ticket. Is there any way around this with CR? Our travel agent is not being very cooperative and/or understanding and doesn't seem to want to deal with CR. Delta suggested our travel agent request that CR give ticketing authority over to Delta but our agent doesn't sound like she wants to "fight" for us. Any ideas?

 

[safetymom]

What is CR? Some airlines charge $100 change fee on each ticket and the difference in the fare.

You travel agent probably doesn't want to get involved because they make nothing on the sale of the ticket. Did you buy more than just tickets from the travel agency?

If you bought non refundable tickets this was explained in the contract.

 

[jlynn]

The travel agency we used booked our land AND air with WDW Travel Co. which we didn't know. We paid almost $500/ticket for 3 tix. He told me these were "nonrefundable" but never told me about the "penalties" which are a minimum $125 change fee in addition to the airline change fee. The only thing we received in writing was an itinerary after it was confirmed and there is nothing on this paperwork that explains this. If we have to cancel, we can't use these tickets in the future. And if we travel another time and the fare is lower, we don't get the difference from the airline. Delta has been very good but said they can't do a thing because WDE Travel Co owns the record and the ticketing. So we're out of luck.

 

[bicker]

This is why it is so critically important to learn more about what you're buying when you're buying airline tickets. When you buy airline tickets you're agreeing to the contract of carriage, which includes many provisions that could have great impact on you. The contract is a couple of dozen pages long, which is why it isn't provided to each customer with each purchase, but rather referred to in the confirmation (typically something like "conditions apply"). This is standard practice.

Change fees range from nothing to 100% of the purchase price of the ticket. We got hit with that once. So basically, not being able to make the flight meant we were out the entire amount we paid.

Sorry, but there is no way to make changes without paying the applicable change fee.

 

[jlynn]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately we depended on our travel agent since we didn't do this ourselves. I looked again at the reservation confirmation he gave us and there is absolutely nothing on it regarding the air except the description of the air in the package that says "nonrefundable air" - that's it. This was booked last Fall and I just received my tickets because I contacted the agency about changing and/or possibly having to cancel our trip. And yes, there is a slip of paper attached to the ticket that says that changes fees will apply and no exchanges or refunds. If he had told this before I booked, we would have done it ourselves with the airlines. They are required to spell out the rules of the fare when you book. Wholesalers apparently do not.

 

[bicker]

Actually I see it differently: What you're being offered is better than what your original confirmation said -- "nonrefundable air" describes precisely the arrangements for the tickets for the trip my wife I took, that I mentioned in my earlier message -- any changes basically meant I lost the entire amount I paid. You're at least being offered the opportunity to change for a fee, if you wish.

I'm sorry you had an unfortunate surprise. I hope you have a great trip despite that.

 

[CarolA]

I actually don't think DL is going to give you a much better deal directly.

DL's change fee is $50 each ticket PLUS any change in airfare. So if you original tickets cost $200 each and the new tickets would cost $350 then you would owe the $150 fare change and the $50 change fee. There are no "deals" here and DL will NOT waive those fees!

 

[jlynn]

Persistence pays off sometimes. After much nagging, our travel agent finally called Walt Disney Travel and they signed over ticketing authority to Delta for our tickets. Delta/Song agreed to change the tickets for a $25 change fee. This was a nice surprise plus my package price was reduced by $480!. If we had not paid such a high price for our tickets (normally less than $200 round trip for this itinerary but we paid $501), it would not have been such a big deal. Thanks for all the advice from all of you.

 

[goofy4tink]

Happy to see that things worked out for you. Have a terrific trip!!!