Is it possible to cancel just one way of flight?

[dcgrumpy]

Song left my sister a message that the 7:45 pm flight from MCO-JFK has been cancelled. They gave her the option of a 3:20 flight or a 7:00pm flight with a 2 hour layover in Cincinnati. Jetblue has an 8pm flight available for only $5 more than she originally paid for the Song flight. She asked if she could just cancel the return portion and they said no she would have to cancel both ways. Since we're flying Thanksgiving Day there is no chance of getting a decent price for the way down.

They told her to book the Jetblue flight and then after she arrives in Orlando on the 24th call up Song and cancel the return flight. Does that sound right?

 

[seashoreCM]

If you wait until after you arrive, what happens could be unpredicable. A flight similar to the one cancelled might reappear. You might not get a refund.

Ethically the airline should at your request rebook just the one way down for half the round trip fare you paid, given that they cancelled the return flight. Song, incidentally does sell one way fares for approximately half the round trip fare. (More or less depending on the seat and fare class allocation in effect that day.) Call again and see if the ticket agent you get this time will do it for you. Also feel free toa sk for a higher up ticket agent during the conversation.

Change the situation slightly. After you get there your return flight is cancelled. The airline must at your request refund the pro-rated part of your fare that is associated with the return trip.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[kaytieeldr]

If you wait until after you arrive, what happens could be unpredicable. A flight similar to the one cancelled might reappear. You might not get a refund.

Ethically the airline should at your request rebook just the one way down for half the round trip fare you paid, given that they cancelled the return flight. Song, incidentally does sell one way fares for approximately half the round trip fare. (More or less depending on the seat and fare class allocation in effect that day.) Call again and see if the ticket agent you get this time will do it for you. Also feel free toa sk for a higher up ticket agent during the conversation.

More to the point, Song sells ONLY one-way fares. Any price difference in the outbound and return flights is due solely to the airport fees where you're landing.

To the OP: At 12:50 AM, that specific "cancelled" flight is available for booking on flysong.com - MCO to JFK, 11/24/05, 7:45 PM, right? There are only a very few seats sold, but I'm at the purchase screen. I think Song would let me buy the ticket.

 

[bicker]

If you cancel one way of a roundtrip ticket, you're supposed to end up paying just the one way fare, plus any change penalty that may apply. If that ends up being less than the roundtrip fare, then you should get money back or a credit, depending on the terms and conditions. If that ends up being more than the roundtrip fare (which is very common on most airlines, but evidently not on Song), you are supposed to pay the difference. This practice is called "throwaway ticketing" and it is explicitly prohibited by the terms and conditions of most major airlines. For example:

Prohibited Ticketing Practices

Our fares apply only to the specific itineraries for which they are quoted and the restrictions that apply to our discounted fares are an essential part of our contract with you. These restrictions make it possible for us to offer these discounted fares.

Failure to comply with applicable fare restrictions, circumventing those restrictions, or misrepresenting your intended itinerary are all breaches of our Contract of Carriage. In particular, the following ticketing practices are prohibited:

...

Throw-away ticketing—use of discounted round-trip excursion fares for one-way travel

...

Using a fare without complying with the fare rules of your ticket violates our Contract of Carriage. In such cases, we reserve the right to:

Cancel the remainder of the itinerary and confiscate any unused flight coupons

Refuse to board the passenger or check baggage

Charge the passenger for the difference between the fare paid and the fare for the passenger's traveled itinerary

As such, it is completely appropriate that they follow-up on passengers who engage in this practice. Operationally, I have not heard them actually going after an individual customer, but rather they typically go after the travel agent who sells the ticket, especially if they can determine that the travel agent was aware of the passenger's plans to violate the terms and conditions.

It should be noted that these are Delta's Terms and Conditions, not Song's. Since you bought tickets from Song, Song's Terms and Conditions prevail.

 

[dcgrumpy]

More to the point, Song sells ONLY one-way fares. Any price difference in the outbound and return flights is due solely to the airport fees where you're landing.

To the OP: At 12:50 AM, that specific "cancelled" flight is available for booking on flysong.com - MCO to JFK, 11/24/05, 7:45 PM, right? There are only a very few seats sold, but I'm at the purchase screen. I think Song would let me buy the ticket.

Actually it is on 11/30, we are flying down on the 24th. I told her to call back and ask for a supervisor. They ended up giving her a full refund for the return portion and she booked with Jetblue.